A hand-coloured European map of Japan with dense Latin place names, three ships, an ornate title cartouche, and Korea shown as an elongated island.

1602 edition; map first issued 1595 · Hand-coloured copper engraving

The First Map of Japan in the Atlas

Edited by Abraham Ortelius; drawn by Luís Teixeira

Why it matters

Teixeira's map made Japan a standalone, densely named object in a European atlas. Its greater detail records real information exchange while its distortions expose the composite character of that knowledge.

Publication
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Holding institution
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
Shelfmark
01593
Rights
CC0 Public Domain; Tokyo Fuji Art Museum

Citation

Ortelius, Abraham, ed., and Luís Teixeira. The First Map of Japan in the Atlas. Antwerp, 1602 edition; first issued 1595. Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, 01593.