Based on Cretaceous-Tertiary accretionary sequences of the Shimanto Belt in Japan, the complex history of these exceptionally exposed rocks is summarized through a series of outcrop- to microscopic scale photographs, sketches, and geological maps, most of which are in full colour. This atlas broadens the base of general knowledge of the growth of continental margins, and provides both a general introduction to research in accretionary prisms as well as an education aid for students in sedimentology, structural geology and tectonics.