This humorous map by Kisaburo O’Hara depicts Eurasia and dates back to the Russo-Japanese War. With Russia shown as a black octopus, the map reads, in English, ‘Black Octopus� is a name newly given to Russia by a certain prominent Englishman. For the black octopus is so avaricious, that he stretches out his eight arms in all directions, and seizes up every thing that comes within his reach. But as it sometimes happens he gets wounded seriously even by a small fish, owing to his too much covetousness. Indeed, a Japanese proverb says: �Great avarice is like unselfishness.� We Japanese need not to say much on the cause of the present war. Suffice it to say that the further existence of the Black Octopus will depend entirely upon how he comes out of this war. The Japanese fleet has already practically annihilated Russia�s naval powers in the Orient. The Japanese army is about to win a signal victory over Russia in Corea and Manchuria. And when � St. Petersburg? Wait & see! The ugly Black Octopus! Hurrah! Hurrah! for Japan.””