1929 Yoshida Bilingual View of Mt. Kumgang and Environs, Korea

This is a striking large-format 1929 panoramic pictorial view of Mt. Kumgang, Korea, produced in the Japanese colonial period by the era's greatest view artist, Yoshida Hatsusaburō. In addition to highlighting the area's stunning natural beauty, it also reflects its appropriation by Japan as a colonial tourist site.

A Closer Look

Mt. Kumgang (Kumgangsan, or Kongosan in Japanese), literally meaning 'Diamond Mountain,' is one of the most historically and culturally significant mountains on the Korean Peninsula. Sitting roughly half-way down the peninsula and close to Korea's shoreline facing the Sea of Japan (East Sea to Koreans), the mountain, or more properly mountains or massif, is now located in North Korea, not far from the Demilitarized Zone.

This view is oriented roughly towards the southwest, though with a convex perspective that makes orientation somewhat difficult. At right is the seaside port city of Wonsan (元山, or Gensan in Japanese), while at left are Seoul (京城, known at this time by the Japanese name Keijo), Busan (釜山, Fusan in Japanese), and the Japanese Home Islands with Mt. Fuji in the background. Surrounding the mountain are hotels, roads, rail lines, and maritime routes, providing connections to Seoul and Wonsan.

Dominating the view, however, are the peaks of Mt. Kumgang, which is generally divided into an inner (内金剛) and outer (外金剛) section (the southern part of the latter also known as 'New Kumgang' 新金剛). Reminiscent of traditional East Asian landscape paintings, the view emphasizes the lovely peaks, waterfalls, vistas, and other natural features over evidence of human endeavors. Still, the massif is home to many Buddhist temples (寺), hermitages (庵), grottoes (窟), and other sites, indicating its importance as a site of Buddhist pilgrimage and devotion. Perhaps most impressive among these is the large stone bodhisattva Manjushri (or Myogilsang 妙吉祥), carved into the mountain's rock itself, located near center here. At several points, Buddhist texts are similarly carved into the mountainside. The temple complexes near the base of the mountain were historically known as the 'Four Great Temples of Mt. Kumgang,' being: Jangansa (長安寺, here as Choanji, its Japanese name), Pyohunsa (表訓寺, Hyokunji), Singyesa (神溪寺, Shinkeiji) and Yujomsa (楡岾寺, Yusenji). When this area was heavily bombed by U.S. planes during the Korean War, only Pyohunsa escaped destruction, though Singyesa was reconstructed in the early 21st century through a joint North Korean-South Korean project.

To the right of the view, the inner side of the attached cover into which the view folds contains several photographs of the mountain and a brief description of a trip there by the Japanese novelist Kikuchi Yūhō (菊池幽芳; 1870 - 1947). The verso includes text describing the '12,000 Peaks' of Mt. Kumgang, some discussion of their historical and cultural significance (artfully eliding their specific importance to Korean culture), methods of transportation to the mountain, suggested itineraries, important reminders and travel tips, and descriptions of the major sites highlighted on the recto. Two panels in English summarize much of the information in Japanese, though their inclusion is a bit of a mystery; it is likely that the Railway Bureau of the colonial government, which commissioned the view, hoped that foreign tourists would be enticed to visit the mountain. A final panel written by Yoshida himself, titled 'A stroke to accompany the painting' (繪に添へて一筆), praises the beauties of the mountain in florid language.

Sketchbook Mailer Maps

Sketchbook Mailers (書簡圖繪) were a style of bird's-eye view map that became very popular in Japan in the 1920s-1940s, often depicting cityscapes from across Japan's growing empire. Each view was designed to be folded and packaged for safe and easy mailing, and came with information about and photographs of the city or subject of the view on the verso, as is the case here. Although these maps are fascinating, beautiful, and educational, they also served a political function, informing Japanese audiences about the empire and providing a visual aid to understand places they would have read about frequently in the news.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Yoshida Hatsusaburō and was printed by Kankosha for the Railway Bureau of the Government-General of Chosen (朝鮮總督府鐵道局, that is, the Japanese colonial administration of Korea) in May 1929 (Showa 4). A short description following the publication information explains that it was sold in Seoul (Keijo) and on-site at the mountain's main attractions. The view is listed among the holdings of the University of California Irvine, the National Library of Australia, the National Diet Library, and the Nichibunken (International Research Center for Japanese Studies) in the OCLC, and is also held by the Fukuoka City Museum, the Kyoto Institute Library and Archives, and Takushoku University. A similarly titled ('世界名勝朝鮮金剛山交通大鳥瞰圖') second edition of the view was printed in December 1931, which is only held by Yamaguchi University.