Edo

A beautiful woodblock map of Tokyo from the golden age of Japanese woodblock map printing. Combining the elements of traditional Japanese map-making: rice paper, woodblock printing, delicate application of colour, the inclusion of topographical views into the map proper, and all text seems to radiate from the centre of the map; with a more modern western-influenced directional orientation with north to the right of the image.  

This exquisite map dates from the feudal Shogun period of Tokugawa which ruled from 1603 until 1868, and shows in particular the domains of several daimyo (feudal lords) and hatamoto (second only to the Shogun) sumurai, with their crests. The map is decorated with fine images of single-sailed boats, temples and shrines. The legend in the left-hand corner describes distances and produce available in Edo/Tokyo.