The aim of the article is to show the link between map and ideology, and more specifically how maps reproduce national identities in modern Japanese popular culture. In selected cases and illustrations from the Nihon no rekishi nenpy jiten [Chronological encyclopaedia of the history of Japan], I will show how news about the shape and number of the islands of Japan are used for this process. The choice of the comic was justified by the fact that it was not a catalogue of maps of Japan, but a popular introduction to Japan’s history. In order to structure the reasoning, the content of the article is divided into two parts. The first is the introduction of Japanese cartography and related ideological content, which is not present in Polish literature, and the second includes an analysis of concrete examples of national ideas contained in the Nihon no rekishi nenpy jiten.