Uotsuri Lighthouse

Overview

Uotsuri Lighthouse is a small light standing on the western tip of Uotsuri Island, the main island of the Senkaku group in Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture. It sits on an uninhabited island in the East China Sea, in an area subject to a sovereignty dispute, so ordinary travelers cannot land to view it up close. It is best understood as a lighthouse you cannot visit, a small marker that symbolizes the maritime history of Japan's far western waters.

Highlights

• ●The setting itself on the western tip of Uotsuri Island in Japan's far western sea
• ●Origins in a flashing beacon built by a civic group in 1978
• ●Its role as a navigational aid linked to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters
• ●The story of its differing names in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean

History

The lighthouse traces its origins to a columnar, flashing beacon erected on Uotsuri Island on August 13, 1978, by a Japanese civic group. It later came to be administered under the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard. A small metal structure, it functions as a navigational aid watching over ships crossing the East China Sea. Because Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China all claim the Senkaku Islands, the ownership of the lighthouse is part of that same debate.

Map

25.7419, 123.4603 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1From Ishigaki Island, the natural base, study the geography of the Senkaku Islands and East China Sea at local museums
2. 2Locate the approximate position of Uotsuri Island and its lighthouse on a map, near 25.7 degrees north
3. 3Gaze out over the sea from Ishigaki and reflect on the lighthouse standing on the island to the west
4. 4After returning home, look up official information on the lighthouse's names and administration to deepen your understanding

Did you know?

💡 The name Uotsuri is the Japanese reading; the same island and lighthouse are called Diaoyutai in Chinese and by yet another form in Korean, differing by point of view. A single small lighthouse thus mirrors the names and histories of several countries, which is the most striking feature of this place.

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