Antique map of Tokyo (Edo) by Yorozuya Shōsuke - 1862

This period color woodblock print (hanga) was originally conceived during the Kaei era (1849) and then updated and reissued in the spring of the 2nd year of the Bunkyū era (1862), as attested by the editorial cartouche. It bears the mark of famous Edo publishers and booksellers: Yamashiroya Masakichi (山城屋政吉), Fujiya Kichizō (藤屋吉蔵), and Yorozuya Shōsuke (萬屋庄助).

True to the traditional codes of Edo-period Japanese cartography, the map does not adopt a single north-oriented cardinal orientation: toponymic references and depictions are organized in a circular and radiating manner around the nerve center of power: the Shogunal Castle of Edo (Chiyoda), depicted here by its enclosure and its imposing central red disk.

All around, the meticulous topography of the city unfolds with an exceptional level of detail :

• The seigneurial residences and estates of the daimyos and samurai, identifiable by their family names and coats of arms (kamon).

• The commercial and popular districts bordered by a dense network of canals, rivers, and bridges.

• The great Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines, meticulously drawn in bird's-eye perspective (notably Kan'ei-ji Temple and the Shinobazu Pond in Ueno).

• Edo Bay with its traditional ships sailing on stylized waves.

• At the bottom left, a table of routes and distances calculated from Nihonbashi Bridge (the zero point of Japan's roads)

This map is presented in the form of a pocket-sized, accordion-folded booklet (orihon) and its total dimensions are 88.5×70cm, supplemented in the lower section by an addendum of 34.5×15cm.

Condition:

Very good overall condition. Map preserved with its original folds for booklet folding. Period folds with minute signs of wear at the intersections. Margins well preserved.