山田荒治事件 (一八八七年) をめぐる朝鮮の戰略的外交 --開港期の日朝漁業問題一考--

Abstract

The Yamada Araji Incident involved the Japanese tax collector Araji Yamada, who was hired by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs 統理交渉通商事務衙門 to collect fishing taxes from Japanese fishermen in the South Sea of Korea from summer to autumn of 1887. This later became a diplomatic issue between Japan and Korea. This article examines specific examples of Korean diplomacy regarding the Yamada Araji case, especially the employment of Yamada, the creation of Regulations for Collecting Taxes around the Islands of the South Sea of Korea 全羅慶尙諸島諸稅收捧節目, and diplomatic negotiations with Japan after the incident became public. Through this work, I attempt to reconstruct Korea's diplomacy toward Japan during the period of Korean port openings that was grounded in its own conceptions and strategy. I analyzed both the collection of historical records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on this case and the original historical documents held by the Gyujanggak Institute of Korean Studies. As a result, I proved that in fact Korean diplomacy was well prepared, featured long-term planning, and prioritized realistic benefits and feasibility, while making full use of diverse human resources and negotiation methods. Of particular importance is the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea had established its own Regulations for Collecting Taxes around the Islands of the South Sea of Korea because, in contrast to the draft treaty that was being negotiated to conclude fishing regulations between Japan and Korea, it was a codification of the content on similar issues that mainly expanded the rights of the Korean side. In regard to the relationship between Japan and Korea during the period of the opening of Korean ports, there is a tendency to emphasize a passive Korea confronted by a coercive Japan, but it is also a fact that inexperienced Meiji Japan diplomacy could not cope well with veteran Korean diplomacy.