A Lighthouse of Japan

My first cover from Japan - the land of the rising sun - and such a beautiful cover ! Thanks Masako

Japan and the oriental land have always been a fascination for me - because they have a rich history and all of it hidden behind languages I don’t understand. I really wish I knew Chinese / Korean / Japanese to know more about their culture , history and literature . It was really difficult to search for information about this recent stamp too, because most of the links led me to a page in Japanese. 

The lighthouse stamp on the cover is part of 5 stamps issued recently ( September 2018 ) by Japan 

In Japanese, the word for a 

lighthouse is tōdai or toudai (灯台). 

saki and misaki are for capes and headlands, 

shima (also spelled sima or jima) is an island, 

wan is a bay

kō is a harbour 

Hokkaido, Honshu ( mainland ) , Shikoku ( smallest ) , and Kyushu are the four main islands of Japan 

Japan is an island nation - an archipelago- with a vast coastline . No point in Japan is more than 150 kms away from the coastline. The Pacific coastline south of Tokyo is characterized by long, narrow, gradually shallowing inlets produced by sedimentation, which has created many natural harbors. The Pacific coastline north of Tokyo, the coast of Hokkaidō, and the Sea of Japan coast are generally unindented, with few natural harbors. Japan is also a land knows for typhoons. This makes Shipping a risky business in the maritime waters of Japan . Lighthouses in Japan have for centuries warmed the ships along the coastline.  But with the advent of GPS and satellite controlled navigation systems , the lighthouses all over the world might have lost their functionality , but definitely not their beauty ! 

Muroto saki - the lighthouse stamp on the cover 

Location - Muroto cape, Shukoki island 

Built in 1899. 

Status - Active

focal plane - 155 m (508 ft)

white flash every 10 s. 

15 m (49 ft) round cylindrical cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, centered on a round 1-story cast iron keeper's house. Entire lighthouse painted white. The original 1st order clamshell Fresnel lens remains in use, although the lens had to be repaired after being damaged when typhoon winds broke the lantern windows in 1934. 

A 1-story stone keeper's house is in use as a visitor center and museum. This is Japan's second-oldest cast iron lighthouse.

The light, one of Japan's most powerful, has a range of 55 km (35 mi). 

Muroto Saki is a sharp-pointed cape at the south end of the Anan Coast and the east entrance to Tosa Bay. The lighthouse guarding this prominent cape is one of Shikoku's best known and most important lights and a great historic treasure. 

Located on the point of the cape with a 300° panoramic view of the Pacific. Accessible by road and a short hiking trail. There is an observation platform behind the tower and above the level of the lens. 

The cancellation looks sharp and clear - and a brown one too - with a lighthouse and a pony on it . But I am still unable to find out why it’s marked 30-9-3 ! 

The other round cancellation from Yokohama - the post office of origin - a city few kms south of Tokyo. 

 Two definitives - part of 12 definitives issued on 2nd Feb 2015. 

The Siberian chipmunk and Japanese Macaque. 

More about the definitives of this series here - https://www.mountainstamp.com/A_2015_Recent_Issues/Japan_A_Definitive.html

Total postage on the cover - 90 yen - around ₹57.63/- ( less than one USD )