Naomi Uemura
Sir: Since (or was it because?) Murray Sayle wrote his well-deserved eulogy on Naomi Uemura (`Because it's there', 10 March), the Japanese government indeed have, apparently overruling the bureaucratic objections to which Mr Sayle refers, bestowed The People's Honour Award on the intrepid Japanese climber and explorer. Mr Sayle is, of course, excellent at presenting, in such a short space, all the various and extraordinary achievements of Uemura, which at times seem almost superhuman and incredible. But I think the more impressive part of his piece is the analysis of the motives which drove Uemura and other explorers and adventurers like him to undertake almost inevitable confrontation with death. So far as Uemura is concerned I would like to add one more factor to Mr Sayle's equation: Uemura's constant and fearless teasing of death.
A. Banerjee Kobe College, 4-1 Okadayama, Nishinomiya-662, Japan
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