The Barbarian and the Geisha
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Huston
John Wayne
Eiko Ando
Sam Jaffee
So Yamamura
Norman Thomson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In 1856, an American ship carrying Townsend Harris, the U.S. Consul General to Japan, and his interpreter, Henry Heusken, nears the Japanese seaport of Shimoda. When Baron Tamura, the governor of the province, denies the ship permission to land, Harris asserts that he has come in accordance with the treaty signed between his country and Japan. Believing that all the disasters visited upon Japan since the signing of the treaty have been warning signs from the Gods, Tamura refuses to recognize the pact, but Harris defies him and comes ashore anyway. Although Tamura rejects Harris' status as American Consul, he allows him to remain as a private citizen and grants him the use of a dilapidated old house. When Harris hoists the American flag above his quarters, Tamura orders it lowered and instructs the villagers to ostracize the Americans. In protest, Harris presents Tamura a letter addressed to the Shogun, asking him to confirm his position as American Consul. The Imperial Court in Edo is in a state of indecision over the treaty, and Tamura is instructed to keep Harris happy until a resolution can be reached. Following orders, Tamura invites Harris to dinner. During the course of the evening, Tamura notices Harris' interest in a comely geisha named Okichi, and so sends her to the American to keep him occupied. At first frightened and puzzled by Harris' strange American customs, Okichi is soon won over by his gentleness and compassion. Harris is appalled when he learns that Okichi was sold into a geisha house as a young girl by her poverty-stricken family. Harris' friendship earns Okichi the enmity of the village women, who deem her a concubine and shun her. One day, another ship sails into the harbor, and when Harris rows out to greet it, the captain warns him to stay away because the crew is rife with cholera. When several of the infected sailors dive overboard and swim ashore, Harris warns the villagers to stay away from them, but to no avail. Soon, cholera sweeps through the village and Okichi is stricken. As the villagers perform rituals to cast out the disease, Harris, aware that only frost or fire can kill cholera, sets several houses aflame. Furious, Tamura places Harris under house arrest and orders him to leave on the next ship. Okichi, now recovered, is disconsolate at the thought of Harris' impending departure. Embittered by months of failure, Harris packs his belongings, but when the epidemic abruptly ends, the people come to thank him for saving their lives, and Tamura tells Harris that, as a debt of gratitude, he has arranged for him to visit the Shogun. To honor Harris, the villagers form a procession to escort him to Edo. Upon reaching the gates of the city, Harris is ushered into the Great Hall of the Shogun, which has been closed to foreigners for centuries. Brandishing the treaty, Harris makes a plea to pull down the barriers existing between Japan and the United States. At a banquet the following day, members of the Council who will vote on the treaty question Harris about the warlike propensity of the West and the practice of slavery. When a Council member observes that it is better for the countries to remain apart, Harris argues for progress. At an archery exhibition the next day, Lord Shido, one of the supporters of the treaty, is assassinated, and Tamura, warning that only violence will come of the treaty, begs Harris to leave immediately. Swayed by Lord Shido's death, the Council passes the treaty. Tamura's clan, opposed to the agreement, orders Tamura to kill Harris, and Tamura enlists Okichi in the plot, reminding her of her unswerving obedience to him. When Harris promises to return to Okichi and alludes to marriage, she is disconsolate because of her promise to Tamura. That night, Okichi, following instructions, ties a red scarf to Harris' bedroom door, signaling Tamura that Harris is sleeping inside. Stealthily entering the house, Tamura enters the room and unsheathes his sword, but when he throws back the bed covers, he finds Okichi and flees. Encountering Harris in the hallway, Tamura slashes the scarf in half, tells Harris to take back his life and then runs out the door. After Okichi informs Harris that Tamura must kill himself for failing his mission, Harris finds Tamura dead in the courtyard, a victim of his own sword. Okichi, aware that she must be punished for breaking her vow to Tamura, forsakes Harris, leaving behind a mirror, the symbol of her soul. As Harris is reverently carried through the streets to sign the treaty, Okichi watches from the crowd, tears in her adoring eyes.
Director
John Huston
Cast
John Wayne
Eiko Ando
Sam Jaffee
So Yamamura
Norman Thomson
James Robbins
Morita
Kodaya Ichikawa
Hiroshi Yamato
Tokujiro Iketaniuchi
Fuji Kasai
Takeshi Kumagai
Rintaro Kaga
Henry Fong
Henry Pong
Viraig Amosin
Jun Ohtomo
Fiji
Koji Sawa
Kichiro Iwaki
Takashi Yoshikawa
Hiroshi Ikaida
Hitoshi Komaki
Hiroya Morita
Tadashi Nagoaka
Ryo Futami
Shinjo Hayama
Kajiro Fujimatsu
Eitaro Ishijimi
Minanogawa
Kohjiro Sakata
Shizu Yamanaga
Miyoshi Jingu
Rollin Moriyama
Frank Kumagai
Robert Okazaki
Tetsu Koman
Koichi Umino
Shingo Osawa
Sanjo Akaozeki
Tsutomu Mitani
Edo Mita
Ben Reed
Richard Chang
Juji Kasai
Wakaba Hanayagi
Kasuga Hanayagi
Midori Hanayagi
Crew
Angela Allen
Nigel Balchin
Bill Buffinger
John Campbell
Charles G. Clarke
Warren B. Delaplain
Bill Eckhardt
Walter Fitchman
W. D. Flick
Eugene Frenke
Hugo Friedhofer
Til Gabbani
Art Gerstle
Stuart Gilmore
Charles Grayson
Don B. Greenwood
Alfred Hayes
Mitsuo Hirotsu
Bill Huffman
Minoru Inuzuka
Ken Ishii
Kisaku Itoh
Teinosuke Kinugasa
Tony Kuroda
Bob Landry
Charles Lemaire
Peppy Lenzi
Joe Markaroff
Scotty Mcewen
Hiroshi Mori
Paul Nakaoka
Webb Overlander
Joseph E. Rickards
Chuck Roberson
Mike Salamunovich
Walter M. Scott
Joe Shinomiya
Jack Martin Smith
Ellis St. Joseph
Bert Steiner
Tatsumi Toda
Paul Vogel
Lyle R. Wheeler
Charles Wise
Ed Wynigear
Haruhiko Yamada
Kampo Yoshikawa
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were The Townsend Harris Story and The Barbarian. The film opens with the following written prologue: "This motion picture was filmed in its entirety in Japan. It is the history of Townsend Harris, the American Consul General who, in 1856, became the first foreign diplomat to enter the Forbidden Empire. It is also the story of a beautiful Geisha Girl known as Okichi and her place in Harris' life." Okichi's voice-over narration, as spoken by actress Eiko Ando, is interspersed throughout the film. As noted in the film, the Perry treaty of 1854 provided for the appointment of a U.S. Consul in Japan as the preliminary to opening trade negotiations.
In August 1856, Harris arrived in Japan and took up residence in the port of Shimoda, where he put pressure on the local officials to arrange a personal audience with the Shogun in Edo. It took over a year before arrangements were made for Harris to travel to Edo. Believing that Harris' presence in the capital would signal national disgrace, many of the feudal lords opposed Harris' visit, but given the military weakness of Japan, negotiations were opened in 1857 and the treaty was finally signed in late July 1858. The treaty called for the appointment of a resident American minister in Edo, the establishment of free trade between different countries and an increase in the number of open ports. Harris served as U.S. Consul until 1862.
According to an August 1957 Hollywood Reporter news item, Jack Cummings registered a manuscript entitled Townsend Harris-The First American Envoy by Asian expert Herbert H. Gowen, but that project was unproduced and, apparently, unrelated to The Barbarian and the Geisha. According to a May 1956 Hollywood Reporter news item, the rights to Ellis St. Joseph's story were originally bought by Phil Yordan and Sidney Harmon to be produced for Security Pictures. A November 1957 Hollywood Reporter news item adds that the scenes of Shimoda were shot in the fishing village of Kawana, Japan. Other exteriors were filmed in Kyoto at the Temple of Flowers and the Nijojo Castle, a village on Lake Biwa, and interiors were filmed at the Eiga Studios in Kyoto, according to a November 1957 Variety news item and studio publicity contained in the film's production file at the AMPAS Library. The Variety news item also states that Yumoji Tsukioka was expected to play the role of "Okichi."
According to a January 1958 Los Angeles Times news item, director John Huston originally wanted an all-Japanese crew. Although a March 1958 Hollywood Reporter news item notes that Billy Wilder, under an agreement made between Huston and producer Eugene Frenke, was to direct one day of additional scenes on the studio lot, it is doubtful that Wilder contributed to the released film. In his autobiography, Huston stated that John Wayne reshot a number of scenes after the director left the production to begin filming The Roots of Heaven . Huston was so upset that he considered removing his name from the picture. The Barbarian and the Geisha marked the screen debut of former strip-tease dancer Eiko Ando.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall October 1958
Based on the trul ife work of Us Consul Townsend Harris.
CinemaScope
Released in United States Fall October 1958
