Omaezaki Lighthouse

Omaesaki Lighthouse (御前埼灯台, Omaesaki tōdai) is a lighthouse located on a hill at the outermost extremity of Cape Omaezaki south of Omaezaki port, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Omaesaki Lighthouse
Omaesaki
御前埼灯台
Omaesaki Lighthouse
Japan
Omaezaki Lighthouse (Japan)
LocationOmaezaki
Shizuoka Prefecture
Japan
Coordinates34°35′45.0″N 138°13′32.6″E
Year first lit1874, 1946
Foundationbrick and concrete
Constructionbrick tower
Tower shapetapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height22.47 metres (73.7 ft)
Focal height50.4 metres (165 ft)
Original lensThird Order Fresnel
Intensity1,300,000 candela
Range36 kilometres (19 nmi)[1]
CharacteristicFl W 4s.
Admiralty numberM6234.5
NGA number5770
ARLHS numberJPN-487
Japan numberJCG-2492[2]

A lighthouse was built at Cape Omaezaki as early as 1635, when the Tokugawa Shogunate recognized the frequency of marine accidents on the rocks off the coast of Tōtoumi Province.

History

The Omaesaki Lighthouse was one of the 26 lighthouses to be built in Meiji period Japan by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton. Although not one of the eight lighthouses stipulated specifically by the provisions of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1858, construction was given priority by the Meiji government after a Japanese navy vessel grounded on the rocks off Cape Omaezaki on April 8, 1871. Construction began on May 26, 1872 and the lighthouse was completed on May 1, 1874 at a cost of 25,000 yen. The lighthouse is noteworthy as the first to use a Fresnel lens in Japan.

The light was upgraded to a more powerful beam in 1917. During World War II, Omaesaki Lighthouse was bombarded by United States Navy warships, cracking its lens and causing severe damage to its structure. The light was repaired after the end of the war, and its lens upgraded to a third order Fresnel. It went back into operation on March 24, 1949.

The Omaesaki Lighthouse is currently open to the public, and can be ascended for a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. It is registered with the Japanese government as an “A-grade Lighthouse” for historic preservation and is listed as one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” by the Japan Lighthouse Association. It is operated by the Japan Coast Guard.

See also

Notes
  1. Omae Saki Lighthouses of Japan (in Japanese)
  2. Lighthouses Directory

References
  • Brunton, Richard. Building Japan, 1868–1879. Japan Library, 1991. ISBN 1-873410-05-0
  • Pedlar, Neil. The Imported Pioneers: Westerners who Helped Build Modern Japan. Routledge, 1990. ISBN 0-904404-51-X
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