The Barbarian and the Geisha Page #3

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since I've hit Japan.

Go soon?

Very soon, according to Tamura.

He's putting us on the first ship.

Of course, you can never tell

when that first ship will...

I'm not leaving because I want to, Okichi.

America, so far away.

Not so far away that I'll forget you.

Every time I see a woman

with ornaments in her hair...

I'll think of Okichi and her yellow combs.

Every time I hear the rustle of silk,

I'll think of a little...

Harris-san! Harris-san!

People here. They come honor you.

They are thanking you

for saving their lives.

Okichi.

- Mr. Harris?

- Yes?

The Governor is here.

- The Governor?

- Yes, sir.

Show His Excellency in.

Mr. Harris.

I am in your debt.

- My debt?

- The sickness is gone.

You did good.

I acted wrongly toward you.

Well, that's in the past. It's best forgotten.

I cannot forget.

Forty generations of my ancestors cry

that my debt must be paid.

You wished to go to Edo.

The visit has been arranged.

My men will escort your procession.

I'm afraid the Shogun

will be a little disappointed...

when the two of us ride into Edo.

Now let me read you the account

of a real procession:

"Our cavalcade was of many hundreds...

"winding along the road

like a huge silken dragon. "

And we will be two men and a horse,

if we can get a horse.

"A list of the gifts

the same lord took to Edo.

"Lacquer boxes for ivory and enamelware,

inlaid swords and shields. "

I wonder if His Highness could use

a good jack-knife.

"Delicacies of food

that might have been spun from air. "

I suppose we can spare a keg of sowbelly

and a tin of hardtack, Henry. Go on.

"Paintings by the great artists

Kano and Sesshu. "

That's not a bad likeness

to President Pierce at a dollar and a half.

"Porcelain jars of the finest of sake. "

There we can match them.

Good old sour-mash tanglefoot.

I guess that's everything.

It had better be.

Well, let's start

"winding like a silken dragon. "

Where is Okichi?

People of Shimoda do this for you...

so you enter Edo proudly.

The people of Shimoda forgot nothing

for the journey.

When Harris-san started...

he rode as a great man and a great leader.

Your escort, Mr. Harris, as I promised.

We shall meet in Edo.

Near Edo, we made our final camp.

Your Excellency.

I greet you on behalf of our Shogun.

Welcome to Edo.

Are these the protectors of your city?

Yes. Against evil spirits.

I trust they will let me pass.

They will let your body pass

but not your soul, if it is evil.

Tomorrow, at the Hour of the Dragon...

I will escort you

into the Shogun's presence.

And now, to your quarters.

Bless my soul!

Steady, Henry. Maybe it's all a mirage.

The calendar of your visit, Mr. Harris.

First day, assembly of nobles and guests

in the Great Hall.

Presentation to the Shogun...

and expression of gratitude

by visitor from far-away land.

On the second day at the Hour

of the Rooster, a banquet in your honor.

Return to house for repose.

The Shogun wishes all a pleasant dream.

Third day, Hour of the Tiger...

to an exhibition of archery

with Lord Hotta.

Okichi, what is this?

Your furo. Hot bath.

They will help you from your clothes.

Here. Wait a minute. You mean,

they're going to take my clothes off?

Is ancient custom.

The next day,

Harris-san was shown to the Great Hall.

For centuries, only Japanese eyes

had seen the Shogun's house.

Your Excellency.

I owe you my thanks.

You owe me nothing, Mr. Harris.

My obligation is at an end.

Now we stand equal.

May it please Your Highness...

I'm directed to express the wish...

of the President

of the United States of America...

for your health and your happiness.

Your Highness, Counselors...

it is in the very nature of creation

that man shall have a neighbor...

though he builds his home in the desert

or in the mountains...

or in the midst of the sea.

Yet somewhere, however distant...

dwells that next man who is his neighbor

and might be his friend.

As it is with men, so with nations.

Across 5,000 miles of ocean...

the United States of America,

your neighbor...

stretches out its hand to Japan.

It is not a hand clenched in a fist of anger.

It holds no knife to threaten.

It wears no glove of dissimulation.

It is the open hand of my countrymen,

demanding nothing...

asking no special favors...

seeking only the common good.

But in pursuit of that common good...

we ask that you pull down the barriers

which for centuries...

have separated Japan

from the rest of the world.

We ask that you take your rightful position

among the community of nations...

with all its glory

and with all its responsibilities.

To be good neighbors

to not only ourselves...

but to every nation of goodwill.

To take what the world has to offer,

and to offer that which you have.

To learn from others and to teach them.

If this seems good to you,

to do these things...

then I am empowered

by my government...

through the instrument

of this new treaty...

to pledge to you our friendship in peace...

our help in trouble,

and our strength in danger.

How long do you think it will take them

to make up their minds, Okichi?

Three days, maybe four.

Treaty big fence.

Some horses no likie jump.

"Likie"? Like.

You've been listening

to Sam's Pidgin English again.

Like. Thank you.

Lord Hotta tells me that...

I'm to be questioned

before the Council takes its final vote.

What will they ask me, Okichi?

Maybe strange questions.

But say truth.

Just tell them the truth, eh?

Is always best.

Same thing in America.

In America, geisha girl pretty?

There are no geisha girls

in America, Okichi.

- No geisha?

- No geisha. Just girls.

When wife in street...

she walk behind husband?

- Yes?

- Rarely.

- Where walk?

- By his side.

By his side?

Or a little in front.

Husband permit this?

Sometimes he can't help himself.

In Japan, different husbands.

No, in America, different wives.

The banquet was held

on the second evening.

Behind the faces of the nobles

were strong and dangerous feelings.

Some agreed with Harris-san,

some did not.

And some hated him...

as they had always hated those

who intruded upon the soil of Japan.

They have seen your warships.

Are your fishing boats as large?

No.

Is war more important to you than fishing?

No.

Mr. Harris...

we have had no wars

for the last 200 years in my country.

How many have you had in the West?

Too many.

Yet some were fought for liberty.

You speak of liberty. Yet do not ships

of your country go to Africa...

get black men,

and bring them back as slaves?

Yes, I am sorry to say that is true.

But there are men in my country

who would die to end that evil.

It cannot long endure.

No nation understands another.

It is best for Japan to remain apart.

Only by understanding

can the world hope to progress.

He asks, "What is progress?"

Tell them it can mean many things.

Among them...

not having to kill girl babies

in time of famine.

The calendar of his visit

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