Title

eng Illustrated Complete Survey of the Three Countries

Alternative Title

jpn 三国通覧輿地路程全圖 (Sangoku tsūran yochi rotei zenzu)

Description

eng This watercolor map drafted by cartographer Hayashi Shihei in 1785 was the first Japanese attempt to define the boundaries of Japan as a nation. Shihei used color coding to identify geographic borders; he depicted Japanese territory in green, Ezo in light red, Korea in yellow, and the Ryukyu islands in a darker shade of red. Notably, Shihei makes important political distinctions about where Japan ends and other nations begin. He identifies the Japan Ezo border to be at the southern tip of the island past the Japanese daimyo Matsumae’s land, he also notes that the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands are Korean territory. (which is contrary to Japan’s modern day claim to the island).
The map contains a number of geographic inaccuracies; for example, Shihei painted a peninsula named “Karafuto” right next to an island called “Sakhalin,” failing to realize that they are actually the same name for the island north of Hokkaido. Longitude and latitude are also marked; however the latitudes are not fully filled out. Strangely, the marking of the Tropic of Cancer is quite accurate.
Focus on political boundaries rather than geographical accuracy – landmasses are misshapen and not at all to scale. Another detail that suggests a focus on political boundaries is the inclusion of the Great Wall of China, which is an ancient physical enforcement of political boundaries. Within these boundaries, Japan, Ezo, the Ryukyus, and Korea are all presented as unified, with emphasis placed on this idea by a solid color filling in borders.
Overall, Shihei’s map is a revolutionary contextualization of Japan’s place in Northeast Asia. Perhaps it was too revolutionary though, as the map was banned in 1792 for displaying “strange and unorthodox opinions” by the Tokugawa government.

Creator/agency who created the original map

eng Hayashi, Shihei

Date

1785

1786

Genre

eng Premodern Maps

Places shown in the map

eng Japan

eng China

eng Korea

eng Ryukyu Islands

eng Hokkaido

eng Sakhalin

eng Kuril Islands

eng Takeshima

eng Kamchatka

eng Ogasawara Islands

Language

eng Japanese

Call number, Catalyst link, or other identifier

eng https://bridge.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01BRC_INST/1tn7c8c/alma991018329096202971

Rights

eng NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT

Contributor

eng Zijun Peng
Finley Sebert
Andra Brown
Benjamin Garcia
Isaiah Irwin