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