List of lighthouses in Japan
This is a list of Japanese lighthouses.[1][2][3]
The use of lighting for marine navigation in Japan dates back to 664 CE when it has been recorded that fires were built on the Iki Islands facing the Tsushima Strait to guide a diplomatic envoy arriving from China.[4]
Modern Japanese lighthouse history dates back to 1854 when U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Edo Harbor and signed the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening Japan to western trade, and precipitated similar agreements with other western countries stipulating the construction of 8 permanent lighthouses for safe navigation. French naval engineer Léonce Verny was engaged by the Meiji government to build the first lighthouse, completing the Kannonzaki Lighthouse in 1869. Noted Scottish civil engineer and lighthouse builder Richard Henry Brunton was brought in to take over the project in 1868, and is today known as the "Father of Japanese lighthouses" for his 26 lighthouses built over a 7 and a half year period.[4]
Japanese engineer Fujikura Kentatsu trained under Brunton to build the first Japanese designed lighthouse in 1884 at Nangō in Miyazaki. Today, there are 67 Meiji-era lighthouses still active, many which have been designated as important cultural assets.[5]
According to the Japan Coast Guard, the agency responsible for the maintenance and operation of official Japanese lighthouses, there are currently 3,118 active lighthouses in Japan as of March 2022.[6]
Active lighthouses
Preserved historic lighthouses
| Name | Image | Built | Location | Characteristic | NGA number | Admiralty number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akashi Port Old Lighthouse | 1657 | Akashi 🌍 | ||||
| Former Anorisaki Lighthouse | 1 Apr 1873 | Museum of Maritime Science 🌍 | ||||
| Former Fukura Lighthouse | 1876 | Ishikawa Prefecture 🌍 | ||||
| Funabashi Daijingū Lighthouse | 1880 | Ōhi Shrine 🌍 | ||||
| Meiji Maru Lightship | 24 Nov 1874 | Etchūjima 🌍 | ||||
| Old Sakai Lighthouse | 1877 | Sakai-ku 🌍 | F G | |||
| Former Sakata Lighthouse | 20 Oct 1895 | Hiyoriyama Park 🌍 | ||||
| Shinagawa Lighthouse | 5 Apr 1870 | Museum Meiji-mura 🌍 | F R[19] |
Japanese lighthouses in former territories
| Name | Image | Built | Location | Characteristic | NGA number | Admiralty number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garapan Lighthouse | 1934 | Saipan 🌍 | ||||
| Nakashiretoko Lighthouse | 1939 | Sakhalin Oblast 🌍 | Fl(2) W[20] | 112-168 | M7842 | |
| Poluwat Lighthouse | 1938 | Poluwat 🌍 |
See also
- Lists of lighthouses and lightvessels
- List of tallest structures in Japan
- Fifty lighthouses in Japan — Lighthouses poll by Japan Coast Guard (in Japanese)
- Big Joys, Small Sorrows Keisuke Kinoshita's 1986 film about Japanese lighthouses
References
- ^ List of Lights, Pub. 112: Western Pacific and Indian Oceans Including the Persian Gulf and Red Sea (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2014. p. 4.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Japan: Northern Hokkaidō". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Japan: Southern Hokkaidō". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ a b "150 Years of Service Past and Present of Japanese Aids to Navigation" (PDF). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Japan Coast Guard - Marine Traffic Department. 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Historical Lighthouses of Japan". Tokokai.
- ^ Sumiya, Makoto (21 February 2023). "Spotlight on Lighthouses as they Shift from Beacons at Sea to Tourist Attractions". Japan News. 讀賣新聞.
- ^ https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/03kanku/onetapview/posts/news40.html
- ^ https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/06kanku/uwajima/pdf/daihachi14.pdf
- ^ a b https://lighthouse007.jimdofree.com/index/4915/
- ^ a b https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/02kanku/sakata/root_work/04_koukouenjyo_gyoumu/toudai/04_arasaki_lh/01_arasaki.htm
- ^ a b https://www.tokokai.org/tkkwp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/P215_Eboshi.pdf
- ^ https://lighthouse-japan.com/kanagawa/enoshima/enoshima.html
- ^ a b https://www.tokokai.org/history/history02/
- ^ https://www.tokokai.org/tourlight/tourlight03/
- ^ a b https://www.tokokai.org/tourlight/tourlight05/
- ^ a b https://www.tokokai.org/history/history01/
- ^ https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/lights/1000022092/light_name:Mitarai%20Kō%20Breakwater
- ^ https://www.tokokai.org/tourlight/tourlight04/
- ^ https://adeac.jp/shinagawa-city/texthtml/d000020/mp000020/ht000920
- ^ https://www.lighthousedigest.com/digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=10769