Anorisaki Lighthouse

Anori Saki Lighthouse

安乗埼灯台

Anori Saki Lighthouse
Japan
Location	South of Shima Mie Prefecture Japan
Coordinates
Year first constructed	April 1, 1873 (1873-04-01)
Year first lit	1948 (current)
Automated	October 1988
Foundation	concrete
Construction	concrete tower
Tower shape	square frustum tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern	white tower and lantern
Height	12.7 metres (42 ft)
Focal height	33.3 metres (109 ft)
Original lens	Fourth Order Fresnel
Intensity	330,000 cd
Range	16.5 nautical miles (30.6 km; 19.0 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 15s.
Admiralty number	M6042
NGA number	6356
ARLHS number	JPN-021
Japan number	JCG-2769

Anorisaki Lighthouse (安乗埼灯台, Anorisaki tōdai) is a lighthouse located on the top of Shima Peninsula in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

History

The Anorisaki Lighthouse was designed and constructed by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, and was first lit on April 1, 1873. It is noteworthy in that it is the first lighthouse in Japan to use a rotating Fresnel lens. The octagonal structure was built of Zelkova serrata wood, and had a total height of 10.6 metres. Brunton constructed a total of 25 lighthouses in Japan from far northern Hokkaidō to southern Kyūshū during his career in Japan, each with a different design. Although Anorisaki Lighthouse was the 20th of the 25 built by Brunton, it was the oldest with a wooden construction.

This lighthouse was relocated five meters inland from its original location in 1911 due to coastal erosion. It was electrified in 1932. In 1948, it was replaced by a more modern design, and the original structure designed by Brunton was later relocated to the Museum of Maritime Science in Tokyo.

The modern replacement was completed in August 1948, and is a square ferro-concrete structure with a total height of 12.7 metres. The lens was upgraded to a 4th order Fresnel in 1950. The lighthouse was fully automated and has been unattended since October 1988. From April 29, 2004 it has been open to the public for tours, with a small museum attached containing displays about the filming of the 1957 Japanese movie Yorokobi mo kanashimi mo ikutoshitsuki.

See also

• List of lighthouses in Japan

References

• Brunton, Richard. Building Japan, 1868-1879. Japan Library, 1991. ISBN 1-873410-05-0
• Pedlar, Neil. The Imported Pioneers: Westerners who Helped Build Modern Japan. Routledge, 1990. ISBN 0-904404-51-X

External links

• Lighthouses in Japan (Japanese)
• Japan Coast Guard

Original Brunton-designed structure now at the Museum of Maritime Science, Tokyo