Map of Japan (Kanazawa Bunko)
It is likely that the map was originally in possession of the medieval Kanazawa Bunko, which had been founded by the Kanesawa branch of the Hōjō clan, who was the de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate.
After the downfall of the Kamakura shogunate, the holdings of Kanazawa Bunko were stored at the neighboring temple of Shōmyōji, which had also been established by the Kanesawa branch family.
A distinct feature of the map is that Japan is surrounded by the body of a serpent-like creature, which scholars identify as a dragon.
[1] Scholars draw attention to the inclusion of small islands in northern Kyūshū, namely, Shikanoshima (シカノ島) and Takeshima (竹嶋).
[1] The label on the land mass in the south reads: "Country of Raksasas: inhabited by women; people who visit never return" (羅刹國 女人萃来人不還).
The textual references to the Raksasas or man-eating female demons can be found in the Konjaku Monogatarishū (12th century) and the Uji Shūi Monogatari (early 13th century) and can be traced back to the Chinese Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (646).
[1] In the southwestern corner, the label on the land mass reads: "Ushima, State of Ryūkyū] a human body and a bird head; Amami Island: a privately-owned district" (龍及國宇嶋身人頭鳥 雨見嶋私領郡).
Chikama Tokiie, who ruled a portion of Satsuma Province in southern Kyūshū, created a set of documents of inheritance in 1306.
Scholars interpret Ushima (宇嶋) as a transcription of Ōshima (大嶋) or "Great Island".
Standard Japanese Ō (< *opo) is pronounced Ufu or Huu in modern southern dialects although it is unlikely that the raising of /o/ to /u/ completed by the late Kamakura period.
[5] Geographer Yoshinari and mythologist Fuku argue that a "bird head" might indicate a feather headdress worn by an Okinawan shaman.
Even though the Chinese Song dynasty was conquered by the Mongol Empire in 1279, China is treated as a separate entity.
The Toi were Jurchen pirates who raided the coasts of Japan in the early 11th century, but were confused with the Mongols.
