Kannonzaki Lighthouse (観音埼灯台) is a lighthouse on

Cape Kannon A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...

, on

Miura Peninsula is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura. ...

, in

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

The original Kannonzaki Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in Japan. It was one of the eight lighthouses whose construction was stipulated by the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1858. This treaty provided for the development of aids to navigation with the opening of Japanese ports to foreign trade. Modern engineering methods had not been developed in Japan at the time so the Tokugawa Shogunate requested the assistance of the authorities of France and England for the construction of lighthouses and the purchasing of necessary equipment. The Tokugawa Shogunate specifically planned to construct a lighthouse at the mouth of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

for vessels that would leave the Yokosuka Iron Works then under construction. After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate The new Meiji government commenced construction of the first lighthouse with Francois Leon Verny, an employee of the Yokosuka Iron Works, as the chief engineer. The work was commenced in November 1868, and completed after four months. The Lighthouse was first lit on February 11, 1869, during the last months of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

. The original lighthouse was a western style building made of brick (made at the Yokosuka Iron Works under the instruction of Francois Leon Verny), rectangular in shape, and painted white. It was immediately followed, in December 1869, by the completion of the

Nojimazaki Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula, in the city of Minamibōsō, Chiba Prefecture Japan. History The Nojimazaki Lighthouse was one of eight lighthouses to be built in Meiji period Japan under the provisions of t ...

, also by Léonce Verny, on the other side of Tokyo Bay. As structures made of brick are weak against earthquakes, the lighthouse was completely destroyed by the earthquake that occurred on April 26, 1922. The reconstruction of the lighthouse as a reinforced concrete structure was completed on March 15, 1923. However, the new lighthouse functioned for only six months before again being damaged by the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

of September 1, 1923 (magnitude 7.9), the lighthouse was fractured with cracks and the top collapsed. Restoration work on the lighthouse was commenced on September 18, 1924, and, on June 1, 1925, the present Kannonzaki Lighthouse was completed. Kannonzaki is best known today as the lighthouse location in ''

Times of Joy and Sorrow ''Times of Joy and Sorrow'' (USA title), ''The Lighthouse'' (UK title), or , is a 1957 color Japanese film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, who shot on location at 10 different lighthouses throughout Japan, including opening scenes at Kannonzaki, ...

'' (1957), Keisuke Kinoshita's popular film about the experiences of a

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

and his family during WW2, with Kannonzaki prominently featured on the film's poster and advertising.

Gallery

File:Kannonzaki Lighthouse 1869.png, First Kannonzaki lighthouse File:Yorokobi mo kanashimi mo ikutoshitsuki 1.jpg, Kannonzaki in the opening scene of ''Times of Joy and Sorrow'' File:Kannonzaki Lighthouse 02.png, Kannonzaki in 1945 File:Kannonzaki lighthouse (4230151435).jpg, Kannonzaki from below

References

Lighthouses completed in 1869 Lighthouses in Japan Buildings and structures in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Transport in Yokosuka, Kanagawa 1869 establishments in Japan {{lighthouse-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References