Photo/Illutration Akira Kitade holds an album with photos of Jewish refugees from Tatsuo Osako's research archive, five of whom he succeeded in locating. Photo taken in May 2010. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

I recently discovered new "footprints" at a seaport in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.

From the port, shoe print decals on the ground marked a trail that continued into the downtown area.

This was the path walked by Jewish refugees who arrived 80 years ago on the ship Amakusa Maru.

For a certain period during World War II, the Amakusa Maru plied between Vladivostok and Tsuruga almost every week, bringing European emigres escaping the Holocaust.

Tatsuo Osako (1917-2003), who was a crew member, kept a picture of the vessel in his private photo album with this caption: "Carrying exiles and refugees, the Amakusa Maru sails on, cutting through cresting waves."

"Aside from diplomat Chiune Sugihara who issued the famed 'visas for life,' there also were many people, including Osako, who supported the rescue operation," noted Akira Kitade, 77, a former subordinate of Osako.

A writer by profession, Kitade was entrusted by Osako's surviving family to track down seven men and women whose portraits were in Osako's photo album.

He had success with five of them.

A woman, who had written "To My Wonderful Japanese Friend: Please remember me" on the back of her portrait, arrived at Tsuruga with Sugihara's transit visa and proceeded on to the United States.

Kitade recalled feeling deeply moved when a refugee's bereaved family showed him Osako's old, faded "meishi" calling card.

I visited the Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum where messages of gratitude from refugees who escaped to freedom are displayed in many languages.

Because of their transit visas, they could not remain in Tsuruga, but local residents gave them apples and invited them to use a neighborhood "sento" bathhouse.

Originally a Russian passenger liner, the Amakusa Maru was captured by the Japanese military during the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century and later saved many refugees from Europe.

The vessel was destroyed and sunk by a U.S. submarine toward the end of World War II.

Still, the "relay of humanitarian spirit" it embodied is very much alive at the port of Tsuruga.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 29

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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