Topographical Maps of Japan

1. NDL Collections

The NDL holds topographical maps from the Meiji era. They are mainly issued by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) or its antecedent organizations.

The following pages describe the major collections. Index maps of the major series are also be posted.

ScalePage TitleFeatures
1:5,000,000 - 1:200,000Small Scale MapsVast areas can be identified in a single map. Regional maps, complete maps of Japan, etc.
1:100,000 - 1:10,000Medium Scale MapsThis is the most substantial collection as it covers whole country, and these maps are created continuously over long periods. 1:25,000 - 1:50,000 scale topographical maps, etc.
Maps larger than 1:10,000Large Scale MapsThey contain the most detailed information, but their scope is often limited to urban areas.

2. Use of Materials

Materials in the collection can be used in the Map Room (Tokyo Main Library).
Most of them are held in the closed stacks, so please search and make a reading request via the "NDL Search".

2-1. Searching from "NDL Search"

The main retrieval methods are as follows:

2-1-1. Searching by Map Title

Enter the map title in the keyword field and hit search icon.
It is possible to find the map titles of materials in the major collections from catalogs and index maps installed in the Map Room and in the scale-specific pages.
In many cases, major geographical names are used as map titles, and users can also search by entering a suitable geographic name.

  • Map Title Changes
    Sometimes the map title for the same location may vary with the year of issue, so entering the "call number" rather than the "map title" will provide more comprehensive search results. For example, the map title for the topographical map with NDL call number "YG1-Z-2.5-50-10-b" was "Fuchu" in issues until 1939 and changed to "Tachikawa" in issues after 1941.

2-1-2. Searching by Call Number

Enter the call number into the keyword field and hit search icon.
Users can find the call numbers for materials in the major collections by catalogs or index maps installed in the Map Room and in the scale-specific pages.

  • How NDL Call Numbers are configured
    The National Diet Library call numbers for topographical maps of Japan are composed in the format "YG1-Z-scale-○-△-a~d". The suffix "○-△-a~d" represents each area.

2-2. Searching with Index Maps

Index maps of the major collections are set up in the Map Room, and can also be seen in the scale-specific pages.
Colored squares in the index maps are within the scope of this library.

Users can search by entering the map title or the call number into the keyword field on the "NDL Search".
In some instances "How to Request Materials" is posted on the index map. Please see each index map in detail.

3. Related Websites