1932 Suzuki Japanese North Polar Expedition Sugoroku Map

Japan Joins the Great Age of Polar Exploration,

This vibrant 1932 chromolithographic broadsheet map was prepared by artist Suzuki Gyosui as a sugoroku game board, a supplement to the New Year's edition of Boys Club magazine, published by Kodansha. It was produced at a time of heightened interest in great feats of exploration in Japan, especially among the country's youth.

A Closer Look

The sheet consists of a sugoroku game board superimposed over illustrations of the Arctic, from ice flows to a polar bear (白熊) and 'Eskimo' (エスキモー) hunting seal and riding dogsleds (犬橇). At the corners are a steamship, airplane, submarine, and airship, the means by which each player would attempt to reach the North Pole (北極), at center.

The map/board is not tied to a specific Japanese attempt to reach the North Pole (which was only successful in 1978), but is reflective of a more general heightened interest in polar exploration in Japan, as well as other difficult feats (such as long-distance flights - see, for example, our earlier listings; WorldFlightSugoroku-nihonshonen-1927, WorldFlight-osakamainichi-1930, PacificSuguruku-kodansha-1927, and Circumnavigation-tokyonichinichi-1939).

Sugoroku Geography Lesson

This sheet intended for sugoroku, more specifically e-sugoroku (繪双六). Historically, there are two variants of sugoroku, one that is similar to backgammon, and the presently offered 'snakes and ladders' style variant. This version of the game appeared as early as the 13th century and was popularized by the rise of printing technology, especially in the Edo and Meiji periods, leading to the production of high-quality, visually arresting gameboards. A standard sugoroku board has a starting point, the furi-dashi, and a winding or spiral path terminating at the agari (上利 / 上リ) or finish-line. Many sugoroku had an educational or didactic purpose and were geared towards inculcating patriotism and good morals in children, especially in the Meiji period.

The present game is different in that it has players draw cards (to be made by themselves, as explained at bottom-right) to determine their furi-dashi, beginning in the corners of the map and traveling by steamship, airplane, submarine, or airship, and then progressing through the board by taking turns rolling dice. Players could be waylaid (losing a turn or moving back two spaces) or even have to return to the starting point if they land on hazards, such as ice (冰結), severe storms (暴風雨), or unspecified difficulties (難航), delays (故障), and danger zones (危險帶). Conversely, certain spaces (yellow circles with red dots) allow them to skip ahead on the path towards the North Pole.

Japanese Arctic Exploration

Japan had no lack of ambitious adventurers who sought glory for themselves and their country in the field of polar exploration. A little-known Japanese Antarctic Expedition led by Shirase Nobu (1861 - 1946) took place nearly concurrently with the better-known journeys of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, which reached the South Pole in close succession in December 1911 - January 1912. Shirase did not reach the South Pole but did progress beyond 80 degrees south latitude, a considerable achievement. He hoped to prepare a North Pole Expedition, but with no institutional support was too burdened by debts from his Antarctic Expedition to gain any traction.

In terms of the Arctic, another Japanese pioneer was Count Otani Kozui (1876 - 1948), a man of considerable means, who had already crossed 70 degrees north latitude on a 'cruise' through Iceland and Scandinavia in 1900 and in the interim had financed three archaeological expeditions (or spying ventures in Russian and British eyes) to Central Asia. Some institutions were founded with a focus on Arctic Exploration around this time; Otani was involved in the early history of the Arctic Circle Society (established in 1931), while Shirase became the honorary president of the Japanese Polar Research Institute when it was founded in 1933. But these were primarily concerned with scholarly exchange and research rather than financing expeditions. In 1936, the Tokyo Science Museum held a special Polar Exploration Exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of Shirase's Antarctic Expedition, which also contributed to greater interest in polar exploration among the public. But shortly afterwards, national attention and resources shifted towards the war in China and then throughout the Pacific, derailing attempts at polar exploration for decades.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively 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 produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Suzuki Gyosui (鈴木御水), who specialized in preparing colorful sugoroku boards and other illustrations for Boys Club, King, and other Kodansha publications. It appeared as a special supplement to the 1932 New Year's edition of Boys Club. This map / game board is not cataloged in the OCLC and is only independently cataloged in Japan among the holdings of the Art Research Center at Ritsumeikan University, while the entire new year's issue is cataloged with mention of the map by the National Diet Library and the National Showa Memorial Museum.

Cartographers

Suzuki Gyosui (鈴木御水; January 25, 1898 - May 17, 1982) was an illustrator who prodiced striking, colorful cover pieces and special supplements for Boys Club, King, and other Kodansha publications. He was from Akita Prefecture in northern Japan and studied at the Torkoozawa Army Air Academy (所沢陸軍飛行学校), no doubt the source of his later penchant for illustrating airplanes. He studied painting with Japanese-style painters, most notably Itō Shinsui (伊東深水, 1898-1972), but later adopted a more Western style of illustration while working for Kodansha. In the Postwar period, he was best known for the series Baluba's Adventure(バルーバの冒険).   Further Details...

Kodansha (株式会社講談社, 1909 - Present), also known in the early Shōwa period as Dai Nippon Yūbenkai Kōdansha (大日本雄弁会講談社), is a Japanese publishing house founded in 1909 by Seiji Noma (野間淸治). Seiji founded Kodansha as a spin-off from the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai (Greater Japan Oratorical Society) and produced the literary magazine Yūben as its first publication. The name Kodansha, a derivative of the defunct magazine Kōdan Club (Storytelling Club), in 1911, which it merged with the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai. In 1925, Kodansha launched King (キング) , the first magazine to sell 1,000,000 copies in its first printing. Kōdansha published several other magazines including Women's Club (婦人倶樂部) and Boy's Club (少年倶樂部) and had become a major shaper of Japanese culture and public opinion by the 1930s, controlling 70% of the magazine market. Kōdansha suffered difficulties during the war period, due to both intense censorship and the 1938 death of both Noma Seiji and his son, Noma Hasashi (野間恒), within weeks of one another. Still, the company survived the wartime era and, after a period of difficulties during the U.S. Occupation due to Kōdansha's endorsement of militarism, benefitted from a postwar publishing revival. Although King and other magazines ceased publication in the postwar period, Kōdansha branched into other areas, including manga and music recording, and is now the largest publisher in Japan.   Further Details...

Condition

Average. Wear on all fold lies, slight infill at some points. Laid down on archival tissue. Baseball sugoroku on verso unfortunately partially obscured by backing tissue and repairs.

References

Ritsumeikan University ARC Ukiyo-e Portal Database CoGNo. tkjSG207.