Japanese Historical Maps Collection

The Japanese Historical Maps Collection contains roughly 2,300 manuscript, woodblock, and copperplate maps of Japan and the world, ranging in date from the seventeenth century into the modern era, with the majority predating 1890. The collection originally bore the name of Mitsui Takakata (Sōken), ninth head of the Shinmachi branch of the influential Mitsui clan. The East Asian Library acquired the collection as part of a larger acquisition from the clan in 1950. The collection is noted for its large number of maps of Edo, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. David Rumsey and Cartography Associates have digitized the greater part of the collection and made them available online. Individual maps can also be located through OskiCat.