Sugihara and His Heroic Actions

After two years in prison Sugihara returned to Japan in disgrace. He lost everything he had and now had to work at odd jobs. This all happened to him because he dared to save thousands of Jews from death. Many people wonder what made him do it. When he was asked that question 45 years later, he said it was for two reasons. "One, that those refugees were human beings, and the other, that they simply needed help." Sugihara strongly believed in G-d and he was more afraid of it than the government. Also his teachings of Samurai law had a major effect on him. "The cardinal virtues of this society were oya koko (love of the family), kodomo no tamene (for the sake of the children), having gidi and on (duty and responsibility, or obligation to repay a debt), gaman (withholding of emotions on the surface), gambate (internal strength and resourcefulness), and haji no kakete (don't bring shame on the family). These virtues were strongly inculcated by Chiune's middle-class rural samurai family" Those strong beliefs all gave him courage, strength, and determination to do what he did. …