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was a Japanese cartographer and artist, known by his
During that decade Yoshida was flooded with requests to create a bird's-eye maps from the whole country (including Manchuria and Taiwan). He hired disciples to help with his works, while moving his base to Inuyama City and
bird's-eye view
A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object or location from a very steep viewing angle, creating a perspective as if the observer were a bird in flight looking downwards. Bird's-eye views can be an aerial photograph, but also a draw ...
maps of cities and towns. Known as the "Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川 広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...
of the Taisho Era," Yoshida created over 3,000 maps in his lifetime.
Biography
Yoshida was born inKyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
in 1884 as Hatsusaburo Izumi. His father died when he was a year old, so he adopted his mother's surname. At age 10, Yoshida became a textile designer apprentice, dyeing textiles for kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
. When he turned 25, he studied foreign painting with Masaro Kagiki, but turned to commercial art at Kagiki's recommendation.
In 1914, his first bird's-eye view "Keihan Train Guide" was praised by Emperor Showa
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
(then Crown Prince), who was aboard the Keihan Train on a school trip.
The popularity of Hatsushiro's birds-eye view maps increased due to the tourism boom in Japan from Taisho to Showa era. Yoshida established the , which was later renamed . Yoshida visited the places which he depicted on maps, talking to people and studying popular attractions.
In 1921, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the introduction of rail transport in Japan, the Ministry of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...
decided to publish "Railway Travel Information" guides with maps illustrated by Yoshida. He also made posters for the International Tourism Bureau's "Beautiful Japan" campaign in the 1930s.
During that decade Yoshida was flooded with requests to create a bird's-eye maps from the whole country (including Manchuria and Taiwan). He hired disciples to help with his works, while moving his base to Inuyama City and Hachinohe
is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 221,459, and a population density of 725 persons per km2 in 96,092 households, making it Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The city h ...
City (Tanesashi Coast
The is section of the coastline on the Pacific Ocean, located in the southern portion of the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It is extends for from the island of Kabushima south towards the city of ...
). He also received requests from many friends, like royalty such as Prince Takamatsu
was the third son of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako) and a younger brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). He became heir to the Takamatsu-no-miya (formerly Arisugawa-no-miya), one of the four ''shinnōke'' or branches of ...
and soldiers such as Iwane Matsui
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary force sent to China in 1937. He was convicted of war crimes and executed by the Allies for his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre.
Born in Nagoya, Matsui chose ...
. However, during World War II, Yoshida's map production slowed down; the military judged those maps would be inconvenient in that time, as they would potentially reveal military secrets, such as secret harbors, to the enemy.
Yoshida's first major work following the war was a bird's-eye view of the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
Yoshida died in 1955. In 1999, a retrospective exhibition about his maps was held at the Sakai City Museum
is located within Daisen Park, in Sakai-ku, Sakai City, in Osaka Prefecture.
The exhibition hall of approx. 1,330 square meters is divided up into areas for ancient times, the middle ages, early modern, and modern times.
The museum was opened in ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshida, Hatsusaburo 1884 births 1955 deaths Japanese cartographers Japanese illustrators People from Kyoto