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Pamela Rotner Sakamoto Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Pamela Rotner Sakamoto
Photo: Nathan Tibbetts

Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

Pamela Rotner Sakamoto Biography

Pamela Rotner Sakamoto is a historian and the author of Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees. Fluent in Japanese, Pamela lived in Kyoto and Tokyo for seventeen years. She works offsite as an expert consultant on Japan-related projects for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Pamela Rotner Sakamoto's website

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Interview

A Q & A with Pamela Rotner Sakamoto, author of Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds

Could you describe your book?

Midnight in Broad Daylight is a true account of a Japanese American family with brothers in opposing armies, slated to be on the same island when the atomic bomb is dropped over Hiroshima, hastening an end to the war. Their mother and brother are in Hiroshima. It is a story of war and internment, prejudice and discrimination in two countries, loss and reconciliation, and unwavering love across cultures.


How did you discover this story?

By chance. In 1994, I had recently moved to Tokyo and was working on my dissertation about a Japanese diplomat who had rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Several survivors were visiting Japan for the first time in fifty years. I received a press release and joined them as an observer. Harry Fukuhara, who would become the protagonist in my book, was accompanying them as a favor to a friend. He was bilingual, politically connecte"d, and immensely dignified, but I did not know him beyond an introduction. When I remarked to a young filmmaker that the Holocaust survivor stories were remarkable, she replied, "If you think their stories are incredible, you should talk to Harry." Over the course of four years, Harry shared his ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto at BookBrowse
Midnight in Broad Daylight jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Pamela Rotner Sakamoto but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Yangzom Brauen

    Yangzom Brauen

    Born to a Swiss father and Tibetan mother, Yangzom Brauen is an actress, model, and political activist. She lives in both Los Angeles and Berlin and has appeared in a number of German and American films. She is also very ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Midnight in Broad Daylight

    Try:
    Across Many Mountains
    by Yangzom Brauen

  • Keggie Carew

    Keggie Carew

    Keggie Carew has lived in London, West Cork, Barcelona, Texas, and New Zealand. Before writing, her career was in contemporary art. She has studied English literature at Goldsmiths University of London, run an alternative art... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Midnight in Broad Daylight

    Try:
    Dadland
    by Keggie Carew

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

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