Category Archives: Bankoku sōzu

There are several interesting codes in the Bankoku sōzu (1600), such as
iconic and presentational codes. Firstly, the map uses irregularly shaped icons to establish
boundaries between areas. Wrapping the whole map with oval lines and using a black and white
line separates the map in the middle, dividing the map into four parts according to the East,
West, North, and South. Moreover, there are some presentational codes in the map; for example,
the map uses different colors to label regions and nations, especially, the map uses dark blue to
paint Japan’s area. The association of the color might because of Japan is an island country and
surrounded by the ocean; therefore, the map uses dark blue to represent Japan. Also, the scripts
on the map are fascinating, such as marks the cities of China, particularly, it indicates the Ming
Dynasty that China was going through at the time of 1600s, and marks with two Chinese
characters in the area of the capital city Nanking. It is worth mentioning that China is the only
country that tags different cities on the whole map. In this way, all these codes bring many
associations of the implication relationship between China and Japan, such as the two countries
are close to business trade and cultural exchange, so Japanese are familiar with China’s
geography, and they can draw the map of China. Besides, there is a fascinating script write on
the part of the South area, ” 自是南方地人到者少故未審其人物如何.” The English translation
is that few people come to the South, so they cannot depict the picture. Therefore, the code
defines the South area as a mysterious region on the map, encouraging people to take adventure
attitudes toward this space.
Furthermore, the map of Bankoku sōzu (1600) has “fantastic cultural” world-building.
The title of the map was written by the Chinese character “萬國縂圖, ” the translation is a
general map of ten thousand nations, which is the embryonic form of the World Map, and it
shows that people begin to realize the importance of cultural interaction with the whole world.
The map has drawn forty boxes of people from various places with different races and
appearances. Some of these people are based on reality to depict, such as China and some
Western countries. It gives the details of the clothing, tools, and physical features, proving some
particular cultural exchanges and interactions between these countries and Japan.
On the other hand, some people on the map are more likely based on ancient
mythology development. For example, dwarfs and cannibals, specifically, the Chinese tag,
mentions that the cannibal only eats men but not women, which curious where these legends
come from or might that back to the ancient time there are ethnic groups that actually
cannibalism. The genetic problems could also cause dwarfs and giants, especially the giant
kingdom’s location marked on the map as “長人.”
In conclusion, whether these fabulous legends are true or not, this map represents
the most advanced world cultural interaction at that time. It delivered the message that Japan’s
awareness of world civilization and expresses curiosity of unknown space of the world and the
desire to explore more areas.

To think about the “Bankoku sozu” map, I felt that the quote by David Turnbull was interesting. He said, “Maps are theories, and they are socially and culturally constructed.” The map provided is an idea of what the world looked like, some rough borders, centered with Japan and on the back is some depictions of people. There are the traditional clothes of certain countries and some more fantastical elements, like the ogres and small people. With the time period, Shinto gods and spirits were not a thing of myth but reality. I can understand their need to put the ogres and small peoples on the map of the world. Tokugawa Japan was described and self-labeled as a “closed” country through sakoku “鎖国” laws. However, Japan was still very much exposed to the outside world and I believe this map is definite proof of this. At the time trade was restricted to one port in Nagasaki, and additionally restricted to China, Korea, and the Netherlands however, word travels far, and information is not as easily restricted like the trade of goods. This map shows how an educated Japanese person perhaps saw the world. The closer countries more clearly defined, the rest as maybe elements of the world. Interestingly, Australia is not on the map, just parts of Oceania. There is no legend provided. I can only assume what the colours on the maps mean, but I can only guess that they’re used to differentiate one country from the next aside from the labels that are in either hiragana, kanji, or katakana. The script is a bit difficult to read but I was able to read Saylac “zeira ゼイラ”for the port city in the horn of Africa. The depiction of Somaliland was surprising to me as a Somali-Canadian. It led me to think of this map as one showing important ports. This would explain the big boats in each of the four corners. The riverways are also well defined and for the most part greatly exaggerated. I am really curious about the black and brown dots in the middle of the map saying Ginshima “銀嶋”and Kinshima “金嶋”. I couldn’t find anything online that alluded to their meaning on this map. Linking back to Turnbull’s definition mentions that maps are socially and culturally constructed. Perhaps because I do not share the same culture or societal view as a sailor or a merchant, that this map is lost on me. There are some rules or concepts in the map that are foreign to me aside from the obvious language and script differences from this and modern-day Japanese. I think the need to show images of peoples of the world is also a part of the social structure being presented. Japan and its periphery are shown at the top with a samurai and a beautiful woman by his side. Some pictures show a similar dynamic and others are both men or even cannibals on bottom, roasting legs and arms. Some have shoes, some do not. I wonder how much of these depictions are accurate and how much is imposed on these cultures in a way to make Japanese people better than others. The illustrations are very beautiful and well-drawn, but I do wish I knew a bit more about the cultural significance of the images.

Sahra Nur