Japanese Imperial Maps and Charts

When Japan surrendered in the summer of 1945, the country had produced over the decades hundreds of thousands of sheets of imperial maps and nautical charts. Many of these were destroyed throughout the Japanese empire in the weeks before Allied occupation forces were in place. Those maps that survived destruction and subsequently confiscated were called “Captured Japanese Maps.” Such topographic sheets and aeronautical charts will have the AMS (Army Map Service) serial stamp in the lower right margin. The map collection has approximately 3,000 of these sheets and are being made accessible as scanning is completed. Japanese imperial nautical charts will be added to this depository in time as well.

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日本は、１９４５年夏の太平洋戦争降伏時までに数十年にわたり、数十万枚も​​の​大日本帝国地図や海図を作製していました。 これらの地図の多くは連合国軍進駐の何週間も前に大日本帝国全域で処分されましたが、その際に保管され後ほど押収された地図は “Captured Japanese Maps” と呼ばれています。それらの地形図や航空図には、右下余白に、米国陸軍地図局のシリアルナンバーが押印されました。 当館の地図部門には約３千枚もの Captured Japanese Maps (外邦図や内邦図)があり、スキャン作業が完了すれば外部からのアクセスが可能になります。大日本帝国の海図も将来このコレクションに加える予定です。