| Cape Ashizuri (足摺岬, Ashizuri-misaki) is a headland at the southernmost tip[1] of the Japanese island of Shikoku, in the city of Tosashimizu, Kōchi Prefecture.[1] The promontory extends into the Pacific Ocean[2] and is situated within Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park.[1] Above the cape is Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse [ja], which started operating in 1914,[3] and two observatories,[2] while a short distance inland stand Kongōfuku-ji, the thirty-eighth temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage,[4] and a bronze statue of Nakahama Manjirō, who was born nearby.[5] Due to coastal erosion, there are a number of caves around the cape, including Hakusan Cave [ja], said to be the largest granite cave in the country and a Prefectural Natural Monument.[6][7] |
![Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse [ja] above the cape](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Cape_Ashizuri_-_%E8%B6%B3%E6%91%BA%E5%B2%AC_-_panoramio_%2811%29.jpg/250px-Cape_Ashizuri_-_%E8%B6%B3%E6%91%BA%E5%B2%AC_-_panoramio_%2811%29.jpg)