Nojimazaki Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
is a lighthouse
located at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula
, in the city of Minamibōsō
, Chiba Prefecture
Japan
.
The Nojimazaki Lighthouse was one of eight lighthouses to be built in Meiji period
Japan under the provisions of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce
of 1858, signed by the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa Shogunate
. The lighthouse was designed and constructed by French engineer
Léonce Verny
, and is noteworthy in that it is the second lighthouse to be completed in Japan, after the Kannonzaki Lighthouse
on the opposing entrance to Tokyo Bay
. As completed, the whitewashed octagonal brick structure stood 30 metres (98.4 ft) high, and had a first-order Fresnel lens
, with a kerosene light source. The lighthouse was first lit on January 19, 1869.
During the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake
, the top eight meters of the structure collapsed. It was rebuilt in concrete, and recommissioned on August 15, 1925. The structure was again damaged in 1945 by bombardment by the United States Navy
. It was repaired after the war with a second-order Frensel lens, and was subsequently electrified.
The Nojimazaki Lighthouse is currently open to the public, who may visit a small museum at its base, and climb to the top for a panoramic view over the Pacific Ocean. It is registered with the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities
as one of the “One Hundred Most Important Lighthouses in the World” and by the Japanese government as a Historic Monument.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula
Boso Peninsula
thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....
, in the city of Minamibōsō
Minamiboso, Chiba
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010 data, the city had an estimated population of 42,035 and a population density of 183 persons per km²...
, Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The Nojimazaki Lighthouse was one of eight lighthouses to be built in Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan under the provisions of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce
The was signed on August 26, 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government . This was an unequal treaty, that gave Japan semi-colonial status.The concessions which Japan made were threefold:...
of 1858, signed by the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. The lighthouse was designed and constructed by French engineer
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
Léonce Verny
Léonce Verny
François Léonce Verny, was a French officer and naval engineer who directed the construction of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan, as well as many related modern infrastructure projects from 1865 to 1876, thus helping jump-start Japan's modernization.-Early life:Léonce Verny was born in Aubenas,...
, and is noteworthy in that it is the second lighthouse to be completed in Japan, after the Kannonzaki Lighthouse
Kannonzaki Lighthouse
Kannonzaki Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Cape Kannon, on Miura Peninsula, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.The lighthouse was built by French engineer Léonce Verny. Its construction had been ordered under the Tokugawa regime in 1867 following the requests of foreign powers under the provisions of the...
on the opposing entrance to Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
. As completed, the whitewashed octagonal brick structure stood 30 metres (98.4 ft) high, and had a first-order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, with a kerosene light source. The lighthouse was first lit on January 19, 1869.
During the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
, the top eight meters of the structure collapsed. It was rebuilt in concrete, and recommissioned on August 15, 1925. The structure was again damaged in 1945 by bombardment by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. It was repaired after the war with a second-order Frensel lens, and was subsequently electrified.
The Nojimazaki Lighthouse is currently open to the public, who may visit a small museum at its base, and climb to the top for a panoramic view over the Pacific Ocean. It is registered with the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities
International Association of Lighthouse Authorities
The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities is a non-profit organization founded in 1957 to collect and provide nautical expertise and advice.-Background:...
as one of the “One Hundred Most Important Lighthouses in the World” and by the Japanese government as a Historic Monument.