Japanese Maps : Kyō Ezu

Japanese Maps

<p style='text-align: justify;'> Map of Kyoto, in Japanese. The title is reported in a mounted cover label, with the subtitle ‘Kaisei’ (Revised). The colophon reports Kyō (Kyoto) as place of publication (see notes section on the different names for Kyoto) and Maruya Zenbē as publisher, but lacks a date. Maruya Zenbē was active in the first half of the 19th century, and, also in light of how it is composed, the map was probably published around that time. According to Kornicki (1993), Kyōtozu sōmokuroku (General Catalogue of Kyoto Maps, 1981) dates it to the Tenpō era (1830-1844). The map covers all of Kyoto (the area known as Rakuchū), as well as some of its surrounding hills (the area known as Rakugai), with relief shown pictorially, in a fashion that became typical for Kyoto maps in the second half of the 17th century, as the city and its outskirts, with their temples and shrines, historical sites, and other famous places, became popular travel destinations. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> The map is oriented with north to the top. It is a wood block print, black and white, a single sheet folded into original titled covers. Cover description: pale yellow burnished paper and flexible cover board; in the front, mounted cover title in Japanese, text black on white labels (one with Library's call no.: Japanese 44); in the back, mounted bookplate of Biblioteca Lindesiana (at the base of the bookplate in pencil is the notation: "15/F"). </p>