The Sanriku Coast (三陸海岸 sanriku kaigan) is a coastal region on the Pacific Ocean, extending from southern Aomori prefecture,[1] through Iwate prefecture and northern Miyagi prefecture in northeastern Honshū, which is Japan's main island.[2] The name comes from the historical region of Sanriku (or "three riku"), referring to the former provinces of Rikuō and Rikuchū (in present-day Aomori) and Rikuzen (in Miyagi).[3]
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There are the Tanesashi Coast, the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park and the Minami-Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park in the Sanriku Coast region.[4]
The bays of this irregular coastline tend to amplify the destructiveness of tsunami waves.[5] Significant events which devastated coastal communities include:
Prior to 2011, the tsunami history of Sanriku might have been interpreted as a story of progressively fewer casualties due to human intervention and planning. The 2011 disaster created a new baseline for analysis of regularly occurring tsunamis.[6]