The are a network of eighteen observation platforms and beacons dating to the early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

and located in the

Sakishima Islands The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') (Okinawan language, Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyakoan language, Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama language, Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni language, Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago loca ...

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

, Japan. Erected in 1644 by the government of the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

at the instigation of the Satsuma overlords, at a time of international tension during the transition between the Ming and the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Dynasties of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the beacons were responsible for monitoring and reporting on maritime traffic, with a view to restricting foreign vessels in accordance with the Tokugawa policy of ''

sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

'', i.e. national seclusion. After an initial survey by the Council for the Protection of Cultural Properties in 1993, due to uncertainties over land rights and difficulties of coordination between the involved

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, it was not until 2007 that they were jointly designated an

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

Locations

There are eight beacons in the Miyako Islands and ten in the Yaeyama Islands. Of those in the Miyako Islands, five are within the city of Miyakojima (on the islands of Miyakojima, Ikema, and Kurima), and three in the village of Tarama (on the islands of Tarama and Minna). Of those in the Yaeyama Islands, two are within the city of Ishigaki (on the island of Ishigaki), seven in the town of Taketomi (on the islands of Taketomi, Kuroshima, Upper and Lower Aragusuku, Hateruma, Kohamajima, and Hatoma), and one in the town of

Yonaguni , one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. The island is administered as the Towns of Japan, town of Yonaguni, Okinawa, Yonaguni, Ya ...

(on the island of

Operations

Records suggest that the beacon near Cape Hirakubo on Ishigaki was at one point manned by a team of four, who also slept on the site. A different signal may have been given depending upon the origin of the ships. A restaged beacon relay in November 2007 saw an attempt to pass signals along two routes: (1) Hateruma- Aragusuku (Shimoji)- Aragusuku (Kamiji)- Kuroshima- Taketomi- Ishigaki; and (2) Hatoma- Kohamajima- Taketomi- Ishigaki. Along both routes the initial signal could not be seen from the next observation platform, due to rain; after restarting from the second station, both signals were successfully relayed to Ishigaki; in some instances it took up to ten minutes from the signal being observed for a fire to be lit sufficient for the smoke to be seen at the next station; the exercise highlighted the difficulty in transmitting signals by such a method in times of inclement weather and poor visibility.

List of beacons

References

{{Reflist Sakishima Islands History of Okinawa Prefecture 1640s establishments in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Coastal fortifications Beacons Ishigaki, Okinawa Miyakojima, Okinawa Taketomi, Okinawa Tarama, Okinawa Yonaguni, Okinawa

Locations

Operations

List of beacons

See also

References