Inō Tadataka

In this Japanese name, the family name is Inō.

Inō Tadataka (伊能 忠敬, February 11, 1745 – May 17, 1818), also romanized as "Inou", was born in Kujyukuri, Chiba. His real name was Jinbo Sanjiro. He was a Japanese surveyor and mapmaker. He was the first person who made an accurate map of Japan. He started his travel through Japan in 1800. He walked together with his group about 44,000 km to create a map of Japan. When he died in 1818, Takahashi Kageyasu took over and finished the map in 1821.

History

He was born in Kujukuri, Chiba. When he was 18 years old, he was adopted by the Inou family in Sawara. The Inou family was in a difficult situation because they did not earn much money. However, he ran the family business and it succeeded. When he was 50 years old, he went to Edo to study astronomy because he was interested in it.

Making a map

In 1800, when he was 55 years old, he went to Hokkaido and started to make a map. After three years, he finished making a map of East Japan. Before making a map, the government opposed him making it but it was very accurate. Therefore, the government ordered him to make a map of West Japan. In 1815, he completed it.

Commemoration

After his death, some monuments and commemoration were built. For example, Ino Tadataka Anniversary Park in Kujukuri is one of the famous commemorations. In 1995, the Japanese government made a commemorative 80 Yen postage stamp.