| Notes | - A humoros atlas of the world."
- Most text in both Japanese Kanji and English (with numerous errors).
- "Drawn by Ryōzō Tanaka, printed in chromolithograph by the Shobido Bookshop of Tokyo, September 13, 1914 (Taisho 3), and published three days later."--Geographicus Rare Antique Maps.
- "An exceptional September 13, 1914, Japanese serio-comic map of Asia and Europe at the outbreak of World War I. The masterfully drawn chromolithograph map unabashedly illustrates Japanese aspirations to exploit the war in Europe, with underpinning elements of cultural supremacy, imperial ambitions towards China, concern over but contempt for Russia, and grudging respect towards the United States. To understand Tanaka's symbolism, attention must be focused on the map's three major players: Japan (the samurai), China (the pig), and Russia (the bear). At this time, Japan was beginning to see itself as the natural hegemon of East Asia. Its defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and rapid industrialization intensified preexisting Japanese notions of cultural superiority. Accordingly, Japan is presented as a samurai, notably one of only four human figures on the map and the only one portrayed as an armed warrior (nearby Korea is also in samurai armor but is positioned submissively toward Japan). It looks west toward China, Russia, and ultimately Europe. China is a fat and myopic pig closely consulting a barometer. It is dressed in traditional clothing and looks east, with its back to the rest of the world. This constitutes a critique of late Qing isolationism, backward thinking, and indecisiveness--the barometer is, after all, a way of predicting future weather. Despite this, China is large and wealthy, a fat swine primed for Japanese conquest. To the north is Russia, represented as a well-dressed, rich, and powerful (if indolent) bear. Russia was Japan's primary adversary for control of East Asia, with the two nations maintaining longstanding disputes over influence and sovereignty in Manchuria, Sakhalin, and Korea. The bear's gaze has turned away from Asia, looking west toward the European conflict. It is inching its way toward Eastern Europe, dominating Poland and Ukraine. Still, the map suggests that Russia may be mistaken in looking away from Japan, which recognizes an opportunity for further expansion and entrenchment in mainland Asia. Europe, where World War I is raging, is nonetheless a secondary focus. Germany is represented as a boar, a dangerous animal to be sure, but ultimately prey. Arrows loosed by France, Britain, Russia, and Japan itself have pierced its hide--a reference to August 1914, when Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding the withdrawal of German naval forces from Chinese and Japanese waters. When Germany refused, Japan declared war and, at the time of publication, was besieging the German garrison at Qingdao, which would surrender to Japanese forces in early November. Although seemingly a minor participant, in the lower left the United States looks on. The U.S. is represented as a badger--a wily, solitary, and tenacious creature. It is dressed in modern clothing, holds a gun, and looks toward the Philippines with a telescope. Other than Japan, it is the only armed figure on the map. This reveals the complex feelings the Japanese had toward the United States. The 1853 arrival of Commodore Perry and the subsequent forced opening of Japan was a national humiliation, but throughout the Meiji period Japan modeled its modernization and industrialization, in part, on the United States, which remained its primary trading partner. While the U.S. did maintain a colonial presence in the Philippines, Japan at the time did not have its eye on the Philippines; nor did it perceive the United States as a rival in the Pacific (the potential for conflict was smoothed over by the 1905 Taft-Katsura Agreement). Instead, there is a grudging respect for the U.S., which at this point remained a neutral and distant observer. Other parts of the map bear mention. India stands out as an enormous elephant, a revered creature in Japanese Buddhism, suggesting that Japan saw India more as an ally than a rival. Africa is a tapestry of loosely stitched rugs, the meaning of which is elusive but perhaps suggests that the distant continent was not an object of Japanese ambitions. The sole oddities are the reclining female figures occupying northern Egypt and Libya (Tripoli). These are among the map's few human figures. Their robed forms suggest a reference to Hellenism and a nod to the much-revered (in Meiji and Taisho Japan) ancient Greek contributions to philosophy, literature, art, and democratic governance. That these figures are in North Africa and not Greece is likely a reference to Greek Alexandria."--Edited description of Geographicus Rare Antique Maps.
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