Title

jpn スンバ島兵要地誌圖 （第十四號）

Alternative Title

Strategic Map of Sumba Island 14/14

Description

eng Strategic Map of Sumba Island 14/14 is a gaihōzu (Japanese intelligence) map. The map has color, is 0.6m x 0.6m square, and covers the Southeastern most corner of Sumba Island.
Strategic Map of Sumba Island 14/14 is a three-timing map. The Dutch printed the underlying layer in 1930. The Japanese captured the map in 1942 when Japan colonized the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese General Staff Office; Land Measurement Department originally classified this map as “secret” (秘) when it was published in 1942, but the blue annotation in the right margin upgraded its status to “top secret” (極秘) in 1944. This may reflect Japan’s increasingly tenuous position as the Allied powers began to pressure its Pacific colonies later in WWII.
The map features many markings in red and blue ink, which signify information pertaining to potential enemy invasion and Japanese defense respectively, which were added in 1944. The blue is information for and about the Japanese military (e.g. roads, mater supplies, camping capacity) and the red refers to potential enemy attack positions (ex. “Landing possible at low tide”). The map communicates basic geographic information through contour, topographical lines, and symbols to denote coastlines, elevation, and terrain features. Furthermore, roads, settlements, and landmarks are presented across all of the layers, listing them in a combination of Dutch and Japanese names. The key at the bottom explains symbolic representations of natural resources, infrastructure, and people.
The map is in Dutch, but the Japanese notes refers to locations in Katakana, making it hard to find the exact location they are referring to (e.g. “メロロ” is mentioned multiple times, but we are not sure where it is on the map).

Creator/agency who created the original map

eng Japanese General Staff Office; Land Measurement Department

Date

1944

Genre

eng Japanese Intelligence Map

Places shown in the map

eng Southeastern most corner of Sumba Island.

Language

eng Dutch | Flemish

eng Japanese

Rights

eng NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT

Contributor

eng Alek Pochan
Lucas Schattenmann
Maddy Sriver
Benjamin Garcia
Sara Typrin
Per Johnson　
Alejo Enriquez-Lynd
Andra Brown
Yanmiao Wang