Japan’s Meiji Government affirmed that Dokdo was Korean territory.
Even the Meiji Government, which annexed Dokdo in 1905, initially recognized Dokdo as Korean territory.
Imperial Ordinance 41 of the Great Han Empire stipulating that Dokdo was under the jurisdiction
of the Ulleungdo County Magistracy (1900)
Fishing Rights in the Sea fo Korea 1, which indentified Dokdo as an annex of Ulleungdo,
part of the larger Gangwon Province, Korea
Fishing Rights in the Sea fo Korea 2, which indentified Dokdo as an annex of Ulleungdo,
part of the larger Gangwon Province, Korea 2
The Meiji government sent a team of officials under the leadership of Sada Hakubo to Busan. Their mission was to secretly investigate the possibility of re-establishing diplomatic relations with Joseon and of the annexation of Joseon, and most of all, to investigate “the whole story behind how Ulleungdo and Dokdo became Korean territory.”
This map of Joseon's East Coast, which was published by Japan's Navy Ministry,
clearly identifies Dokdo as Joseon territory (1876)
In 1870, upon their return to Japan, the group, headed by Sada Hakubo, presented a report of their clandestine mission, entitled “Chosenkoku kosai shimatsu naitansho” (A Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea’s Foreign Relations). In this report, Sada, himself an advocate of annexation, stated that Dokdo was a dependency of Ulleungdo, and that no written records were found about the island. His account reaffirmed the view shared by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Dajokan (Great Council of State), Japan’s then highest government body, that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were in fact part of Korea. In 1877, the Meiji government went even further as it confirmed Korean ownership of the two islands.
The Murakami Document (1696) was carried by An Yong-bok on his trip to Japan.
It recorded that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were marked as part of Joseon's Gangwon Province of Korea.
Japan’s Ministry of Home Affairs received an official letter dated the 16th day of the 10th lunar month of 1876 from Shimane Prefecture asking whether “Ulleungdo and Dokdo should be included within its territory.” After an in-depth five-month study, the Ministry concluded that the issue as to which country the two islands belonged to had been closed in 1696, and that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were Joseon territory that “had nothing to do with Japan.”
"A Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea's Foreign Relations" (1870)
Ito Hirobumi and other Japanese officials pose for a photograph while celebrating the signing
of the second Korea-Japan Agreement (Evlsaneugyak, 1905)
On January 28, 1905, the Japanese government unilaterally moved to incorporate Dokdo into its territory, but did not make its decision public for quite some time. The decision was not announced until March 28, 1906 when officials from Shimane Prefecture visited Ulleungdo. The Japanese officials, including Kanda Yoshitaro, traveled to Ulleungdo by way of Dokdo, and informed Sim Heung-taek, then Magistrate of Ulleungdo, that Dokdo had been incorporated into Japan.
A memorandum from Japan's Home Affairs Ministry and a directive issued by
Dajokan proclaiming that Dokdo "had nothing to do with Japan."(1877)
Stunned by this announcement, Sim sent word, the next day to Yi Myeong-nae, then Governor of Gangwon Province. Yi, in turn, recognizing the urgency and gravity of the matter, forwarded the report to the State Council Minister of the Great Han Empire.
A document(1906) the Governor of Gangwon Province Yi Myeong-nae wrote regarding
the Ulleungdo Magistrate's report on Dokdo's incorporation into Japan.
State Council Minister Bak Je-sun, in Directive No. 3 issued on May 20, 1906, stated, “It is totally groundless that Dokdo has become Japanese territory,” and went on to order “an investigation and report on the situation and on what the Japanese have done.”
Chosen suiro-shi (JoseonCoast Pilot), Second Edition (1899)
This clearly indicates that the Joseon government considered Dokdo to be its territory.
Even the Meiji Government, which annexed Dokdo in 1905, initially recognized Dokdo as Korean territory.
Imperial Ordinance 41 of the Great Han Empire stipulating that Dokdo was under the jurisdiction
of the Ulleungdo County Magistracy (1900)
Fishing Rights in the Sea fo Korea 1, which indentified Dokdo as an annex of Ulleungdo,
part of the larger Gangwon Province, Korea
Fishing Rights in the Sea fo Korea 2, which indentified Dokdo as an annex of Ulleungdo,
part of the larger Gangwon Province, Korea 2
The Meiji government sent a team of officials under the leadership of Sada Hakubo to Busan. Their mission was to secretly investigate the possibility of re-establishing diplomatic relations with Joseon and of the annexation of Joseon, and most of all, to investigate “the whole story behind how Ulleungdo and Dokdo became Korean territory.”
This map of Joseon's East Coast, which was published by Japan's Navy Ministry,
clearly identifies Dokdo as Joseon territory (1876)
In 1870, upon their return to Japan, the group, headed by Sada Hakubo, presented a report of their clandestine mission, entitled “Chosenkoku kosai shimatsu naitansho” (A Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea’s Foreign Relations). In this report, Sada, himself an advocate of annexation, stated that Dokdo was a dependency of Ulleungdo, and that no written records were found about the island. His account reaffirmed the view shared by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Dajokan (Great Council of State), Japan’s then highest government body, that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were in fact part of Korea. In 1877, the Meiji government went even further as it confirmed Korean ownership of the two islands.
The Murakami Document (1696) was carried by An Yong-bok on his trip to Japan.
It recorded that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were marked as part of Joseon's Gangwon Province of Korea.
Japan’s Ministry of Home Affairs received an official letter dated the 16th day of the 10th lunar month of 1876 from Shimane Prefecture asking whether “Ulleungdo and Dokdo should be included within its territory.” After an in-depth five-month study, the Ministry concluded that the issue as to which country the two islands belonged to had been closed in 1696, and that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were Joseon territory that “had nothing to do with Japan.”
"A Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea's Foreign Relations" (1870)
Ito Hirobumi and other Japanese officials pose for a photograph while celebrating the signing
of the second Korea-Japan Agreement (Evlsaneugyak, 1905)
On January 28, 1905, the Japanese government unilaterally moved to incorporate Dokdo into its territory, but did not make its decision public for quite some time. The decision was not announced until March 28, 1906 when officials from Shimane Prefecture visited Ulleungdo. The Japanese officials, including Kanda Yoshitaro, traveled to Ulleungdo by way of Dokdo, and informed Sim Heung-taek, then Magistrate of Ulleungdo, that Dokdo had been incorporated into Japan.
A memorandum from Japan's Home Affairs Ministry and a directive issued by
Dajokan proclaiming that Dokdo "had nothing to do with Japan."(1877)
Stunned by this announcement, Sim sent word, the next day to Yi Myeong-nae, then Governor of Gangwon Province. Yi, in turn, recognizing the urgency and gravity of the matter, forwarded the report to the State Council Minister of the Great Han Empire.
A document(1906) the Governor of Gangwon Province Yi Myeong-nae wrote regarding
the Ulleungdo Magistrate's report on Dokdo's incorporation into Japan.
State Council Minister Bak Je-sun, in Directive No. 3 issued on May 20, 1906, stated, “It is totally groundless that Dokdo has become Japanese territory,” and went on to order “an investigation and report on the situation and on what the Japanese have done.”
Chosen suiro-shi (JoseonCoast Pilot), Second Edition (1899)
This clearly indicates that the Joseon government considered Dokdo to be its territory.
