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PIONEER NEPALI
STUDENTS IN JAPAN-A CENTURY AGO
Arrival in Japan
After overcoming many hurdles and adventures, the
students, who ranged in age between 18 and 27 with their
entourage, the guide, and the 17 servants reached Yokohama,
Japan on June 17, 19027 and were received by Kagoshima
Maru officials, according to the Immigration record.
Incidentally, the students were the first Nepalese to go abroad
for study. Thus the students and the seventeen attendants
became the first Nepali nationals to land in Japan.
They spent a few days in Yokohama and Tokyo. In the
meantime, Swami Giri, who was familiar with Japan and the
people was asked to arrange lodgings for them in Tokyo. For
about a month, till their admission in the schools and
colleges the students and the servants stayed together in
Tokyo. They rented a house at 13, Reinanzaka Cho, Akasaka.
A language teacher was engaged for  100 per month. The
students visited the British Legation with a letter from Prime
Minister Chandra Shumsher to the British Minister in
Tokyo. As requested by the Nepali Prime Minister, the
British Minister wrote on June 21, 1902 to Japanese Foreign
Minister Jutaro Komura, requesting that the youths be
allowed to enter schools and colleges8. He described the
students as "State Students of Nepal". The Minister
forwarded the letter to the Minister of Education, and upon
the recommendation of the Monbusho (Education Ministry)
the eight Nepali youths were admitted into three government
institutions - Tokyo Teikoku Daigaku (Present Tokyo
University Department of Technology), Tokyo Koto Kogyo
gakko (Present Tokyo Institute of Technology) and Noka
Daigaku (Present Tokyo University, Department of
Agriculture.)
The Director of Tokyo Imin K.K., Fuji Boeki K.K.
helped them to find a rented house and also stood as
guarantor at the time of admission to the colleges and the
schools.
The eight students rented houses in four different
places in Tokyo. The seventeen attendants were equally
posted with the students. The addresses of the students were.
- Jang Narsingh and Dev Narsingh. 137, Higashikata
machi, Hongo-ku. Rent 30 per month, deposit 50.
- Bhakta Bahadur and Bal Narsingh. 22, Masago-cho,
Hongo-ku. Rent 30 per month, deposit 100.
- Bichar Man, Rudra Lal and Hem Bahadur 19
Kitatomizaka-cho, Kurumai, Asakusa. House rent 20
per month.
- Deep Narsingh. 272. Naka Shibuya mura. Toyotama
Kori (gun), Village house, rent 10 and no deposit.
- Address in Osaka. 132, Amizima Cho, Kita-ku
(Miyakojima-ku)
- In Shizuoka. C/o Tanaka Iron Works, Kama-shi
- In Tokyo. Shibaura Engineering Works. The name of the
President was Mr. Takashi.
The first and the second house were a mile away from
the college, the third was two miles away, the fourth house
was Komaba, six miles away from Hongo. The house rent at
Komaba was cheaper because it was in a village. Incidentally
I too lived in Komaba during my student life in Japan. The
Agriculture University where Deep Narsingh studied was in
front of our Students House and it was still a quiet place.
The house rents of the students were rather high. They
might have rented large houses. The monthly stipends,
however, were sufficient as they stayed with their attendants.
|
Name of the Student
|
Age
|
Subject
|
Monthly Stipend
|
Yen
|
Sen
|
|
Cap. Jang Narsingh Rana
|
22
|
Ammunition
Engineering
|
(Rs. 150)
|
96
|
30
|
|
Cap. Bhakta Bahadur Basnyat
|
19
|
"
|
(Rs. 100)
|
64
|
20
|
|
Mr. Dev Narsingh Rana
|
20
|
Mining
|
(Rs.150)
|
96
|
30
|
|
Mr. Bal Narsingh Raimajhi
|
20
|
"
|
(Rs.100)
|
64
|
20
|
|
Mr. Deep Narsingh Rana
|
18
|
Agriculture
|
(Rs.150)
|
96
|
30
|
|
Mr. Hem Bahadur Rajbhandari
|
22
|
Mechanical
Engineer
|
(Rs.80)
|
51
|
36
|
|
Mr. Rudra Lal Singh
|
27
|
Applied
Chemistry
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(Rs.80)
|
51
|
36
|
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Mr. Bichar Man Singh
|
25
|
Ceramics &
Lacquer vase*
|
(Rs.80)
|
51
|
36
|
|
Mr. Swami Purananda (Guide)
|
|
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(Rs.180)
|
115
|
56
|
* Later, changed the subject to Seri Culture.
Sources: Student's Diary
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