Nakamuraya Curry Traces back to the Indian Revolutionaries in Japan

Nakamuraya Instant Curry Pack

If you are in Tokyo you must visit Nakamuraya bakery (restaurant). It has branches all over Tokyo specializing in Indian curry. The first of its kind in Japan, Japanese-style Indian curry has been sold since 1927 as one of the reputed products of Nakamuraya. They also sell pre-cooked instant curry that only needs to be heated and served at home. It is indeed a popular product in Japan and you can get them in almost every convenient or departmental store across Japan. Why did Nakamuraya, which was originally a bakery start selling Indian curry? And continues to be obsessed with Indian curry for nearly a century? 

It was an Indian, Rash Behari Bose, who introduced Indian curry to Nakamuraya. He was a revolutionary leader fighting the British in India. The post war generations of Japanese may not know the great Indian revolutionaries like Rash Behari Bose or Subhash Chandra Bose, but they were well-known figures in Japan in the years before the Second World War. Rash Behari Bose was one of the key organizers of the bomb attack on Lord Hardringe and the Gadar conspiracy at Lahore. In 1915, he fled to Japan to avoid a certain death sentence and had no inkling of the harsh destiny in store for him, and that he would never step on Indian soil again. He was instrumental in persuading the Japanese authorities to secure foreign help for India’s liberation from the clutches of the imperialist power. He did the spadework for the creation of the Indian National Army (INA) before passing the baton on to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1943.  

Rash Behari Bose and his wife Toshiko*

Going back to curry, Rash Behari Bose was not only a leading extremist Indian freedom fighter but was also a chef. Soon after his arrival in Japan, the Foreign Ministry under pressure from the British Embassy issued an extradition order against him. It was Aizo Soma, owner of the Nakamuraya in Shinjuku (Tokyo) who rescued him and skillfully hid him in a studio near the restaurant. He was confined there for months for security reasons. Fortunately, there was a kitchen in the studio where he could cook and the only leisure he had was to prepare his meals. He requested the maids to buy the ingredients and spices. Watching him, the maids and the owner of the restaurant gradually learnt to cook Indian food, however it took almost twelve years for Nakamuraya to launch Indian curry later in 1927.  

With Tagore at Nakamuraya*

Bose fell in love with Aizo’s daughter and got married to Toshiko. He had two children from her. In July 1923, Bose became a citizen of Japan and registered his wife and children under the ‘Bose family’. In the same year, Nakamuraya was recognized as a public limited company. Bose along with the children became one of the leading shareholders and was also appointed as the director of the Nakamuraya. Traditionally, Japanese curries were made in the Anglo-Indian manner. In order to turn Japanese eyes to the ‘real taste of India’ he devoted himself to the launch of actual Indian curry. Popularizing Indian curry among the Japanese was also a part of his anti-colonial struggle, by trying to win back India’s food culture from British hands. And since then Rash Behari Bose came to be widely known as ‘Bose of Nakamuraya’. 

Notes

I am grateful to Corinne Boyle (Professor of Economics, Konan University) for helping me find the fascinating story about Indian freedom fighters hidden in Nakamuraya’s Indian curry. 

The above materials are drawn from the book The Bose of Nakamuraya by Takeshi Nakajima. To capture the essence of Rash Behari Bose’s life, Takeshi travelled to India to visit Rash Behari’s native place in Chandan-nagar, West Bengal.

*pictures are taken from the Nakamuraya restaurent website @

http://www.nakamuraya.co.jp/100/showa/t_1918_01.htm