A PROMISE TO LIVE FOR

A PROMISE TO LIVE FOR

～The story of how two small children had to trek all alone across Manchuria in 1946～

Originally published in Japanese in 2016, this English version is now available to spread Iku’s inspiring story across the world.

（2016年10月発刊の『お母ちゃんとの約束』英語翻訳。）
『お母ちゃんとの約束』https://pencom.co.jp/product/1749

A PROMISE TO LIVE FOR

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BOOK  https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/429540229X

e-BOOK（Kindle）
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07MWZS3V6

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e-BOOK（Kindle）
https://www.amazon.com//dp/B07MWZS3V6/

One year after World War II ended, in 1946, two young Japanese children, a sister and her brother, somehow defied the odds and survived a month long dangerous journey from the former Japanese colony of Manchuria in northeast China to their hometown in Japan.

Iku was only 10 years old. She and her 6-yr. old brother traveled 340 miles on land, mostly on foot, day and night, with little food, clothing, or money while holding each other’s hands. What kept them going every day? It was the promise that they made to their mother— “Never let go of each other’s hand and safely return to Japan to be reunited with everyone.” They simply wanted to see Mommy again.

This is a true story of war, not of who’s on the right side and who’s on the wrong side, or who was crueler than the other, but how war impacts people everywhere, including innocent children, like Iku and her siblings. Most importantly, this book demonstrates how love, courage and determination can see us through the most difficult times.

70 years after the end of World War II, Iku finally decided to let her daughter, Izumi, tell her story to the whole world, hoping her ordeal will play a small part in contributing to world peace. All the illustrations in this book are done by Iku herself.

Izumi was born and raised in Shizuoka-city, Japan. After graduating from university in Japan, she attended a graduate school in the United States and received a Master’s degree in secondary education. She taught Japanese at the University of Southern Indiana for ten years until her husband, Tony, was hired by the U.S. Department of State. Since then, they have lived in Washington, D.C., Indonesia, Canada, Pakistan/Japan, China, and Samoa. Izumi and Tony have two sons, Douglas at Virginia Tech (class of 2018) and Christopher at the U.S. Naval Academy (class of 2021).

Ikue was born in Shizuoka-city, Japan, in 1936. She moved to Manchuria when she was six years old with her family due to her father’s job as a civil engineer. She was nine years old when World War II ended in 1945. She and her little brother came back to Japan from Manchuria in 1946 by themselves after a one-month long dangerous journey. She married her husband, Takao, and they raised three children, Izumi being the first child. They also have five grandchildren; one of the five, Douglas, translated the original Japanese edition of this book into English. Ikue is living in Shizuoka-city, Japan with her husband enjoying their retirement.

Douglas was born in Evansville, IN, in 1996, and moved to VA/DC when he was 5 due to his father’s job. As a foreign service kid, he attended Mt. Daniel Elementary School in Falls Church, VA, Surabaya International School in Indonesia, Turnbull School in Canada, Matsuno Elementary School in Japan, Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA, and graduated from International School of Beijing in China. After high school, he attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and earned his undergraduate mechanical engineering degree in May, 2018. He will start working for Ford Motor Co., in September, 2018 as an engineer. He and his younger brother, Christopher, were raised bilingually in Japanese and English at home. He enjoys working on cars, scale models, and the outdoors.

A PROMISE TO LIVE FOR

~ The story of how two small children had to trek
all alone across Manchuria in 1946 ~
Izumi Mochizuki Greubel

Illustrated by Ikue “Iku” Mochizuki

English translation by Douglas Mochizuki Greubel

First edition 1st printing August 1, 2018

Author Izumi Mochizuki Greubel

Design Tsutomi Miyata

publisher Yukimi Masuda / Pencom Co., Ltd.
2-20 Hitomarucho, Akashi-shi Hyogo Prefecture 673-0877 http://pencom.co.jp

Release Impress Corporation
105, 1 – chome, Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda ku Tokyo 101 – 0051 Tokyo

Copyright 2018 Izumi Mochizuki Greubel

ISBN 978-4-295-40229-9 C8095

To comment, request to purchase the book, and any other inquiries,
please send an email to “apromisetolivefor@gmail.com”
or visit https://www.facebook.com/apromisetolivefor/

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