Dokdo Takeshima Island 埮郣鵛郣 Japan's Illegal Appropriation of Territory and Dokdo Island II

Japan's Military Appropriation of Territory and Dokdo II

The historical facts of the Dokdo - Takeshima Island dispute

Continued from this page

As with the first page, this article will start with an overall reference map of Japan and Korea. This map is also an overview of Japanese Naval telegraph systems and the areas Japan appropriated, however, this map also included Liandong Peninsula, China. The date of this chart was the 38th Year of Meiji (1905) and is dated in January. During this time Japan had just captured Port Arthur (now Lushun~Dalian) It is clear the Japanese were very ambitious in their installation of submarine telegraph cable as they had already incorporated Port Arthur only one month after its conquest.

This map predates Dokdo's annexation and we can see Japan's more ambitious plan to utilize the islets hadn't been realized yet. However, the logbooks of the Japanese warship Tsushima recorded Dokdo was surveyed for watchtowers about two months before this map was drawn. The survey maps of Dokdo are at the bottom of this page. Below the map of Korea and Japan is a schematic diagram of the whole telegraph wire system in place as of January 1st 1905.

Japanese Map 8. Japan~Korea and Port Arthur (Lushun) China

Japanese Naval Maps 9~10
China's Liandong Peninsula (Port Arthur)

Korea wasn't the only country in Northeast Asia to have her territory appropriated for military use by the Japanese as we will see on this page. The maps below show the locations of Japanese Naval facilites on the Liandong Peninsula, West of Korea. The top map is a highly detailed survey of the Liandong Peninsula's coastline in preparation for the installation of watchtowers and telegraph radio transmitters / receivers. Contour lines dot the coastline indicating the regions of high elevation. These areas were of course suitable for transmitting/receiving radio signals and obviously more desireable for watchtowers. The area boxed in red on the lower left is a profile drawn by the surveyor to indicate the position and elevation of the radio facilities on the neighbouring mountain.

The second map shows the position of watchtowers along Liandong's coastal areas. The circular line around the watchtower was highlighted in green and indicates the range of visibilty for each observation point.

Japanese Naval Map of Watchtowers - China's Liandong Peninsula

Japanese Naval Map 11. Chukpyeon Harbor: Korea's East Coast

Chukpyeon Harbor, as mentioned, was where the Japanese anchorage was located on the East coast of the Korean peninsula it is situated just North of the city of Uljin. Chukpyeon was a hub of sorts and initially connected the telegraph lines and watchtowers of Ulleungdo to the Japanese Naval base in Sasaebo. The lower right of the map has a key to indicate where the watchtower and related radio equipment was located. As with all of these maps the contour lines indicate areas of topography that were best suited for observation and transmission~reception of newly incorporated wireless radio equipment. Wireless radio systems would prove indespensible during the Russo-Japanese war, most notably the Battle of Tsushima which would take place off of Korea's East coast only months after the drawing of the map above.

Japanese Naval Maps 12-13 Ulsan Harbor: Korea's East Coast

The maps above and below this text are of Ulsan Harbor on Korea's East coast. Ulsan was mapped both from and aerial perspective and from sea level. The map above has contour lines indicating the best topography for watchtowers and radio transmitters. Below shows a profile of Ulsan Harbor. Ulsan's strategic importance came to be known during the Battle of Ulsan on August 14, 1904. To the South was Busan's watchtower and telegraph station and to the North was Chukpyeon's. Ulsan's watchtower location is on this map.

Japanese Maps 14~15 Wonsan, Yeongheung Bay Korea's East Coast

Nothing illustrates the Japanese stranglehold on Korean territory than the maps of Wonsan Harbor and region below. Wonsan is located in what is now North Korea and was closer to Russia, in particular the Naval Port city of Vladivostok. Thus Wonsan was more vulnerable to raids by the Russian Navy that the southern portion of the Korean peninsula.

In April 1904, under the flag of Rear Admiral Essen and escorted by destroyers, Russian battle cruisers made a raid on Wonsan, destroying two Japanese coastal vessels and the troop carrier Kinshu-Maru with its assault troops still on board. The maps below illustrate the Japanese Navy's defensive measures to these raids.

Wonsan as shown here was linked by submarine cables to the south and by land telegraph telegraph almost the border between Korea and Russia. These maps are interesting in that not only do they show the underwater telegraph cables but they also include the position of both surface and underwater explosive mines to deter the Russian Navy.

Maps 16~18 Japanese Navy, Survey Maps of Dokdo Island

In the archives of the Japanese Navy we can find maps for all areas of strategic value, and Dokdo Island was no exception. No map can better illustrate Japan's usage for Dokdo that the chart below. This map like the others has contour lines drawn indicating Dokdo's rugged topography. On the bottom right of the drawing is a chart that indicates the best observation areas, antenna location and most suitable area for the construction of a watchtower.

On November 13, 1904, the Japanese Naval General Staff ordered the warship Tsushima to inspect Dokdo and see whether it was suitable for the installation of a telegraphic station there. It was a survey to examine whether it was possible to build a watchtower there to be linked by submarine cable with Ullungdo. (See link) The Tsushima arrived at the Liancourt Island on November 20, and this was the first-ever survey of Takeshima/Tokdo by the Japanese government. The Tsushima' s captain reported that although there was some topographical difficulty, it was possible to build a structure on the East Islet.

The Japanese Naval map below has watchtowers drawn on the East Islet. To this day there is still a watchtower in this location.

Summary of Japanese Naval Maps Page II

The maps from the last two pages were found the Japanese Naval Archives for the 37th and 38th years of the Meiji Government (1904~1905) Most of them were found in a large file detailing the correct procedure for locating, contructing and using radio systems for warfare against other nations in particular the Russians.

Again, these documents were not civilian or public at the time, so it is clear these territories were surveyed and mapped explicitly for military purposes. A quick glance at the overal map of Japan's telegraph map above illustrates the ambitions of Japan's military during this era. The telegraph systems went far beyond what Japan would ever need to protect the sovereignty of the Japanese mainland. This infrastructure extended not only through Korea for whom they were supposedly installed to "protect" but into China's Liandong Peninsula and newly captured Port Arthur.

As shown the annexation of Dokdo was obviously an inseparable part of Japan's overall plan to colonize Korea and assert control over northeast Asia. Statements by Japan's Foreign Minstry that Shimane Prefecture incorporated Dokdo for the purpose of seal hunting are quite outrageous when the historical circumstances of 1904~1905 are brought to light. This can also be proven through Japanse Naval maps of their watchtower positions around Korea and Japanese coastal areas. These are on the next page.