1914 Japanese Serio-Comic Map of Asia and Europe during World War I

An exceptional September 13, 1914, Japanese serio-comic map of Asia and Europe at the outbreak of World War I. The masterfully drawn chromolithograph map unabashedly illustrates Japanese aspirations to exploit the war in Europe, with underpinning elements of cultural supremacy, imperial ambitions towards China, concern over but contempt for Russia, and grudging respect towards the United States.

A Closer Look

The map presents the Japanese perspective of the world at the outset of World War I (1914 - 1918). To understand the symbolism, attention needs to be focused on the map's three major players: Japan (Samurai), China (Pig), and Russia (Bear). At this time, Japan was beginning to see itself as the natural hegemon of East Asia. Its defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905) and rapidly developing industrialization intensified pre-existing Japanese notions of cultural superiority.

Accordingly, Japan is here represented as a samurai, notably one of only four human figures on the map and the only one portrayed as an armed warrior. (Nearby Korea is also in samurai armor but is positioned submissively towards Japan.) It looks west, towards China, Russia, and ultimately Europe.

China is a fat and myopic pig closely consulting a barometer. It is dressed in traditional clothing and looks east, with its back to the rest of the world. This is a critique of late Qing isolationism, backward thinking, and indecisiveness - the barometer is, after all, a way of predicting future weather. Despite this, China is large and wealthy, a fat swine primed for Japanese conquest.

To the north is Russia, represented as a well-dressed, rich, and powerful (if indolent) bear. Russia was Japan's primary adversary for control of East Asia, with the two nations maintaining long-standing disputes over influence and sovereignty in Manchuria, Sakhalin, and Korea. The bear's gaze has turned away from Asia, looking west toward the European conflict. It inches its boot into Eastern Europe, dominating Poland and Ukraine. Still, the map suggests that Russia may be mistaken in looking away from Japan, which recognizes an opportunity for further expansion and entrenchment in mainland Asia.

Europe, where World War I was raging, is nonetheless a secondary focus. Germany is represented as a boar, a dangerous animal to be sure, but ultimately prey. Arrows pierce its hide, having been launched from France, Britain (Gritain), Russia (Rusia), and Japan itself - a reference to August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the war, when Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding the withdrawal of German naval forces from Chinese and Japanese waters and the cession of the Kiautschou Bay (Jiaozhou Bay 膠州灣) Concession in China, centered on the port of Qingdao (青島). When Germany refused, Japan declared war and, at the time of publication, was besieging the German garrison at Qingdao, which would surrender to Japanese forces in early November.

Although seemingly a minor participant, in the lower right, the United States looks on. The U.S. is represented as a badger - a wily, solitary, and tenacious creature. It is dressed in modern clothing, holds a gun, and looks toward the Philippines with a telescope. Other than Japan, it is the only armed figure on the map. It speaks of the complex feelings the Japanese had toward the United States. On one hand, the 1853 arrival of Commodore Perry and the subsequent forced opening of Japan was a national humiliation. On the other hand, throughout the Meiji Period, Japan modeled its modernization and industrialization in part after the United States, which remained its primary trading partner despite being an ocean away. While the United States did maintain a colonial presence in the Philippines, Japan at the time did not have its eye on the Philippines, nor did it perceive the United States as a rival in the Pacific (the potential for conflict was smoothed over by the 1905 Taft-Katsura Agreement). Instead, there is a grudging respect for the United States, which, at this point, remained a neutral and distant observer.

Other parts of the map bear mention. India stands out as an enormous elephant, a revered creature in Japanese Buddhism, suggesting that Japan saw India more as an ally than a rival. Africa is a tapestry of loosely stitched rugs, the meaning of which is elusive, though, perhaps, is to suggest that the distant continent did not play into Japanese ambitions. The sole oddities are the reclining female figures occupying northern Egypt and Libya (Tripoli トリポリ). These are among the only human figures on the map (aside from Japan and Japanese-dominated Korea). Their robed forms suggest a reference to Hellenism and a nod to the much-revered (in Meiji and Taisho Japan) Ancient Greek contributions to philosophy, literature, art, and democratic governance. That these figures are in North Africa and not Greece is likely a reference to Greek Alexandria.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process uses multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Generally, a chromolithograph begins with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors are layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired effect. Chromolithograph color can be blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Ryōzō Tanaka (田中良三) and printed in chromolithograph by the Shobido Bookshop (尚美堂書店) of Tokyo September 13, 1914 (Taisho 3), and published three days later. Most text is in both English (although with numerous transliteration errors) and Japanese Kanji, clearly indicating that the audience for this map was not exclusively Japanese but also viewers in England and the United States. We note that Tanaka issued a similar map focused more specifically on Europe in the same year as part of the same series (see Geographicus: ahumoroswarmap-tanaka-1914). Notations in both Japanese and English suggest that it was part of a series (The Illustration of the Graet European War. No. 16. / 歐洲大戰亂畫報（其十六）), though the individual items in the series all appear to be quite rare now.

Extremely rare. We note one example at the Texas War Records War Poster Collection, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Otherwise, there are a few online digital references, all of which seem to be derived from one of two source images, neither of which are attributed. Not in OCLC or similar Japanese catalogs.