Yōzu (Kūchū shashin sokuryō) Kita Shina jūmanbun no ichi zu, Maps Index

Author(s)

Stanford Geospatial Center

Description

This polygon shapefile is an index to 1:100,000 scale topographic maps of Northern China, titled 'Yōzu (Kūchū shashin sokuryō) Kita Shina jūmanbun no ichi zu.' This map series was originally produced by the Japanese Land Survey Department of the General Staff Headquarters between 1940 and 1944. Stanford University Libraries holds a large collection of Japanese military and imperial maps, referred to as gaihōzu, or "maps of outer lands." These maps were produced starting in the early Meiji (1868-1912) era and the end of World War II by the Land Survey Department of the General Staff Headquarters, the former Japanese Army. The Library is in the process of scanning and making available all of the maps in the collection. To create this index, footprints were generated using the fishnet tool, and metadata were supplied for the digitized paper maps by Stanford University Libraries. After the footprints were created, the shapefile was trimmed and labeled according to the sources. This layer provides an index map that can be used to locate individual scanned map sheets. Stanford Geospatial Center. (2015). Yōzu (Kūchū shashin sokuryō) Kita Shina jūmanbun no ichi zu, Maps Index. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/vj008bs4183. Between Meiji era and the end of World War II, map production in Japan was conducted by the Land Survey Department of the General Staff Headquarters, the former Japanese army. Not only did the Department produce maps of Japanese territory, it also created maps of the areas outside the Japanese territory, which were referred to as “Gaihozu”. Presently, “Gaihozu” include the maps of the former Japanese territories, and are predominantly in scales ranging from 1:25,000 to 1:500,000. Their geographical coverage stretches to Alaska northward, covering areas of U.S. mainland eastward, Australia southward, and westward to parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Madagascar. The methods of the map production varied from surveys by the Japanese survey squads, reproducing maps produced abroad and secret surveys by sealed order. As these maps were complied for military necessity, most of Gaiho-zu were classified as secret; and after the war, many of them were either destroyed or confiscated.

Publisher

Stanford Digital Repository

Collection

Gaihozu Index Maps

Place(s)

China

Subject(s)

Grids (Cartography), Index maps, World War, 1939-1945, Military maps, Topographic maps, Boundaries, and Military

Year

1940-1944

Held by

Stanford

More details at

https://purl.stanford.edu/vj008bs4183

Use and reproduction

This item is in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use.

Copyright

This work is in the Public Domain, meaning that it is not subject to copyright.