Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-13
INTO THE FORBIDDEN CITY.
The Unparalleled Achievement
Three Daring Young Japanese.

From Japan and America.
The Sacred City of Lassa, the capital city
Of Tibet, hitherto a forbidden city to all for
eigners, has been entered recently by three
daring young Japanese explorers. They are
Capt. Yoshiteru Martha, Hiroshi Nomi, and
Keikai kawaguchi, a Buddhist priest of
Honganji, Kyoto.
Capt. Y. Marta is a promising young sol
der and son of a Samurai of the Satsuma
clan. He went to China several years ago,
staying in that country for several months
While he was preparing for his arduous ex-
petition. After many dangers and hard
ships he succeeded in reaching Lassa hav-
ing taken several years to accomplish his
Self-appointed task. He stayed in the holy
city for eighteen days, and then returned to
Japan about two months ago. About the
same time that Capt. Martha visited I.assa
Mr Haroshf Nomi reached the interior of
Tibet. There has been no news from him
for some time, and he Is supposed to be on
his way home. He is very young man,
but brave and cool and quiet in his ways
Mr.. Keikai Kawaguchi, the third of the
Japanese explorers, had the hardest expert
ence He went by way of the Himalaya
mountains, and suffered a severe attack of
snow blindness. He was totally blind for
some time. but has entirely recovered from
this mountain disease. Once he was mis-
taken for a robber by the Tibetans who
came very near making him pay the PEN
atty, which is In Tibet to put the robber on
horse and then shoot him. Mr.. Kawa-
guchf, who is a Buddhist priest at last
succeeded in rea aching Lassa and is still re-
siding in that city.
These achievements, remarkable in them
selves. are significant in another way. In
the first place they show the tremendous
energy and indomitable bearing of the ia
panese. 1t will be found in the case of 9TH
ers who have tried to reach Lassa, that
they were men who had fitted themselves by
long study and experience for the attempt
and who made the final effort under the
most favorable conditions possible. All of
them, with one or two rare eXceptios, failed
lamentably. Missionaries who have won
the confidence of the Thibetans and who
have learned their language, failed to pen
citrate even to the vicinity of the sacred
city. Some succeeded in getting within a
days march, and were tortured or turned
back or killed. Even the most accomplished
explorer Of modern times. Sven Hedin, the
Incompatible Swede. who had fitted himself
for his work by years of study and travel,
could not pass the Thibetan guards that
protected the sacred precincts of Lassa. Yet
the japanese. young and untried adventur-
ers, with the exception of Capt. Marta,
who prepared for this expedition by living
in China for several months, succeeded in
attaining goal that has been denied to the
most daring and experienced travellers in
the world.
But the chief significance of these re-
markable achievements Is the relation of
q new force and energy In the world of ac-
ton. It reveals an awakening in Japan
such as occurred in Spain when there
dawned upon her early greatness. and when
she was preparing to send forth into the
world here explorers and conquerors-Co-
lumbus, Cortez, Pirarro, De Soto, or In
England when Drake and Howard and
Hawke led the way to the glories of Eng
land on sea and land and transformed her
into a world explorer and world conqueror.
It reveals the birth of tremendous national
energy and an indomitabIe national spirit
Japan Is no longer a group of islands,
collection of people, but nation, possessed
by fiery national spirit. These things re-
veal 1t just as 1t was revealed by the greater
things of the war with China, and by
the splendid heroism of her soldiers in the
advance on Pekin, and by their more than
splendid chivalry and courtesy toward the
conquered Chinese.
We must now look to Japan for the
Spekes, Burtons Magellans, Lvingstones,
Cooks Marco Polos. We find some of these
hardy and daring explorers penetrating into
portions of China forbidden to foreigners
FOR centuries; we find more of them passing
the cordons of Tibetan guards around Lassa
and calmly residing within the holy limits
of the capital of Lamaism, mistaken and
afraid, while the English explorers still find
the Htma1aya the bounds of their eXplora-
lions from their neighboring possessions In
India; and we may soon find them pen
etrating to the north pole with the same
nonchalance with which they advanced to
the walls OF Tien Tsin and Pekin under
fire scaled the walls of Ping Yang or sank
the Chinese Warships in the harbor- of Wei
hai-wei. A new nation has been born into
the world.