The author investigated coastal area between Kanazawa and Hakui along the Sea of Japan (Fig. 1) in order to estimate a pattern of Quaternary tectonic movement, on the basis of deformed landforms. In this area, many active faults and flexures dislocate dissected fans, marine terraces and fluvial terraces formed in the late Quaternary, as well as higher terrace gravel beds of the middle Pleistocene. Detailed features of deformed geomorphic surfaces are illustrated in the maps and cross sections (Figs. 4, 6, 7 and 8). Reverse fault scarplets and warped terrace surfaces are the typical types of deformed. landforms in this area. These active faults or flexures run northeastwards, approximately parallel with the trend of the coast line, as indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 9. Judging from data on active faults listed in Table 1, activity of active faults usually belongs to the class B or C (Matsuda, 1975). In addition, the heights of the former shorelines. preserved on marine terraces, which may be correlated with M1 and M2 terraces of the late Quaternary in the adjoining Noto peneinsula (Ota et al., 1976), are deformed in a pattern as shown in Fig. 5. This area can be divided into the three areas; northern, central and southern, in terms. of the pattern of tectonic deformation in the Quaternary as shown in Fig. 9. It is recognized that a west-facing flexure scarp has been formed along the boundary between the uplifting hills composed of Neogene rocks, and subsidening lowlands in the northern and. southern areas where the eastern part has been upthrown to the west. In contrast, an active faulting has predominated in the central area characterized by reverse fault scarplets, facing the east. The direction of principal axis of maximum compressive stress is estimated to be N 55° to N 75° W, judging from the pattern of deformation and frequency distribution. of strike of active faults. It is almost the same as that in the inland area of central Japan. There is, however, a marked difference of fault type between this area characterized by reverse faults and the other part of central Japan where strike-slip active faults predominate.