Word: sugihara
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...Although such revelations, if true, might seem innocuous to a casual observer, they are heretical to Sugihara's staunchest defenders and have triggered a ferocious legal and rhetorical response. In August, a libel suit for some $83,000 was filed in Tokyo against Levine's Japanese publisher, claiming that the book is a farrago of lies designed to discredit Sugihara and his memory. Levine calls the accusation preposterous, telling TIME that his real intention was to "make well-known the glorious meaning of Sugihara." A new round of hearings is set to begin this month...
...Sugihara's 89-year-old widow, Yukiko, is the suit's plaintiff of record, but the case's true motivator is Katsumasa Watanabe, the mastermind behind Japan's burgeoning Sugihara-deification industry. He owns Taisho Shuppan, a small Tokyo publisher that produces books on only two subjects: railway history and Sugihara's heroism. Watanabe says he was "blown away that such a man existed in Japan," after happening upon a TV documentary about Sugihara in 1991. Watanabe immediately sought out Yukiko Sugihara and published her two memoirs along with three biographies of her late husband. These days, Watanabe leads...
...Watanabe's version of Sugihara is an almost cartoonish figure of pure benevolence, more at home in the Lives of the Saints than the pages of 20th century history. He harbors no failings, suffers no fears, operates under no other motivation than altruism. Watanabe says he doesn't understand how Levine's habit of "praising (Sugihara) the first minute, putting him down the next" honors Sugihara's achievements. Levine, for his part, says he simply has a different philosophy of history. "As a historian, I took a critical stance," which he insists does not diminish Sugihara's bravery...
...According to Watanabe's Sugihara Study Group, however, Levine's critical stance created junk history. The group claims to have discovered nearly 1,000 inaccuracies in his book, 300 of which they submitted to the court as evidence. Many of the alleged mistakes would appear to be unfortunate but hardly dire factual lapses-misspelled names, erroneous dates and cultural misunderstandings. Graver charges include the accusation that Levine fabricated entire interviews-including one with Sugihara's now deceased first wife, Klaudia, whose existence remained unknown even to some of Sugihara's family until they read Levine's book. Levine says...
...Strangely, even the Sugihara family is divided on the case. Nobuki Sugihara, the hero's youngest son, has denounced the lawsuit as an exploitation of his elderly and infirm mother. But Yukiko's daughter-in-law Michi Sugihara calls Nobuki's position "foolish." Hollywood may also be entering the fray. Both authors are developing separate Sugihara film projects, though they deny that the lawsuit has anything to do with their cinematic endeavors. For now, it's anyone's guess which version of Sugihara's List will make it to the multiplex near...