Lost in Transmission. Maps of Japan by Daikokuya Kōdayū 大黒屋 光太夫 (1751–1828)*

Overview & Synopsis

Abstract The maps of Japan by Daikokuya Kōdayū (1751–1828) were drawn during the author’s detention in Russia (1783–1792). Though rooted in Japanese cartographic tradition, they do not copy any known map of Japan. Because they were created specifically for “foreign” usage, they contain a wealth of translations and comments. All of the maps are large-scale coloured manuscripts (ca. 65–75 × 120–150 cm) and resemble one another but are not identical. We begin by determining when and where Kōdayū could have made his maps and comparing the material attributes and general characteristics of the extant copies. Then we go on to trace the maps’ afterlife, placing special emphasis on the Asch Collection. Kōdayū’s work amounts to a multi-lingual diachronic enterprise of drawing and translating a map of Japan for the benefit of the Russian state. The focus of our study is to analyze why this so very interesting enterprise failed: hardly had the maps been completed than they were sent off to Germany as curiosities—or simply forgotten.