Luminescence generated by a plate-impact-induced shock wave has been detected from a Ce-doped phosphor powder, Ce3+:Y3Al5O12. The observed luminescence spectrum shows two strong bands in the visible region: one at similar to 410 nm and the other at similar to 530 nm. The second band is very similar to the well-known luminescence band of Ce:YAG corresponding to the T-2g -> F-2 transition, but the first band is hardly observed in the photoluminescence spectrum. One possible mechanism for the first band is the radiative transition from the higher energy excited level of Ce3+ to the ground level, namely E-g -> F-2. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.