
06/16/2025
Learn more about Takeshirō Matsuura (1818-1888)--a Japanese explorer, author, and artist known as the "Godfather of Hokkaido"--in this new blog post: https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2025/06/highlights-of-ainu-and-ezochi-rare-materials-at-the-library-of-congress-takeshiro-matsuura-19th-century-humanist-explorer-of-ezochi/?loclr=fbint.
Several of Matsuura's written works, many of which are richly illustrated, can be viewed freely online through the Library's Ainu and Ezochi Rare Collection at https://www.loc.gov/collections/ainu-and-ezochi-rare-collection/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbint.
Image: Portrait of Matsuura, left, from “The Old Geographer Matsuura Takeshiro" (1916), and a scene from “Kita Ezo yoshi, ichimei, Taraika Orokko kikō” (An account of northern Ezo, or travels in Taraika and Orokko).