1943 Showa 18 East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere Full Map Set (20 Maps)

This is an important and rare full set of 20 maps from the 1943 Showa 18 World War II (WWII) Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere series. The maps cover from India to Hawaii and from Japan to Australia, reflecting the Japanese Imperial vision of Pan-Asianism.

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (大東亜共栄圏) was an imperial concept created and promulgated for occupied Asian populations by the Empire of Japan. The concept was announced by Japanese Foreign Minister Hachirō Arita on June 29, 1940. The Co-Prosperity Sphere was intended as a self-sufficient 'bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers.' It covered Southeast Asia, Eastern China, Manchuria, Japan, the East Indies, and parts of Oceania. The idea promoted the cultural and economic unity East Asians, Southeast Asians, and Oceanians with the underpinning assumption that Japan, which had never been conquered and was the only Asian nation to fully modernize, was the 'Light of Asia.'

Contents

The set includes:

1. Co-Prosperity Sphere General Map
2. Marshall Islands / Micronesia
3. Philippine Islands
4. Luzon, Philippines Islands
5. Indochina
6. Thailand
7. Burma
8. Malay / Sumatra
9. Malay / Singapore
10. Java
11. Java II
12. Borneo
13. Celebes
14. New Guinea
15. Australia
16. Western Australia
17. New Zealand
18. Hawaii
19. India
20. Northern India

Publication History and Census

The Co-Prosperity Sphere map series was published by the Japan Publishing and Distribution Company, Ltd. (日本出版配給株式會社). The present example is the second 1943 edition. Maps from this set do appear on the market from time to time, but a complete set is exceedingly rare.