Key parts of the diary of geographical surveyor Ino Tadataka (1745-1818), who in the 19th century created the first detailed and stunningly accurate map of the Japanese archipelago, has been made into a DVD set to go on sale Sept. 19.

Historical treasure: Pages from the diary of Ino Tadataka are shown in a DVD that goes on sale Sept. 19. KYODO PHOTO

Tadataka's diary, designated as a national treasure, includes detailed records of his trip from Hokkaido through Kyushu from 1800 to 1816. The original diary consists of 51 notebooks he used during his trip, plus another 28 in which he wrote out his findings after the trip. The DVD contains scanned images of the pages of the latter.

A photocopy of the diary was created as many as 30 years ago, but it has not been published because of its massive size. The DVD will sell for ¥20,000.