A former citizen of Japan and professor in Korea has come up with maps that back-up Korea¡¯s sovereignty over a rocky island that stands in the waters between Korea and Japan.

Hosaka Yuji, 52, a naturalized Korean and professor of Japanese language and literature at Sejong University announced Friday (Feb. 22) that he had discovered new maps in support of Korea¡¯s claim to the rocky island situated at the easternmost of the Korean Peninsula.

The professor waited till this Friday to announce his findings to time them to counter the claims of Shimane Prefecture in Japan which designated this day as ¡°Takeshima Day.¡± Takeshima is a name Japanese gave to Dokdo. Japan officially occupied the island in February 22, 1905 by force.

Early this month the professor came across an old map of the Korean Peninsula (1894) drawn by a Japanese cardiologist who marked Dokdo and nearby Ulleungdo (87km away) as part of Korea.

The map colored what was understood as Korean territory in yellow while leaving out regions that are considered to belong to either China or Japan. ¡°This is direct evidence that people of the Meiji era were fully aware of the ownership of the island yet they persisted with the claims,¡± he said.
Hosaka explained that the newly discovered map is a greater help then other earlier discovered maps of Meiji era for the color makes clear the nation¡¯s boundaries.

The map meanwhile also marked Dokdo as ¡°Matsushima"and the present Ulleungdo as ¡°Takeshima.¡± He explained that is because even Japan was confused with the naming of the place at the time.

Hosaka also discovered a few other ancient maps in 2005 that confirm Korea¡¯s claim over Dokdo, drawn up by Dajokan, the supreme power institute of Japan during the early Meiji era. He plans to publish a book on Dokdo with the evidence he has collected through the years. Although he has released a similar book in Korea this is his first time to publish such a book in his birth country.

By Kim Hee-sung