Policy Brief

June30,1, 2018
July
2019

Dr. Monika Cha nsor ia is a
Tok yo -based Senior Fellow
at T he Japa n I nst it ute
of I nter nat iona l A f f a irs.
P r e v i o u s l y, s h e h a s h e l dappointments at the Sandia

Reaching T ibet in July 1900 v ia
British India and Nepal:
Journey of the First Japanese, Ekai
Kawaguchi*

National Laboratories (U.S.),

Dr. Monika Chansoria

Hokkaido University (Sapporo,
Japan), and Fondation Maisondes S c ienc es de l ’ Hom me( Pa r is). Dr. Cha nsor ia has
authored five books including
her latest work, China, Japan,
and Senkaku Islands: Conf lictin the East China Sea Amid an
American Shadow (Routledge© 2018).

Disclaimer :The views expressed in thispublication are those of the authorand do not necessarily reflect thepolicy or position of The Japan
Institute of International Affairs or
any other organization with which
the author is affiliated.

Archival accounts of 19 th centur y T ibet describe it as theforbidden, inaccessible, daunting and remotely unreachable territoryof the Himalayas. Lhasa, the religious and administrative capital of
Tibet since the mid-17th century literally meant “Place of the Gods”
located at an elevation of about 3,600 m (11,800 ft) at the center of the
Tibetan Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to 5,500 m(18,000 ft). The air in this part contained only 68 percent oxygencompared to sea level, thereby indicating the geographic difficultiesof the terrain. Tibet has stirred the curiosity amongst explorers,
adventurists and researchers as being amongst the few places in theworld that fired the imagination of adventurers. Owing to Buddhism,
Japan, quite evidently had far more incentive than most others toreach Tibet, and ultimately, Lhasa. It was in the backdrop of these
existential conditions that Ekai Kawaguchi (1866-1945) a Buddhist
monk became the first Japanese explorer to embark upon a journeyfraught with danger and uncertainty in May 1897 from Tokyo, tohave succeeded in touching the frontier of the roof of the world, as hestepped on Tibetan soil for the first time on July 4, 1900.
Following handing over the Rectorship of the Monaster y of
Gohyakurakan in Tokyo, and leaving for Kyoto in March 1891,
Kawaguchi restarted his life as a hermit for about three years. During
this time he fulfilled his long-felt desire to translate Buddhist texts
into Japanese in an easy style from what he described as ‘unintelligible
Chinese’. Kawaguchi’s motivations arose mainly from his interest in
Buddhist textual studies and yearning to find valuable Tibetan sutrās* his is the first paper of a continuing series on the first successful JapaneseT
explorer, Ekai Kawaguchi’s travel to Tibet, in and after 1900. The narrative,
citations, and arguments of this paper are primarily excerpted and based on
Kawaguchi’s personal memoir published in 1909, titled Three Years in Tibet ,[Theosophist Office, Vasanta Press, Adyar (Madras), British India.]

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Policy Brieffor his scholarly work.1 While going through thisprocess he realized that comparing these texts
with Tibetan translations and original Sanskrit
texts contained in Mahāyāna Buddhism wasver y vital. The Buddhist Sanskrit texts were
only to be found in Tibet and Nepal. This, in away, became the primary driver for Kawaguchi
to firm up his mind and conviction of visiting
Tibet – a forbidden land that was closed not onlyby the local government but also the imposingly
formidable Himalayan ranges.

and represented The Theosophical Society at
the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in
1893. Subsequently, she landed in colonial India
that same year and after touring the countr yextensively, founded the Central Hindu School
and College in Benares in 1898. A few years
later she launched the Central Hindu School for
Girls, which was an essential reformation stepsince girls, and women, were not encouraged toundertake education or participate in public life
or movements during that era.

Kawaguchi’s interactions with Annie
BesantHaving read Kawaguchi’s detailed account,
Besant advised him to publish it sooner.
However, Kawaguchi apparently did not seem
too keen. Primarily because by this time he hadlearnt from sources that Swedish geographer
and illustrator, Sven Anders Hedin was soongoing to publish his book that recorded his
expeditions through the mountains and deserts
of Central Asia, parts of East Turkestan, andTibet, conducted via three expeditions: 18931897, 1905-1909 and 1927-1935, during which, hemapped big parts of Tibet. Holding a doctorate
in geography, Hedin was a skilled cartoonist andwriter who managed to carefully document what
he saw in Tibet from many dif ferent aspects
during these expeditions. Hedin and his teammade surprisingly accurate and detailed mapsof large par ts of Tibet along with extensive
documentation of their obser vations. All theabove notwithstanding, Annie Besant was firmon her suggestion to Kawaguchi, asserting thatwhile Hedin’s account on Tibet would primarily
put forth a western perspective, Kawaguchi’sbook would entice readers being an Asian pointof view, depicting familiarity with reference tocustoms, lifestyle and people, at large.

With a pressing aspiration to enter Tibet,
which was then closed to foreigners, Kawaguchi
left Japan for T ibet in June 1897. Initiallystr uggling with the option of whether toenter Tibet via Bhutan or Nepal, Kawaguchi
eventually chose the British India-to-Nepalto-Tibet route. He diligently made notes ofthis entire voyage and the experiences thateventually were published as his memoirs.
The account of his journey in Japanese waspublished in two volumes by 1904, followed by
the English version titled Three Years in Tibet in1909 by the Theosophist Office, Vasanta Press,
Adyar (Madras), British India. Described as thefirst explorer of Tibet from Japan, Kawaguchi’s
serialized account of his visit was published inJapanese newspapers in great detail. Tokyo’s
widely read paper, Jiji daily, and Osaka’s
Maimichi daily published his articles every day
for 156 issues.
For this memoir, Kawaguchi credited thePresident of the Theosophical Society, Mrs.
Annie Besant (1847-1933) whom he consideredan esteemed friend. Besant was the second
President of The Theosophical Society from1907 to 1933, and was a renowned championof human freedom, education, and challenger
to the sexist prejudices of that time. She joined
The Theosophical Society on May 21, 1889,
1

Besides, the adventures and dangers that
Kawaguchi confronted during the course of
the journey was a story worth sharing with theworld, according to Besant. And therefore, whilewriting the preface of Three Years in Tibet at theStaff Quarters, Central Hindu College, Benares

Paul Hyer, “Narita Yasuteru: First Japanese to Enter Tibet” The Tibet Journal , Autumn 1979, p. 13.

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City in 1909, Kawaguchi credited Mrs. Besantfor overseeing the translation, and rendering
help in the publication of his book to the extent
that “…were it not for her, this book would nothave seen the light of day.” Another individual
whom Kawaguchi considered his friend was
Indian academic, Jamshedji N. Unwalla of
the Central Hindu College, Benares. Unwalla
composed the verses of the entire book fromfree English prose translation, and supervised
the proofs carefully along with the author.

A student of Buddhist studies, Sarat Chandra
Das was commissioned to go to Tashilhunpo
in June 1879 by the Bengal gover nment in
British India. He was accompanied by lama
Ugyen-gyatso, and remained there for nearly
six months. Das made careful and detailed
examination of the rich collections of books in
the libraries, and brought back with him to Indiaa large and valuable collection of works both in
Sanskrit and Tibetan. In November 1881, Sarat
Chandra started on his second journey to Tibet,
during which he visited the capital of Tibet,
Lhasa.3

Stay at Calcutta, British India, 1897 andthe Vital Connect with Sarat Chandra
Das

While describing Lhasa, Das noted that at
the Yu-tog zamba the city proper began with thestreet on both sides lined with several stories
high native, Chinese, and Nepalese shops.
In front of each was a pyramidal str ucture,
where juniper spines and dried leaves obtained
from Tsari that were burnt as an of fering to
the Gods. 4 Das mentioned the presence silk
fabrics, porcelain, and various kinds of bricktea products that had been put up for sale. 5
In addition, he also explored the valley of the
Yarlung, where the Tibetan civilization is said
to have first made its appearance.6 The works of
Das were distinct owing to his meticulousness
that distinguished his work from the rest.
Having collected valuable details concerning
each locality he traversed in Tibet, Das returned
to India in Januar y 1883 after an absence ofabout 14 months.7 The report of Sarat Chandra’s
journey was printed in two separate publications
by the Gover nment of Bengal, namely: 1)
Narrative of a Journey to Lhasa, and 2) Narrativeof a Journey Round Lake Palti (Yamdok), andin Lhokha, Yarlung, and Sakya. The British
Indian Gover nment kept these repor ts as

Arriving in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta
on July 25, 1897, Kawaguchi got enrolled in
the Māhābodhi Society of Calcutta and spent
several days in the city. It was here that he got
convinced with the advice of the Secretar yof the Society, Chandra Bose that he could
not do better for his own purpose than to
go to Darjeeling, and become a pupil of Rai
Bahadur Sarat Chandra Das, the ver y wellknown Tibetologist, who served in the Bengal
Educational Ser vice and was also a memberof the Asiatic Society in Bengal. Establishingfriendly relations with the Maharaja of Sikkim
made it possible for Sarat Chandra Das to gain
expertise having studied the Tibetan language.
Das worked on papers on the history, religion,
ethnology and folklore of Tibet, drawn from theextensive data collected during his journeys.
Most of these papers were of great value toOriental studies, and have since appeared in the
Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society and in thatof the Buddhist Text Society of India, which Sarat
Chandra founded in 1892.2

2 Sarat Chandra Das, The Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet, ed. by W.W. Rockhill, (New York: E.P. Button & Company,
1902) p. vi.
3 Ibid., p. vii.
4 Ibid., p. 148.
5 Ibid., p. 149.
6 Ibid., p. vii.
7 Ibid.

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Policy Brief

strictly confidential and classified documents
until about 1890, when selections from them,bearing exclusively upon the ethnology ofTibet, appeared in an article in the July editionof Contemporary Review. Five years later, in
1895, fur ther extracts from the nar ratives
were published in the August edition of the
publication, Nineteenth Century.8 Having spent
several months in Tibet, Das began compiling a
Tibetan-English dictionary at his country housein Darjeeling.

subject, are desirous of having the judgment of
yourself, a recognized authority, as to the validity
of some of his statements.” 9 The questions
raised, were rather technical in nature. Among
many, few significant ones were as follows:10
1) The claim that the Parti Fort is up on a hill,
not down near a lake, as Kawaguchi recorded2) Q uestioning the possibility that one could
see the city of Lhasa or Potala Palace from
Khambala Pass, as noted by Kawaguchi3) Inquiring about the town of Nam and its exact
situation4) Questioning Kawaguchi’s claims that he had
temporarily stayed in a tent after arriving at
Lhasa5) Inquiring the credibility of Kawaguchi’s claim
to have been invited by the Dalai Lama in theaudience6) A nd, whether there was, in fact, a great
university of Buddhism in the capital known
as Se-Ra

Ekai Kawaguchi proceeded to Siligree via
train and finally reached Darjeeling – a distanceof 380 miles from Calcutta. He had arrived soonafter a major earthquake that had occurred in
the northeastern region of Assam. Kawaguchi
describes his arrival in Darjeeling by witnessing
a large number of entirely collapsed and partly
destroyed houses, and other symbols of seismic
disturbances.
Interestingly, Sarat Chandra Das has beena significant reference in Kawaguchi’s journey
not just before entering Tibet, but also after
returning from Tibet and proceeding back toJapan in 1903. When another Japanese explorer,
Narita Yasuter u whose visit to Tibet nearlyoverlapped with that of Kawaguchi, even though
the two never met, raised queries over a few
claims made by Kawaguchi, the validation ofSarat Chandra Das in favor of Kawaguchi wasvital. Upon returning to Tokyo, Narita Yasuteru
drafted a letter to Das. Interestingly, Yasuteru’s
letter car ried the signature of S. Inoma,
belonging to the Tokyo Geographical Society.
The intent, as noted in Yasuteru’s July 30, 1903
letter to Das was “… to know the exact truthin the matter regarding Kawaguchi’s trip andhis claims… Many, who are interested in theSarat Chandra Das replied to Yasuter u’s
letter on September 2, 1903, and in vir tually
ever y case, Das suppor ted the claims madeby Kawaguchi, adding additional comments
when it seemed necessary. Das confirmed that
Kawaguchi had resided at the great monasteryof Se-Ra and also af firmed that the alleged
meeting of Kawaguchi with the Dalai Lamaappeared to be true.11 Further, in his reply, hewrote that it was well known in Darjeeling that
Kawaguchi resided there for few years before
proceeding to Tibet, during which, he studied
both English and Tibetan at the Darjeeling HighSchool. Das stated, “Revd. Lama Kawaguchi
studied T ibetan under my super vision for
two years before proceeding to Tibet – he is atruthful narrator, not a scientific discoverer…

8 It was these reports, which, with only slight modifications in order to make the narrative connected, that were
published in the 1902 volume, The Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet .
9 According to the copy of Narita Yasuteru’s letter signed by S. Inoma to Sarat Chandra Das in possession of Hyer (n. 1,
p. 16) July 30, 1903, Tokyo.
10 Ibid.
11 Reply of Sarat Chandra Das to Inoma and Yasuteru, The Park, Chittagong, Bengal, September 2, 1903, n. 1, p. 16.

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Policy Brief

And, he was pretty well known to the Tibetan
traders who frequented Darjeeling.” Das went
on to state in his reply that he met Kawaguchi
at Calcutta in the winter and heard a detailed
report of his travels and experiences.12

to seven months of being in the Shabdung
household, Kawaguchi became proficient to theextent of being able to converse an ordinar yconversation in Tibetan, with far more ease ascompared to English.

In fact, Das went on to recommend thatJapan’s Geographical Society should work with
Kawaguchi to produce a map of Tibet 13 andended his letter with the hope that the accountof Kawaguchi’s travels published in English
would be forthcoming so that the world may“know of the achievements of the first Japanesepriest-traveller in Tibet.”14

Kawaguchi admits becoming fairly confidentof his proficiency in the use of Tibetan, both, in
its literary and vernacular forms, and beginningto firm up his resolve to embark upon the nextleg of his jour ney for the final destination,
Tibet, in 1899. This immediately sprung the
key question of deciding upon the route tounder take in reaching T ibet. Kawaguchi
outlined three highways that could be taken toreach Tibet from Darjeeling. These included:

Studying Tibetan at Darjeeling, 1897-1899
Kawaguchi recalled having 300 Japanese
Yen with him upon arriving in Darjeeling – anamount that sustained him for 17 months ofstay there. Eventually, Kawaguchi was able toconvince Sarat Das of his desire to learn the
Tibetan language as he matriculated into theGovernment School of Darjeeling under Tumi
Onden, the Head Teacher of the language
depar tment for T ibetan. Kawaguchi soon
started taking rigorous lessons in the Tibetan
language, and became a regular attendant at the
temple, walking three miles back and forth to
the Sarat mansion daily. All through this period,
Sarat Das consistently warned the Japanesemonk to give up his intention of going to Tibet
given the risks involved, including the ‘closed
door’ policy that was in full force. Kawaguchi
attributed his Tibetan language skills to thechildren at Shabdung household by calling themthe ‘best teachers of everyday language’. Led onby their instinctive curiosity and kindness, notunmingled with a sense of pride, children arealways the most anxious and untiring teachers,
and that in their innocence they are the mostexacting and intolerant teachers. In about six1) First, the main road, which turned north-east
directly after leaving Darjeeling and running
through Nyatong2) Second, the one which traversed the western
slope of Kanchenjunga mountain range
reaching Warong, a village on the frontier ofTibet; and3) T hird, the one that took of f directly from
Sikkim through Khainpa-Jong to Lhasa
All these roads and highways were guarded
with a fortified gate. Studying the pros and consof proceeding either through the Kingdom of
Bhutan or Nepal, Kawaguchi finally decided thatthe most advantageous route for him would beby the way of Nepal – more so since no Japanese
had ever been to Nepal before Kawaguchi.
Journey to and through Nepal, 1899
Having studied the Tibetan language in
Darjeeling, British India, Kawaguchi arrived
in Nepal in 1899 as a 33-year-old by taking arail to Sagauli station, a two days’ journey fromthe Nepalese border. Ironically for Kawaguchi,

12 Ibid., pp. 16-17.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid; for related reading also see, Paul Hyer, “A Half-Century of Japanese-Tibetan Contact, 1900-1950” Bulletin of
the Institute of China Border Area Studies , no. 3, Cheng-chi University, Taipei, July 1972.

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Policy Brief

beyond this point, neither English nor Tibetan
appeared to be of any use, as one had to beconversant in either ‘Hindustani’ or Nepalese.
Kawaguchi knew neither. And thus, it became
mandatory for him to stop a while at Sagauli andmaster at least working Nepalese. At the outsetof dawn on January 25, 1899, Kawaguchi began
his journey, and proceeded due north across theplains in which Sagauli stands, and arrived thefollowing day at Beelganji – the first guarded
gate of the Nepalese frontier.

The team including Kawaguchi started on thenorthwestern path leading to Pokhara covering a
distance of approximately 40 miles in three days,
passing the villages Bareng-Bareng and Sareng
and crossing the river Agu. The first major
town they arrived at was called Algata, situatedon the west bank of the river that the natives
called Buri-Ganga. The river had to be crossedby an iron hanging bridge. The significanceof this town lay on account of its trade with
T ibet. On that par ticular day, Kawaguchi
witnessed more than fifty people from Tibet
and Nishang – the northern frontier provinceof Nepal. Following his arrival in the mountainvillage of Malba, Kawaguchi received a letterfrom Rai Bahadur Sarat Chandra Das, througha trader of Tukje. Along with the letter was a
Mahabodhi Society’s journal that contained theaccount of an unsuccessful attempt by anotherJapanese Buddhist to reach Tibet. Das, in all his
earnestness, advised Kawaguchi for a rethink,with words to the effect that he must not put hislife in danger.

Around this period, the rule in force in Tibet
was to deny admission any Chinaman coming
via sea. Accordingly, Kawaguchi, while he wasin disguise, was granted a pass as a Chinaman
living in Tibet. Following crossing a jungle
stretching eight miles, Kawaguchi came to avillage on the banks of a mountain stream called
Bichagori and climbed the peak Tisgari, fromthe top of which he, for the first time, watchedwith awe the ‘sublime sight of the mighty
Himalayas, shining majestically with their snowof ages’. The grandeur of the scene according to
Kawaguchi’s account was ‘beyond imagination’.
Ordinarily, after leaving the Nepalese capital, it
would be the northeast course in order to makea direct journey and entry to Lhasa. However,Kawaguchi decided to take the bypass route.
This was the opposite nor thwest direction
through Lo, a border province of Nepal acrossJangtang (the western plain of Tibet) and finallyaround the Mansarovar Lake. A pilgrim party
from Kham accompanied Kawaguchi. Thisconsisted of three men and an elderly woman,
who in spite of her advanced age was strong
enough to brave the hardships of what was an
exceptionally difficult terrain. And so, finally, atthe beginning of March 1899, Kawaguchi sat
atop a white pony and left the Kasyapa Buddha
tower in Kathmandu. During the onward
journey through the Himalayas, Kawaguchi
narrates many fascinating travelogues including
his claim that being an extra-territorial country,
no European or American had trodden this
precipitous path before him.

Nonetheless, a deter mined Kawaguchi
left Malba village on June 12, 1900, by taking
the direct route to Tibet. This was throughthe nor thwest grassland of Tibet that could
be reached from Malba in 10 days. However,Kawaguchi wished to visit many places sacred to
Buddhist pilgrims, and thus set aside 23 days forwhat would be the last leg of his long, arduous
journey. Taking the northwest route from Malba
up a gradual ascent along the banks of the river
Kaliganga, Kawaguchi had to survive without adrop of water and chewing on some buckwheat
biscuits made from herbs and roots. Naturally,
this led to acute exhaustion, especially since
the team was facing a treacherous slope. As
days kept progressing Kawaguchi and team
kept facing the nor thwest and proceeded
through many scenic nature paths that grew
more fascinating in their picturesque grandeur.
Finally, the team reached near the great peakof Dhavalgiri. By the time Kawaguchi reachedthe head of a slope of the great snow-clad
mountain named Tashila, the extremely cold
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Policy Brief

atmosphere and general exhaustion began toshow, rendering him so weak that he was unable
to shoulder any luggage. Upon reaching theouter edge of the skirts of Mount Dhavalgiri,
Kawaguchi turned to his last remaining guide,
requesting him to go back, as he intended tomake a lonely pilgrimage to Khambuthang – theSacred Peach Valley alone.

Tibet on July 4, 1900” filled with mixed feelingsof joy, gratitude and hope.16

In the wee hours of the morning of July 1,
1900, Kawaguchi stood and watched his faithfulguide retur n until he disappeared behinda projecting rock. Subsequently, he turned
around and proceeded due nor th. Owing to
the complete absence of rugged rocks he wasdelighted to note that the pathway was not as
dif ficult as he expected it to be. Pushing his
way over the trackless field of deep snow, witha solitar y compass and the mountain peak as
the only pointers, Kawaguchi slept the followingdays on the snow under the sky, in the hollow
of a cliff, and finally after three days of journeycrossed over via a pass to the other side of thenorthern peak of Dhavalgiri. It is here that thedominion of Nepal ended and the frontier ofTibet began.
Frontier of Tibet Begins, July 1900
Standing atop the point where thesnowcapped heads of the sky-reaching
Dhavalgiri got interspersed with the undulating
stretch of the nor theast prairies of T ibet,
scattered with shining streams of water,
Kawaguchi was over whelmed with emotions.
From thereon, Kawaguchi knew that was always
to head north until arriving at Lake Mansarovar.
Notewor thy was that he had nothing else to
guide him but a compass and a sur vey hecarried along with.15 He recalls in his accountthat at the time of bidding adieu to his folks andfriends back home in Japan, he had claimed toenter Tibet in three years. That day was June 26,
1897, and, “… here I was, stepping on the soil of
15
16

Ekai Kawaguchi, Three Years in Tibet , n. *, p. 77.
Ibid., p. 76.

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