In Conclusion
Around the year 1696 Japan conceded Ulleungdo Island (Dokdo´s closest neighbor island) was Chosun territory. The above paper shows how serious the Japanese government was about restricting the travel distance permissible for Japanese nationals in the East Sea. As quoted the document warned Japanese not to stray too far it also restricted them from coming in contact with foreign vessels.
There are no Japanese historical maps or records that show Japanese visited Dokdo as a sole destination but rather as a stopover en route to Ulleungdo. Dokdo Island has little or no fresh water and could not offer adequate mooring and protection from the storms that frequent this area. Records also show Dokdo Island was two and a half days travel from Oki Islands against both prevailing winds and ocean currents. To the Japanese, Dokdo´s value was only related to what fish or forestry products they could reap from Ulleungdo. In light of this document, it is not plausible Japanese Government considered Dokdo Island of any value during this era let alone part of Japan´s inherent territory as they now assert. Here it´s also clear, as with earlier records, Japan maintained a hands-off policy in the Ulleungdo area at this time.
However, as we will see, the policy of the Japanese government would soften and illegal Japanese immigrants would later overwhelm Ulleungdo Island. As a result, in 1883, hundreds of illegal Japanese squatters had to be forcibly removed from the Ulleungdo. Again, for the third time the Japanese would later make another official announcement banning passage to Ulleungdo.