Nagakubo Sekisui Map of Japan 1779 — Framed Vintage Japanese Map Print

The story of this map

Nagakubo Sekisui was a Confucian scholar in the Mito domain who, in 1779, published the first map of Japan to carry lines of latitude and longitude — a small revolution for a country whose printed maps had until then been pictorial. His Kaisei Nihon yochi rotei zenzu, the Revised Route Map of Japan, was cut in woodblock, printed at Osaka and hand-coloured province by province, and it was reprinted for the next eighty years. The Library of Congress copy is the 1779 edition, annotated in ink by an early owner.

The map runs from the roughly drawn coast of Ezo in the north-east to Kyushu and the Ryukyus, oriented with north toward the upper right as Japanese maps of the period often were. Each of the sixty-odd provinces is a block of colour; the highways — the Tokaido along the coast, the Nakasendo through the mountains — are drawn with their post stations and distances, and the sea lanes to the islands are ruled across the water. Sekisui’s grid of latitude lines is faint but there, and Edo, Kyoto and Osaka are picked out.

For a Western wall the map is pure pattern: a coloured archipelago on cream paper, dense with characters, in the wood-block line that no copperplate ever produced. The 16,000-pixel scan holds the grain of the impression; the paper tone and the owner’s annotations are kept.

Printed to order on archival matte paper, framed in the country of delivery. The sheet floats on an aged-paper margin at the standard sizes.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Sekisui Woodblock Map of Japan, 1779: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration: cropped the scanner bed and mount margins, corrected levels and colour cast while keeping the paper tone, removed dust and specks, applied gentle sharpening. Fold lines, stains and period annotations are kept where they belong to the object; nothing is redrawn.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

What does the map show?

The main islands of Japan from Ezo (Hokkaido) to Kyushu, oriented with north to the upper right, every province hand-coloured and named, the highways and sea routes marked with distances, and a grid of latitude lines — the first on any Japanese-published map of the country.

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print made from a restored high-resolution scan of the original held by the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. We never sell originals; the archive record and its rights statement are on this page.

Is the map accurate?

For 1779, remarkably: Sekisui, a Confucian scholar from Mito, based it on the earlier surveys and his own reading of Western geography, and it stayed the standard printed map of Japan until Ino Tadataka's surveys in the early nineteenth century. The coastline of Hokkaido is still schematic; the rest is recognisable at a glance.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option: a black, white or natural oak wood frame, ready to hang, made in the country of delivery. Unframed archival paper and stretched canvas are also available at the larger sizes.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Murillo Velarde Map of the Philippines, 1734

Pedro Murillo Velarde / Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

De Wit Map of Tartary, China & Japan, 1680

Frederick de Wit · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
40×30 in	102×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
48×32 in	122×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Sekisui Woodblock Map of Japan, 1779

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print