Abstract
The history of modern maps in Japan begins with the Japan maps (called INŌ’s maps) prepared by Tadataka Inō after he thoroughly surveyed the whole of Japan around 200 years ago. The purpose of this study was to investigate the precision degree of INŌ’s Tokyo map by overlaying it with present maps and analyzing the map style (map projection, map scale, etc.). Specifically, we quantitatively examined the spatial distortion of INŌ’s maps through comparisons with the present map using GIS (geographic information system), a spatial analysis tool. Furthermore, by examining various factors that caused the positional gap and distortion of features, we explored the actual situation of surveying in that age from a geographical viewpoint. As a result of the analysis, a particular spatial regularity was confirmed in the positional gaps with the present map. We found that INŌ’s Tokyo map had considerably high precision. The causes of positional gaps from the present map were related not only to natural conditions, such as areas and land but also to social and cultural phenomena.
Highlights
Examining quantitatively the precision of historical maps has become possible because of the development of GIS, and scientific findings have therein been accumulated [1]
We considered a total of four projection methods, including the sinusoidal projection (ESRI: 53008) and equidistant cylindrical projection (ESRI: 53002), as used in the previous studies, and adding the mercator projection (ESRI: 53004) and stereographic projection (ESRI: 53026), which are widely used for projecting large-scale maps
Because the average value corresponding to the distortions in the x- and y-directions was less than 20 cm in any of the projection methods, errors were small as a whole
Summary
Examining quantitatively the precision of historical maps has become possible because of the development of GIS, and scientific findings have therein been accumulated [1]. Geospatial analyses were conducted to examine what georeferences made historical maps match with current maps [4]. If the precision of historical maps can be verified scientifically, we can advance geographical studies analyzing the distribution patterns of the features and reproducing the landscape and communities from that time. The reconstruction of old landscapes and the reproduction of the traditional communities are evolving as primary research themes for the historical GIS of the generation
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