A map published by Japan in the 19th century marked the name of the water between South Korea and Japan as "the Joseon Sea," citing the name of the Korean Dynasty, the national archives said Thursday, presenting another example that its current naming is an imperialistic legacy.

South Korea has locked horns with Japan for decades over the name of the body of water, with Seoul calling it the "East Sea" while Tokyo calls it the "Sea of Japan."

Korean historians and experts believe that the original name was not the Sea of Japan, which has become more widely adopted.

Tokyo registered its version with the International Hydrographic Organization as the official name in the 1920s when Korea was under Japan's colonial rule.

According to the National Archives of Korea on Thursday, the map drawn up by Shogo Mitsukuri, a notable Japanese cartographer, in 1844 marked the name of the water "Joseon Sea," referring to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) on the Korean Peninsula.

The map was made based upon the world map drawn up by France, it added.

The archives agency restored the map and made it public on the day that marks the eve of South Korea's Day of Dokdo, its easternmost islets in the sea, to which Japan claims as its own.

"There have been several old maps published in the 19th century that mark the body of the water between the two neighbors as the Joseon Sea. They tell us that the term Sea of Japan is the legacy of colonization and Dokdo lying in the water undoubtedly belongs to us," said the agency chief Park Kyung-guk. (YOnhap News)