"History doesn't repeat itself, but it sometimes rhymes" - Mark Twain. 

Maps of Japan from 1855.  

The following images are a collection of sections from a map of Japan used in 1855 by English speaking travelers.   

Map Legend

Transcription: 

"The Japanese islands are studded by lofty volcanic mountains especially Nipon which is traversed through its whole length by a chain which forms the water shed of the island & the highest peaks of which are covered with perpetual snow.  There are seven active volcanoes, three in Kinsin & four in Nipon.  Besides four other mountains sending out hot springs: along the coast there are several barring islands.  The rivers are numerous but short.  The empire includes eight great subdivisions, called Do, or Ways, viz. 1.Saikaido, west sea way, nine provinces.  2 Nankaido, south sea way, six provinces, 3.Sanyodo, south mountain way, eight provinces 4. Sanindo north mountain way, eight provinces 5. Gokinaido, five provinces, imperial domain, 6. Tokaido east sea way, fifteen provinces 7.  Tosando, east mountains, eight provinces 8. Takarukaido, way of the north districts, seven provinces.  tsu. iki & jesa are not included in this arrangement."

Names:

The Gokishichido names referred to above were the name for ancient administrative units organized in Japan during the Asuka Period and were as part of a Ritsuryo structure borrowed from the Chinese.  While these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi Period, they did remain important geographical entities up until the 19th century....

Main Map

"Nankaido"

Nainkaido, south sea way, six provinces as shown below and to the right.  Nainkaido is the Gokishichido name for ancient administrative units organized in Japan during the Asuka Period

Saikaido,

Saikaido, west sea way, nine provinces and two islands - other names include Kyukoku - Nine States.  Saikaido is the Gokishichido name for the ancient administrative unit organized in Japan during the Asuka Period

1. Chikuzen was an Provinces of Japan of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu, but without the southern and eastern parts of Fukuoka....

2. Chikugo Province is the name of a provinces of Japan of Japan in the area that is today the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture, on Kyushu.

3. Buzen was an old provinces of Japan of Japan in northern Kyushu, which bordered on Bungo province and Chikuzen provinces. Today the area is the eastern part of Fukuoka Prefecture, including some northern districts of Oita Prefecture.

4. Bungo Province was a Provinces of Japan of Japan in eastern Kyushu.

5. Hizen Province was a former old provinces of Japan of Japan which bordered on the provinces Chikuzen province and Chikugo province. It was included in Saikaido, and today the area is split into Saga prefecture and Nagasaki prefecture prefectures, although it did not include the regions of Tsushima Province and Iki Province that are now part of modern Nagasaki.

6. Higo was an old provinces of Japan of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

7. Hyuga was an old provinces of Japan of Japan on the east coast of Kyushu, corresponding to the modern Miyazaki prefecture.

8. Satsuma Province was an old provinces of Japan of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Its abbreviation is Sasshu ....

9. Osumi Province was an old provinces of Japan of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima prefecture

10. Iki Island is an island lying between the island of Kyushu and the Tsushima Islands.

11. Tsushima Islands in the Tsushima Strait, the eastern channel of the Korea Strait..