On May 31, 1893, an unknown Hindu monk boarded the ship ‘Peninsular’ sailing from Bombay bound for Japan. His final destination, however, was Chicago, where he was going to represent Hinduism at the World Parliament of Religions to be held there on September 11.

    “The ship, the farewells, the uncertainties and formalities of foreign travel, and so many belongings to care for - all these were new to him. Then too, his friends had made him dress in a robe and turban of silk. Like a prince he looked, indeed, but in his heart stirred various emotions. The monk stood on deck and gazed toward the shore until it faded from sight, sending his blessings to those who loved him and whom he loved ... ”

    “From Bombay the ship next stopped at Colombo and then on to Penang, a strip of land along the sea in the body of the Malay Peninsula. On his way from Penang to Singapore, he caught glimpses of Sumatra, with its high mountains, and the captain pointed out to him several favorite haunts for pirates in days gone by. The next port was Singapore, then the capital of the straits settlements, where he went to see the museum and the Botanical Garden with its beautiful collection of palms ...  Next the ship stopped at Hong Kong, giving him his first glimpse of China ... The halt of three days at Hong Kong gave the passengers an opportunity to visit Canton, eighty miles up the Sikiang River ...”1

    Canton proved to be a revelation to the monk. From Hong Kong the ship sailed to Nagasaki in Japan, where he was greatly impressed with everything he saw. This unknown monk who now stood on Japanese soil - I believe readers have already guessed - is Swami Vivekananda, to whom we shall henceforth refer to as Swami or Swamiji.

    On the momentous occasion of the celebration of India-Japan friendship year 2007, this article attempts to study the role the Swami played in this relationship – a role that started with his visit to Japan in 1893. We understand that Swamiji was the first among many prominent personalities of Modern India to visit Japan, and he was also the first to foster relationships with Japan which would benefit India materially and Japan spiritually.

    A visit by the Swami Vivekananda to any country whatsoever, including Japan, is important, for he was not just a religious leader, but most decidedly a prophet of this age. The impact of his life and teachings was felt not only in the field of spirituality, but in other fields by every thinker or leader of late nineteenth- and early twentieth century India, including Gandhiji, the poet Rabindranath Tagore, the savant Aurobindo and the scientist Jagadish Chandra Basu, freedom fighter Netaji Subash Chandra Basu. 2 World thinkers and writers like Leo Tolstoy, Romain Rolland and Arnold Toynbee were also influenced in one way or another by Swamiji. 3
Japan was sanctified by the visit of Swami Vivekananda, although the details of this visit are, unfortunately, still to be explored. Except for very limited information from other sources, most of what we know about this subject is found in a letter written by Swamiji on July 10, 1893 from Yokohama to Sri Alasinga Perumal of the then Madras, a devotee and sponsor for his trip to the U.S.A. Swamiji also wrote another letter on the same subject from Japan to the Maharaja of Khetri in Rajasthan, another disciple, which has not been traced to date.

    Let us now furnish this first-hand information about his visit to Japan from the letter he wrote to Alasinga Perumal. Among other things Swamiji writes: 4

    “... From Canton I returned back to Hong Kong and from thence to Japan. The first port we touched was Nagasaki. We landed for a few hours and drove through the town. What a contrast! The Japanese are one of the cleanliest peoples on earth. Everything is neat and tidy. Their streets are nearly all broad, straight, and regularly paved. Their little houses are cage-like, and their pine-covered evergreen little hills form the background of almost every town and village. The short-statured, fair-skinned, quaintly dressed Japanese, their movements, attitudes, gestures, everything is picturesque. Japan is the land of the picturesque! Almost every house has a garden at the back, very nicely laid out according to Japanese fashion with small shrubs, grass plots, small artificial waters, and small stone bridges.”

    “From Nagasaki to Kobe. Here I gave up the steamer and took the land-route to Yokohama, with a view to see the interior of Japan.”

    “I have seen three big cities in the interior - Osaka, a great manufacturing town, Kyoto, the former capital, and Tokyo, the present capital: Tokyo is nearly twice the size of Calcutta with nearly double the population.”

    “No foreigner is allowed to travel in the interior without a passport.”

    “The Japanese seem now to have fully awakened themselves to the necessity of the present times. They have now a thoroughly organised army equipped with guns which one of their own officers has invented and is second to none. Then, they are continually increasing their navy. I have seen a tunnel nearly a mile long, bored by a Japanese engineer.”

    “The match factories are simply a sight to see, and they are bent upon making everything they want in their own country. This is a Japanese line of steamers plying between China and Japan, which shortly intends running between Bombay and Yokohama.”

    “I saw quite a lot of temples. In every temple there are some Sanskrit mantras written in Old Bengali characters. Only a few of the priests know Sanskrit. But they are an intelligent sect. The modern rage for progress has penetrated even the priesthood. I cannot write what I have in my mind about the Japanese in one short letter. Only I want that numbers of our young men should pay a visit to Japan and China every year. Especially to the Japanese, India is still a dreamland of everything high and good ...”

    As mentioned earlier, we have no detail of his travels in Japan. For example: What temples did he visit? Who were the priests he met? Who were the people Swamiji interacted with and what impact had he left upon them?

    Swamiji praised Japan and her people not only in the letter quoted above, but on many other occasions in private conversations as well. In his reminiscences Swami Akhandanandaji, one of his brother disciples, mentions a reference to Japan when Swamiji told him that he had liked a painting by a Japanese artist so much that he considered buying it with what money he had for the trip to Chicago and returning home! 5

    Again while conversing with Priyanath Sinha, one of his friends and devotees, in 1901, Swamiji said, “If I can get some unmarried graduates, I may try to send  them over to Japan and make arrangements for their technical education there, so that when they come back, they may turn their knowledge to the best account for India. What a good thing that would be.”

    Question: “Why, Maharaj, is it better for us to go to Japan than to England?” (That was common during those days when India was ruled by England).

    Swamiji: “Certainly. In my opinion, if all our rich and educated men once go and see Japan, their eyes will be opened.”

    Question: “How?”

    Swamiji: “There in Japan, you find a fine assimilation of knowledge, and not its indigestion, as we have here. They have taken everything from the Europeans, but they remain Japanese all the same, and have not turned European; while in our country, the terrible mania of becoming Westernized has seized upon us like the plague.”

    Question: “Maharaj, I have seen some Japanese paintings; one cannot but marvel at their art. Its inspiration seems to be something which is their own and beyond imitation.”

    Swamiji: “Quite so. They are a great nation because of their art. Don’t you see they are Asians, as we are? ... The very soul of the Asian is interwoven with Art. The Asian never uses a thing unless there be art in it. Don’t you know that art is, with us, a part of religion?” 6

    In an interview published in Hindu, a Madras newspaper, in February 1897, again the topic of Japan appeared. Here is a report of that interview: 7

    Hindu: “What did you see in Japan, and is there any chance of India following in the progressive steps of Japan?

    Swamiji: “None whatever until all the three hundred millions of India combine together as a whole nation. The world has never seen such a patriotic and artistic race as the Japanese, and one special feature about them is this, that while in Europe and elsewhere Art generally goes with dirt, Japanese Art is art plus cleanliness. I would wish that every one of our young men could visit Japan once at least in his lifetime. It is very easy to go there. The Japanese think that everything Hindu is great and believe that India is a holy land. Japanese Buddhism is entirely different from what you see in Ceylon. It is the same as Vedanta. It is positive and theistic Buddhism, not the negative atheistic Buddhism of Ceylon.”

    Hindu: “What is the key to Japan’s sudden greatness?”

    Swamiji: “The faith of the Japanese in themselves, and their love for their country. When you have men who are ready to sacrifice their everything for their country, sincere to the backbone - when such men arise, India will become great in every respect. It is the men that make the country! What is there in the country? If you catch the social morality and the political morality of the Japanese, you will be as great as they are. The Japanese are ready to sacrifice everything for their country, and they have become a great people. But you are not; you cannot be, you sacrifice everything only for your own families and possessions.”

    Hindu: “is it your wish that India should become like Japan?”

    Swamiji: “Decidedly not! India should continue to be what she is. How could India ever become like Japan, or any nation for that matter? ... “

    It is clear from the above reports of Swamiji’s views on Japan that he had a firm belief that it would do good for Indians if they imbibed the positive qualities of the Japanese without abandoning their own national characteristics. Here we see Swamiji not just in the role of a traditional religious leader, but the mentor of a nation; not only thinking in terms of spiritual regeneration, but also concerned with the material rejuvenation of his country - a nation which had been subjugated and was groaning under the exploitation of British Imperialism.

    Another remarkable incident took place while Swamiji was in Japan which later proved to be momentous in the economic and educational history of India - an incident about which very few Indians have any knowledge of even today. While in Japan, Swamiji had met Jamshedji Tata, the founder of a higher institute of scientific research and also of a huge  steel factory. Perhaps they first met while staying at Oriental Hotel in Yokohama in the second week of July 1893, and this association continued for around another 10 days; that is, from 14th July through 25th July, on their way to Vancouver, B.C. since they were fellow passengers on the ship called ‘The Empress of India’. 8

    Jamshedji was the sole exporter of Japanese made matchsticks to India at the time. It is quite probable that since both men were visionary, dynamic and patriots, they discussed many important things for the uplift of India. But we can only speculate, as again, any details of these conversations are missing. We do know, however, from stories recollected by Mahendranath Datta, Swamiji’s younger brother, who had obviously heard it from the latter, that Swamiji had advised Jamshedji that instead of merely eking out a meager profit in his present enterprise with Japan, he should start a match factory in India which would provide employment to many of his countrymen. It would also generate more income for him in the process. 9 Remembering Swamiji’s animated discussion with him and later in observing the former’s spectacular success in preaching Vedanta in the West, and the rejuvenating effect his message had on the Indian people, upon his triumphant return to India in 1897, Jamshedji wrote a letter to Swamiji dated 23rd November, 1898. 10 In it he requested Swamiji to take a leadership role in materializing his plans for a ‘Science Research Institute’, an idea that would meet with great difficulty from the British. Although it was not possible for Swamiji to accept such an offer, an editorial was written in the April 1899 issue of Prabuddha Bharata, the English organ of the Ramakrishna Order, highly appreciative of Jamshedji’s noble endeavor in all probability at Swamiji’s bidding.

    There is however another version of what transpired between Swamiji and Jamshedji during the said voyage, given in an address by none other than Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India and a celebrated scientist, at the ‘Youth Convention’ and inauguration of the ‘Vivekananda Institute of Value Education and Culture’ at Porbandar, Gujarat on January 12th 2006. It should be noted that the source of Dr. Kalam’s information is not known to the present author. The relevant extract from his address is as follows:

    “…At this point let me share the meeting between Swami Vivekananda and Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata during a ship journey. It happened in 1893. A ship was sailing Japan to USA. There were hundreds of people in that ship including two significant personalities. Swami Vivekananda and Jamshedji Tata were in that ship. Swamiji asked Jamshedji for what mission he was traveling. Jamshedji said that he wanted to bring steel industry to India. Swami Vivekananda blessed him. He suggested steel technology had two components – one is steel science and the other is manufacturing technology. What can you bring to this country in material technology – you will have to build material science within the country. Jamshedji was thinking and thinking and made a decision. Earlier when Jamshedji went to London he asked for technology transfer for Steel Plant. UK steel manufacturers looked at Jamshedji and said that if Indians make steel, Britishers will eat it. Jamshedji crossed Atlantic Ocean, talked to Americans and brought manufacturing technology for steel. And Tata Steel was established in Jamshedpur in 1907 posthumously by his able successor. He seeded and worked for the steel plant. Jamshedji is not there now, but 7 million tones per annum steel is rolling out. The visionary Jamshedji gave one portion of his asset for starting a science institute today known as Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore.” (Note: This institute was finally set up in 1905, one year after Jamshedji’s passing away.)

    “This institution as envisaged by Swami Vivekananda, has one of the best material science lab., providing the best of research results for development and production of material for various R&D labs and industries. Also Indian Institute of Science is a world class institution in various areas for physics, aerospace technology, knowledge products, bio-science and bio-technology. This is the one institution where convergence of technology like bio-technology, information technology and nano-technology is emerging. The results will have tremendous influence in improving solar cell efficiency and healthcare, particularly drug delivery system. This institution also participated in the research and development of space programmes, defense programmes and also many societal missions.”

    It is also interesting to note that Jamshedji once mentioned to Sister Nivedita, Swamiji’s Irish disciple who went to India and dedicated her life to implementing Swamiji’s vision of education for the women of India, that the Japanese people who had come across Swamiji were amazed by seeing the striking similarity between Buddha and him. 11

    The possibility of a second visit to Japan arose when Tenshin Okakura had gone to India to request Swamiji to take part in a religious conference to be organized in Kyoto provided he would agree. Okakura, born into a samurai family in 1862, studied Buddhist scripture with a Buddhist priest and English in an American missionary school. He had a special love for traditional Japanese art and visited Europe and America as a member of the Imperial Art Commission of Japan in 1886. Later, he was appointed the principal of New Art School in Tokyo, but when he was pressured to follow European art styles in this institution he resigned and founded a new institute named the Hall of Fine Arts attended by prospective young artists. 12

    There was some background regarding Okakura’s knowledge of Vivekananda that resulted in his request for Swamiji to revisit Japan. Ms. Josephine MacLeod, another of Swamiji’s committed American disciples and a resourceful woman of varied interests, had come to Japan in March of 1901 to study Japanese art and took lessons from Okakura. It was MacLeod who actually acquainted Okakura with the greatness of Swamiji’s work and his success in the West. MacLeod’s dedication and love for Swamiji may have influenced Okakura to make the trip to India to invite Vivekananda for such a conference. Okakura himself became convinced that a visit by Swamiji held the prospect of enhancing the image of Mahayana Buddhism which he professed  , and which he had learned that Swamiji, too, held in high regard and, above all, spiritual regeneration of Japan.

    Accompanied by a young Japanese man named Hori – who was leading a life of celibacy and wanted to study Sanskrit and English in India – Okakura reached Calcutta in the first week of January 1902 and met Swamiji on January 6, at Belur Math, the recently established headquarters of the Ramakrishna Order situated on the west bank of the river Ganga not far from Calcutta, then the capital of British India. 13 The image of Swamiji he had formed from the words of Ms. MacLeod was not only corroborated, but strengthened at this encounter. He wrote of his impression of Swamiji in the following letter:

    “…Coming to this place recently I have met Swami Vivekananda. He is so great in spirituality and learning that he is beyond comparison. I consider him to be the greatest man of this age. Wherever you go (in India), you will not find anyone who does not love and respect him ... “

    “The revered Swami is a very good speaker in English. He is thoroughly conversant with both Eastern and Western learning and has synthesized them. He teaches the Religion of Oneness.

    “I would like to take him to Japan along with me when I go back.”

    Swamiji and his friends gave a reception for Okakura in Calcutta on 12th January. 14 Okakura implored Swamiji to visit and help Japan regenerate spiritually. McLeod also very much wanted Swamiji to accept the invitation which, she felt very keenly, would have a lasting impact on Japan.

    At this time, another invitation to visit Japan came to Swamiji from an entirely different quarter, which was official and from none other than the Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito himself. Students of Japanese history know that it was during the tenure of the Emperor Mutsuhito (1867 – 1912) that the epoch-making Meiji restoration took place in 1868 and the process of modernisation started in full-swing in Japan. Manmathanath Ganguli, a disciple of Swamiji, who happened to be present in the Belur Math, when this official invitation came, reminisced thus: 15

    “It was about four in the afternoon, when one day the Japanese Consul (from the Consulate, Calcutta) came to meet the Swami at Belur. He was asked to be seated on one of the benches inside the inner verandah when Swamiji generally received his guests. He was informed of the honorable guest, but he had to wait for some time before the Swami came down. He took a chair near the Consul and the conversation took place through an interpreter.

    After the formal greetings, the Consul spoke to the following purport: “Our Mikado (Emperor) is very keen to receive you at Japan. He has sent me to request you to visit Japan as early as may be convenient to you. Japan is eager to hear about Hindu religion from your lips.”

    Swamiji answered: “In my present state of health, I think it will not be possible for me to visit Japan now.”

    The Consul said: “Then, may I, with your permission, inform the Mikado that you will go there sometime in the future when your health permits?”

    Swamiji said: “it is very doubtful whether this body will ever be fit enough”

    At the time, Swamiji was suffering from diabetes. His body was quite emaciated”.

    Now one wonders ; What was the background of such an invitation from the Japanese emperor? How did the emperor come to know about Swamiji and become keen to invite Swamiji and listen about Hinduism?

    Had Okakura any role in this? But Okakura had never given any inkling, anywhere in his correspondence or conversations that he persuaded the Japanese officials to invite Swamiji.

    Then, was the Imperial Government of Japan, being informed by its Consul in Calcutta, about the visit of Okakura and his plan to invite Swamiji to Japan for his participation in a parliament of religions to be organised by the Buddhists, was persuaded to invite Swamiji to Japan independent of the invitation of Okakura?

    Besides Okakura, there were  a few more prominent Japanese, according to our knowledge, who knew about Swamiji and at least had some idea about his spiritual height and magnetic personality. They were the Japanese representatives of Shintoism, (which was then the state religion of Japan) and Buddhism in the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, who witnessed the tremendous impact that Swamiji had left, in the said Parliament. 16

    Moreover, Daisetsu Suzuki, (1870 –1966), a celebrated scholar who wrote a number of books on Zen-Buddhism and Shin, in English and Japanese, mentioned with a note of appreciation, in one of his recorded speeches that he  knew Swami Vivekananda during his stay in USA. Now, did one of these persons mentioned above, inform the Emperor about Swamiji and his greatness? These questions would have to remain unanswered till we get new data on this subject.

    Swamiji at times, became enthusiastic about these prospective visits to Japan, but the next moment, he vacillated.

    Meanwhile, on 27 January 1902 Swamiji took Okakura with him on pilgrimage to Buddhagaya and Varanasi, a journey Okakura enjoyed immensely. During his stay in Varanasi, Okakura also paid a visit to the ‘Poor Men’s Relief Association’, a charitable hospital started by the followers of Swamiji, which later grew as a full-fledged hospital, known as Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service.

    Okakura recorded the following comment on the visitor-book of the institution on 9th February 1902, along with his signature. “After visiting the institution, I sign my name to express my deepest sympathy and gratitude for the noble work of the Relief Association. May all works be carried on in that spirit”. 17

    It was at this time that Sister Nivedita, whom we have already mentioned, introduced Okakura to the great poet Rabindranath, who was already a celebrity in Bengal.  Okakura became closer to Rabindranath and other members of the Tagore family, including Surendranath Tagore, a relationship about which many are aware. On the other hand, Okakura’s relationship with Swamiji was waning, especially when Swamiji clearly expressed his inability to revisit Japan, considering various practical difficulties including his failing health.

    It is true that both men had identical views on various issues for example, the regeneration of Asiatic nations, Mahayana Buddhism and aesthetic concepts, but it was gradually revealed to each other that they had some fundamental differences in their approaches to the highest ideal of life. Further, their level of realising that ideal was also very different. Being himself a realised soul of the highest order, Swamiji’s dedication to the spiritual ideal based on renunciation (Nivritti marga – the path of renunciation of desires) was total. But Okakura’s way was the path of desire (Pravritti marga) and he still had ‘love for the world’ which becomes evident if one analyses his personal life prior to his visit to India and after. 18 Moreover, Okakura had a secret political agenda in uniting Asia against European Imperialism, which he did not reveal to Swamiji, who, as a monk, scrupulously distanced himself and his newly established Order from all active politics. Nevertheless, Okakura continued his relationship with Sister Nivedita who edited ‘Ideals of the East’ (published in London, 1903) and ‘The Awakening of the East’ (published in Tokyo,1939) written by him.

    After spending eventful months in India, Okakura returned to Japan that same year in October, but would not talk much about India upon his return. But there is one special occasion known to us when Okakura urged his audience of 70 Japanese historians to visit India at least once, in an address lasting more than two hours, on the history of Indian Art at the Academy of History, University of Tokyo, on 12 December 1902. 19

    It is also worth mentioning that Swamiji made the following significant remark on 4 July 1902, the last day of his mortal existence, the context of which is not known to us: “I want to do something for Japan.” 20 This shows that Japan occupied his thoughts even to the end. Presumably, Swamiji’s wish was fulfilled partially, when a Vedanta Society, (now located in Zushi), was started in Japan in 1959 by a group of devotees, and later affiliated to the Ramakrishna Mission, as one of its accredited branches in 1984.

    The information furnished above shows that in promoting the Indo-Japanese relationship, especially in the modern era, while Okakura Tenshin was a pioneer on the Japanese side, Swami Vivekananda was the preeminent Indian pioneer. This relationship was strengthened by later visits and stays of other prominent Indians, namely the poet Rabindranath Tagore, the freedom fighters, Rashbihari Basu and Netaji Subhas Chandra Basu, and the jurist Radhabinod Pal.

    It is a pity that though many people in both India and Japan are aware of the Tagore-Okakura connection and the visit of Tagore to Japan, few indeed know the Vivekananda-Okakura connection or anything related to Swamiji’s visit to Japan. In this backdrop it is heartening to observe that possibly for the first time a contemporary Japanese government official has recognized the pioneering role of Swami Vivekananda when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the following respectful and appreciative references to Swamiji during that very important policy speech on Indo-Japan relations, on 22nd August, 2007, before the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament during his recent visit to India. The references made by Prime Minister Abe are as follows: 21

     “Today I have the great honour of addressing the highest organ of state power in this largest democracy in the world. I come before you on behalf of the citizens of another democracy that is equally representing Asia, to speak to you about my views on the future of Japan and India.

    ‘”The different streams, having their sources in different places, all mingle their waters in the sea.’ It gives me tremendous pleasure to be able to begin my address today with the words of Swami Vivekananda, the great spiritual leader that India gave the world.”

     “A number of times in history, Japan and India have attracted one another. Vivekananda came to be acquainted with Tenshin Okakura, a man ahead of his time in early modern Japan and a type of Renaissance man. Okakura was then guided by Vivekananda and enjoyed also a friendship with Sister Nivedita, Vivekananda’s loyal disciple and a distinguished female social reformer ... ”

     “I would argue that among many contributions that India can make to world history, there is first of all its spirit of tolerance. I would like to quote, if I may, Vivekananda again, part of the conclusion of deeply meaningful remarks he delivered in Chicago in 1893. He said, ‘help and not fight,’ ‘assimilation and not destruction,’ ‘harmony and peace and not dissension.’ ”

    “If you insert these exhortations into the context of the modern day, it is clear that these words preaching tolerance can hardly be considered relics of the past. Instead, we can recognize that they now hold a tone that is even more compelling than before.”

    We may conclude this article with this observation that if we were to analyse the trend of Indo-Japanese relationship in recent years, it would be evident that what Swamiji had hoped with regard to the outcome of the said relationship about a century ago, is now actually taking place. While Japan has been largely contributing to the material welfare of India, by lending both financial and technical assistance, India is also lending spiritual support to many people of Japan. People of all ages visit the branches of Indian religious organisations in Japan, including the Vedanta Society, take part in their different programmes, throng in hundreds when any Indian religious leader visits Japan, and also go to different ashrams and holy places in India to seek peace and spiritual guidance. This is in addition to the elderly Buddhist devotees, who usually go to India, on pilgrimage for visiting places associated with Lord Buddha.

    Indo-Japanese relationship is not restricted to the economic and spiritual areas only, but also extends to the cultural sectors – especially, the traditional health-care system and performing arts.

    Nevertheless, this relationship ought not to focus only upon these two countries, but the ultimate perspective must be global. Let us all combine our hands in promoting the Indo-Japanese relations, at all levels, and in all sectors, with the ultimate aim that a fully developed India and Japan would contribute in making, what we may call, a fully developed world, which was the vision of great minds like Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore.


Notes and References:

    1. The Life of Swami Vivekananda – His Eastern and Western disciples.vol.1.P.391, 5th edition, 1979, Advaita Ashram. Calcutta–14.
    2. World thinkers on Ramakrishna Vivekananda ed. Swami Lokeswarananda. 1983, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta – 29.
    3. Ibid.
    4. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Mayavati Memorial Edition.vol.V pp.7-10. 1992. Advaita Ashrama. Calcutta – 9.
    5. Swami Akhandananake Jerup Dekhiachhi (Beng) (Swami Akhandananda as we have seen him) – compiled by Swami Chetanananda. Pp.84-85 1999. Udbodhan., Calcutta – 3.
    6. Opus Cit., The Complete Works.vol.V.pp.372-73.
    7. Ibid.pp.209-210.
    8. Swami Vivekananda’s Arrival in Vancouver – Historical Research Committee, Centenary of Swami Vivekananda’s arrival to the West. P.2.Vivekananda Vedanta Society of British Columbia, Vancouver.1993.
    9. Srimat Vivekananda Swamijir Jivaner Ghatanavali (Incidents in the life of Swami Vivekananda) – Mahendranath Datta.vol.3.pp 2-3. Mahendra Publishing Committee.1989.Calcutta – 6.
    10. Vivekananda O Samakalin Bharatvarsha (in Beng) (Vivekananda and Contemporary India in seven volumes) – Sankariprasad Basu.vol.V.chapter 32. pp 239-266).September 1981. Mandal Book House. Calcutta – 9;
A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda – Sailendranath Dhar.     Vol.2. pp 1117-1118 Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan 1975. Madras – 5.   
    11. Opus Cit., Vivekananda O Samakalin Bharatvarsha p.240.
    12. Ibid. Vivekananda-Okakura, Chapter 38. pp. 458 -470 ; Okakura and Swami Vivekananda-Yasuko Horioka. Prabuddha Bharata    (monthly) January 1975 and March 1975 – Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati.
    13. Ibid.
    14. Ibid.
    15. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda – Eastern and Western admirers.   P.357. Advaita Ashrama.1961.Calcutta – 6.
    16. Swami Vivekananda in the West – New Discoveries – Marie Louise Burke (in 6 volumes) – Vol.1. p.77 – p.122. 4th edition 1992. Advaita Ashrama. Calcutta – 14.
    17. Memoir: Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Varanasi.p.73-published by the Secretary, Varanasi – 2005.
    18. Opus Cit., Vivekananda – Okakura, Vivekananda O Samakalin Bharatvarsha. Chapter 38 pp 458-470; Okakura & Swami Vivekananda- Yasuko Horioka : Prabuddha Bharata, January 1975.
    19. Opus Cit., Okakura  and Swami Vivekananda -Yasuko Horioka – p.142.
    20. Opus Cit., The Life of Swami Vivekananda:Volume2.
    21. "Confluence of the Two Seas" - Speech by H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan at the Parliament of the Republic of India. http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/pmv0708/speech-2.html