1895 Meiji 28 Map of Taiwan or Formosa (Predates Treaty of Shimonoseki)

A scarce and important Meiji 28, April 10, 1895 map of Taiwan or Formosa drawn shortly before the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which formally ended the First Sino-Japanese War (August 1, 1894 – April 17, 1895). The map covers all of Taiwan with a clear division between eastern and western territories. At the time western Formosa, or Taiwan (臺灣) was primarily Chinese, while Formosa east of the Central Mountain Range, Banchi (蕃地) consisted of unexplored indigenous tribal lands. This map is an important historical illustration of the Japanese position on Formosa prior to the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The official Japanese Stance from the 1871 Mudan Incident onward was that only the western ethnically Chinese part of Formosa was considered to be 'Taiwan (臺灣).' This positioned changed after the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the term Taiwan (臺灣) was reassigned to the entire island.

This map is part of a series of maps issued in 1895, both before and after the treaty, typically by private newspapers, book stores, and enterprising publishers, to capitalize on Japanese public interest in Taiwan. All are quite rare and significant. The present map was printed by the Osaka publisher Heisuke Kasahara (笠原平助) and distributed by Akakokorozashi Chushichi (赤志忠七). It was published jointly by Akakokorozashi Tadashi Miyabido Bookstore of Osaka (赤志忠雅堂書店) and Kishida Ginko's Kishida Rakuzendo Bookstore (岸田樂善堂書店). It is of note that our example of this map is dated April 10, 1895, earlier by several days than the similar April 15 examplee owned by the National Museum of Taiwan History is April 14, 1895.

The Kishida Rakuzendo Bookstore is of some interest. The address on the map is a Tokyo location, but internet resources suggest this shop was based in Shanghai's former British Concession (the Bund), on what is not Henan Road in modern day Shanghai. It maintained branch stores in other Chinese and Japanese cities. The shop started as a traditional pharmacy but by 1878 had transformed into a popular bookstore. One source describes it as a 'notorious ... half patent-medicine shop, half army intelligence center.' (Peattie, M.R., 'Japanese Treaty Port Settlements in China, 1895-1937,' The Japanese Informal Empire in China, 1895-1937, (Eds. Duus, P. Myers, R., and Peattie, M. R.) p. 183).