Japana Theke Jorasamko: Chithi O Dinalipi (1916—1917)
Front Cover, Japana Theke Jorasamko: Chithi O Dinalipi (1916—1917)
Photo: Mukul Dey Archives
by Mukul Chandra Dey, ed. by Satyasri Ukil
In 1916 Rabindranath Tagore visited USA, via Japan, on a lecture tour. This was
his first visit to Japan.
Tagore was accompanied on this trip by two of his English friends, Charles
Freer Andrews and William Winstanley Pearson; and, a young Bengali art student
Mukul Chandra Dey.
The present title is a compilation of Dey’s letters from Japan and USA in 1916 – 1917, along with two
of his diary fragments composed in 1917. The compilation is edited and
annotated by Satyasri Ukil and published by New Age Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd., Calcutta in 2005.
Mukul Dey was the first modern Indian artist who visited Japan. On this
trip, being a disciple of Tagore, he got the rare opportunity to study under two
very famous Japanese artists—Yokoyama Taikan at Tokyo
and Shimomura Kanzan at Yokohama.
Also they were fortunate to be guests of the noted Japanese art collector
Tomitaro Hara at his sprawling landscape garden and heritage architectural complex
known as Sankeien in Yokohama.
