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Raden Mas Noto Soeroto (1888–1951) was a Javanese prince from the Jogjakarta noble house of Paku Alaman and was a poet and writer of Dutch Indies literature and journalist from the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia). He significantly contributed to the Dutch literature by exploring new literary themes and focusing on indigenous protagonists, at the same time drawing attention to indigenous culture and the indigenous plight.
He was not a radical Indonesian nationalist, but a supporter of the so-called association politics, which sought collaboration between the Dutch and the native peoples of the Dutch East Indies. In his literary magazine Oedaya (English: Sunrise), founded in 1923, he claims to be "under no influence of any political party, nor any private interest." The editors of his magazine, he said are "solely guided by a constructive attitude towards the relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia." " Calm, gradualism and naturalness, symbolized in a sunrise" were the guidelines for the magazine to contribute to the (sun)rise of Indonesia. Nieuwenhuys, Rob Oost-Indische spiegel. Wat Nederlandse schrijvers en dichters over Indonesië hebben geschreven, vanaf de eerste jaren der compagnie tot op heden. (Publisher: Querido, Amsterdam, 1978) P.366-369 Online: DBNL Website.
In 1918 he married his Dutch wife Jo Meyer with whom he had three Indo people children. His first son was Rawindro (1918), a daughter Dewatya (1922), and another son Harindro Dirodjo (1928). During WWII his wife and two oldest children would be part of the Dutch resistance fighting Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Soeroto returned to Java by himself in 1932, where he became the personal secretary of his old friend Duke Mangkunegara VII of a noble house of Solo. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in WWII Soeroto was assumed anti-Axis powers and taken prisoner and tortured by the Kempeitai. After the war and the death of Mangkunegara VII, he became a journalist but died in impoverished circumstances.
"This is my earthly life, full of trouble and struggle, and many are my enemies, laughing at me. Their honing hit the target faster than feathered arrows, their words sharper than the Kris. My fight isn't over yet....Lord, let me be a Wayang in your hands. Then after one hundred years or one thousand years, Thy hand shall move me again. Then when my time will dawn again in your eternity, Thou shalt lift me up and again I will speak and fight. And then my enemies will be silenced and the demon will crash down. Lord, let me be a Wayang in your hands." Original Dutch text: "Dit mijn aardse leven is vol van moeite en strijd, en mijn vijanden die vele zijn, lachen om mij. Hun hoon schiet sneller naar het doel dan gevederde pijlen; hun woorden vlijmen scherper dan krissen. Mijn strijd is nog niet uitgestreden. ... Heer, laat mij een wajang zijn in Uw handen. Dan zal over honderd jaar of duizend jaar Uw hand mij weer doen bewegen. Dan zult Gij mij ééns, wanneer mijn tijd in Uw eeuwigheid gekomen zal zijn, opnieuw opnemen en ik zal opnieuw spreken én strijden. En eenmaal zullen mijn vijanden zwijgen en zal de demon nederliggen. Heer, laat mij een wajang zijn in Uw handen." in Nieuwenhuys, Rob Oost-Indische spiegel. Wat Nederlandse schrijvers en dichters over Indonesië hebben geschreven, vanaf de eerste jaren der compagnie tot op heden. (Publisher: Querido, Amsterdam, 1978) P.366-369 Online: DBNL Website.
The 1958 novel Schimmenspel by Dutch author Johan Fabricius is loosely based on the life of Noto Soeroto.
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