Japanese Map of the World; Antique Map; Kaei Era; 1853

An archival, museum-grade reproduction of the very interesting 1853 (Kaei 6) Japanese world map by Suido Nakajima. Presented on a cylindrical projection, this map marks a significant advancement in Japanese globular cartography and a far more sophisticated adaptation of western cartographic standards than is evidenced in most earlier Japanese world maps. Japanese cartographers may have been motivated to update their traditional worldview in the light of the explosion of cartographic ideas associated with the arrival in Edo Harbor of the American Commodore Matthew Perry in the same year this map was published. As a whole, this map offers a sophisticated cartographic presentation of the world embracing the most up to date cartographic knowledge available in the mid-19th century. Though adapted to the Japanese printing style, this map presents a generally accurate worldview. British Claims to Washington and British Columbia are noted. North America, Australia, and the Pacific are accurately rendered, as are the discoveries of Vitus Bering and James Cook in the Arctic, and Africa is clearly pre-Speke. The disputed East Sea / Sea of Japan / Sea of Korea is here labeled as the Sea of Joseon (Korea), which some scholars suggest indicates Japanese acceptance of the "Sea of Korea" convention. Four hemispheres appear in the lower left quadrant, from left, the southern, northern, eastern, and western. All are on a stereographic projection. The map is hand colored in vivid, blues, greens, oranges, and yellows. A fine example of the redefined Japanese cartography style of the later Tokugawa period.