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Japan's 1905 Incorporation of Dokdo/Takeshima: A Historical Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Yong-ho Ch'oe
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On January 28, 1905, the Japanese Cabinet formally adopted a resolution incorporating the island of Dokdo/Takeshima as Japanese territory. Justifying the incorporation based on the claim that Dokdo/Takeshima was “an uninhabited island with no evidence that can be recognizable as having been occupied by another country (無人島ハ他國ニ於テ之ヲ占領シタリト認ムヘキ形迹ナク …”, the Japanese government then renamed the island Takeshima (竹島) and placed its jurisdiction under Shimane Prefecture, which in turn put it under the magistracy of Oki Island. This action by the Japanese government was strongly disputed by the Republic of Korea, igniting a bitter controversy between the two Asian neighbors. Following Japan's defeat in the Pacific War in 1945, Korea, claiming historical rights, regained its control over the island. Japan regards this as an illegal occupation based on its 1905 incorporation. This article offers a historical perspective on the Dokdo/Takeshima controversy by examining the historical claims made by both Japan and South Korea.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 13 , Issue 9 , March 2015 , e1
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Copyright © The Authors 2015

References

Notes

1 The full text of the Japanese Cabinet decision is cited in the following sources: www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima; Kawakami Kenzō, Takeshima no rekishi chirigaku-teki kenkyū (Tokyo, 1966), 212; and Naitō Seichū and Pak Byeong-seop, Takeshima-Dokdo ronsō (Tokyo, 2007), 192-93.

2 Terra Nullius is defined in Black's Law Dictionary (10th edition, 2014) as: “A territory not belonging to any particular country” and in “USlegal.com.” as: “In international law, a territory which has never been subjected to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished sovereignty….”

3 Romanization of Korean names follows the system devised by the Ministry of Education, the Republic of Korea.

4 Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeon'gu (Seoul, 1996), 62.

5 Samguk sagi, 4: 2b-3a, (Silla Bongi, Jijeung Maripkan 13th Year) (Tokyo: Gakushūin University Reprint, 1974). Because Samguk sagi was based largely on historical records of Korea's Three Kingdoms, dating of this entry should be considered to be in the 6th century.

6 Shin Yong-ha, 58-63.

7 Kawakami Kenzō, Takeshima no rekishi chirigaku-teki kenkyū (Tokyo, 1966), 98-100; and Ōkuma Ryōichi, Takeshima shiko (Tokyo, 1968), 59-67.

8 Goryeo-sa, 1: 27b. (Yonsei University Reprint, 1955); Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo yeongyugweon jaryo ui tamgu (Seoul, 1998), 1: 20-21 (Hereafter, cited as Jaryo).

9 Goryeo-sa, 4: 28b; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 21-22.

10 Koreans often used “Usan-guk (Usan country)” and “Usan-do (Usan island)” interchangeably.

11 Goryeo-sa, 59: 24b-25a.

12 Kawakami Kenzō, Takeshima no rekishi chirigaku-teki kenkyū (Tokyo, 1966), 94-114.

13 Taejong sillok, 34: 9a; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 49-50.

14 Sejong sillok, 76: 11b-12a; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 60-63.

15 Taejong sillok, 23: 25b; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1:41-43.

16 Sejong sillok, 29: 19a; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 52-54.

17 Sejong sillok, 82: 7a-b; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 64-65.

18 Taejong sillok, 32: 15a-b; and Shing Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 43-45.

19 Taejong sillok, 33: 9a-b; and Shin Yong-ha. Jaryo, 1: 46-49.

20 Taejong sillok, 34: 9a; and Shing Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 49-50.

21 Sejong sillok, 29: 19a, and 30: 5b-6a; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 52-54 and 54-56.

22 Sejo sillok, 7: 28a-29b; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 68-71.

23 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 48-49, 53-54.

24 Sejong sillok, 153: 10b-11a.

25 Sinjeung dongguk yeoji seungram (Seoul: Dongguk Munhwasa Reprint, 1964), 45: 26a-27a,

26 Kawakami, 101-14; and Ōkuma, 62-67.

27 Kawakami, 114. (Kawakami's attempt to discredit Korean historical sources impugns the integrity of Korea's traditional scholarship.

28 Ōkuma Ryōichi, 59-67. See also “Takeshima no ninchi” on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

29 Shin Yong-ho, jaryo, (Seoul, 1998), 1:148-50; Kim Hak-jun, Dokdo yeon'gu (Seoul, 2010), 37-68; and Song Byeong-gi, Ulleungdo wa Dokdo (Seoul, 2007), 23-47.

30 Shin Yong-ho, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeon'gu, 86-96.

31 Taejong sillok, 33: 8a-9b. Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeon'gu, 143-44; Kawakami, 66-67; Ōkuma, 140-41.

32 Kawakami, 68-69.

33 Ōkuma, 83.

34 See Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 50-157.

35 Seongjong sillok, 115: 3b-4a.

36 Kawakami, 50. See also Ōnishi Toshiteru, Zoku Nihonkai to Takeshima (Tokyo, 2007), 6; and Ōkuma, 15-16.

37 Ōnishi, 33-34; Kawakami, 50; and Okuma, 15-18.

38 Ibid.

39 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 232.

40 Okuma, 16.

41 Tagawa Kōzō, “Takeshima ryōyū ni kansuru rekishiteki kōsatsu,” Tōyō bunko shohō, 20 (1988).

42 Kawakami, 50-51.

43 Tamura Seizaburō, Shimaneken Takeshima no kenkyū (Shimane, 1996), 7.

44 Ōnishi Toshiteru, Nihonkai to Takeshima (Tokyo, 2003), 178-79. See also his Zoku Nihonkai to Takeshima (Tokyo, 2007), 33-39; and Bak Byeong-seop, “Takeshima-Dokdo wa Nihon no ‘koyū ryōdo’ ka?” in Naitō Seichū and Bak Byeong-seop, Takeshima-Dokdo ronsō: rekishi shiryōkara kanggaeru (Tokyo, 2007), 30-32.

45 Hosaka Yūji, Uri yeoksa Dokdo (Seoul, 2009), 164-73.

46 Ikeuchi Satoshi, “Zen kindai Takeshima no rekishigakuteki kenkyū josetsu,” Seikyūgaku kenkyū josetsu, 20 (April 2001). See also Bak Byeong-seop, “Takeshima=Dokdo wa Nihon no ‘koyū ryōdo’ ka?,' in Naitō Seichū and Bak Byeong-seop, ed., Takeshima=Dokdo ronsō: rekishi shiryō kara kangaeru (Tokyo, 2007), 30-31.

47 Kawakami, 51-83; Ōkuma, 77-86.

48 Kawakami, 73-83.

49 Kawakami, 83-93; Ōkuma, 77-98.

50 Kawakami, 168.

51 Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeon'gu, 36-37; Li Jin-mieung, Dokdo, A Korean Island Rediscovered (Seoul, 2011), 207-08. Kim Hak-jun Dokdo yeon'gu, 130-31. For a photo-reproduction of this map, see Shin Yong-ha, 14 and LI, 284.

52 LI Jin-mieung, 206-07; Kim Hak-jun, 131-32. For a photo-reproduction, see LI Jin-mieung, 282.

53 Kawakami, 145.

54 Kawakami, 145-47; Song Byeong-gi, Ulleungdo wa Dokdo: Geu yeoksajeok geomjeung (Seoul, 2010), 45-51; and Hosaka Yūji, 179-84.

55 Hosaka, 221-56;

56 Kawakami, 159.

57 Kawakami, 157. See also Sukjong sillok, 28: 36a-39a.

58 Kawakami, 53-56 and 190-93.

59 Sukjong sillok, 26: 6a

60 Sukjong sillok, 25: 30b.

61 Sukjong sillok, 26: 6a-6b; 27: 35a-36b. See also Shin Yong-ho, Jaryo, 1: 157-80; and Hosaka, 178-90.

62 Sukjong sillok, 27: 25a; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 1: 171-72.

63 Sukjong sillok, 30: 53-b. It is not yet clear whether or not Shogun Tsunayoshi's order (prohibiting Japanese from going there) was related to An Yong-bok's efforts in Japan.

64 Kawakami, 166-74.

65 Hosaka, 230-45 and Naitō Seichū, “Okino An Yong-bok,” in Takeshima=Dokdo ronso, 53-71.

66 Hosaka, 226-29. See also Naitō Seichū, Takeshima=Dokdo ronsō, 63-71 and 289-306.

67 Nihon Gaikō Bunsho, vol. 3 [vol. 6 in some classification] (Meiji 3/3-3/12), 137.

68 A photo reprint of the original is found in Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjokyeongtosa yeongu, 166; and Song Byeong-gi, 164. See also “Sugihara Tsūshin” in “Web Takeshima Mondai Kenkyūjo”; Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 239-42; Hori Kazuo, “1905-nen Nihon no Takeshima ryōdo hennyū,” Chōsenshi Kenkyūkai ronbunshū, 24 (March 1987): 103; Bak Byeong-seop, “Meiji seifu no Takeshima=Dokdo hantogai shirei,” in Naitō Seichū and Bak Byeong-seop, ed., Takeshima=Dokdo ronsō, 80-93; and Ōnishi, 54-55.

69 For a photo reprint of the text, see Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeongu, 170. See also Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 243; Urushizaki Hideyuki, “Dajōkan ni yoru Takeshima hoka ichishima hanto gai shirei,” in Naitō Seichū and Bak Byeong-seop, ed., Takeshima=Dokdo ronsō (Tokyo, 2007), 307-25; and Bak Sam-heon, “Meiji chonyeon Taejeonggwan munseo ui yeoksajeok seonggyeok” in Dokdo-Ulleungdo yeon'gu: yeoksa gogo jirihakjeok kochal (Seoul, 2010), 123-65.

70 Urushizaki, 308-09.

71 Hori, 103-104; Ōnishi, 53-56.

72 “Sugihara Tsūshin,” No. 8 in “Web Takeshima Mondai Kenkyūjo.”

73 Shimojō Masao, Takeshima wa Nikkan dochirano monoka (Tokyo, 2004), 123.

74 Urushizaki Hideyuki, 313-25. Rev. Urushizaki is affiliated with a Protestant church in Kanazawa, Japan.

75 Shimane-ken shozō gyōsei monjo, No. 1 (Takeshima kankei shiryōshŭ, No.2) (Shimane, 2011), 37.

76 Hori, 105-106; and Bak Byeong-seop, “Meiji jidai no Suiroshi to kokkyo kakutei,” in Naitō Seichū and Bak Beong-seop, ed., Takeshima=Dokdo ronsō, 96-104.

77 Bak Byeong-seop, “Meiji jidai no Suiroshi…,” 96-99; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 248-51.

78 Kawakami, 31-37; and Hori, 104.

79 Kawakami, 38.

80 Kawakami, 44-45.

81 Kawakami, 38-49.

82 Song Byeong-gi, 203-07.

83 Shing Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 65.

84 For Japanese attempts, see Shimaneken … monjo, 39-45.

85 Kojong sillok, 19: 24b-25b.

86 Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeongu, 178-81; and his Jaryo, 2: 15-115.

87 King Kojong proclaimed himself an emperor in 1897.

88 Gwanbo, No. 1,716 (October 27, 1900). For the full text, see also Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 315-16.

89 Shin Yong-ha, Dokdo ui minjok yeongtosa yeongu, 194-201; and his Jaryo, 2: 312-24. See also Song Byeong-gi, 216-21.

90 See here.

91 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 172-75.

92 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 176-77.

93 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 177.

94 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 178-81.

95 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 3: 186-93.

96 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 172-75.

97 The full text is cited in Shimaneken shozō gyōsei monjo (Matsushima kankei shiryōshū, No. 2) (Shimane, 2011), 1: 50-54; Kawakami, 209-211; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2; 272-75. Also in “Incorporation of Takeshima into Shimane Prefecture” on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

98 Kawakami, 46-49, 212-214; and Shina Yongha, Jaryo, 2: 277-83.

99 “Sovereignty of Takeshima”.

100 For Nakai's biography, see Okuhara Hekiun, “Takeshima keieisha Nakai Yuzaburō shi risshiden,” in “Takeshima mondai ni kansuru chōsa kenkyū saishū hōkokusho” (March 2006). See also Hori, 116.

101 Okuhara Hekiun, “Takeshima enkaku kō,” Rekishi chiri, vol. 8 (1906), 474, See also Hori, 116; and Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 266-70;

102 For the text, see Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 262-66; and Hori, 116-17. Actually, the Resident-General Office was not established until February 1906.

103 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 270-71.

104 Hori, 116-17.

105 For the text, see Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 262-66; and Hori, 116-17.

106 Okuhara, “Takeshima keieisha Nakai Yōyozaburō shi risshiden,” op. cit.

107 Shin Yong-ha, Jaryo, 2: 263; and Hori, 116-17.

108 Hori, 118.

109 Hori, 117-18.

110 Shimbun shūsei Meiji hennen-shi (Tokyo, 1982), 12: 423-25; Shimaneken shozō gyōsei monjo, Vol. 1 (Matsue, 2011), 95-97. The governor of Shimane Prefecture took great pride in the role Takeshima (Dokdo) played in the great victory Japan achieved: “In this great Naval battles, this small island has garnered a glory throughout the world because of Admiral Tōgō, and Shimane Prefecture should celebrate this glory as well.” (Shimaneken … monjo, 97)

111 Hori, 118.

112 Yoshida Shōin, Yūshūroku in Yoshida Shōin zenshū (Tokyo, 1940), 1: 350. See also Yoshi S. Kuno, Japanese Expansion on the Asiatic Continent (Berkely, 1940), 2: 351-55; and Key-Hiuk Kim, The Last Phase of the East Asian World Order (Berkeley, 1980), 82.

113 Kido Takayoshi monjo (Tokyo, 1930), 3: 231-33; 8: 8-9. See also Key-Hiuk Kim, 92; and Tominari Hiroshi, Kido Takayoshi (Tokyo, 1972), 163-67.

114 See Key-Hiuk Kim, 169-91; and Kikuda Sadao, Seikan-ron no shinsō to sono eikyō (Tokyo, 1941).

115 Nihon gaikō nenpyō narabi shuyō monjo (Tokyo, 1965), 1: 224.

116 See the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1905 and the Taft-Katsura Memorandum.