Kaempfer (1651-1716) was a German physician in the service of the Dutch East India Company. He lived in Nagasaki between September 1690 and October 1692. He twice accompanied the chief of the factory at Deshima on his embassy to Tokyo (Edo). While in Nagasaki he conducted an intense study of Japanese history, geography, customs, and flora. Leaving Japan in November 1692 he arrived in Amsterdam in October of 1693. This map was prepared by Johann Caspar Scheuchzer from the maps brought back from Japan by Engelbert Kaempfer, and was first published in a Dutch edition of Kaempfer's "History of Japan."

This map depicts a portion of the route from Nagasaki to Tokyo, which was undertaken annually by Dutch traders. This sheet covers the route from Yokkaichi through Nagoya and on to Hamamatsu. After the Dutch trading post was transferred to the island of Dejima in Nagasaki harbor, the yearly journey to court was the only opportunity for foreigners to travel in Japan - only along this specific route and under strict surveillance. This example is a French edition published by Reiner and Joshua Ottens.

References: cf. Walter #104.

Condition: A

A sharp impression with full contemporary color on a bright sheet with wide margins and a faint spot in the title cartouche.