A 10-minute walk from Kojima Station.
Did you know that a wooden lighthouse stands at Kojima Sightseeing Port, where sightseeing boats that pass beneath the Seto-Ohashi Bridge and regular ferries to Honjima, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture—the venue for the autumn session of the Setouchi Triennale 2025—depart and arrive?
It is the “Former Nozakihama Lighthouse.”
We looked into the history and architectural features of the Former Nozakihama Lighthouse, which has watched over the town of Kojima since the Edo period.
The information presented here is current as of the article’s publication in September 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About the Nozaki Family
The Nozaki family, descended from the Seiwa Genji clan and formerly known by the surnames Tada and Koyano, is said to have settled in Ajino Village, Kojima District, in the latter half of the 16th century.
Nozaki Buzaemon, who built Nozaki's Historical Residence, manufactured and sold tabi socks. At the age of 38, however, he resolved to make a fresh start and built salt fields offshore from Ajinono Village and Akasaki Village. He took the name Nozaki, combining the names of the two villages.
The area of his salt fields later expanded to approximately 161 hectares, and he became a major salt-field landowner. He also successfully reclaimed approximately 700 hectares at Fukuda Shinden at the behest of the Okayama Domain.
In 1890, Buzaemon’s grandson Bukichiro was elected to the House of Peers, and the family became known as one of Kurashiki’s leading families.
About the Nozaki Family Salt Industry Museum
“Nozaki family salt” remains widely known today. A variety of products made using salt continue to be produced, including not only table salt but also chemical products (industrial products made by applying chemical reactions in chemical plants).
The salt made by the Nozaki family is produced by Naikai Salt Industries Co., Ltd.
Since its founding in 1829, the company has continuously produced salt on the Kojima Peninsula, facing the Seto Inland Sea.
Naikai Salt Industries, which has continued salt production in the same location, is the oldest salt company still in existence.
“Nozaki's Historical Residence,” where a large mansion and storehouses still stand near the Kojima Civic Exchange Center, is a museum that became the first museum in Okayama Prefecture to be certified as a public interest incorporated foundation in 2011.
In addition to preserving and displaying many valuable items in its collection, the museum also presents and explains the history of the salt industry, the Nozaki family’s business, using actual artifacts.
About the Former Nozakihama Lighthouse
The Former Nozakihama Lighthouse is a wooden lighthouse in Ajino, Kojima.
It is believed to have been built in 1863, more than 160 years ago. Nozaki Buzaemon, who built Nozaki's Historical Residence, erected it primarily to serve as a sacred light for Shiogama Shrine, north of the lighthouse.
A lighthouse that illuminated not only the gods but also the people
The Former Nozakihama Lighthouse was built at the southern edge of the Nozaki family’s salt fields, when the salt industry was thriving.
Since the area was also used as a landing for loading salt onto ships, the lighthouse also served as a beacon for vessels entering and leaving the shore and those sailing nearby. It was valued as a “light for both gods and people.”
In 1898, it underwent partial dismantling and renovation, including replacement of the main-tile roof, and took on almost its present appearance.
It was designated a Kurashiki City Important Cultural Property in October 1974, and preservation and repair work was carried out in August 1975. It continues to illuminate Kojima’s port to this day.
A rare surviving example of a Japanese-style lighthouse structure
One reason the Former Nozakihama Lighthouse was designated a Kurashiki City Important Cultural Property is its unusual architecture.
First, although it stands right by the sea, it is a wooden kotoro (tall lantern tower).
It is 9.69 meters tall.
Lighthouses are often imagined as white, cylindrical Western-style structures made of stone. However, before Western culture came to Japan, wooden lighthouse lantern towers were the norm during the Edo period.
Few wooden lighthouse lantern towers survive nationwide. Valuable examples include the tall lantern tower at Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka, which also serves as a votive lantern, and the tall lantern tower in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture.
Another distinctive feature is its roof of traditional Japanese tiles.
The carefully laid tiles, one by one, create an even greater sense of solidity.
Beneath the roof is a room-like space, and as a lighthouse, it is lit after dark. Having a room specifically for the light is another distinctive feature of this Japanese-style lighthouse structure.
The inside of the door is not normally open to visitors.
For this article, it was specially unlocked for us so we could take photographs.
Even today, the Former Nozakihama Lighthouse gently illuminates Kojima Sightseeing Port after dark.
We spoke with Tsuji Noriyuki, a curator at Nozaki's Historical Residence, about the historic Former Nozakihama Lighthouse.
Former Nozakihama Lighthouse Information
| Name | Former Nozakihama Lighthouse |
|---|---|
| Address | 4048 Ajino, Kojima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-472-2001 |
| Website | Nozaki's Historical Residence |
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