HARADA, T. / FESCA, Max. Japanese Islands /Systems of mountains and rivers. (1889). 510 x 420 mm. Folding map in four sections mounted on canvas, lithographed in color. This map is considered the first national geological and geographical thematic map of Japan, or at least one of the earliest to combine relief and hydrography on a national scale. It includes a large inset at upper left showing Hokkaido. Drawn at a scale of 1:3,100,000 (i.e., 1 cm = 31 km), it employs contour lines with 500-meter intervals and auxiliary contours every 100 meters. The map forms part of the Meiji-era government’s scientific modernization project, through which the government sought to systematically map the territory and better understand its natural resources. The title, “Systems of Mountains and Rivers,” indicates that the focus lies not only on topography (mountain ranges) but also on hydrological networks, the map highlights the major river basins, waterways, and their relationship to the terrain.