Japan Unveiled: Late-Blooming Culture

Fig. First page of handwritten memoir of Sugihara This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit and see the real image at Tokyo Shinbun: https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article_photo/list?article_id=260349&pid=1065094 Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who risked his carrier to save thousands of Jewish refugees in WWII. Fig. Sugihara Chiune This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can click the following site for real image: https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/ At age 83, he wrote a memoir consisting of 49 pages each with 200 letters. Document [2] is compiled from his hand writings. With his deed belatedly started being recognized by the public, he must have felt accurate account of what happened should be retained and passed onto the generations to come. My conviction is that Sugihara finally started thinking about the importance of his deeds and their role in the human history. He must have ha

A simplified version of the medal awarded to Righteous  Among the Nations Date 23 July 2015 Source Own work https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Righteous_Among_the_Nations_medal_simplified.svg Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who risked his carrier to save thousands of Jewish refugees during World War II.  Fig. Sugihara Chiune This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can click the following site for real image: https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/ He was awarded the title of  “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, the Israeli state organization that commemorates the Holocaust. [2] In 1969, Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs Zorach Warhaftig, who himself was one of the people to have his visa issued by Sugihara, directly bestowed a decoration upon him from the Israeli Government. In addition, to commemorate Sugihara’s great feat, beginning in FY2001, the “Chiune Sugihara Fellowship” was established

The year 2000 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sugihara Chiune, a Japanese diplomat who risked his carrier to save  thousands of Jewish refugees in WW2.  In October 10, 2000 exactly the same day when new diplomatic relations started between  Japan and the Republic of Lithuania in 1991, where Sugihara had served, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan unveiled a plaque at the Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring the accomplishments of Sugihara in order to bequeath the legacy of Japan's diplomacy to future generations. [2] Fig. Commemorative Plaque Fig. Commemorative Plaque shows the Plaque at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following for the real image at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan: https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/middle_e/israel/sugihara.html An unveiling ceremony took place in the presence of Yukiko,   and others. [1] Fig. Ceremony This is a schematic

Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who risked his career to save 6,000 Jewish refugees in WWII by issuing transit visas from Lithuania to Japan.  Fig. A map of Königsberg and its surroundings in 1941:rough picture. Fig. Sugihara Chiune This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following site for real image: https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/ Fig. A map of Königsberg and its surroundings in 1941:rough picture.  shows a map of the region where Königsberg was located in 1941. Currently, the city is known as Kaliningrad, Russia. In 1941, Königsberg was a part of Germany that was isolated from its main territory. It is obvious that geopolitically this was an important point. It was within Germany and at the same time, near the Soviet Union. Even though Japan was an ally with Germany, Hitler did not allow Japan to open a consulate in Königsberg. He did not let Japan know of “Operation Barbarossa”, th

Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who rescued thousands of Jewish refugees during WWII. Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who defied norms and bureaucratic constraints to save thousands of lives during one of history's darkest periods. Fig. Sugihara Chiune This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following site  for real image: https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/ The following description is from [1] which demonstrates the ability of Sugihara at the Harbin Institute at the time of graduation on March 4, 1933. This reference also contains the evaluation of Nei Saburo’s presentation who I describe in another one of my blogposts. Nei was acting consul-general in Vladivostok when the Sugihara survivors arrived. He defied his own government which was reluctant to accept so many refugees and let the Jewish refugees to land Japan. In a nutshell, Nei’s speech 5 minutes is

Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who risked his carrier to save thousands of Jewish refugees during World War II by issuing  transit visas in Lithuania.   Fig. Sugihara Chiune This is a schematic picture. Interested reader can visit the following site for real image: https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/ In this video summary, I will share some of the highlights from a rare documentary series that features his interviews and testimonies from the survivors. Those readers who are studying the Japanese language, this could be a good opportunity to hear a hero speaking.  (translation by the author) [Doc 1] 05:20 At age 83, he looks still elegant with dignity. His house in Kamakura, a city known for its good environment looks reasonably decent. 05:54 Interviewer: “Can you tell us about the Jewish people who came to you on July 18, 1940?” Kikuko (Sugihara’s wife): “My husband said to me “Open the window and see.” T

    Fig.    A scene from “Visas and Virtue ( courtesy Ceder Grove Productions ) “Visas and Virtue” is a short movie motivated by a true story of Sugihara Chiune, a Japanese diplomat who risked his and his family's life to save thousands of Jewish refugees in WWII by issuing transit visas to Japan from his consulate in Lithuania, in August 1940. The act, however, was a defiance against Japanese government because of Japan’s relationship with Germany. In the morning of August 18,1940, Sugihara observed hundreds of people surrounding his Kaunas consulate. They looked exhausted. They were the Jewish people from Poland as well as from Lithuania who were facing an existential threat by the Nazis.  The following scene vividly captures the anguish of Sugihara and his wife. +++++++++++ Yuki ( Sugihara’s wife): Chiune, you promised that everyone would get a visa. Sugihara: If I lose my career- Don’t you care what happens to us? Yuki, I am issuing illegal visas. We w

Sugihara Yukiko Date 2 May 2000 Source https://web.archive.org/web/20000815205437/http://boxer.senate.gov:80/photo/index.html Author Office of Senator Barbara Boxer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yukiko_Sugihara_May_2,_2000.jpg Fig. The Sugihara’s. Yukiko left. This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following site for real image at the United States Holocaust Museum: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1071770 Sugihara Yukiko  was the wife of Sugihara Chiune  (1900-1986)   , a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish refugees during World War II by issuing them transit visas.  In this blog post, I will share some of her memories and poems that reveal her courage and compassion in the face of adversity. Born in 1913, Yukiko Kikuchi (later Sugihara) married Sugihara Chiune and went through the Lithuania turmoil with her husband. Her description [1], [2] of the Sugihara scheme seems consistent is believed to be accurate. She re

    Fig. Kotsuji Setsuzo “ This is a schematic representation of Kotsuji Setsuzo. The interested reader can visit the following wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Setsuzo_Kotsuji.tif Kotsuji Setsuzō was a Japanese scholar of Hebrew language and culture who was one of the very few Japanese who spoke Hebrew .  Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish people during the time of Nazi persecution. Five thousand Sugihara refugees arrived Kobe had only 15 days to stay. Kotsuji heard about Sugihara visa s, negotiated with the Foreign Ministry as well as local governments of Kobe. The refugees obtained visa extensions. He arranged the departure of nearly all of them to new destinations by the fall of 1941. He also established a close friendship with some of the refugees, such as Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, and converted to Judaism himself later in his life. He moved to Israel in 1968 and died there in 1973. [1] Youtube site:  https://www.youtube.

Fig.   Jan  Zwartendijk Jan Zwartendijk, the representative of the Philips plants in Lithuania. After the invasion of The Nederlands, was named representative of the Netherlands in the occupied Lituania. He issued 2,345 de facto visas for Curaçao, to Jews of the Vilna Ghetto, saving their life. He was named Righteous Among the Nations. Date     1941 Source             The "Green House" Author            Unknown author This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:9-_Vilnius-Maison_verte-DSC05370-Jan_Zwartendijk.JPG In 1939 , Jan Zwartendijk, acting Dutch consul in Kaunas informed Sugihara of the possible destination, Curaçao, the Dutch Caribbean island which was a Dutch colony. This enabled Sugihara to issue transit visas. Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who saved 6000 Jewish people from persecut

  Fig. Vladivostock and Tsuruga Source: Google Earth.  Modification by the author.   Fig. Nei Saburo This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following site for the real image at the Miyazaki Nichinichi Shinbun site: https://www.the-miyanichi.co.jp/special/happynews/admin/data/image/1631970490.jpg Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who saved 6000 Jewish refugees from persecution in WWII.  In 1940, many of the Jewish people who miraculously obtained transit visas by Sugihara faced yet another obstacle when they arrived in Vladivostok via the Siberian Railroad. The Japanese Foreign Ministry was reluctant to allow so many Jewish refugees into Japan. Nei Saburo, Japan's acting consul-general in Vladivostok, had studied at the same institution as Sugihara in Harbin. When he learned that all the visas issued to the Jewish refugees had come from Sugihara, he criticized the Japanese government for refusing to help these people in their time of existe