Sutomo was born in Kampung Blauran in the centre of Surabaya to a clerk father, Kartawan Tjiptowidjojo, and mother, Subastia, of mixed Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese descent.

During the Japanese occupation period, Sutomo worked for the Dōmei Tsushin (the official news agency of the Empire of Japan) in Surabaya.

In 1944, Sutomo was chosen as a member of the Japanese-sponsored Gerakan Rakyat Baru (New People's Movement) and officer of Pemuda Republik Indonesia (Youth of Indonesian Republic).

[2]: 42 BPRI was aimed at realizing and defending the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, they rallied the people's resistance against the Dutch who wanted to reign Indonesia after the Surrender of Japan in World War II.

His "clear, burning eyes, that penetrating, slightly nasal voice, or that hair-raising oratorical style that second only to Sukarno's in its emotional power".

Friends, fellow fighters, especially the youth of Indonesia, we will fight on, we will expel the colonialists from our Indonesian land that we love... Long have we suffered, been exploited, trampled on.

The battle for Surabaya was the bloodiest single engagement of the war, and demonstrated the determination of the rag-tag nationalist forces; their sacrificial resistance became a symbol and rallying cry for the revolution.

Although his reputation and military rank gave him the right to be buried in the Heroes' Cemetery, he was laid to rest in public burial ground at Ngagel, Surabaya, East Java.