Nagakubo’s map, the chikyu bankoku sankai yochi zenzusetsu, is a world map from 1790 based off Matteo Ricci’s world map. While Nagakubo’s map looks very different from today’s modern world maps, the continents and regions are still very identifiable in terms of general shape and location. The map utilizes various coding, such as colour, lines, writing, and images, to identify major landscapes and borders. The continents are separated using colour and major mountain ranges are depicted through out the map, as well as bodies of water such as rivers and seas, which are also labeled in some cases with writing. However, visual labels are only reserved for land masses and there is a lack of visual coding for major cities and countries (excluding the use of writing). The map also utilizes longitude and latitude lines that are superimposed subtly onto the map.
In comparison to the world maps that exist today, the continent sizes of Nagakubo’s map differ to large degree. North and South America are treated with equal sizing to Asia and contribute for almost the same amount of visual space within the map. Europe is also portrayed to be of almost equal size to Asia, while Asia appears smaller than its real size due to the enlarging of the other continents. The reason of the continent sizing is most likely due to Matteo Ricci’s map that was used in reference, which also portrayed North American and Europe larger than they really are in relation to the other continents. This distorting of continent sizes may be correlated to eurocentrism of the time, thus imposing a larger and more “important” Europe into a world context. It is interesting that Antarctica is given a “larger than life” visual representation on Nagakubo’s map, imposing about a quarter of space of the entire map. Regarding why Antarctica is treated as such as a large landscape, it may be due to an “unknown” factor, as Antarctica had not yet been explored at the time of this map’s creation.
Nagakubo’s map seems to be missing various elements to it, such as Australia. It is interesting that, if Australia were to be added, the entire map would require shifting in order to accommodate for it. The map seems to be shrunk near the north and south poles, where Africa and South America directly beside Antarctica’s border. The sizing of the continents seems to fit perfectly within the frame they were placed in, providing a “whole” or “complete” feeling, where no one part of the map holds a more significant amount of space than the other (except for Antarctica). Perhaps the continents were resized simply so they could fit equally within the map with equal treatment and visual importance. While the map is not very effective in displaying proper size relevance, it does portray all (most) of the continents in an environment that allows for visual understanding of the different regions and their locations around the world and providing a sense of placement within the world for the people who viewed it.