• Title : Isles of Gold - Antique Maps of Japan
• Date : 1992
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  Hugh1
• Size: Folio

Description: 
Isles of Gold - Antique Maps of Japan is a selection of over 90 of the most attractive, remarkable, and historically significant of these European and Japanese maps of Japan. The text by Hugh Cortazzi tells the fascinating story of the encounter between the west and Japan through the gradual process of mapping the island empire. Far-ranging Portuguese explorers, Jesuit Fathers, Dutch merchants and English sea-captains, samurai and shoguns populate this account, which is surprisingly rich in drama. Especially enlightening is the authors emphasis on mutual influences, borrowings and eventual co-operation between European and Japanese map-makers, often in opposition to the Japanese authorities, who were set on sealing off their land from the prying eyes of outsiders.

Weatherhill, New York and Tokyo 1992