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From Fieldwork in Japan to Print: The Reciprocal Relationship between Johannes Justus Rein and the Perthes Publishing House

On a winter morning in 1875, the geographer Johannes Justus Rein was staying at the German Legation in Tokyo. For over a year, Rein had been conducting field research in Japan under the auspices of a government-sponsored expedition. In a letter to August Petermann (10 January 1875), he outlined his plans for the scholarly evaluation of his fieldwork upon return of his journey:

“The news that you intend to undertake a new map of Nippon gives me renewed impetus to finally fulfil this intention [to reply to you]. Although your map of Japan [Petermann 1875] is by far the best among those published so far in Europe, it still contains many gaps, and I hope to provide you with abundant material to eliminate these. But precisely for this reason, it would be advisable to postpone publication until my return, as I will then be able to provide you with all my notes, as well as my various special maps of Japan, and discuss with you several points that cannot be resolved by correspondence alone. My intention, besides my technical work, is also to publish a Geography of Japan, and for this reason it would be desirable to be able to refer to a new map prepared by you.”1 (Rein 1875b)

This letter sheds light on the relationship between the geographer Johannes Justus Rein and the cartographer August Petermann—an exemplary instance of the dense global networks cultivated by the Justus Perthes publishing house to accumulate geographical knowledge. Rein supplied Petermann with cartographic material from Japan, hoping in return not only that the latter would produce maps tailored to his geographical publications, but also that these would secure him greater visibility within both the scientific community and the informed bourgeois readership of Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen. Rather than tracing the technical details of map production, this article focuses on the reciprocal relationship between a field-based geographer and the leading cartographic institution of the period. Taking the collaboration between Rein and Perthes as a case study, it explores how both actors strategically benefited from one another: while the publishing house gained access to data, maps, and contacts, Rein enhanced his scholarly reputation through the visualisation and dissemination of his research. Their cooperation exemplifies the foundational role that such symbiotic relationships played in the disciplinary formation of geography—where explorers and publishers jointly contributed to its academic and institutional rise.

Johannes Justus Rein was born in 1835 in Raunheim am Main and, following his studies in the natural sciences, initially worked as a teacher in a secondary school in Frankfurt. Beyond this, he was actively involved in scientific societies such as the Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft and the Frankfurt Association for Geography and Statistics and undertook research expeditions, including one to Morocco and Spain. When the Prussian Ministry of Commerce selected a candidate to be sent to Japan to study traditional Japanese handicrafts, Rein was chosen due to his extensive travel experience, multilingual abilities (though notably not including Japanese), and comprehensive scientific education, particularly in the field of commodity science. For Rein, this assignment represented a unique opportunity: through this governmental commission, he could travel to Japan—a region scarcely studied by individual scholars from Europe—thereby increasing his recognition within the scientific community and establishing a reputation in the emerging discipline of geography. Rein had already expressed to Petermann his hopes for a scientific career in the newly institutionalizing academic field before his departure to Japan:

“I aspire to a professorship in geography, but I lack an important means to achieve this: as my friend de Bary told me, I am too little known in scholarly circles [due to a lack of publications]. […] A professorship in Strasbourg is currently under discussion and has not yet been filled, and on this occasion, I recalled your previous kind consideration of me.”2 (Rein 1873a)

Rein asked Petermann to keep him in mind should his opinion be sought. Petermann responded favourably to this request; however, their interaction intensified only after he learned of Rein’s journey to Japan. Before departing, Rein visited Gotha to receive oral instructions from the local cartographers and to obtain copies of the recently published map of Japan from Stielers Hand-Atlas (Rein 1873b) (Fig. 1). At the time of Rein’s departure, European knowledge of Japanese cartography remained limited, and Petermann’s mapping project was still in its early stages. Rein’s forthcoming contributions thus promised to fill significant gaps in the available cartographic material.

Japan developed its own cartographic tradition, which produced numerous maps of the country; however, during the period of limited exchange with Europe (1639–1858), only a few of these maps became available in Europe (Unno 1994). With the forced opening of Japan and the political transformation brought about by the Meiji Restoration in the mid-19th century, scientific interest in this previously scarcely accessible land grew significantly among Western scholars (paralleled by a growing economic interest on the part of governments and commercial actors). Petermann’s decision to initiate a project to map Japan in the 1870s aligns with these developments. For this endeavour, he required not only Japanese cartographic material but was also interested in altitude measurements of Japan’s highest mountains (Petermann 1873: 151).

Fig. 1: Rein received this map from Petermann before departing for Japan.
August Petermann: China (östl. Theil), Korea und Japan im Maassstabe von 1:7.500.000, in: Adolf Stieler (ed.): Handatlas über alle Theile der Erde und über das Weltgebäude, Gotha 1875, pl. 65.
Gotha Research Library, Perthes Collection, SPA 2° 000020. Link ↗

Because he was heavily occupied with his government commission, research for Perthes represented for Rein merely a “secondary activity” during his time in Japan (Rein 1879a: 292). Nevertheless, Rein devoted time to gathering information for Petermann: shortly after his arrival, he purchased “for one dollar a large Japanese map” and spent “every day half an hour to one hour going over a section with my teacher”3 Sanda Tadashi (1847–1905) (Rein to his wife Elisabeth, 25 January 1874, quoted in Koch/Conrad 2006: 162). Overall, he compiled a collection of 42 Japanese maps, which he acquired from local markets, received from village heads in the interior of the country, or was provided by other Germans residing in the country and affiliated with the German Society for Natural and Ethnological Sciences of East Asia (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens). During his travels, Rein traversed extensive regions, covering 35 out of 47 prefectures (Fig. 2). Along his route, including mountain passes and peaks, he conducted angular and altitude measurements to reassess the accuracy of existing maps and to gather data for new cartographic constructions (Nauheim 2025) (Fig. 3 & 4).

Fig. 2: Altogether, Rein undertook eight research expeditions into the interior of the country. As shown in his overview sketch of the travel routes, he primarily moved along the old overland roads, the so-called kaidō.
Übersichtsskizze von Dr. Rein’s Reiserouten in Japan 1874–1876. Maassstab 1:7.500.000, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1897), p. 293. Link ↗
Fig. 3: This sketch was made by Rein at the summit of Mount Fuji, which he reached on 1 September 1874.
Topographische Skizze des Fuji-no-yama-Gipfels. Nach Dr. R. v. Drasche und Dr. J. Rein entworfen von B. Hassenstein. Maassstab etwa 1:12 500, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1897), p. 369. Link ↗
Fig. 4: The profile of Mount Fuji was created based on Rein’s angular measurements taken on the Yoshida side and it largely corresponds to a photograph of the mountain—though not to the conventional pictorial representations, which are almost always far too steep, as is commonly the case with illustrations of other volcanoes.
Profil des Fuji-no-yama von Norden nach Süden. Wahres Verhältnis des Längen- und Höhenmaassstab, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1897), p. 372. Link ↗

Following Petermann’s death in 1878, the cartographic editorship of the Mitteilungen was assumed by Bruno Hassenstein (1839–1902), one of Petermann’s earliest students and long-time collaborators. When Hassenstein later launched a project for a Japan atlas (1885/7), Rein’s contributions extended well beyond the mere provision of data and materials: he also facilitated essential contacts required for the production of detailed and accurate maps of Japan (Müller 2024). This included European scholars in Japan, such as Erwin Knipping (1844–1922), who possessed an extensive collection of Japanese maps and contributed his measurements to the publishing house. On this basis, a route map was created to accompany Rein’s text on the prominent historical road Nakasendō (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5: This is one of the three route maps that accompanied Rein’s article on the Nakasendō and is based on a joint journey undertaken by the two scholars along this historic road.
Itinerar-Skizze des Nakasendo von Otsu bis Tokio. Nach eigenen Aufzeichnungen von E. Knipping 1875. Maassstab 1:250.000. Blatt I., von Otsu bis Kanno, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, Ergänzungsheft 59 (1880), pl. 1. Link ↗

The transliteration of characters on the Japanese maps posed arguably the greatest challenge in producing usable cartographic material. For this reason, Rein established contact with Ernest Mason Satow (1843–1929), a British diplomat who had spent many years in Japan and was proficient in the language (Rein 1879c). Furthermore, he facilitated the connection to his constant companion during his travels in Japan, Sanda Tadashi, who, by that time, was serving at the Japanese legation in London. He then assisted Hassenstein with the transliteration. The first outcome of this collaboration was the map titled The Surroundings of Tokyo Bay and the Volcano Fuji-No-Yama in 1879 (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: This map is based on the Map of the 13 Provinces from which Mount Fuji Is Visible (Fujimi jūsanshū yochi no zenzu) by Akiyama Nagatoshi (1843).
Die Umgegend der Bai von Tōkio und des Vulkans Fuji-No-Yama. Mit Unterstützung von Prof. J. Rein und Tadashi Sanda gezeichnet von B. Hassenstein, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1879), pl. 19. Link ↗

The publishing house thus benefited in multiple ways from the explorer Rein: it gained original field measurements, a diverse collection of Japanese maps, and valuable contacts. However, Rein was also able to derive advantages from the collaboration.

Before geography was established as an academic discipline at German universities and debates about a discipline-specific methodology took place, the field was largely sustained by a bourgeois readership, who organized themselves in geographical societies and consumed accounts of explorers in journals such as the Mitteilungen. Rein understood that, even though these publications sometimes appeared somewhat popular-scientific, he needed to engage with them in order to influence contemporary scientific discourse and gain recognition among his fellow scholars. Accordingly, while still in Japan, he published reports in the Mitteilungen about his journeys into the interior, vividly describing his experiences for a broad audience while simultaneously presenting scientific observations relevant to various disciplines. Rein used this opportunity to introduce the toponym “Japanese Snow Mountains”—a designation that ultimately did not prevail but nonetheless attests to Rein’s self-understanding as a pioneer in the European exploration of Japan (Rein 1875a: 220). Rein wrote to his wife that he was eager to learn “what impression my work will make on Mr. [Heinrich] Glogau [1828–1877], Dr. Petermann, and the audience at large. I am very satisfied with it, I believe that I bring a great deal of new information to it, and that I clearly demonstrate to the audience my comprehensive scientific education“4 (Rein to his wife Elisabeth, 20 August 1874, quoted in Koch/Conrad 2006: 269).

Following his journey to Japan, Rein published four articles in the Mitteilungen about his stay there (Rein 1878; 1879a; 1879b; 1880). His plan, articulated in the letter presented at the beginning, to supplement his geographical study of Japan with maps produced by the Perthes publishing house did not come to fruition. Petermann passed away in 1878, and the atlas project subsequently initiated by Hassenstein experienced significant delays. By the time Rein published the first part of his geographical study of Japan in 1881 with the second part following in 1886 (Rein 1881/86), he was already recognized within the scholarly community as an expert on Japan—also due to his prominently placed publications in the Mitteilungen. These publications not only brought him recognition but also enhanced his credibility and scientific authority regarding Japan, as they conveyed that all his information was obtained through direct observation, thereby promising unadulterated results. By the time his two-volume work on Japan appeared, much of the interested readership was likely already familiar with his journey, whose scholarly presentation would, over the following decades, establish him as one of Europe’s foremost Japan experts.

Petermann referred to Rein in one of his letters as a “dear supporter and friend”5, a designation that Rein regarded as a great honour (Rein to his wife Elisabeth, 28 May 1875, quoted in Koch/Conrad 2006: 362). At that time, it was undoubtedly advantageous for an aspiring geographer to enjoy the favour of the cartographer through whom the threads of the global geographic knowledge network converged. However, their relationship was almost symbiotic, mutually benefiting both parties and enabling the production of geographic knowledge and cartographic representations of Japan in Gotha.

References

Hassenstein, Bruno: Die Umgegend der Bai von Tōkio und des Vulkans Fuji-No-Yama. Mit Unterstützung von Prof. J. Rein und Tadashi Sanda gezeichnet von B. Hassenstein, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1879), pl. 19.

Koch, Matthias, Sebastian Conrad (eds.): Johannes Justus Rein. Briefe eines deutschen Geographen aus Japan 1873–1875, Munich 2006.

Knipping, Erwin: Itinerar-Skizze des Nakasendo von Otsu bis Tokio. Nach eigenen Aufzeichnungen von E. Knipping 1875. (Blatt I., von Otsu bis Kanno; Blatt II., von Kanno bis Shimosuwa; Blatt III., von Shimosuwa bis Tokio), in: Johannes Justus Rein (ed.): Der Nakasendō in Japan. Nach eigenen Beobachtungen und Studien im Anschluss an die Itinerar-Aufnahme von E. Knipping und mit Benutzung von dessen Notizen (Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, Ergänzungsheft 59), Gotha 1880, pl. i–iii.

Müller, Patrick: Mapping Japan. Bruno Hassenstein’s Map of the “Surroundings of Tokyo Bay and of the Volcano Fuji-No-Yama” (1879), in: Mapping Africa and Asia 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/11nkp.

Nauheim, Tobit: Ein Geograph in Japan. Praktiken der Forschungsreise Johannes Justus Reins (Colloquium Geographicum 40), Bergisch Gladbach 2025.

Petermann, August: Die Höhe des Fusiyama in Japan, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 19 (1873), p. 151.

Id.: China (östl. Theil), Korea und Japan im Maassstabe von 1:7.500.000, in: Adolf Stieler (ed.): Handatlas über alle Theile der Erde und über das Weltgebäude, Gotha 1875, pl. 65.

Rein, Johannes Justus to August Petermann, 23 April 1873a, Gotha Research Library, Perthes Collection, SPA ARCH PGM 150 (1), fol. 16.

Id. to August Petermann, 6 May 1873b, Gotha Research Library, Perthes Collection, SPA ARCH PGM 150 (1), fol. 250.

Id.: Dr. J. Rein‘s Reise in Nippon, 1874, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 21 (1875a), pp. 214–222.

Id. to August Petermann, 10 January 1875b, Gotha Research Library, Perthes Collection, SPA ARCH PGM 150 (1), fol. 237.

Id.: Der Fuij-no-yama und seine Besteigung, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1879a), pp. 365–376.

Id.: Höhenbestimmungen in Japan während der Jahre 1874 und 1875, in: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 25 (1879b), pp. 292–297.

Id. to Bruno Hassenstein, 20 February 1879c, Gotha Research Library, Perthes Collection, SPA ARCH PGM 150 (1), fol. 484.

Id.: Der Nakasendō in Japan. Nach eigenen Beobachtungen und Studien im Anschluss an die Itinerar-Aufnahme von E. Knipping und mit Benutzung von dessen Notizen (Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, Ergänzungsheft 59), Gotha 1880.

Id.: Japan nach Reisen und Studien im Auftrage der Königlich Preussischen Regierung dargestellt, vol. 1: Natur und Volk des Mikadoreiches, Leipzig 1881.

Id.: Japan nach Reisen und Studien im Auftrage der Königlich Preussischen Regierung dargestellt, vol. 2: Land- und Forstwirthschaft, Industrie und Handel, Leipzig 1886.

Unno, Kazutaka: Cartography in Japan, in: John Brian Harley, Daniel Woodward (eds.): The History of Cartography, vol. 2.2: Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies, Chicago 1994, pp. 346–477.

  1. “[…] die Nachricht, daß Sie eine neue Karte von Nippon in Angriff nehmen wollen, geben mir einen neuen Anstoß, dieser Absicht [Ihnen zu antworten] endlich nachzukommen. Obgleich Ihre Karte von Japan unter allen bislang in Europa erschienenen weitaus die beste ist, so bietet sie doch noch viele Lücken dar und ich hoffe, Ihnen ein reiches Material liefern zu können, um dieselben zu beseitigen. Aber gerade aus diesem Grunde dürfte es sich empfehlen, daß Sie mit der Herausgabe bis zu meiner Rückkehr warten, da ich Ihnen alsdann alle meine Notizen, sowie meine verschiedenen jap. Specialkarten zur Verfügung stellen und über manchen Punkt mit Ihnen sprechen kann, der sich brieflich nicht erledigen läßt. Meine Absicht ist, außer meinen technischen Arbeiten auch eine Geographie von Japan zu veröffentlichen und es wäre mir auch aus diesem Grund wünschenswerth, wenn ich mich dabei auf eine neue von Ihnen ausgearbeitete Karte beziehen könnte.” []
  2. “Ich strebe nach einer Professur für Geographie, aber es fehlt mir dazu ein wichtiges Mittel: ich bin, wie mir mein Freund de Bary sagte, literarisch zu wenig bekannt. […] Es war die Rede von einer Professur in Straßburg, die noch nicht besetzt ist, und ich dachte Ihnen bei dieser Gelegenheit, daß Sie meiner seiner Zeit freundlich gedachten.” []
  3. “Ich habe mir für einen Dollar eine große japanische Karte gekauft und gehe jeden Tag ½-1 Stunde mit meinem Lehrer einen Theil durch.” []
  4. “Ich bin begierig, welchen Eindruck meine Arbeit auf Herrn Glogau, Dr. Petermann und das Publikum im ganzen machen wird. Ich bin damit sehr zufrieden, glaube, daß ich eine Menge Neues darin bringe und dem Publikum meine allseitige naturwissenschaftliche Bildung wohl zu erkennen gebe, eine Ansicht, die natürlich unter uns bleibt.” []
  5. “Er nennt mich ‚lieber Gönner und Freund‘, eine Bezeichnung, die mich fast schamroth macht, ist sehr dankbar für meine Mittheilungen etc.” []

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Tobit Nauheim (July 1, 2025). From Fieldwork in Japan to Print: The Reciprocal Relationship between Johannes Justus Rein and the Perthes Publishing House. Mapping Africa and Asia. Retrieved February 13, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/148zf


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