Ch. Sugihara’s mother hailed from a long line of Samurai, so his early years may have been influenced by that. Ch. Sugihara grew together with four brothers and a sister. His father wanted him to become a doctor, but he himself wanted to be a teacher, therefore he intentionally failed the medical university entrance examination.

Ch. Sugihara went to the Nagoya Fifth Junior High School. Later he studied languages in the Universities of Waseda and Harbin (China).

In 1935 Ch. Sugihara met Yukiko Kikuchi and married her. Their marriage lasted for 51 years until Ch. Sugihara‘s death in 1986. The couple had four children.