The Meiji Sanriku tsunami, which struck 126 years ago, killed as many as 20,000 people. A stone cenotaph was erected in the village of Toni in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, to mark the disaster ...

It generated an unprecedented tsunami, obliterating coastal villages and towns in a matter of minutes. In some areas, the tsunami climbed over 100 feet in height and traveled miles inland.