Obayashi Corporation’s new research team has turned a 1730 sketch by Edo scholar Motoori Norinaga into a 3‑D blueprint. The 517×720 mm map, found in the Museum of Motoori Norinaga, shows a fictional castle town whose streets, shrines and samurai residences mirror a genealogical table Norinaga drew at nineteen. The project reconstructs the imagined urban layout.

Norinaga’s map pairs with a back‑side genealogical chart that lists more than two hundred vassals, their land holdings, birth years and even spouses. Scholars note that the locations of mansions on the chart line up exactly with the map’s buildings, suggesting the diagram was a companion plan. The discovery, made in 1978, re‑opens a 250‑year‑old design mystery.

The Obayashi team employs architectural analysis, GIS mapping and historical geography to validate the town’s defense lines, waterways, and festival routes. Field visits to Matsusaka and Kyoto confirm that the terrain and river names match classical references. By layering digital layers over the original drawing, the team creates a navigable 3‑D model that users can explore in virtual reality.

The project illustrates how a forgotten manuscript can inform modern urban design. By translating Norinaga’s ideal into a tangible 3‑D environment, scholars gain insight into Edo‑period planning principles and the intellectual climate that shaped Japan’s cultural elite. The final model will be displayed at the Museum of Motoori Norinaga next spring, offering visitors a rare window into a speculative past.