|P£F. T the LIBRARY Illllm^Ill 099 the UNIVERSITY of BRITISH COLUMBIA
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If pr |fe 7950 IBS |p£F. t THE LIBRARY IllllM^ill 099 THE UNIVERSITY Of BRITISH COLUMBIA A List of JAPANESE MAPS of the Tokugawa Era A List of JAPANESE MAPS OF THE TOKUGAWA ERA By GEORGE H. BEANS TALL TREE LIBRARY Jenkintoum 1951 LIBRARY PUBLICATION NO. 23 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 LIST OF MAPS 7 REFERENCES and INDEX 45 LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS WORLD MAP OF THE SHOHO PERIOD, 1645.2 Frontisp iece PLAN OF EDO, 1664.2 facing page 13 THE TOKAIDO HIGHWAY, [1672.3] 14 PLAN OF KYOTO, 1691.1 16 JAPAN BY RYUSEN, 1697.1 17 SURUGA PROVINCE, 1701.12 18 POLAR HEMISPHERES, 1708.5 20 WORLD MAP BASED ON CHINESE SOURCES, 1710.1 21 HARIMA PROVINCE, I 749.1 22 NAGASAKI, 1764.1 23 JAPAN BY SEKISUI, I 779.1 24 ICELAND AND GREENLAND, 1789.24 27 WORLD MAP FROM DUTCH SOURCES, I 796.1 29 KAMAKURA; ITS SHRINES AND TEMPLES, 1798. I 30 INDIA, 1828.1 34 SURUGA PROVINCE, 1837.13 37 CHINA BY HOKUSAI, 1840. I 38 YOKOHAMA, 1859.1 42 HOKKAIDO, 1859.2 43 A List of JAPANESE MAPS of the Tokugawa Era ABBREVIATIONS p page. We have sometimes used this term to denote one side of a folded sheet but page numbers are used only in connection with books bound in western style. s sheet or sheets. Here used to denote a sheet bound in a book with printing on one side only but folded once and the "free" edges held in a binding. The numbers (not always present) should be sought at the fold where the thumb normally holds the open book. All meas urements are in inches. They are approximate; old Japanese paper is often very elastic and close measurements are meaningless. * this symbol signifies the map is represented in the Tall Tree Library. INTRODUCTION ARLY Japanese cartography offers a certain appeal to the map collector who seeks a E field more or less remote from the standards that govern the collecting of occidental maps. At least, that was our excuse for embarking on an adventure utterly strange to us. We wanted to try something different. There were good reasons for confining the collection to the To\ugawa Era, which became established in 1615 and ended in i86j. Japanese maps of the sixteenth century or earlier are too rare; after 1867 they became too plentiful. Also, it is pleasant to contemplate that our maps are of an era of feudalism, beginning with a self-imposed isolation, and ending before a single mile of railroad had been constructed within the confines of Japan: The present compilation will, it is hoped, be helpful to others who may care to study old Japanese maps. It had its inception in an attempt to bring some order out of the confusion that confronts the novice in things Japanese. The foundation of our compilation has been the list ing of important periods of Japanese history from the standpoint of the cartography of that country. The next step has been to enter in the proper place a short description of maps men tioned in various wor\s of reference. The final step has been to obtain those maps, whenever possible, and where successful in this respect, to describe the entries more fully. Occasional ly we have succeeded in acquiring maps not encountered in earlier lists. Throughout the period of our maps Japan, for governing purposes, was made up of three major divisions. These in turn consisted of provinces. The accompanying diagram will clari fy the numerous references to groups of provinces encountered in our list. In the absence of any universally recognized standard, we have tried to let common sense govern our description of our maps and the tomes in which we have found them. We shall let the collector discover for himself some of the surprises in store for the reader who, for the first time, opens an old accordian-folded Japanese boo\, whether it be bound or within loose boards. In our bibliography attention is called to helpful studies of some of the problems which we here can merely mention casually. Unless described either as Ms., painting or copper-engraving, our map entries are to be understood as being printed from wood blocks. In 1792 we encounter our earliest metal- engraved map, but long after that date the earlier method of printing continued to compete, and woodcut maps were made right up to the end of the To\ugawa Era, and even later. Many of the earlier wood blocks had a long life and were sometimes put to press in after years. This raises the \notty problem of reprints. We are not too sure even the experts will always agree on the age of certain prints. However, the moderate cost of most Japanese prints will usually serve to temper what otherwise could be a serious problem. Personally we are 4 INTRODUCTION more distrustful of undated maps. Their ancient aspect can be very deceptive and it seems best to describe them as being of a certain type rather than of a certain period, unless some independent evidence serves to place them, chronologically. In numbering the maps in our list the date is enclosed in brackets [ ] where the item bears no date but is believed to be of the period under which it is listed. Maps of which we have no clue at all, as to approximate age, are omitted entirely from consideration. Japanese maps present certain problems to the occidental collector because our ways of making and preserving maps are different. Many of them are very large. However, being printed on exceedingly thin paper, they conveniently fold into a surprisingly small space. The collector will quickly discover that, if he folds these maps as the Japanese do—accordion fashion—the folding is easy; if he seeks to improve on their method, he is headed for trouble. Slip cases are indispensable. There is no other way that Japanese maps can conveniently be labeled and filed. Even Japanese books should be housed in slip cases because their natural format provides no spine for labeling or numbering convenient for our bookshelves. Aside from providing slip cases, we have preferred to tamper as little as possible with the separate maps. At times the ravages of silver fish make it necessary to mount a map but as a rule they are best left as we find them. The old Japanese paper is tougher than it looks, and it has sur vived astonishingly well. The ideal way to convey the description of each map in our list would be to reproduce it, along with a translation of salient inscriptions. Since that is not practicable in a limited work of this character, we have had to content ourselves by reproducing a few that are typical. Those Japanese maps that derive from European sources are, of course, important in show ing the impact of western map-making on the art in Japan. However, the collector who is already familiar with western cartography will find greater novelty in the truly native Japa nese maps. In mapping their own islands, provinces and cities the Japanese were unham pered by European tradition, and it is in these native maps that we shall find a novelty not to be expected in designs copied from western sources. In depicting mountains, for instance, the symbols had long been standardized in the West, where we find them shaded on their southeastern slopes. In the Orient the artist was bound by no such convention. Here we find mountains depicted in all their glory and with an abandon that does not hesitate to place the observer in several places at one time. Neither does it matter if a mountain is drawn in perspective on a scale so exaggerated as to hide half a prov ince lying in its shadow. A number of our illustrations, we must confess, have been selected with special regard to their gorgeous mountain scenery. The collector who cannot read Japanese—the present writer is in that category—should cultivate the assistance of a competent seller of Japanese books and prints. Such a dealer can INTRODUCTION 5 furnish sufficient information as regards title, author and date to enable the collector to in telligently classify his acquisitions. With this indispensable assistance and with a few stand ard reference books at hand, a difficult subject can be brought within the sphere of the ama teur. Our indebtedness to a number of writers will repeatedly be made apparent in the pages that follow. Particularly, we acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr. Glen Dawson of Los Angeles. Without the benefit of his encouragement we should never have had the courage to even start a collection of this kind, and we owe nearly all of our collection to his constant in terest. Also, we wish to thank Mr. Takashi Katsuki who has kindly checked our findings and who has been of great assistance in establishing uniformity in the difficult work of trans literating and translating the Japanese titles. The writer alone should be blamed for any boners that may have crept in, despite all the efforts of our friends to keep us straight. GEORGE H. BEANS LIST OF MAPS 645 The first mention of geographical maps in the history of Japan occurs in con nection with land reforms. The tendency for vested interests to constantly acquire land at the expense of the crown and the peasants is a reoccurring one in the early history of the country and it is no coincidence that we hear of maps at those periods when serious efforts are made to correct the evil.