Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-13
THE CITY LHASSA
OF THREE OAR
ING JAPANESE EXPLORERS.
They Claim to Have Entered the
Sacred Capital Of
Thibet,

From Japan and America.
The sacred city of Lhassa, the capital city
OF Thfbet hitherto a forbidden city to all
foreigners. 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. Nanita is a promising young SOL
der and a 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-
pedition. After many dangers and hard
ships he succeeded in reaching Lhassa,
having taken several years to accomplish
his self-apponted task. He stayed in the
holy city for eighteen days, and then re-
turned to Japan, about two months ago.
About the same time that Captain Martha
visited Lhassa Mr.. Hiroshi Nomi reached
the interior of Thibet. There has been no
news from him for some time. and he is
supposed to be on his way home. He-fs a
very young man. but brave and cool and
quiet in his ways. Mr.. Keikai Kawaguchi,
the third of the Japanese explorers, had
the hardest experience. He went by way
of the Himalaya mountains and suffered
severe attack of snow blindness. He was
totally blind for some time, but has entirely
recovered from this mountain disease. Once
he was mistaken for robber by the Thib-
etans, who came near making him pay the
penalty, which is in Thibet to put the rob-
Der on horse and then shoot him. Mr..
Kawaguchi. who is Buddhist priest. at
last succeeded in reaching Uhassa and is
still residing in that city.
Missionaries Have Failed.
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 jap
anese. 1t will be found in the case of 9TH
H. IT. oh hoC
they were men who had fitted themselves
by long study and experience for the at
tempt, and who made the final effort under
the most favorable conditions possible All
Of them, with one or two rare exceptions
failed lamentably.
Missionaries who have won the confidence
of the Thibetans, and who have learned their
language, failed to penetrate 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 sa-
cred precincts of Lhassa. Yet the Japanese,
young and untried adventures. with the
exception of Captain Martha, who prepared
for this expedition by living in China for
several months, succeeded in attaining
goal that has been denied to the most dar-
ing and experienced travellers in the world.
Japanese National Spirit.
But the chief significance of these re-
markable achievements is the relation of
a new force and energy in the world Of ac-
ton. II reveals 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 her explorers and conquerors-Colum-
bus, Cortez, Pizarro, De Soto, or in Eng
land when Drake and Howard and Hawke
led the way to the glories of England on
sea. and land and transformed her into a
world explorer and world corqueror 1t
reveals the birth of tremendous national
energy and an indomitable national spirit.
Japan is no longer a group of Islands,
collection of people, but a nation possessed
by fiery national spirit. These things re-
veal it 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 Picking, and by their more than
splendid chivalry and courtesy toward the
conquered Chinese.
We must now look to Japan for the
Skepes, Burtons. Magelans, Livingstones,
Cooks Marco Polos. We find some OF
these hardy and daring explorers pene
trating into portions of China forbidden to
foreigners for centuries; we find more of
them pa ssing the corodons of Thibetan guards
around LhaSsa and calmly residing within
the holy limits of the capital OF Lamaism.
mistaken and unafraid, while the English
explorers still find the Himalaya the bounds
OF their explorations from their neighbor-
ing possessions in India; and we may soon
find them penetrating to the north pole
with the same noncha,ance with which they
advanced to the walls of Tien-Tsin and
Picking 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.