Majeng Media AB Barbarian and the Geisha (John Wayne)

The Barbarian and the Geisha (working titles The Townsend Harris Story and The Barbarian) is a 1958 American adventure film directed by John Huston and starring John Wayne. The film was shot primarily on location in Japan.

In 1856, Townsend Harris is sent by President Franklin Pierce to serve as the first U.S. Consul General to Japan, following the treaty written by Commodore Matthew C. Perry two years before. Accompanied only by his translator-secretary, Henry Heusken and three Chinese servants, Harris comes ashore at the town of Shimoda prefecture, as specified in the treaty as the location for an American consulate.

However, the Japanese governor Tamura refuses to accept his credentials, denying him any official status, due to a conflict between interpretations of the treaty terms. While Harris believes that the Consul shall be present whenever either country requires, the Japanese believe the terms to permit a consul only when both countries require. The governor holds to his interpretation, largely because of objections over the threats under which the treaty was forced upon them. Harris is permitted to remain in Shimoda, but only as a private citizen, with no recognition of his official status. He is provided the use of an abandoned home, adjacent to the town cemetery.

Tamura explains that, in the two years following Perry's visit, various natural disasters had taken place. Some Japanese believed them to be warnings from the gods to avoid foreign influences. In the weeks that follow, Harris is the target of distrust and hostility, to the extent that Tamura orders townspeople to not even sell him food. Some in Japan wanted the country opened, but many others feared the corruption of foreign influences, and invasion by the barbarians of other lands. For this reason, Harris is not permitted to leave Shimoda, nor to go any closer to the capitol in Edo, 100 miles away.