The Japanese Art Critic and Indian Nobel Laureate Who Shared a Great Dream for Asia

The ancient cultural dimensions between Japan and India have revealed many fascinating features and figures. India gained freedom from colonial British rule following a long, protracted independence struggle. During those years, the role of the Indian National Army (INA) under Subhas Chandra Bose shall always be remembered, more so for the crucial assistance and aid received from Imperial Japan. Bose, popularly known as Netaji (Respected Leader) among Indians worldwide, became the undisputed leader of this militant wing of India's nationalist movement.

However, not many know that Bose was highly inspired by the writings of Okakura Tenshin, a Japanese scholar and art critic during the Meiji Restoration era. He is also known by the name Okakura Kakuzo. 

Historical and Cultural Connections

Indo-Japanese cooperation in Southeast Asia drew on a cultural connection, with its origins rooted in ancient history. For Japan, India remained the birthplace of Lord Buddha and Buddhism. As a source of inspiration for centuries of artistic, literary, and philosophical expression, India attracted devout Buddhist and literary figures. Okakura Tenshin was among them. 

Okakura left Japan on December 5, 1901, disembarked at Colombo, and after a brief stay in Madras, arrived in Calcutta on January 6, 1902. He finally returned to Japan in October 1902.

Celebrated Indian poet and Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore opened his Calcutta home to many Japanese and Asian priests, poets, artists, performers, and all those interested in Asia's cultural renaissance. It was a time when there was a fruitful cross-fertilization of ideas and inspiration. 

A notable Japanese visitor to Tagore's home was none other than Okakura Kakuzo, who famously published The Book of Tea (1906) following his visit to India. The Book of Tea introduces the philosophy behind the Japanese tea ceremony. It remains of research interest to generations internationally who are eager to learn about minimalist aesthetics as a centerpiece of Japanese life.

Pan-Asianism and Cultural Identity

In fact, Okakura Tenshin and Tagore celebrated Asian spirituality as a distinctively Asian heritage. Indian Pan-Asianism's cultural dimension was reflected when India's exponent of Asian cultural unity and idealism, Tagore, visited East Asia and strengthened the sense of its cultural identity. Tagore was eloquent in his admiration of Japan's achievement and its impact on the rest of Asia when he said:

It was said of Asia that it could never move in the path of progress, its face was inevitably turned backwards […] When things stood still like this, and we in Asia hypnotized ourselves into the belief […] that it could never by any possibility be otherwise, Japan rose from her dreams, and in giant strides left centuries of inaction behind […] 

One morning the whole world looked up in surprise when Japan broke through her walls of old habits in the night and came out triumphant. It was done in such an incredibly short time that it seemed like a change of dress and not like the building up of a new structure […] 

Japan has proved conclusively that this sudden revealment of her power is not a short-lived wonder, a chance product of time and tide, thrown up from the depth of obscurity to be swept away the next moment into the sea of oblivion. In a word, modern Japan has come out of the immemorial East like a lotus blossoming in easy grace, all the while keeping its firm hold upon the profound depth from which it has sprung.

An Enduring Legacy

While he recognized Japan's achievement, Tagore concurrently retained the great Indian dream of Asian spirituality and its ultimate superiority over Western material power. He prophesied the day when this confrontation would be apparent to the entire world, "The East with her ideals, in which are stored the ages of sunlight and silence of stars, can patiently wait till the West, hurrying after the expedient, loses breath and stops."

Along similar lines, although Okakura's famous quote "Asia is one" became a watchword for Japan, perhaps he was not lauded in Japan as much as Tagore was in India. Nevertheless, the publication of hundreds of editions of The Book of Tea in foreign languages is a testament to his enduring legacy. From the introduction of Buddhism from India to Japan in the 6th century to the friendship and bond between Okakura Tenshin and Rabindranath Tagore, the trajectory of Indo-Japanese cultural and political proximity had aged like fine wine.

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Author: Dr Monika Chansoria

Follow Dr Chansoria and her column "All Politics is Global" on JAPAN Forward, and on X (formerly Twitter). The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organization with which she is affiliated.