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Top 10 Amazing Facts about Chiune Sugihara

Chiune Sugihara in Office-

Chiune Sugihara was the first Japanese diplomat posted in Lithuania. He was stationed in Kunas. He essentially 鈥榮et up shop鈥� for the Japanese government in Lithuania. This meant that he was the first to deal with emerging issues such as the influx of hundreds of refugees who needed to get to the United States, Canada, and further. Some neither had destination visas nor money as they tried to get outside of the Soviet Union. The Japanese embassy and Sugihara then became their saving grace for a period of time- he issued Japanese visas, and this became a way out for the refugees before the Soviets ordered all diplomatic consulates closed.

These top 10 amazing facts about Chiune Sugihara detail the humanitarian work he perhaps unintentionally did.

1.  Sugihara Holds The ‘Righteous Among The Nations’ Title

 Chiune Sugihara’s Plaque at Yad Vashem- Photo by Yoshi Canopus- 

Also referred to as 鈥淵ad Vashem鈥�, the title 鈥淩ighteous Among the Nations鈥� was established in memory of the 6 million Jews who were victims of the Holocaust. It, among other things, honors non-Jews who risked their lives to save the Jews during the Holocaust.

Chiune Sugihara鈥檚 award honors him for helping the refugees in Lithuania during the war. His wife and youngest son accepted the title on his behalf in the 1985 ceremony held in Jerusalem. He was awarded by 鈥榊ad Vashem,鈥� the 鈥楬olocaust Martyrs’ and 鈥楬eroes’ Remembrance Authority鈥� in Israel.

2. Sugihara Is Remembered By Lithuania

   Chiune Sugihara monument in Vilnius- Photo by Alma Pater-

In 2001 as a celebration of Sugihara鈥檚 100^th anniversary, a sakura park with at least 200 trees in it was opened in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Additionally, there is a street in Lithuania named after the diplomat. This is amazing because his actions may be viewed as a criminal offense committed on Lithuanian soil by the Soviets. But it still commanded recognition. 

3. Chiune Sugihara Boasts Posthumous Awards

  Chiune Sugihara depicted on Eastern Orthodox icon.– Photo by Svetlana Vukmirovic虂– 

Sugihara was awarded the 鈥楥ommander’s Cross with the Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta,鈥� in 2007. This was at least 20 years after his death. Additionally, he received the 鈥楥ommander’s Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 1996 and the 鈥楲ife-Saving Cross Lithuania鈥� award in 1993. 

Chiune Sugihara was also given the 鈥楽akura Award鈥� by the 鈥楯apanese Canadian Cultural Centre鈥� in Toronto in 2014.

These posthumous awards speak of the high recognition and importance of Sugihara鈥檚 work, and his place in history.

4. Chiune Sugihara In Popular Culture

                                  Set of film, Persona Non- Grata-

Books, movies, TV, play, and other media are ways in which significant history is preserved and celebrated. Sugihara has inspired several TV programs, films, and books. His very own wife Yukiko wrote a book aptly titled 鈥榁isas for Life鈥� that was translated into English by Hiroki, their son.

Movies such as 鈥楶ersona Non-Grata鈥� and 鈥楥onspiracy for Kindness鈥� tell the Sugihara story. The documentary 鈥楽ugihara Survivors: Jewish and Japanese, Past and Present鈥� also details the deeds of this heroic man.

5. Sugihara is Recognized Worldwide

                             Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust-

Safe to say, Chiune Sugihara is a household name. Besides recognition in the countries directly affected or concerned such as Japan, Lithuania, and Israel, Sugihara received a nod in various other countries. 

A life-sized statue of Sugihara seated on a bench with a befitting visa in his hand has been erected at the Chiune Sugihara Memorial, Hero of the Holocaust in Los Angeles. In his homeland Japan, the 鈥楽ugihara Chiune Memorial Hall鈥� was opened in Yaotsu in 2000.

Better yet, asteroid 25893 Sugihara was named in honor of Chiune Sugihara. It was discovered by William Kwong Yu Yeung at the Desert Beaver observatory.

6. He Spoke Fluent Russian

Chiune Sugihara learned Russian from Russian 茅migr茅s in the 16 years he spent in Harbin, Manchuria. Here he provided his country Japan with intelligence on Soviet and German troop movements in the Baltic region.

His fluency in Russian must have been the catapult for his work- his Russian is what caused the government to send him to work in Lithuania.

7. Sugihara Saved Many Jews

Transit Visa granted via Lithuania-

It is said that even when Sugihara got evacuated, he still wrote visas on the train platform! Such commitment. He apparently spent 20 hours a day in his last month in Lithuania writing as many visas as he possibly could.

Sugihara is said to have written as many as 6,000 visas! Not all the visas he issued were used, but his aim was to help as many as he could to get out of the Soviet Union, citizenship notwithstanding.

8. Christened ‘The Japanese Schindler’

Sugihara Street in Netanya- Photo by Sugihara weshin– 

Sugihara issued so many visas and saved so many Jews. Descendants of the beneficiaries of 鈥楽ugihara Visas鈥� are said to be between 40,000 and 100,000. He has been compared to Oskar Schindler, who saved 1,200 Jews. Oskar owned enamelware and ammunition factories through which he saved Jews from deportation to concentration camps, and additionally intervened on behalf of other Jews using his personal resources.

Sugihara also went by the name 鈥楽empo鈥�. This was easier for people to pronounce than 鈥楥hiune鈥�. It was his Sino-Japanese reading for his given name which became sort of the people鈥檚 way of fondly referring to him.

9. He Became A Prisoner Of War

Towards the decline and subsequent end of Sugihara鈥檚 career, he and his family were prisoners of war in Europe for more than a year after World War II ended. They were later freed and returned to Japan in 1947.

He left Lithuania in 1940 and went to Prague then Romania until the end of the war. He and other diplomats were arrested by the Soviet authorities and held together with their families but under benign conditions. He was later retired by the government with a small pension.

It鈥檚 ironic on one hand and expected on the other, that despite his heroism according to many, he couldn鈥檛 continue serving in government and was relieved of his services seven years earlier.

10. Sugihara Retired To Regular Life

After leaving the government, Chiune Sugihara the diplomat worked many menial jobs to earn a living when he was with his family in Fujisawa in the Kanagawa prefecture. This was in his later years. He sold bulbs door-to-door. He had to leave his family back in Japan and went on to work for a Japanese export company in Moscow.

Chiune Sugihara essentially risked his career and life by issuing the visas and giving Jews their safe exit. His response to questions on why he took such a risk all portrayed the fact that he didn鈥檛 have a choice really when confronted with fellow humans needing help; he couldn鈥檛 help but sympathize with them. He did it out of sheer humanity.