Japanese Maps : Nikkō oyama no ezu

Japanese Maps

<p style='text-align: justify;'> Wood-block printed, commercial map of Nikkō mountain area and pilgrimage site, in Japanese, one sheet, folded, oriented with north to the top. The title is reported in the upper right section of the map. A colophon in the lower left section of the map reports Ueyama Yahei, the publisher, as place of publication ("oezudokoro Ueyama Yahei" 御繪圖所植山彌平) without specifying where his business was located, and with no date. Kornicki (1993) dates the map to 1850, using Beans (1951, 26) as reference.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The map is in colour and shows relief pictorially, with emphasis put on natural elements of the landscape, such as mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and forests, and on temples and shrines. These were the main attractions of Nikkō, a popular sacred area and pilgrimage site associated both with Shintō (and mountain reverence) and Buddhism, particularly in the syncretic form known as Shugendō. Nikkō was also the site where the patriarch of the Tokugawa family, which ruled Edo or Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868), was buried, in 1616. As such, it was the site of officially sanctioned pilgrimages, directed to his grave. The shrine associated with his burial site, Toshogu, is given a central position in the upper section of the map. </p>