Caricature of the world according to the Japanese (1924)

This caricature map was created by the Japanese Ogawa Jihei and Maekawa Senpan in 1924 and depicts the world full of clichés from Japan's point of view.

A multitude of details can be observed in practically every corner of the world. This map predates much of the international tension leading up to the Second World War, but it already contains positive and negative references to different parts of the world:

• Scotland is marked as a place with people very similar to the Japanese.
• The United States is seen as a place of large-scale agriculture, sport and skyscrapers.
• France as the country of art, wine and fashion.
• Spain is closely linked to bullfighting.
• The Trans-Siberian Railway appears to be travelling across Russia with a communist throwing red pamphlets.
• British explorers searching for diamonds are in southern Africa.
• Across the Pacific Ocean, numerous Japanese flags can be found reaching islands and searching for the Americas.

The map also contains historical references in several places:

• Napoleon appears exiled to Saint Helena.
• Christopher Columbus appears arriving in America.
• Jesus Christ appears crucified in the Middle East.
• Cleopatra appears on an effigy in Egypt.
• The Titanic is sinking in the top left corner.

At the bottom, the drawing is also accompanied by a political map showing the situation in 1924.

Sources

• Sekai shin manga chōkanzu / Kokusai Jōhōsha Henshūkyoku an; Ogawa Jihei, Maekawa Senpan ga
• 1924 Ogawa Jihei and Maekawa Senpan Cartoon Map of the World