Shimabara Bay

Shimabara Bay lies off the eastern shore of the volcanic Shimabara Peninsula, facing Higo across the Ariake Sea. In 1792 earthquakes shook the area during the activity of Mount Unzen. Part of Mount Mayuyama collapsed into the sea, sending a tsunami across the bay and devastating shores on both sides. The disaster became remembered in the phrase “Shimabara's catastrophe, Higo's misfortune.”