I had not known Ekai Kawaguchi, a priest, until I was invited by Ambassador of Nepal to Japan and Mrs, Ambassador on October 13 to a welcome dinner of Dr. Pramodo Shreasa and Mrs. Shreasa held at the official residence. Right after all attendants were seated to the dinner table, Ambassador Kedax Bhakta Mathma rose up and made a short pre-dinner speech in good and clear English. He said that it was in 1899, just a hundred years ago when Naplease met a Japanese first time. A Japanese priest smuggled into Nepal when it was a closed country from outside world. He understood Naplease, lived with Naplease, learned Tibetan, and finally entered Tibet climbing over Himalaya mountains. The ambassador stressed the coincidence at his speech and did not tell name of priest. We, attendants, also enjoyed a rare occasion and did not ask him who he was.

Last month when I visited a small museum in Jomson, Nepal, a curator took me to a big exhibition panel of Priest Ekai Kawaguchi. I knew his name by this panel and saw a big picture of his portrait. Later on that day. Dr. Tsuchida told me to read his travel diary which was published in Japan. As the diary is quite voluminous, he suggested me to read at least Diary No.1 and added that it would be satisfactory for me. After I came back to Japan, I could get a copy of his Travel Diary No.1 with help from Ebisu branch staffs of Book Center. I was really impressed by finding that he was the only one priest in Japan and also in the world who did faithfully just as Buddha persuaded.

Even today Nepal is a country where water supply and drainage were poorly installed. It is not easy for Japanese to live together with them. He lived there together with people who never took bathing for months and accustomed to eat dirty foods. He overcome many 'terror of death' incidents while he was making adventure trip to get sutra in Tibetan. I respect his braveness, faithfulness and wisdom.

The Travel Diary No.1 has paragraphs about his trip from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Although we can get there by plane for only about forty minutes today, he wrote the trip was not easy for him at that time. He visited Muktinah to see a holy place for Hindus and Buddhists where Mr. Matsuoka and his party climbed up on the last trip. The priest found the trick of 'fire in water' at the place，he said. The book is my recommendation.

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