is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

Cape Sata Cape Sata (佐多岬, ''Sata Misaki'') is a cape at the southern tip of the Ōsumi Peninsula of Kyūshū island, Japan, and is the southernmost point of the island, just south of 31 degrees latitude. It belongs to the town of Minamiōsumi, Kago ...

, in the town of Minamiōsumi,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The lighthouse is located within the borders of the

Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park is a national park in Kyūshū, Japan. It is composed of Kirishima-Kagoshima Bay, an area of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture known for its active volcanoes, volcanic lakes, and onsen. The total area is . History On March 16, 1934, ...

. It has been selected as one of "Japan's 50 best lighthouses".

History

This lighthouse is one of eight lighthouses that were built in

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Japan under the provisions of the

Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce The was signed on 26 August 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government (the Tokugawa shogunate), and was ratified between Queen Victoria and the Tycoon of Japan at Yedo on 11 July 1859. The concessions which J ...

of 1858, signed by the

Bakumatsu period were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunat ...

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the need for a lighthouse at Cape Sata for the safety of vessels was recognized at an early time after Japan was opened to the West. The lighthouse was designed and constructed by British engineer

Richard Henry Brunton Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE (26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was a British engineer known as the "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was employed by the government of Meiji pe ...

, born 1841 in Kincardineshire, Scotland, who was under contract by the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

. Brunton constructed another 25 lighthouses from far northern

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

to southern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

during his career in Japan. This lighthouse stands on the cliffs of Owa Island, off the coast of Cape Sata at the tip of the

Ōsumi Peninsula image:Osumi Peninsula Kagoshima Japan SRTM.jpg, 261x261px, Satellite image of Ōsumi Peninsula The projects south from the Japanese island of Kyūshū and includes the southernmost point on the island, Cape Sata. Its east coast lies on the Pacifi ...

in Kagoshima Prefecture. This cape is located at the southernmost tip of Kyushu, and is considered the southernmost tip of mainland Japan. Work began in January of 1870. It was first lit on . The original lighthouse was made of cast iron. This lighthouse was destroyed by an attack during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

on March 18, 1945 . The present lighthouse is a replica of the original lighthouse, but constructed of concrete. It was electrified on January 23, 1952. In 1954, rain containing radioactive fallout from nuclear tests in the South Pacific occurred in various parts of Japan. Lighthouse personnel who relied on rainwater for drinking water developed

radiation sickness Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start wit ...

. The lighthouse has been unattended since February 21, 1985.

Notes

References

*Brunton, Richard. ''Building Japan, 1868-1879''. Japan Library, 1991. *Pedlar, Neil. ''The Imported Pioneers: Westerners who Helped Build Modern Japan''. Routledge, 1990.

External links

Japan Coast Guard home page
Lighthouses in Japan Lighthouses completed in 1871 Transport buildings and structures in Kagoshima Prefecture Minamiōsumi, Kagoshima 1871 establishments in Japan {{lighthouse-stub

History

See also

Notes

References

External links