Forgiveness

by Hiro Kanagawa

Playwrights Canada Press

Forgiveness

by Hiro Kanagawa

Playwrights Canada Press

Mitsue Sakamoto and Ralph MacLean both suffered tremendous loss during WWII: Mitsue as a survivor of a Japanese Canadian internment camp, and Ralph as a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp. In order to rebuild their lives and their families after the war, Ralph and Mitsue must find the grace and generosity necessary to forgive those who have wronged them. Their paths eventually cross in 1968 when Mitsue’s son and Ralph’s daughter begin dating, and Ralph is invited to Mitsue’s home for dinner.

This soaring adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s award-winning memoir affirms the power of forgiveness and shows us that in our challenging times characterized by political divisiveness, xenophobia, and race hatred, the story of Mitsue and Ralph’s personal triumphs over hatred, injustice, violence, and bigotry remains vitally relevant and urgently necessary.

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This book may also be available at the TIFA Festival Bookstore.

Hiro Kanagawa is a Vancouver-based actor and writer. His full-length plays The Tiger of Malaya and The Patron Saint of Stanley Park have been performed across Canada as have many of his shorter works. He received the 2017 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Drama for his play, Indian Arm. Also a script consultant, he was story editor on several critically-acclaimed Canadian television series: Da Vinci’s Inquest, Da Vinci’s City Hall, Intelligence and Blackstone. Hiro’s adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s best-selling memoir, Forgiveness, premiered in January 2023 in an Arts Club Theatre / Theatre Calgary co-production directed by acclaimed director Stafford Arima.

Read more about Hiro Kanagawa

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