본 논문은 이제까지 선행 연구자들이 관심을 가지지 않았던 메이지 시대 문헌들을 중심으로 울릉도와 독도에 대한 인식의 한 단면을 살펴 본 것이다. 독도의 일본에 대한 역사적 영유권을 주장하는 학자들은 울릉도와 독도를 분리하여 울릉도는 조선의 영토였으나 독도는 일본의 영토였다고 주장한다. 이러한 주장이 설득력을 갖기 위해서는 근대국가형 성기에 과연 이러한 인식을 뒷받침해주는 근거가 있었는지를 밝히지 않으면 안 될 것이다. 본 논문은 메이지시대의 울릉도와 독도 인식은 전 통시대와 마찬가지로 울릉도를 중시하였을 뿐으로, 울릉도개척논의는 존재했으나 독도를 단독으로 주시한 견해는 보이지 않는다는 점, 당시 메이지 지식인의 언설에서 볼 때 울릉도와 독도를 동해상에 위치한 두 섬으로 인지하고 있었고 이를 따로 떼어 인식하지는 않았다는 점, 메이지 시대 이전과 이후의 지도자료를 통해 볼 때 울릉도와 독도를 모두 일본의 영토로 간주한 지도도 있지만 이 두 섬을 조선의 영토로 간주한 지도, 혹은 아예 울릉도와 독도가 표시되지 않은 지도가 존재했으며 메이지 시대 지도에도 독도를 일본의 영토권 내로 표시한 지도는 없었음을 밝혔다. 이러한 사실은 배타적 영토관념이 희박했던 시대에 독도에 대한 관심이 불명료했음을 보여주는 예이다. 즉, 이러한 자료를 통해 볼 때, 1905년 독도를 시마네현에 영토편제하기 이전인 19세기 후반기에 일볹이 독도를 자국의 영토로 생각한 흔적은 없었음을 지적할 수 있다.

Korea claims that it holds dominion over Dokdo historically and so does Japan. But as far as historical records are concerned, the materials related to the island are rarely found. We can only get those about Ulleungdo. It is because that in the latter, people can live and do fishing, but the former is just a sunken rock. Dokdo was neglected before the modern age when the idea of territories between nations were not definitely established. Though Joseon knew its existence over Ulleungdo, it did not try to confirm the island is its own. Coming over there by boat from Oki island in Japan and doing fishing, the Japanese saw it just a rock island that they would go through on the way to and from Ulleungdo. Though there remain non official records on Dokdo, Japan's government had no interest in it. Accordingly Japanese allegation has its limit to prove the dominion over the island, based on the literature.
Considering such limits, it is important to examine how both countries dealt with this problem in the latter half of the 19th century respectively. I will try to look into Japanese intellectuals perception of Ulleungdo and Dokdo in the Meiji period, based on the Japanese maps and literature which has been neglected or not referred to until now.
The result runs as follows. Japan was pushing forward policies to expand its territory by gaining the neighboring regions in the 1870s. At that time the Japanese keeping their eyes upon Ulleungdo, there was a lively discussion on cultivating the island. But with the island being identified as Joseon's territory, the debate has fallen through. Under the circumstances, no one took notice of Dokdo. If Japan wants to insist upon its claim on the island, there must be any document in the Meiji period where Japan saw Dokdo as its territory and the perception must be succeeded. In the Meiji period, however, the government and the intellectuals in opposition always regarded the two islands as one. Thus we can not find any indications that the Meiji government and the intellectuals saw Dokdo as their territory.
Each Japanese map made in this period were not always the same as the others, also. There was a map made in Joseon, in which Ulleungdo was included in our territory, though, I could not find any Japanese map including Dokdo in its own. Newly colonized Taiwan and Hokkaido which was incorporated by policies of expanding its territory were identified on the Japanese maps published after prefecture’s incorporation of Dokdo in 1905. Therefore it is difficult for Korea and Japan to claim their dominion over the island respectively only through the literature and maps. There are a few indications that we should not fail to notice; As indicated in the earlier studies, Japan officially expressed that 'Ulleungdo and an island(一島) does not belong to it' through Daijoukan(太政官)'s notice. The people of Joseon called the island Dokdo before 1904 as shown in the Japanese records. Sokdo(石島) reverted to Uljin prefecture(울진군) in 1900 was the Chinese notation of a rock island (돌섬), according to the dialect of Chonra province(全羅道). Based on these indications, Dokdo is proved to have been regarded and established as Joseon's territory before Shimane prefecture's incorporation of it on the pretext of its being uninhabited. In addition to these, it was Ulleungdo, not Dokdo, that the Japanese intellectuals took notice of, even when Japan was pushing forward to expand its territory and the actual investigation was done in the early days of the Meiji period. It proves that it is unreasonable for the Japanese to claim its dominion over Dokdo.

1. 들어가는 말
2. 메이지 초기의 울릉도와 독도 문제
3. 일본 지식인들의 울릉도와 독도 인식
4. 지도에 나타난 울릉도와 독도
5. 맺음말

• 윤소영(한서대학교 연구교수) | Yoon So-young