Symbolic Landmark and Treasure of Hometown

Illuminating the “Look out for fire” sign on Mt. Jo in Gohara Town, Kure City, Hiroshima

Location

Gohara Town, Kure

Kure City is located in southwestern area of Hiroshima Prefecture, and is a port town that flourished as bases for Imperial Japanese Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Gohara Town is in the northeast of Kure City and is about 30-minute drive from the center of the city.

はじめに

Gohara Citizen Center

Manager of Gohara Citizen Center

Mr. Masahiro Mizuguchi

Earth Development Consultant Co., Ltd.

CEO

Mr. Matsuyoshi Iikawa

“Look out for fire” letters on Mt. Jo

We were able to have an interview in Gohara Citizen Center, which is located at the center of the town, with Mr. Mizuguchi, the manager of the Center and Mr. Iikawa, the CEO of Earth Development Consultant.

Thank you for using Stanley’s LED floodlights. What kind of object are you using them for?

Mr. Mizuguchi: We are using them to illuminate the “Look out for fire” letters painted on the rocks near the top of Mt. Iwa (a.k.a. Mt. Jo, 420m above sea level), which is the symbolic landmark of our town.

The letters caught our eyes on the way here, as they stand out even from a distance. Can you tell us about their history?

Mr. Mizuguchi: During the Warring State Period, a castle was built on Mt. Jo – Jo (城) stands for ‘castle’ in Japanese – and there are still some remaining of the castle on top of the mountain. The “Look out for fire” letters were painted in 1939 by the local vigilance committee to raise citizens’ awareness. After that, they were repainted by ‘Committee to Think Gohara Town,’ the local volunteer group. Mt. Jo is visible from anywhere in the town, and it appears in school songs of elementary and middle schools.

Gohara Town brochure; Mt. Jo is shown in 3 dimensions with folding on the page.

Sounds like the locals love the mountain so much!

Mr. Mizuguchi: Please take a look at our town brochure. Mt. Jo is emphasized in the brochure as it is shown in 3 dimensions with folding on the page.

It is so unique and well thought-out. What sort of response to the lighting did you get?

Mr. Mizuguchi: The illuminated symbol of town is making local citizens very proud. As for visitors, they see the lighting as they pass the National Route nearby and are interested and asking about it.

We are happy that we could help.

Background

“Look out for fire” letters on Mt. Jo

How did you come up with the idea of illuminating the letters on Mt. Jo?

Mr. Mizuguchi: Mr. Iikawa knows it very well. He lives in Gohara Town.

Mr. Iikawa: I made that proposition at the ‘Committee to Think Gohara Town.’ It has been my dream for years to illuminate our town’s treasure and the symbolic landmark.

So your dream has finally come true. We heard that the local volunteers including Mr. Iikawa paid for the lighting.

Mr. Iikawa: We considered other kinds of searchlights but the cost was not ideal. And then we came across Stanley’s lightings for Mitsushima Islands in Toba and thought they would be great for Mt. Jo as well. I heard that the new LED lightings at Niagara Falls are also Stanley’s floodlights. I took pictures when I visited (He shows us the pictures).

So that’s how it started. Thank you so much!

Mr. Iikawa: You are manufacturing lights for automobiles, aren’t you?

Yes. Mazda from Hiroshima has been using many of our lights including headlights.

Installation

Stanley’s floodlights on the roof of a kind citizen’s house

Could you tell us about installation and conditions of the LED floodlights?

Mr. Iikawa: The lights are installed on the roof of a house of citizen who is very understanding about our activities. The house is located across from the rocks on Mt. Jo.

Mr. Iikawa: We are using 13 units of LED floodlights with 2.5-degree beam angle and 6,500k color temperature. The rocks are 752m away from the light sources and the angle of elevation is 17 degrees. We held the lighting ceremony in the presence of the mayor of Kure City at the Bon Festival last summer.

The brightly lit ‘Look out for fire’ sign is watching over the town

How big are the ‘Look out for fire’ sign?

Mr. Iikawa: 18m by 5m.

What do you think about the illumination so far?

Mr. Iikawa: The most surprising of all to me was the low electricity bills. We turn them on from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and also during New Years, and the electricity cost is remarkably low for so many luminaires. I am also pleased with the precise aiming despite the long distance thanks to the very narrow beam angle.

Thank you so much. It is great news that we were able to support the town. We hope to continue contributing to the town in future.
Thank you for your time today. It has been a very interesting and valuable interview. We appreciate your lighting the luminaires for us even though it is a weekday.

Mr. Mizuguchi from Citizen Center who loves Gohara Town and Mr. Iikawa who fulfilled his dream provided us with their impressive stories.

Scenery from Mt. Jo