Hiroshi Motomiya’s Manga About Japan’s Most Famous Cartographer Ends!

The so-called “historical” mangas are not often very historically accurate.

Although that is not their purpose, the name of the genre seems to be a little deceptive in that regard. These stories have their own place, and so does the Takeki Ougon No Kuni series.

Hiroshi Motomiya’s Takeki Ougon No Kuni franchise probably has the most historically accurate stories about prominent Japanese figures to date. 

The manga has previously covered personalities like Yataro Iwasaki(Founder of Mitsubishi), Saito Dosan (Samurai), and Yagyu Muneori(Tajima’s God). His most recent reincarnation of the series has now come to an end.

Shueisha’s Grand Jump magazine has published the final chapter of Takeki Ogon No Kuni: Ino Tadakata in this year’s 16th Issue. 

This iteration of the series began its serialization back in November 2020. The two volumes of the manga will be available from 19th October 2021.

The story covers the life of famous Japanese cartographer Ino Tadakata, who is known for creating the first map of Japan using modern surveying techniques. This enormous task took him a total of 17 years in the early 19th century! 

History is boring for most people when taught the conventional way. While the drab information dump has its uses, how cool would it be to learn about historical figures through the medium of manga?

While there are some dramatic liberties taken here and there, Hiroshi Motomiya’s work is accurate for the most part and can be used as a great supplement to a standard history lesson.

So next time when you are interested in Japanese History, do not forget to take a look at the Takeki Ogon No Kuni series! 

About Takeki Ougon no Kuni

Takeki Ougon no Kuni is a manga series by Motomiya Hiroshi that Shueisha started serialization in 1991. It is also known by the name, Fierce Land of Gold.

The founder of Mitsubishi, Iwasaki Yatarou is a lonely man who wanders around in the Inokuchi village. His everyday life is filled with rage and restlessness.

That is until he met John Manjirou, whose stories of foreign lands moved him. His hope of eventually studying in Edo is faced with some unforeseen circumstances.

Source: Grand Jump Issue 16/2021