Sugashima Lighthouse

Sugashima Lighthouse (菅島灯台, Sugashima tōdai) is a lighthouse located on the island of Sugashima, in Ise Bay off the shores of the city of Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is located within the borders of the Ise-Shima National Park.

Sugashima Lighthouse
Suga Sima
菅島灯台
Sugashima Lighthouse and Kami Island
Japan
LocationSugashima, off Toba
Mie Prefecture
Japan
Coordinates34°29′59.9″N 136°54′31.8″E
Year first constructedJuly 1, 1873 (1873-07-01)[1]
AutomatedJuly 1959
Foundationconcrete base
Constructionmansory tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height9.7 metres (32 ft)[1]
Focal height54.5 metres (179 ft)[1]
Original lensFourth Order Fresnel
Range27 kilometres (15 nmi)
CharacteristicFl W 4s.
Admiralty numberM6048
NGA number6328
ARLHS numberJPN-596
Japan numberJCG-2750[2]

History

The Sugashima Lighthouse was designed and constructed by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, and was first lit on July 1, 1873 in a ceremony attended by Saigō Takamori and other dignitaries of the Meiji government. Brunton constructed a total of 25 lighthouses in Japan from far northern Hokkaidō to southern Kyūshū during his career in Japan, each with a different design. Built of domestically-produced white bricks, the Sugashima Lighthouse is styled in the manner of a European castle round tower, complete with crenellations. It replaced a more primitive light established by the Tokugawa shogunate on the island in 1673 in response to numerous shipwrecks in the area.

The lighthouse was fully automated and has been unattended since July 1959. The 9.7 meter tall tower contains a fourth order Fresnel lens, and has a range of 27 kilometers.

The Sugashima Lighthouse is listed as one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” by the Japan Lighthouse Association. It is operated by the Japan Coast Guard.

Protected status

In 1964, the former official abode of the lighthouse keeper was relocated to serve as an exhibit at Meiji Mura, a historical museum in Inuyama, Aichi and was registered as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1968.[3] The lighthouse itself became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2010.

See also

Notes
  1. 安乗埼灯台 (in Japanese). 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters (Japan). Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  2. Lighthouses Directory
  3. 菅島燈台附属官舎 (in Japanese). Meiji Mura. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2010.

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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