KAWAGUCHI, The Shramana Ekai. Three Years in Tibet. Adyar, Madras: The Theosophist Office; Benares & London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1909.
8vo. Original red cloth, spine letterd in gilt, front cover in blind; pp. xv, 719; 10 plates after photographs, illustsrations after drawings to text, one folding panorama of Mount Gaurishankara ('the highest peak in the world') from a photograph, one folding map in three colours; light fading to spine, a little offsetting from a few plates; a very good copy.
First edition. A description of a journey to Tibet through Nepal between 1897 and 1903, and of a year's residence in Lhasa. The author, a Japanese priest, made this translation from his articles originally published in Japanese newspapers. Kawaguchi travelled to Tibet with the purpose of discovering ancient Sanskrit manuscripts, notwithstanding the double obstacles faced from the local government's closure of the country and the surrounding mountain ranges. He reporta as well of Russian activities at the beginning of the 20th century in the country. On his return to Japan, he found himself fêted by his countrymen as "the first explorer of Tibet from Japan". His book displays considerable sympathy for the country and its inhabitants and includes chapters on many aspects of their lives and history, free of the usual Euro-centric biases.
Yakushi (3rd ed.) K83.
#2120480