The island is an active volcano which has erupted several times during the modern period, including 24 December 1933, when several people were killed when lava masses buried several villages.

In 1980, multiple explosion craters appeared along an 800-metre (2,600 ft) north-south fissure on the slope east of Shindake.

During the Edo period, Kuchinoerabu-jima was ruled by the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain and was considered part of Ōsumi Province.

Kuchinoerabu-jima is the last known location of missing American poet Craig Arnold, who was visiting the island in April 2009, doing research for a book on volcanos.

[3] On May 18, 2015, Japanese scientists detected increased seismic activity and steam rising from the Shindake's crater, and on May 29, 2015, an eruption sent an ash cloud an estimated 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) into the sky.