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Bose of Nakamuraya: An Indian Revolutionary in Japan THIS illustrated monumental biography covers a broad spectrum of issues: decoding "the puzzle called Rash Bihari Bose" recording his life story, evolution of the Indian freedom struggle, the connection of Bose and Nakamuraya, biculturalism, Japan’s expansionism and history of Asia in the first half of the 20th century. Takeshi Nakajima deserves credit for being an objective recorder of the enigmatic Rash Bihari Bose’s thoughts and actions. Though otherwise a self-confessed admirer of Bose’s patriotic fervour and heroic qualities, he is equally concerned with his (Bose) foibles.
Encountering the stumbling block of language and the Japanese foreign ministry, under pressure from the British, constantly dogging his footsteps, Bose’s underground living in Japan—a real test of patience and spirit—is hair raising. As a matter of fact, Japan was an ally of Britain in the First World War. This irony obviously made things very challenging for the escapee Bose. But despite the spate of hardships inevitable to his living in hideouts, he persevered in his efforts for India’s freedom. Playing hide-and-seek with his pursuer, he approached the Asianists, who in turn rescued him. The author traces the history of Nakamuraya, the popular bakery shop, where Bose was harboured. The owners, the Soma couple, showered affection on him. Kokko Soma, particularly mentally prepared to face the worst consequences for sheltering the refugee Indian in Japan, illustrates the emotional Asianism, majority of Japanese of the time sensed. Eventually, he married Toshiko Soma, the eldest daughter of the Soma couple in 1918 and became Japan’s citizen in 1923. This, in a way, ended his life in hiding, also enabled him to carry out his political activities proactively, not as an Indian national but as a Japanese. They were blessed with two children. However, in March 1925, fate deprived Bose of Toshiko’s love. After sharing Bose’s extreme lifestyle, she died at the age of 28. But such was the intensity of Bose’s devotion to Toshiko that he declined a many exciting proposals for remarriage. "I don’t think I will have with any other woman the connection I had with Toshiko," reasoned Bose. The Indian curry, taught to Nakamuraya by Bose, has been one of the popular products of Nakamuraya, since 1927. And this Indian curry, "the face of Nakamuraya", the indissoluble link been India and Nakamuraya, metamorphosed Bose, the political refugee into "the Bose of Nakamuraya". Eventually, Bose learned Japanese and got foothold in Japan as a journalist and a writer. That he was a man of many prejudices and inconsistencies comes out clearly from his intense, opinionated, forceful writings, primarily oriented to arouse Japan’s interest in the India of the current time. However, he denounced strongly Western imperialism and persuaded the Asian countries to unite their energies to bring it down. He championed Asianism as a perfect antidote to Western modernity. In this respect he, however, had a stereotypical perception of the West and indulged in sweeping condemnations. A drastic change appeared in his stance in the latter half of 1930s. He even rectified Japan’s imperialism, stressed on Japan’s carrying out a war for the liberation of Asia. The eternal crusader against the evil of imperialism had no compunction about using the military powers of an imperialist state to dig up imperialism from India! This is the puzzle and enigma about Rash Bihari Bose, which the author repeatedly points out and finds hard to digest. But quite obviously, the thought of India’s autonomy that obsessed him could be the only reason for his accepting Japan’s imperialism and military manoeuvres in the greater East Asia war. The emblem of anti-imperialism would have suffered huge mental agony for this paradox! However, he extended the Indian freedom struggle internationally and did much to establish the anti-British movement in Japan. As a matter of fact, he played a key role in the formation of the Indian Independence League and Indian National Army. The story of the strenuous life of this obsessional patriot ends in tragedy. His agonising death, exactly two years before India attained Independence, is really tragic. But his Herculean effort definitely was not a small help to the slave India in reaching autonomy. His life, doings and writings bear testimony to the fact that he was intense about everything and this intensity was the force behind his magnanimity and reason for his some elusive foibles. An extraordinary man, assuredly, calls forth an extraordinary book!
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Rash Bihari Bose
(1886-1945) was a fierce revolutionary leader who fought against the
British imperialism in India. He was one of the key organisers of the
bomb attack on Lord Hoarding and the Gadhar conspiracy at Lahore. To
avoid certain death sentence, he escaped to Japan at the age of 29,
fooling the British intelligence.