Asia is one: How Rabindranath Tagore and Okakura Kakuzō’s friendship paved way for modern ties between India and Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is all set for her maiden visit to India. PM Takaichi's three-day visit (July 1-3) to New Delhi is expected to strengthen ties between the two nations in trade, defence, semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy and emerging technologies. Interestingly, India and Japan's modern-day ties had their inception over a hundred years ago thanks to two pioneers from the two nations, forging a cultural alliance to defy Western influence on the East.

In the opening years of the twentieth century, as Western imperialism increasingly weighed upon the Asian continent, a quiet but revolutionary intellectual alliance occurred in Calcutta. The year was 1902. Okakura Kakuzō, a charismatic Japanese scholar and art critic, arrived at the ancestral home of India’s premier polymath, Rabindranath Tagore. The meeting between the two intellectuals and Okakura’s subsequent stay at Tagore’s residence sparked a profound, decade-long intellectual friendship. Their friendship served as a foundation of modern-day cultural ties between India and Japan years later.

The Meeting of Two Giants

When Okakura arrived in India, he was already formulating a grand thesis to challenge Western cultural hegemony. The Japanese art critic had initially come to India to meet Swami Vivekananda; however, his meeting with Tagore in Calcutta completely changed his perspective on Indian culture. Living with the Tagore family at Jorasanko, he found an intellectual sanctuary.

The two connected instantly over a shared grief for the erosion of Eastern traditions and a mutual desire to revive Asian spiritual and artistic heritage. Together, they wanted to combat Western influence on Eastern culture.

It was during his stay with the Tagores that Okakura drafted his seminal book, The Ideals of the East, which famously opened with the rallying cry, "Asia is one."

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A Shared Anti-Colonial Sentiment

The bond between Tagore and Okakura was not merely political; it was profoundly aesthetic. Okakura rejected the blind imitation of Western art, a sentiment that resonated with Tagore as well.

His stay in Calcutta was so profound, that Okakura introduced Japanese artists like Yokoyama Taikan to the city in subsequent years. This cross-pollination directly inspired the Bengal School of Art. Okakura visited India during the Swadeshi movement and mentored prominent Indian artists and sent his own students from the Japan Fine Arts Academy to explore Indian culture, bridging aesthetic philosophies.

In later years, Indian artists adopted Japanese wash techniques, merging them with traditional Indian motifs to create a distinctly modern artistic language, which was led by Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath's nephew.

Not just in art, Okakura’s influence led to Tagore adapting experiential, nature-connected learning at Santiniketan.

Ideological Divergence and Lingering Respect

Tagore and Okakura only met a few times, but their shared passion of reviving Eastern heritage and culture across Asia stood the test of time.

The friendship eventually faced the harsh test of geopolitics. As Japan transitioned into an aggressive, militaristic empire in the 1910s, Tagore—a staunch universalist who disliked violent nationalism—grew deeply uncomfortable.

During his visits to Japan, Tagore openly criticised its imperial ambitions, much to the dismay of the Japanese public. Okakura, who tragically died in 1913 at the age of fifty, did not live to see the full fracturing of his Pan-Asian dream. Yet, the mutual respect between the two men never truly dissolved; they recognised in each other as two individuals striving for a decolonised mind.

Their bond sparked early exchanges of students and scholars between India and Japan. These reciprocal visits established a template for cultural diplomacy that defined early 20th-century inter-Asian ties

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A Legacy for Modern Ties

Today, the legacy of the Tagore-Okakura friendship extends far beyond historical curiosity. The bond paved the way for contemporary diplomatic, economic, and cultural partnerships between India and Japan.

When modern leaders speak of a shared Indo-Pacific vision rooted in democratic and spiritual values, they are echoing a dialogue that began at Jorashakho in Calcutta over a century ago.

India and Japan’s modern-day alliance is built not just on geopolitical convenience, but on a profound, century-old intellectual brotherhood.