Tsunami generation by an earthquake is generally modeled by water surface displacement identical to the vertical deformation of ocean bottom due to faulting. The effect of horizontal deformation is usually neglected. However, when the tsunami source is on a steep slope and the horizontal displacement is large relative to the vertical displacement, the effect becomes significant. We show this for two recent earthquakes which generated much larger tsunamis than expected from seismic waves. In the case of the 1994 June 2 Java, Indonesia, earthquake, the focal mechanism was a very shallow dipping thrust and the source was near a very steep trench slope. In the case of the 1994 Nov. 14 Mindoro, Philippines, earthquake, strike‐slip faulting extended from ocean to land perpendicular to the coast line. In both cases, we found that the horizontal motion of slope had an important contribution to the tsunami generation.