Memory of Japan & Korea

A soldier’s souvenir from their deployment in Asia.

This beautiful textile map of eastern Asia was likely printed in the early 1950s as a commemorative souvenir for local American servicemen stationed in Japan (for occupation duty) or Korea (for the ongoing war). Simple outlines of both nations identify primary cities and geographic features, while other toponyms (notably the 38th Parallel) are overprinted with bright red.

Apart from these inauspicious reminders, there are no references to the terrible devastation endured across the region during the prior decades. Attractive pictorial scenes highlight cultural elements like architecture, literature, music, and fashion. The images all face outward, as though the cloth was designed to be laid flat and viewed on a table. This design style is typical of Japanese cartography.