ICHIKAWA, Tokei.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Kokugun zenzu ("Complete Map of the Provinces of Japan"). Second edition, following the generally unprocurable first of 1828, of the first atlas of early modern Japan organized by province. It was based on the survey work of Ino Tadataka and Nagakubo Sekisui, the fathers of Japanese geography. It is richly illustrated with double-page colour woodcut maps showing all major settlements, transport routes, and natural features.This present work was published in the wake of the first modern scientific survey of Japan, undertaken by Ino Tadataka (1745-1818) from 1801 to 1818. Ino walked the length of Japan's coastline, accurately measuring distances and co-ordinates and producing a meticulous set of maps of Japan's four main islands in 1821. Cartography experienced a boom in the following decades, with maps and atlases published in ever greater numbers.While Ino's maps only charted the coastline, this atlas focuses on the interior, borrowing the shapes of each province from the pioneering work of Nagakubo Sekisui (1717-1801). The first map depicts Japan, then each province is charted on its own double-page spread. Major towns are marked in yellow, rivers in blue, natural formations in green, and roads in orange. Overall, while "it is not clear what criteria were employed to decide which shrines and villages appear on the maps, there is nonetheless a wealth of information on castle towns, military encampments, toll stations, and other important parts of Japan's early modern politica

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