The document is a street map that shows Nagasaki, nearby topological features, and foreign ships in the harbor. Also shown is Deshima and the Chinese settlement. The map is oriented to the northwest. Included is a table that shows distances by land and sea to various places in Japan from Nagasaki.
Biographical / Historical:
The print is signed Onata Bunjiyemon, whose trade name was Toshimaya (also known as Bunkindō). He was a well known publisher for Nagasaki prints ca. 1770s-1790s. C. R. Boxer, in Jan Compagnie in Japan, The Hague, 1936, states that "the next oldest Toshimaya print which can be dated with certainty is a map of Nagasaki published in Annei 7 or 1778. The colors which predominate are yellow, greyish blue and black. The inscription on the left hand bottom corner includes a table of distances in ʹriʹ by land and sea to various places in Japan." He goes on to describe the map of which NAA manuscript 7157 is a print.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7157
NAA INV 10000013
Local Note:
Data and translations furnished by Chang-su Houchins, of the Department of Anthropology, NMNH.
