Figure 1

Snapshots of the dynamic rupture simulation originally shown in Figure six of Ide and Aochi (2013). The earthquake starts gradually at depth to the west and ruptures an asperity offshore of Miyagi. The rupture then turns to the east, which was the area of the foreshock of 9 March 2011, and accelerated towards the trench. Finally, the rupture propagates laterally to both the north and south. At that stage, moderate asperities located in the south (i.e., off Fukushima and Ibaraki) are ruptured.