Japanese Take Big Interest in Historic Maps

Old maps of Japan are "in" according to the Japan Times:

"Recently, maps priced relatively high -- at about 3,000 yen -- have been selling well," said Toshiyuki Mizutani of Shiryo Shuppan, a map-publishing firm in Tokyo. The company sells reproductions of about 40 maps of Tokyo and other locations in Japan.

At one Tokyo bookstore, people of all ages on their way home from work stop to look at old maps. Map sales at bookstores are growing as people use them to take historical walks around Tokyo and to decorate their homes.

The Times says the new interest in old maps was sparked by Yahoo Japan Corp.'s new Tokyo historic map service, "Tokyo Tours With Old Maps." In addition to the historic maps the website has trivia questions about the location of current and historic events.

Among the best selling reproductions are maps from the Edo Period, and maps from the Genroku Period (1688-1704) which have been the subject of popular fiction.