Tohara eruption

The Tohara eruption [鷲彭の羨火、とはらのほうら] was a large eruption of Mount Tohara in Tomono Prefecture that occurred in 1503. It is estimated that around 1,500-1,700 people were killed in the eruption, and the event is known in Kantonese historical records as The Burning of Tohara in West Sanzama (東山様の鷲彭の烈, kan-sanzama no tohara no retsu). The eruption itself occurred on 17 August and lasted for 15 hours, consisting of pumice falls and pyroclastic flows. This was followed by a high eruption plume which generated further injections of pumice into the air.
The volcano's devastation exacerbated a long period of crop failure known as the Sanzama famine. Much of the agriculturally productive land in Sanzama Province (along with portions of east Kantai) would remain fallow or under-producing for the next four or five years. The effects of this eruption were made worse because, after years of near or actual famine, neither the authorities nor the people had any remaining reserves. This resulted in casualties of over 20,000.