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A detailed map of the goods and trade of Meiji era Japan.
In the late 1800’s, Japan found itself in a mix of booming western-style industry and traditional Japanese handicraft and arts. This map captures this dynamic by highlighting trade routes, travel times and the sites of 40 different trade goods, from whaling to silks and umbrellas. It also shows where the finest quality of the goods can be found as well as a list with some of the more famous produce of Japan. It also shows the location of various mines and oilfields.
In 1888—just one year before the final rail line was laid to fully connect Tokyo and Osaka—it was still common to travel between Japan’s two great cities on foot, by rickshaw, or by boat across Lake Biwa. A time when days would turn to hours.
While western-style industry was still young in Japan in the 1880s, there was already a growing native movement to re-appreciate traditional handicrafts, as many heritage items were being bought up and sent abroad by foreign collectors.
