1934 Shogakukan Pictorial Map of the World, Relative National Power

This is a 1934 infographic composite map of Japanese commercial and military production, produced by the publisher Shōgakukan. It features maps, graphs, and tables representing relative national power. Though intended for an audience of children, it was published during a period of rising Japanese imperial ambitions and reflects Japan's growing confidence on the world stage.

A Closer Look

The colorful sheet is divided into parts, with six maps, a similar number of charts and tables, and additional illustrations and text, all dealing in some form with 'national power/strength' (國勢), measured in terms of military capabilities and economic output. At top-left is a 'Japanese Navy Map' with the location of ports, naval airfields, and coastal fortifications, while a similar 'Japanese Army Map' appears at the top-right. Adjacent to the corresponding navy and army maps are tables of the relative naval and army strength of various powers (the Soviet Union, U.S.A., U.K., France, Italy, and, in the army table, Germany).

Just below the title is a world map noting the types of goods exported (輸出) by Japan to various countries (indicated in blue circles and including agricultural goods, cotton, and silk) and the goods that Japan imports (輸入) from them (indicated by red circles and including some cotton and agricultural goods, but more often commodities like oil, iron, machinery, and coal). Notably, products from Manchuria, ruled by the recently established Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, are recorded as imports, though in reality they functioned more like goods produced domestically. The vast, resource-rich region was already a significant contributor to Japan's economy before the establishment of Manchukuo, but became even more so in the mid-1930s; a frontier for exporting people from overpopulated Japan and Korea and importing the goods they would produce there.

In the middle of the sheet is a world map (centered on Japan) displaying the territory of the major countries and empires. To its left is a set of pie charts demonstrating the amounts of various goods produced in Japan and the regions that produced the most of a given good. These charts reveal, for instance, the importance of Osaka to the silk industry and Kyushu for mining, as well as the products sent from Japan's frontiers (Hokkaido) and colonies (Taiwan and Korea), such as beef, rice, and wheat, to the metropole. To the right of the world map at the center is a similar set of pie charts plotting the relative share of production of various goods in different countries, showing, for example, America's domination of cotton production and Japan's similar command of silk production.

At the bottom-right is an illustrated map of Japan displaying the various goods produced in different regions of the country (including Taiwan and Korea) and a transportation (rail) map of Japan appears at the bottom-left. Next to the illustrated map is a pie chart of various countries' share of global paper production, and below is a bar chart of the number of military airplanes held by major powers. Next to the transportation map is an illustrated representation of major countries' national debt per capita and national wealth (presumably gross national product) per capita.

At the bottom-center and surrounding the map is promotional text for Shōgakukan's various publications, especially Shōgaku Rokunensei, for which this sheet was printed as a supplement. As it was intended for children, the sheet liberally employs furigana, in which the easier to read kana are written in superscript next to the more difficult kanji.

It is notable that a publication intended for children (albeit older children) would so casually discuss matters of geopolitics and relative military strength. Japan was not unique in this regard, though this sort of map and related works intended for children would become more common and more militant in tone as the 1930s progressed, especially after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945).

Publication History and Census

This sheet was prepared (edited) by the Study Guidance Research Club (學習指導研究會, an office or body within Shōgakukan), printed on September 8, 1934 (Showa 9), and published on October 1 of the same year as a supplement to Shōgaku Rokunensei (小学六年生), the most advanced of a series of children's magazines corresponding to school levels published by Shōgakukan. It is not independently cataloged among the holdings of any institution. Several major research institutions (the National Diet Library, the National Taiwan Library, the National Museum of Japanese History) do catalog Shōgaku Rokunensei, though they would not necessarily include this supplement. The National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Occupation in Busan, South Korea, independently catalogs a sheet with the same title and similar design but with updated information that appeared as a supplement to Shōgaku Rokunensei in September 1937 (Showa 12).