Cape Crillon (russian: Мыс Крильон, ja, 西能登呂岬 "Nishinotoro-misaki" (Cape Nishinotoro in Japanese), ) is the southernmost point of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

. The cape was named by Frenchman

Jean-François de La Pérouse Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fr ...

, who was the first European to discover it. Cape Sōya, in Japan, is located to the south, across

La Pérouse Strait La Pérouse Strait (russian: пролив Лаперуза), or Sōya Strait, is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on t ...

. A Russian

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

, a lighthouse and a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

are all situated at Cape Crillon today. Additionally, the cape is the Russian terminus of the proposed

Sakhalin–Hokkaido Tunnel The Sakhalin–Hokkaido Tunnel (or potentially bridge) is a proposed connection to link the Russian island of Sakhalin with the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Cost estimates by Russia in the year 2000 put the project to span the strait at $50 ...

that would connect Japan and Russia by rail. On the western coast of the cape is the rock formation formerly known in Japanese as ''Kinfugan'' (金敷岩, literally "Anvil Rock").

History

In 1808,

Mamiya Rinzō was a Japanese explorer of the late Edo period. He is best known for his exploration of Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia then unknown to Japanese. Biography Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba District, Hitac ...

was dispatched by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

to survey Sakhalin. Having arrived at the

Matsumae domain The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...

outpost of Shiranushi on the southern tip of Cape Crillon, he was directed by local Ainu to a place called where the remains of

rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...

walls were found. By the early 20th century, the ruins had come to be known as the . In 1905, there were discovered Matsumae documents to the effect that the castle had been built by

Imai Kanehira Imai Kanehira (今井兼平, 1152-1184) was a military commander of the late Heian Period of Japan. He was the milk brother of Minamoto no Yoshinaka. He became joint commander of Yoshinaka's faction during the Genpei War after Yoshinaka met up wit ...

. Current archaeological evidence indicates the castle was a colonial product of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

. According to the Yuanshi, the general Yorotai (楊兀魯帶) crossed the sea and established frontier garrisons on Sakhalin.

References

Crillon {{SakhalinOblast-geo-stub