La ville d´Osacco / De Stadt Osacco

  • Translation

Article ID ASN0708

Title

La ville d´Osacco / De Stadt Osacco

Description

Beautiful total view of Osaka with ships in the foreground

Year

ca. 1669

Artist

Montanus (1625-1683)

Arnold Montanus (1625-1683) was a Dutch theologian and historian. In addition to extensive editorial work, he has written numerous historical treatises dealing with the peoples and culture of the New World and the overseas activities of the Dutch. Although he never left Europe himself, his books, translated into many languages, had a great influence on the European perception of the area concerned. De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld (The Unknown New World) and Gedenkwardige Gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in′t Vereenigde Nederland (Memorable Embassies of the East Indian Society in the United Netherlands) are his best known writings. He published Guiccardini's description of the Netherlands in Dutch in 1612, translated Giovanni Gioviano Pontano's (Pontanus) description of the trading city of Amsterdam from Latin in 1614, and published Mercator's Cosmographicae Meditationes in 1621. The additions to the text in Hondius' edition of Mercator's great atlas are probably also from his pen. Montanus bought seafarers and employees of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) information and travel reports, and published them in 1669 in the publishing house of Jacob van Meurs (1619–1680).

Historical Description

The city of Osaka was originally called Naniwa and was last the capital of Japan in 744 under Shōmu-tennō. There have been important land and sea links between Yamato , Korea and China since earliest times. The Jōdo-Shinshū Buddhist religious community established its headquarters in Ishiyama (now part of Osaka) in 1496 in the heavily fortified temple of Ishiyama Hongan-ji. Osaka was called Ōzaka from the Middle Ages until pre-modern times. At the beginning of the Meiji period, the city was renamed by the government to its present name Osaka. Nowadays, Osaka is the third largest Japanese city after Tokyo and Yokohama, and the most important in terms of goods economy, as the main markets for the exchange of goods are located there.

Place of Publication Amsterdam
Dimensions (cm)26 x 69
ConditionPrinted on 2 sheets joined together, mounted
Coloringoriginal colored
TechniqueCopper print

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