Omaezaki Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
is a lighthouse
located on a hill at the outermost extremity of Cape Omaezaki south of Omaezaki port
, Shizuoka Prefecture
, Japan
.
A lighthouse had been 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 Tōtōmi Province
.
The Omaezaki 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 in that it is the first to use a Fresnel lens
in Japan.
The light was upgraded to a more powerful beam in 1917. During World War II
, Omaezaki 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 Omaezaki 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.
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 on a hill at the outermost extremity of Cape Omaezaki south of Omaezaki port
Omaezaki, Shizuoka
is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Omaezaki is located at the tip of a peninsula on Japan's Pacific coast. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 34,614 and the density of 530 persons per km². The total area was 65.86 km².- Geography :...
, Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
, 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...
.
A lighthouse had been built at Cape Omaezaki as early as 1635, when the 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...
recognized the frequency of marine accidents on the rocks off the coast of Tōtōmi Province
Totomi Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .-History:...
.
The Omaezaki Lighthouse was one of the 26 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 by British 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...
Richard Henry Brunton
Richard Henry Brunton
Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE was the so-called "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland...
, Although not one of the eight lighthouses stipulated specifically by 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, 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 in that it is the first to use a 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...
in Japan.
The light was upgraded to a more powerful beam in 1917. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Omaezaki Lighthouse was bombarded by 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...
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 Omaezaki Lighthouse is currently open to the public, and can be ascended for a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. 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.