Dasho Keiji Nishioka: A japanese Who Lived for Bhutan by Tshering C. Dorji and Dorji Penjore

Dasho Keiji Nishioka (1933-1992) was a Japanese agriculture expert who came to Bhutan in May 1964 to help Bhutan modernize its agriculture. Sent by Japan's erstwhile Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (OTCA), forerunner of JICA, through the Colombo Plan, he saw Bhutan transform from a mystical kingdom in the 1960s to a progressive modern nation. His life story is deeply intertwined with the history of modern development in Bhutan since he has played his own part in it.

For his dedicated service to Bhutan, His Majesty the Fourth King awarded him the Red Scarf with the title of 'Dasho' in 1980. Dressed in a gho and communicating in Dzongkha, he ate and lived like a Bhutanese. However, he met an untimely death at the age of 59 on 21 March 1992 in Thimphu Hospital. Bhutanese from all walks of life deeply mourned the loss of the man who had worked selflessly for them for 28 years.

In 1999, His Majesty the Fourth King posthumously awarded him the Druk Thugsey medal, the highest civilian award. An agriculture expert and nature lover, and an enthusiast of photography and ethno-botany, he was a man on a mission - hardworking and dedicated, but he was also known to be hot-tempered with people who took undue advantage of others. Weaving official accounts with the oral accounts of farmers, this book relives the inspiring memory of this wonderful man.