The Japanese Schindler

[thomas]

Court battle over tale of the 'Japanese Schindler'

A book about an Israel-honoured Japanese wartime hero is being blocked ... by his wife.

=> http://www.sundayherald.com/29665

For more info on Chiune Sugihara check out our book feature

=> http://books.japanreference.com/review.cgi?ID=14

[Maciamo]

Yukiko, now 88, maintains her husband was forced to resign when he returned to Tokyo in 1947 because of his lifesaving actions in Lithuania. Working in a series of non-descript jobs, he lived out the rest of his days in shame.
...
Levine relates an anecdote of how Sugihara once visited a brothel. He also reveals the existence of a first wife, a Russian woman who married and divorced Sugihara in his youth.

That might explain why his wife takes it so personally. Honour inside Japan seems more important than outside to her. Losing a diplomatic post to end up living in shame must have been hard. Then talking about his first Russian wife (Russian are not well considered in Japan, maybe because of the conflict about those islands near Hokkaido that is still a hot issue between the 2 countries). I guess she just doesn't see the importance of saving foreign lives during the war if it's to loose one's reputation and name at home. Very old-fashioned, narrow, egotist and proud mentality.

[thomas]

It's sad, but well, she's a really old lady. Once her daughter will be responsible for Chiune's heritage things will change.

I wonder how many people in Japan know Chiune Sugihara.

[thomas]

Here's another impressive personality, a torch-bearer of enlightenment who passed away last Sunday.

Textbook crusader dies

Historian Saburo Ienaga, who had fought against the Education Ministry's textbook screening for decades, claiming that the system is aimed at covering up Japan's wartime atrocities, has died at the age of 89, it was learned Sunday. [...]

In efforts to ensure that school textbooks are written in line with the spirit of the post-war Constitution, he fought against the Education Ministry's textbook screening system for decades.

=> http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20021...fp008000c.html

[thomas]

Here's another article on Mr. Sugihara. It's obvious why his wife is trying to prevent the publication of Levine's book.

Japan's WWII 'Schindler' leaves a controversial legacy

The scholar says that - far from being a heroic individual who put his conscience before his country - the diplomat was a spy who issued the visas on government orders to curry favor with the powerful Jewish community in the US when many in Japan were still trying to avoid war.

Levine's book also questions Sugihara's squeaky-clean image with anecdotes about him visiting a "soapland" brothel and using his impressive alcohol tolerance to win over Russian commissars.

Perhaps most shocking to the Sugihara family, the author also uncovered a Russian woman who married and divorced the diplomat in his youth - a subject Yukiko either knew nothing about or chose not to mention.

=> http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1213/p08s01-woap.html

Statue honoring 'Japan's Schindler' unveiled in LA's Little Tokyo

=> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1039853906024

[Dutch Baka]

If been reading something about him a couple of weeks ago, and it made me smile.

Saving so many jewish people, thought Japan was ( maybe not at that time, but later on) allied with Germany.



For more information check wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara

[thomas]

Originally Posted by Dutch Baka

Saving so many jewish people, thought Japan was ( maybe not at that time, but later on) allied with Germany.

Saving these people was his personal choice, he actually ignored directives not to issue visas to Jewish refugees. NHK aired a Japanese docudrama based on Sugihara's story in January or February, if I remember correctly.

[caster51]

Tojo was also nominated in Golden book　

there are two japanese commanders in that

[caster51]

Poland refugees in Siberia

http://hamaniyo.jp/~taz/flash/polandNewVer.swf

[caster51]

NHK aired a Japanese docudrama based on Sugihara's story in January or February, if I remember correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzCop4_PtKU

[caster51]

http://kamomiya.ddo.jp/Library/Histo...t/FNS_1223.wmv

[caster51]

The story started just after World War 1. In Siberia there were more than 100,000 Polish people who could not return to Poland. Their life was very hard.

They were very cold and sick, with little food. It was especially terrible for the children whose parents had died. The Polish adults in Siberia thought, "It is okay if we die here without ever going back to Poland. But we must send these children back to Poland". They organized a relief group that worked to find support for the suffering children. They tried to ask Europe and America for support so that the children could be sent back to Poland. But no one helped them...........

Finally they asked Japan. A leader arrived in Japan and visited the Japanese government to ask them to help the Polish children in Siberia. The Japanese government listened to them very carefully and decided to accept their request. Only for seventeen days! Two weeks later the Japanese sent a ship to Siberia. A total of 765 Polish children came to Japan. They found the Japanese at that time were so very kind and warmhearted...............

http://polja.hypermart.net/2003-1/siberiachildren.html