Kimigahama beach spread out at the end of a long flight of stairs right in front of the Inubosaki Lighthouse

Looking at the map, it is not that far from Tokawa Station to the Inubosaki Lighthouse. It is only less than two kilometers. Knowing this, I watched the Choshi Electric Railway depart from Tokawa Station and headed for Inubosaki on foot. The way to Inubosaki was very easy. The closer I got to Inubosaki, the more people I saw, so there was no way to get lost if I followed them.

The Inubosaki Lighthouse, which was first lit in 1874, was built not long after the Meiji Restoration in 1874, when Japanese technology was not sufficient to build a lighthouse. Therefore, Richard Henry Brunton, a lighthouse engineer invited from England, designed and built the lighthouse. The reason why a Western-style lighthouse was built here in the place was because the Tokugawa Shogunate promised other countries in the Treaty of Edo signed with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands in 1866.

I had an image that the treaties that the Tokugawa Shogunate concluded with other countries before the Meiji Restoration were only unequal treaties, but it was a little surprising that such practical treaties were also included in the treaty. The purpose of the treaty was to eliminate the fear of the sea around Japan being called the "dark sea" by other countries, since there were many reefs, but only light towers and nightlights with a short range of light were installed, and no systematic maintenance of navigation signs had been carried out.

The lighthouse, which was built in response to requests from other countries, was not well received by local fishermen during its construction, and there was a petition movement to stop the construction of the lighthouse because it would prevent them from catching fish. However, the year after the lighthouse was first turned on, the local fishermen enjoyed an unprecedentedly good catch of fish, and not only did the poor catch end up being a groundless fear, but they were also happy to say "thanks to the lighthouse," so I guess you never know what form the fear of the stranger will take until you open the lighthouse.