The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-08-12

The world does not call him ad-
miral; it does not think of him as
count. Those regions that are not a
part of the island empire Of the Pa
cifc, Japan-regions where many
men come and go, and where the null
titude reads much and talks much, and
has acquired great stores of knowl-
edge-they do not know that the par
ents of this man in the middle years
of the nineteenth century, in 1S47 to
be exact, called him Heihachiro.
Names and titles sink into insight
icance, become unnecessary, useless,
with a character such as this. There
was Nelson! There was Farragut!
There is Togo! And Togo is the name
that like great Sun illumines the
pages of that wonderful story of
Japan's renaissance which all the
world has read.
Togo arrived in New York from
England on August 4 and while in this
country will be a guest of the United
States The world knows Togo, the
hero. Let us here consider Togo, the
man. On June 80 of this year Heiha'
chiro Togo visited the Thames Maui
teal Training College ship Worcester,
off Greenhithe, England, upon which
thirty years ago he received part OF
his early naval training. The vessel
and the cadets were inspected by Togo
who expressed himself as well pleased
with what he saw. He addressed the
boys and told them that their fine ap-
pearance made him firmly believe in
the brightness of their future. He re-
manned on board the vessel an hour
and a half, and when he left the cadets
cheered him enthusiastically. This
brief news item cabled from London
recalls the younger days of Togo. He
was in England from 1871 to 1878,
was always studious, always a very
quiet, reserved young man. He who
discovered him in 1877 was General
Saigo, foremost leader of the Restora-
ton, and afterwards leader in the Sat
suma rebellion, usually known as the
Civil War of Japan. That Togo was
not the sort of young man who is
called bright or clever is evident from
the fact that General Saigo, when in
Producing the young man to others
was accustomed to say, This is a
fool named Heichachiro Togo" Still it
was Saigo was discovered in this I'M
obtrusive, stupid-looking young man
the character of greatness, and who
sent him to England for thorough
naval training. Years later Togo one
day presided over a meeting of the
Sanitary Council of the Japanese
Naval Department The debates
over, the chairman sat sphinX-ltker
his thoughts fixed on far off things. A
member of the council whispered to
him to expedite his decision Togo
said, as if awakened from a dream,
what? to make decision?" A peal
of laughter greeted him. He indeed
represents a type of hero particularly
difficult to understand, for is it not
true that the Western idea of great
ness is closely associated rather often
with elf-advertisement?
On the eve of a naval battle in the
war with Russia the Emperor of
Japan addressed encouraging words
to this commander of his feet. He
sent his reply to the minister of the
navy and said, Please convey my
wish that His Majesty shall set his
mind at rest The fortune of war is to
him who strikes first, and Heihachiro
will strike first" This story is al
ways quoted to show that there has
been logged determination and firm
self-confidence lying under the imper
turbable silence generally assumed by
the admiral. Togo is an extremely