Japanese Maps : Rotei benran

Nagayama, Choen, active 1849-1864 長山, 樗園

Japanese Maps

<p style='text-align: justify;'> Map of the nineteen provinces of the Kantō region, in Japanese, by Nagayama Choen. Wood-block printed, commercial map, intended as a traveller's guide to the area. The map is oriented with north to the top (if the legend is used for orientation). It reports distances on major routes and marks provincial boundaries, roads, districts, cities and villages, newly developed rice fields, and attractions such as temples, shrines and old castle sites. A legend in the lower central section illustrates the map's use of icons. The map is in colour, with relief shown pictorially. It includes a pictorial representation of Mount Fuji in its most common iconography: shown laterally, with three summits. A preface signed by the author, in the lower left section, reports the date Kaei 1 (1848). This is when the map was first published, but this copy is a later reprint. The map is in one sheet, folded, and the title "Rotei Benran" is reported on an external cover label, with the subtitle "Kantō jūkyūshū" (関東十九州 The nineteen provinces of Kantō). The place of publication and names of the publishers are reported in a colophon near the legend, with no date. The name of the engraver is reported in the upper right corner. This is nearly identical to Japanese 101, and it is probably an earlier impression from a same woodblock (re-used with minimal alterations). </p>