Early historical context
Records of these islands date back to as early as the 15th century. They were referred as Diaoyu in books such as Voyage with a Tail Wind (simplified Chinese: 顺风相送; traditional Chinese: 順風相送; pinyin: Shǜnfēng Xiāngsòng) (1403) [5] and Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū (simplified Chinese: 使琉球录; traditional Chinese: 使琉球錄; pinyin: Shĭ Liúqiú Lù) (1534). Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, both the Chinese name for the island group (Diaoyu) and the Japanese name for the main island (Uotsuri) both literally mean "angling".[citation needed]
The first published description of the islands in Europe was in a book imported by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説 An Illustrated Description of Three Countries?) by Hayashi Shihei.[6] This text, which was published in Japan in 1785, described the Ryūkyū Kingdom.[7] In 1832, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation.[8]
The first reference to the islands in a book published in English was Edward Belcher's 1848 account of the voyages of HMS Sammarang.[9] Captain Belcher observed that "the names assigned in this region have been too hastily admitted."[10] Belcher reported anchoring off Pinnacle Island in March 1845.[11]
In 1870s and 1880s, the English name Pinnacle Islands was used by the British navy for the rocks adjacent to the largest island Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao (then called Hoa-pin-su); Kuba Jima/Huangwei Yu (then called Ti-a-usu); and Taishō Jima/Chiwei Yu.[12] The name "Pinnacle Islands" is used by some as an English-language equivalent to "Senkaku" or "Diaoyu".[13]
One islet of the group–Uotsuri Jima
In 1900, when Tsune Kuroiwa, a teacher at the Okinawa Prefecture Normal School, visited the islands, he adopted the name Senkaku Retto (simplified Chinese: 尖阁列岛; traditional Chinese: 尖閣列島; pinyin: Jiāngéliè Dăo), literally Pinnacle Islands, to refer the whole island group, based on the British name. The first official document recording the name Senkaku Retto was by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nihon Gaiko Monjo (日本外交文書, Documents on Japanese Foreign Relations) in the 1950s.[citation needed] In Japanese, Sentō Shosho (尖頭諸嶼?) and Senkaku Shosho (尖閣諸嶼?) were translations used for these "Pinnacle Islands" by various Japanese sources. Subsequently, the entire island group came to be called Senkaku Rettō, which later evolved into Senkaku Shotō.[citation needed]
The collective use of the name "Senkaku" to denote the entire group began with the advent of the controversy in the 1970s.[14]
History under Japanese and US control
Japanese workers at a bonito fisheries processing plant on Uotsurishima sometime around 1910[15]
The Japanese central government formally annexed the islands on January 14, 1895. Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushirō (古賀 辰四郎?) constructed a bonito processing plant on the islands with 200 workers. The business failed in 1940 and
the islands have remained deserted ever since. The plots of land on the islands still technically belong as private property to Koga's descendants.[15]
T
he islands were under US government occupation authority from 1945 until 1972.[15] Since the islands reverted to Japanese government control in 1972, the mayor of Ishigaki has been given civic authority over the territory. The Japanese central government, however, has prohibited Ishigaki from surveying or developing the islands.[15] On December 17, 2010, Ishigaki declared January 14 as "Pioneering Day". China condemned Ishigaki's actions.[16]
Senkaku Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia