Nanzenbushu Bankoku Shoka No Zu. [Outline Map of All Countries of the Universe].

Kyoto: Bundaiken Uhei, 1710.. Original woodblock printed map, (118.5 x 144.5 cm.), folding into original blue grey covers (24 x 18.5 cm) preserving original paper label to upper cover. An extremely clean copy in excellent condition. The celebrated first Buddhist world map printed in Japan illustrating "the fusion of Buddhist dogma and Western geographical knowledge" (Jones). The author, Hotan (1654-1728), was a scholar-priest and founder of the Kegonji Temple in Kyoto. The earliest known example in Japan is the Gotenjiku Zu (Map of the Five Indies) by the priest Jukai dating from 1364 and now preserved in Horyuji Temple in Nara. However Hotan's map was revolutionary in being the first printed Oriental map to introduce detailed Western cartographic information into this traditional Buddhist cosmological view and to attempt to merge the two together into a comprehensible form. Europe is depicted as a series of islands in the upper left of the image whilst South America is likewise another island in the lower right of the image. Africa is omitted completely. China and Japan are clearly defined in the upper right of the map. "It became the prototype of other Buddhist world maps" (Cortazzi). Accordingly, China and India are positioned at the centre of the earth, and along with Japan, they occupy most of the map's surface. However, it was also "the first Buddhist world map printed with European geographical knowledge" (History of Cartography), though the Americas, Europe, and Africa are minimally represented as islands. South America, for example, is the relatively small island below Japan. At top right, a land bridge joins Asia with another landmass, presumably North America. And the countries of Europe form an archipelago at upper left. Although the map is notable for its groundbreaking but primitive integration of Buddhist cosmology and Western geographic knowledge, its primary concern was Buddhist theology and history. One of the map's main purposes was to celebrate a most important event in Buddhist history�the pilgrimage of the famous Chinese Buddhist priest Hsuan-tsang (602-664 A.D.), who travelled to India to collect holy Sanskrit writings and visit the sacred places of Buddhism. The Japanese version of Hsuan-tsang's Chinese narrative, the Si-yu-ki, was printed as late as 1653 and was the inspiration of this map. Hsuan-tsang not only brought to China and Japan a deeper understanding of Buddhism but also a richly detailed report of the country of its origin. His account of India, when finally translated in the West in the 19th century (accompanied by a reduced version of this map), formed the basis of historical and archaeological studies of India between the classical Greek period and the 10th century period of Arabic travellers. Hence, this map has been long esteemed by European as well as Oriental scholars as a valuable source for the early place names of India and China. Without it, many of the original Asian place names of these countries would not have been preserved. The map's text, which is in Chinese, concerns historic Buddhist sites and aspects of classical learning. (Place names of the European countries are given in both Chinese characters and Japanese kana-syllabary.) Other elements of Buddhist cosmology embodied in the map are that China, India, and Japan occupy two-thirds of the earth, and that the earth is square-shaped and centred on Mount Sumeru. Also, according to Buddhist belief, Lake Anavatapta, shown in the centre of the northern part of India, is located south of a huge snowy mountain chain. The lake is the source of four rivers�the Ganges, Indus, Oxus, and the Sita (Tarim or Talihue in Sinkiang Province). Each river circles the lake once before moving off in its own direction. K. Unno in Harley/ Woodward, ed. History of Cartography; Cortazzi, Isles of Gold; Beans, Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era; O. Jones, Chinese & Japanese maps, British Library.