A diplomatic row between Korea and Japan erupted in 1693 concerning the passage of Japanese fishermen to Ulleungdo (the Ulleungdo Dispute). On December 24, 1695, the Edo shogunate sent an inquiry to the Tottori-han (feudal clan of Tottori) asking whether Ulleungdo belonged to the Tottori-han, and whether there were other islands under the Tottori-han’s jurisdiction.

The next day, on December 25, the Tottori-han responded to the effect that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were not territories of Japan as follows: “As for Takeshima [Ulleungdo] and Matsushima [Dokdo], neither belongs to the two states [Inaba and Hoki: today’s Tottori prefecture] nor are there any other islands belonging to these two states.”

After thus confirming Ulleungdo and Dokdo’s jurisdictional status, the Edo shogunate cancelled the “passage license to Takeshima [Ulleungdo]” on January 28, 1696, prohibiting further passage to Ulleungdo.