Sakishima Beacons

The Sakishima Beacons (先島諸島火番盛, Yaeyama:Piːbammurï, Japanese:Sakishima-shotō hibanmui) are a network of eighteen observation platforms and beacons on thirteen islands dating to the early Edo period and located in the Sakishima Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Erected in 1644 by the Ryūkyū Kingdom at the instigation of their Satsuma overlords, at a time of international tension during the transition between the Ming and the Qing Dynasties of China, the beacons were responsible for monitoring and reporting on maritime traffic. After an initial survey by the Council for the Protection of Cultural Properties in 1993, due to uncertainties over land rights and difficulties of coordination between the involved municipalities, it was not until 2007 that they were jointly designated an National Historic Site.