1879: A Milestone in Fog Signal Technology for Japanese Lighthouses

December 20, 1879

A notable “first” for Japanese lighthouses took place with the installation of a fog horn – a device using highly audible signs to warn vessels of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines in foggy weather – at Shiriyazaki Lighthouse in the Tōhoku region. This lighthouse is located on Cape Shiriyazaki, the northernmost point of Honshu (the largest and most populous of Japan’s islands), and the fog horn replaced a fog bell that had been in place there since November 20, 1877. That fog bell had been installed in response to frequently foggy conditions and poor visibility in the area, but this navigation mark’s level of noise was ultimately deemed too weak and ineffective to be of practical use to seafarers.  

Shiriyazaki Lighthouse was one of 26 lighthouses in Japan designed by Scottish-born engineer Richard Henry Brunton (1841-1901). Work on Shiriyazaki Lighthouse began in June 1873. This structure, which first went into service on October 20, 1876, had the distinction of being the first western-style lighthouse in the Tōhoku region. The introduction of a fog horn at this lighthouse in 1879 would not be the last technological milestone there. In 1901, for example, the first electric power generator for a Japanese lighthouse was installed at Shiriyazaki Lighthouse.

This lighthouse remains in operation today and is maintained by the Japan Coast Guard. Shiriyazaki Lighthouse has officially been one of Japan’s Registered Tangible Cultural Properties since 2017.

Photo Credit: Akatsuki-3^rd (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

For more information on Shiriyazaki Lighthouse, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiriyazaki_Lighthouse