National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

Centenary Of Closeness

The story of Nepal-Japan relations began a century ago through a student program

By KESHAB POUDEL

At a time when the United Kingdom was the only dominant foreign power influencing Nepalese affairs, Japan's development process became a source of inspiration to then-prime minister Dev Sumsher Rana. Nobody knows how he was persuaded to send Nepalese students to Japan for higher education, but the decision clearly stemmed from his attraction to that country. Be it Dev Sumshere, a representative of an autocratic government, or Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, a democratically elected prime minister, Japan's development model has long inspired Nepalese leaders.

Thanks to the Embassy of Japan and the Japan University Students Association (JUSAN), Nepalese got an opportunity last week to recall that historical event that shaped the relations between the two Asian countries. To mark the centenary ceremony of the despatch of the first batch of Nepalese students to Japan, the embassy and JUSAN organized the demonstration of tea ceremony and photo exhibition.

The Dev Sumshere and Bhattarai governments could not survive for long and the leaders were unable to materialize their vision. Dev Sumsher tried to implement his ideas by sending eight Nepalese students to acquire knowledge in Japan. By the time Bhattarai was prime minister, Nepal had more than 3,000 students with some kind of degree from Japan.

In agriculture, health, communication, humanities and other major areas, many Nepalese students trained in Japan have been working to transform Nepalese society by sharing their knowledge. Sea-locked Japan and landlocked Nepal share spiritual bonds that have existed since the days of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century.

"Although Japan and Nepal physically remained distant till the middle of the 20th century, spiritual bonds existed since the days of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in 6th century. In this sense, Japan and Nepal have shared common spiritual, religious, philosophical values for a long, long time," said Zenji Kaminaga, ambassador of Japan, in a speech to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the despatch of the first Nepalese students to Japan.

Like their geographical contrasts, Nepal and Japan have vast development disparities. The Japanese government has been helping to bridge that gap by providing technical and other support. From highways to agriculture, from technology to health and from education to energy, Japanese support remains very significant.

After prime minister Jung Bahadur Rana's visit to Britain, Nepal's ruling elite were very much influenced by the West. The rulers copied the architecture and life-style of Britain. Dev Sumsher had a different vision for the country and looked east.

"Notwithstanding the thin and psychologically distant relations till the middle of the 20th century, Nepalese leaders looked to the east long ago at the start of 20th century. While countries of Asia, even Japan, was looking to the West for advanced learning, the government of Nepal sent its youths to Japan for higher education," said Harendra B. Barua, former Monbusho student, in an article.

Dev Sumsher made efforts to open Nepalese society to the rest of the world. According to historians, liberal and visionary he paid a heavy price for trying to modernize the country when he was removed from power by his brothers.

Dev Sumsher selected eight Nepalese students to learn Japanese technology. Despite his removal from power, his successor, Chandra Sumsher Rana, endorsed that decision. This was the first effort at the state level to bring knowledge and technology from overseas in a bid to modernize the country. This year marks the centenary of the despatch to and arrival of those Nepalese students in Japan.

The eight students included Jang Narsingh Rana and Bhakta Bahadur Basnet (ammunition technology), Bam Narsingh Raimajhi and Dev Narsingh Rana (mining), Deep Narsingh Rana (agriculture), Hem Bahadur Rajbhandari (mechanical engineering), Bichar Man Singh (ceramics and lacquer vase) and Rudra Lal Singh (chemistry). Whether these students were appointed to the appropriate places after their return remains unclear, but their visit itself was a landmark.

The students boarded the ship on April 29,1902 in Bombay. En route to Japan, the ship halted at Colombo, Rangoon, Singapore, Hong Kong and reached Yokohama on June 17,1902. The students visited the British Legation with a letter from prime minister Chandra Sumshere to the British minister in Tokyo.

Three years before the departure of the Nepalese students, Ekai Kawaguchi, a Zen priest, entered Nepal on January 26, 1899. The purpose of his visit was to collect the original Buddhist sutras written in Sanskrit and their Tibetan translation.

After the first batch of students was sent to Japan, the process was stalled for nearly five decades. After diplomatic ties was established in 1956, Nepalese students once again started going to Japan for higher education under the Monbusho scholarship. "It is a matter of delight for us to learn that the government of Nepal had chosen my country as the first destination of students for higher education abroad," said Ambassador Kaminaga.

According to JUSAN, as of 2002, 125 Nepalese students have come back from Japan armed with advanced education. Among them, 15 are medical doctors, 50 are engineers, and the rest are in the humanities, natural science, languages, home science, environmental science, journalism and law, among other fields.

Besides, more than 3,000 Nepalese went to Japan for short-term and long-term training programs. These people have been providing high-quality results in their respective fields. "The effort made a century ago is benefiting Nepal immensely," said Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha, a former Nepalese ambassador to Japan.

"Nepal and Japan shares many commonalities and Nepal continues to receive valuable technical and other cooperation in different areas, including health, education, transport, communication, agriculture and social sectors," said Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi, chairman of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee.

In the last 100 years, Nepal has seen many changes in development. Japanese support in times of peace and conflict alike is a memorable part of the experience. The ceremony organized to celebrate the centenary has reminded both countries the closeness of their relations.

What is the Tea Ceremony?

Organized by head master Yobunouchi Jochi of the Yabunouchi School of the Tea Ceremony, Mrs. Yabunouchi and Yabunouchi Joyu, the Tea Ceremony is the ritualized preparation and serving of powered green tea in the presence of guests. The Yabunouchi School is one of the four major schools of the Tea Ceremony, and has endeavored to preserve the formal elegance of the original Tea Ceremony.

Celebrating the centenary, a group of Japanese demonstrated traditional Tea Ceremony along with the photo exhibition. Demonstrated by the family members of Yabunouchi School of the Tea Ceremony, it showed the traditional Japanese way of offering tea.

After being imported from China, green tea came to be drunk in temples and mansions of the aristocracy and ruling warrior class from about the 12th century. Tea was first drunk as a form of medicine and was imbibed in the monasteries as a means of keeping awake during meditation.

Finally, through the influence of Zen Buddhist masters, the procedures for serving tea in front of guests were developed in the 14th and 15th century into the spiritually uplifting form in which millions of students practice the Tea Ceremony in different schools today. According to the tradition, the host engages his whole being in the creation of an occasion designed to bring aesthetic, intellectual and physical enjoyment and peace of mind to the guests.

"Though all efforts of the host are directed toward the enjoyment of the participants, the Tea Ceremony is equally designed to humble participants by focusing attention on the profound beauty of the simplest manifestations of nature, such as the light, the sound of water, the glow, of charcoal fire - which are emphasized in the setting of a simple tea-room and also manifestations of the creative force of the universe through human endeavor, for example, beautiful objects," said Yabunouchi Jochi, head master of the school.