Magiri-zu

• Japanese: 間切図 (magiri zu)

The magiri-zu are a series of some twenty-five highly accurate maps (zu) of the districts (magiri) of the Ryûkyû Kingdom created as the result of a 1737-1750 land survey known as the Qianlong jiandi (J: Kenryû kenchi). The maps were made on high quality paper, and feature bright, vivid colors in high quality pigments, including Prussian blue, the world's first artificial pigment, which did not see widespread use in mainland Japan until nearly a century later (in the 1830s).

Some 25 such maps are supposed to have been created during the land survey, but only seven are known to be extant today. Of those seven, six were taken to the United States at some point, but were returned to Okinawa in 2001 with the help of NPO Incorporated Ryukyu America Historical Research Society (Ryûbei Rekishi Kenkyûkai), and were given to the Okinawa Prefectural Museum in 2003. They have now been designated on the national level as Important Cultural Properties.

References

• Gallery labels, Ryukyu/Okinawa no chizu ten, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Feb 2017.