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.

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

• The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI)
  • GSI Maps
    Users can view GSI maps and aerial photographs with a web browser. Users can view maps of various scales ranging from national maps of Japan all the way down to highly detailed maps delineating buildings. Because map data is essentially a modern development, it is not possible to view maps of the past; it is possible to display the latitude, longitude, and altitude of specific geographical points; also possible to know 1:25,000 scale map titles. In addition, there are a multitude of types of aerial photographs and other thematic maps that can be displayed over topographical maps.
  • A History of Topographical and Geographical Maps
    Users can check the map titles and the map histories of 1:200,000 scale geographical maps (including imperial maps) and 1:50,000, 1:25,000, and 1:10,000 scale topographical maps.
  • 1:25,000 Scale Topographical Map Production This page shows how to update topographical maps based on aerial photography.
  • Reading and Using 1:25,000 Scale Topographical Maps
    This page includes a guide to map symbols and an explanation on how to read topographical maps.
• Japan Map Center
  • Publication List of GSI Maps Users can find the titles of latest editions of 1:200,000 geographical maps, 1:50,000, 1:25,000, and 1:10,000 topographical maps.
  • Browse Color Topographical Maps Users can browse 1:25,000 scale color topographical maps.