Lastly, the map is drawn from west to east rather than north to south. Why? Also, the character for north is on one side of the page, south on the opposite side, east on another side and west on another-but the character for west is emphasized, drawn differently. While my knowledge of Chinese characters is little to say the least and I have no knowledge of Japanese writing, I do recognize the characters for East, West, North, South, and in front among others, leading me to believe this Japanese made map is at least partially written in Chinese rather than being written completely in Japanese. I distinctly recognize Chinese characters on the map.

Japanese Map of Japan: What does a map of Japan, made in Japan reveal about Japan? This map from around 1690 shows a close up of the same land mass found on most of the other maps in the collection, except unlike some of them it lacks longitude and latitude lines and instead of using roman letters uses presumably a Japanese writing system. The Strange Maps blog has been named by GeekDad Blog on 'one of the more unusual and unique sites seen on the Web that doesn't sell anything or promote an agenda' and it's currently ranked #423 on Technorati's Top 500 Blogs.īrimming with trivia, deadpan humor, and idiosyncratic lore, Strange Maps is a fascinating tour of all things weird and wonderful in the world of cartography. Fantastic Maps, with a depiction of what the globe might look like if the sea and land were inverted.Obscure Proposals, capturing Thomas Jefferson's vision for dividing the Northwest Territory into ten states with names such as Polypotamia and Assenisipia.Whatchamacallit, including a map of the area codes for regions where the rapper Ludacris sings about having 'hoes'.

Political Parody, containing the 'Jesusland map' and other humorous takes on voter profiles.

Cartographic Misconceptions, such as a lavish seventeenthcentury map depicting California as an island.

Literary Creations, featuring a map of Thomas More's Utopia and the world of George Orwell's 1984.

Categories of cartographic curiosities include: The result is a distinctive illustrated guide to the world. Spanning many centuries, all continents, and the realms of outer space and the imagination, this collection of 138 unique graphics combines beautiful full-color illustrations with quirky statistics and smart social commentary. An intriguing collection of more than one hundred out-of-the-ordinary maps, blending art, history, and pop culture for a unique atlas of humanity

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