/ [Complete Detailed Survey Map of Tokyo Municipality with illustrations of government offices and famous places, and course of Japanese railways appended].

1895 Shimizu Bunzo Meiji Map of Tokyo, Japan

Date d'édition : 1895

A propos de cet article

Very good. Some wear along the edges. Original fold lines visible. In original binder. Size 20.75 x 28.75 Inches. This is a striking and rare 1895 Shimizu Bunz? map of Tokyo, Japan, along with insets of Yokohama and the Japanese rail network. It was meant to highlight recent administrative changes, but it also shows the combination of Japanese culture and outside influences that had come to characterize Tokyo by the mid to late Meiji. A Closer Look The map is oriented towards the northwest with the Imperial Palace at center. A compass towards bottom-left uses both cardinal directions and the traditional East Asian system, composed of the twelve Earthly Branches derived from ancient Chinese astrology. Each ward (?) of the city is shaded a different color, while land belonging to the imperial household or the military is shaded solid red. The chart at bottom-left lists various neighborhoods within each ward and the villages within each county (?) outside the municipality. Surrounding the map are idiosyncratically placed vignette illustrations, an inset map of Yokohama (at top-left), and a diagram of the railway system of Japan (at top-right, with the Kanto region, including Tokyo, at right and the Kansai region, including Kyoto and Osaka, at top). The map itself illustrates railways leading into the city terminating at Shinbashi Station (????????), near bottom-center, and Ueno Station (????????), near right-center (interestingly, this map uses kana to transliterate the English word 'station' rather than the more common kanji ?, pronounced eki ). A legend for the main map, including symbols for geographic features, religious sites, agricultural fields, telegraph offices, rail lines, and more, sits below the railway map. The illustrations surrounding the map are, clockwise from bottom-left: a theater house for 'reformed' kabuki, which was heavily influenced by Western drama; coastal fields of barley; the Z?j?-ji Temple; Shinbahsi Station; the Sengakuji Temple; the Ry?goku Bridge; Nijubashi, a bridge leading into the Imperial Palace; the Yasukuni Shrine, in recent years famous as a flashpoint for Japanese nationalism and troubled relations with its neighboring countries; the Mukojima neighborhood covered in snow; Matsuchiyama Shoden, a Buddhist temple; the Asukayama Paper Mill, the first Western-style paper manufacturer (a Paper Museum is now located nearby in Asukayama Park); the Ueno Park Exhibition space, used for various domestic and international exhibitions in the Meiji period; Ueno Station; the Kameido Tenjin Shrine; and the Azuma Bridge. One atypical feature of this map is the inclusion of seven islands (??, ??, and so on) in Tokyo Bay, as well as the larger island of Ishikawajima (???) to the east. These are artificial islands built through land reclamation at the end of the Edo period (Bakumatsu). Following their unpleasant experience with Commodore Perry's 'black ships' in 1853 1854, the Tokugawa Shogunate rapidly tried to adapt to the reality of foreign military threats. The seven islands were meant to house gun batteries, though not all of them were completed, while Ishikawajima became a shipyard. In 1928, the islands were turned into public park land, and in the 1990s were connected to each other with more reclaimed land to form the large island of Odaiba (???). A Bristling Imperial Capital Tokyo and several other Japanese cities went through a dizzying period of administrative reforms during the Meiji era, due to both the pace of their growth as well as changing bureaucratic practices and conceptions of governance. Initially, elements of the Tokugawa system of wards were maintained to appease elites who feared more rapid reforms. Then, in 1871 - 1872, Tokyo Prefecture was expanded and a system of 'large and small wards' (?????) was put into place. Further adjustments were made and a wholesale reorganization launched in 1888 - 1889, where the central government tried to administer Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto more direc.

N° de réf. du vendeur Tokyo-shimizubunzo-1895

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: / [Complete Detailed Survey Map of Tokyo Municipality with illustrations of government offices and famous places, and course of Japanese railways appended].
• Date de parution: 1895
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • ASIAN-CITY-MAPS