The 1891 Mino–Owari earthquake struck the Japanese provinces of Mino and Owari in the Nōbi Plain in the early morning of October 28 with a surface wave magnitude of 8.0 and moment magnitude of 7.5. The event, also referred to as the Nōbi earthquake , the Great Gifu earthquake , or the Great Nōbi earthquake , is the largest known inland earthquake to have occurred in the Japanese archipelago.

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 and has a geographic area of 10,621 square kilometres (4,101 sq mi). Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, Fukui Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture to the west, Mie Prefecture to the southwest, Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Nagano Prefecture to the east.