With Ken Mochizuki

There was no choice but to approach the story of Chiune Sugihara, also known as the "Japanese Schindler," like a journalist. At first, scrambling for any shreds of information, I was most fortunate when I received a copy of Visas for Life, written by Sugihara's wife, Yukiko, and handed to me personally by their son, Hiroki Sugihara. This book provided the basic factual information, but then arose the real challenge: How would I tell this story from the point of view of Hiroki Sugihara, who was only five years old when this story took place?

I interviewed Hiroki for several hours via long-distance phone calls between my residence in Seattle and his in San Francisco. Having someone recall specific incidents that occurred over 50 years ago is no easy task for both the interviewee and the interviewer. However, when Hiroki committed himself to the task of remembering, he could very well.

The more involved I became in Hiroki's story of his father's remarkable act of humanity, the more convinced I was that the narrative needed to be in the first person, but with Hiroki telling the story in retrospect, in the tone of one who knows now what he didn't understand then.

The basic theme of my first book, Baseball Saved Us, was the power of positive thinking and believing in oneself. One of the themes implicit in my second book, Heroes, was the definition of a hero as one who knows that actions speak louder than words. Readers of all ages have related to at least some aspect of these books. Passage to Freedom is about the moral choice: Does one do what is considered "correct" at the time? Or does one do what is "right" for all time?

I consider Chiune Sugihara as one of my personal heroes, a man willing to suffer the consequences and risk his life and career to save the lives of others. I've dedicated Passage to Freedom to those who place the welfare of others before themselves. Courageous, unselfish actions need to be applauded and reinforced.

Learn more about Passage to Freedom

Also by Ken Mochizuki:
Baseball Saved Us
Be Water, My Friend
Heroes

BookTalk with Ken Mochizuki on Be Water, My Friend

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