Heart of a Samurai

“My father told me that a person should always put his heart in order before falling asleep. Then he will be unencumbered by fear.”

Manjiro’s courage drives many of his choices. His goal to put his heart in order, however, is more complex than his 14-year-old self assumes; while Manjiro spends the rest of the book unencumbered by fear, the emotions he experiences often overwhelm him. Manjiro turns to father figures such as Whitfield in these situations. Appropriately, then, Manjiro’s father is mentioned here as the provider of a mantra that gives Manjiro strength.

“It is good to be respectful, but it would be well if you would stop that incessant bowing!’”

Captain Whitfield attempts to show Manjiro that they are equals, yet the statement also shows that Whitfield views his cultural traditions as superior to Manjiro’s. Manjiro follows Whitfield’s request, giving up part of his culture in the process. The situation is complicated, but Whitfield’s view of Manjiro’s bow as an annoyance rather than courtesy limits the possibility of cultural exchange. Manjiro is forced to assimilate to Western ways.

“As a Buddhist, Manjiro had learned that it was wrong to kill—not just people, but living creatures. Of course, Manjiro had killed plenty of fish. In a country like his, surrounded by water and filled with people who needed to eat, it was natural to eat fish. In some villages, whales were sometimes caught. But even a small fish deserved a prayer of gratitude. The fishermen he knew never took fish without remembering to leave grateful offerings at shrines for such purposes.”

Manjiro’s religion affects the way he interacts with the world, causing him to feel pain and remorse when he takes part in the whale hunt. Manjiro reflects on the cultural differences but does not come to a clear conclusion; he wants the whalers to experience the emotions he does but does not say a word to them. No American realizes he is a Buddhist, nor do they ask. In situations like these, Manjiro feels alone.

“I feel it is important for me, as the leader of our group, to watch out for you. Now, listen to me. It is better for you to stay away, so that you don’t become tainted by their ways. They are corrupting you. Already you walk with their swagger. You are forgetting your manners and addressing all of us as your equals. You neglect to bow. Just now—you did not acknowledge me. You don’t even bow to the captain of this ship!”

Denzo points out the ways Manjiro has adopted Western customs. Denzo’s warning emphasizes Manjiro’s flexibility and adaptability, but Denzo does not view these things as positives. He uses black-and-white language to emphasize the inferiority of Western customs. Denzo and the Westerners both work under an assumption of superiority, and Manjiro’s attempt to live in both worlds becomes more difficult than he predicts. The change in Manjiro is more noticeable than the change Manjiro causes in the Westerners.

“Manjiro stared at the captain. He had never imagined that a barbarian could appreciate poetry. Or play music. Or express kindness.”

Manjiro’s prejudices break down. They were never deeply rooted, but seeing Whitfield not just as a human but as a potential father figure enables him to shed them entirely and view outsiders as people just like him. The emphasis on poetry and music shows that art can bridge cultures; if Manjiro and Whitfield both enjoy art, they can see each other as civilized human beings capable of kindness to one another.

“Thoughts collided in his mind. To see America…but to possibly miss a chance to return home to his mother and his family. To learn a thousand new things…but to go to a strange place where people might hate and reject him. To feel again the lift of his heart when the sails filled with wind and the ship seemed to soar over the ocean…but to have to say goodbye to his comrades with whom he'd shared so much.”

This passage uses parallelism to emphasize Manjiro’s complex feelings and the complexities involved in his decision. Returning home and exploring the world are both key desires; while he loves to learn, he is devoted to his family and homeland. Although the parallelism implies that either choice would be satisfying in its own way, the language emphasizes a dichotomy between courage and safety, the unknown and the known, implying that leaving to explore America is the braver choice, if not the better one.

“Manjiro said, ‘Just because it is small, that doesn’t mean it is insignificant.’ He wanted to add, ‘Surely you have seen enough ocean by now to understand that the world is bigger than you could have imagined. Surely you must realize that these whaling men, who have sailed to all its corners, must know more of the world than our countrymen—who never go anywhere!’ But he bit his tongue.”

The smallness of Japan on the map and Manjiro’s comment on significance form a metaphor for Manjiro himself; just because he is a child from a poor family does not mean he cannot have an impact on the world. The second half of the quote, however, shows that Manjiro has grown weary of the mindset of his companions; he implies that the perspective of the whalers is superior because they have seen more. This passage expresses a tension—while he believes in Japan’s significance, he also believes Japan can learn from the rest of the world.

“It’s as if I see this little bit of light from an open door. It promises…I don’t know what! But I want to go through that door and find out what is there.”

Manjiro’s metaphor illustrates his love for discovery and refusal to isolate himself. This quote characterizes him as adventurous and curious, especially in contrast with his fishermen companions, who do not experience the same allure of the unknown. Manjiro’s perspective is innocent and joyful; he does not have the prejudices that could cause him to view America as a place of danger and ugliness, allowing him to look to the unknown with excitement.

“But Manjiro was not happy. He was cold with remorse and guilt. Whatever had happened to Jolly, he knew he was responsible.”

This quote characterizes Manjiro as compassionate, even toward those who do not deserve it. While Jolly had never been kind to him, he still feels guilty for Jolly’s loss of employment, blaming himself for the man’s misfortune. He seems to feel genuine sadness and remorse.

“Say, mates, this must be what made old Mocha Dick so sick. Wouldn’t you get a bellyache if you swallered this?”

This is one example of allusion and voice that make the sailors’ dialogue feel historical. An allusion to Mocha Dick, the real whale that inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, sets the book authentically in the world of 1800s whaling. However, the use of Mocha Dick in reference to a whale’s corpse is ironic, as the famous whale was supposedly unkillable.

“The captain explained to Manjiro how to tell time the Western way. Manjiro explained that in his country people didn’t carry watches.”

This quote illustrates one of the first moments of cultural exchange between Manjiro and Americans. Rather than just teaching Manjiro the Western method, the captain listens and engages with Manjiro’s experience, learning his perspective. This reciprocity makes Manjiro and the captain equals. At the same time, Manjiro adopts the Western way of telling time, while the captain does not adopt the Japanese way; while exchange is possible, cultural change moves in only one direction.

“‘Why would he do a kindness to me?’ Manjiro asked. ‘Why shouldn’t he?’ ‘Because I am just a boy and he is a grown person. I am a poor nobody and he is a rich important person.’ ‘And why can’t a rich man be kind to a poor nobody?’ Manjiro didn’t have an answer. He was as puzzled by the man’s kindness as the boys’ cruelty.”

Manjiro’s assumptions about his worth are tested in this passage, as he is ridiculed by the poor and treated kindly by the rich. This passage illustrates the differences in class structure between Japan and America but also helps Manjiro view human beings as more complex than he assumed. Everyone is capable of cruel and kind behavior, regardless of class or social status; while this is true in Japan and in America, Manjiro assumes it is an American trait since he first notices it while in America.

“He showed Terry some sword-fighting moves like the ‘zigzag,’ ‘reverse dragonfly,’ ‘waterwheel,’ and ‘eight-sides-at-once.’ These were real names for styles of swordplay, but he and his friends back home didn’t really know what they meant; they just made up their own moves. Then Manjiro told Terry about the different kinds of swords and knives, including the katana, the nodachi, the tanto, and the naginata. He didn’t tell Terry that he never would have been allowed to actually carry a sword.”

This is another passage that shows cultural exchange rather than one-sided assimilation. Terry is curious about and fully engaged with Manjiro’s culture, and they can have fun despite their different upbringings. This exchange demonstrates Terry’s characterization as a good friend and equal to Manjiro. Additionally, this passage shows Manjiro’s knowledge of samurai traditions; while his knowledge is limited because he is a peasant, Manjiro knows enough to teach Terry and lets Terry believe that what he makes up is the truth.

“The very idea! Why there should be such a thing as a separate pew for colored people—honestly! And in a place of worship that claims to believe in equality for all. I hope we live to see the day when such notions are abolished—along with our country’s deplorable institution of slavery. There’s a movement, you know, gaining momentum.”

Mrs. Whitfield’s quote develops the theme of equality and alludes to historical events in America at the time, such as the rise of the abolitionist movement. Mrs. Whitfield conceptualizes equality in broad terms, much like Manjiro, who also believes women and men are equal. While their backgrounds are different, they are able to bond over their lack of equal treatment in American society and hope for a better future.

“In Japan, nothing ever seemed to change. Life went on in the same way it had for hundreds of years. But here, things were changing constantly—people buzzed with talk of a way to send messages clear across the country in a few moments; of iron boxes that ran on tracks and moved so fast that people said time itself would be obliterated. Someone had to be making all these things happen. Someone had to be changing the world. What if he could be one of those people?”

Manjiro’s dream of changing Japan—a dream he would eventually realize—first surfaces in this passage. This passage centers on technology as the catalyst for change but acknowledges that it does not exist in a vacuum; people start the process. Manjiro’s experience of America complicates his love for his homeland as he wants it to become more like America even while he yearns for the familiarity of Japan.

“What are your hopes and dreams? Captain Whitfield had once asked. A person could have ambitions for the future in this country. There was room for hopes and dreams, and he was going to put his mind to it.”

This passage illustrates Manjiro’s character growth, emphasizing his development from a child into an adult capable of self-determination. He takes inspiration, once again, from a father figure, learning to pursue his desires. At the same time, the emphasis on America being a place where someone can have ambitions alludes to the belief that America is a unique “land of opportunity.”

“‘Someday, when you are grown, you will come and visit me in Japan,’ Manjiro said. ‘You will be the captain of a big, three-masted barque and you will sail proudly into Urado Bay. You will walk the road to my home and no one will run away, afraid you are a devil. Everyone will greet you as my brother.’ Even though he knew it was impossible, still the thought sent a little shiver of excitement down his spine.”

While William Henry’s death means that this dream never becomes a reality, this passage foreshadows Manjiro’s eventual imprint on both Massachusetts and Japan, as his descendants meet with the Whitfield descendants yearly to this day, according to the novel’s Epilogue. Thus, Manjiro’s belief that this outcome is impossible is both true and untrue—while William Henry dies, the legacy of brotherhood Manjiro establishes lives on.

“Americans and the Japanese, when you boiled it down, were more alike than they would ever admit. They both thought they were better than other people—and each thought they were better than the other!”

Most of the themes explored in the novel intersect in this single quote. Manjiro is uniquely capable of seeing through the hypocrisy of both countries. The novel attempts to show that neither side is superior, but both are capable of learning from the other—and should learn from the other, as Manjiro did.

“They spoke among themselves, and Manjiro felt a surge of panic when he realized that he could not understand what they were saying. Their dialect was too different from his own. Perhaps they lived far from his village. Even he had spoken a different dialect from Denzo and the other fishermen, and they only lived a few villages apart.”

After years away from his homeland, Manjiro feels separated from his culture. This quote emphasizes the complexity of Japanese culture and life; while the Americans on board the ship view Manjiro’s homeland as monolithic, Manjiro is not able to speak to people who likely do not live far from his birthplace because their languages differ too much. Their experience of being Japanese is different from his.

“But he wasn’t just sinking—he and the turtle were going somewhere with great purpose, hurtling toward something. Time fell away; there were just the two of them and the silence.”

The turtle scene is both an action sequence and a metaphor for Manjiro’s self-awareness. The “something” he and the turtle hurtle towards is Manjiro’s home and cultural heritage. As he experiences the silence and the sea, he remembers stories from his childhood and finally realizes what he wants. After so long in the constant company of other people, Manjiro requires separation to achieve self-actualization.

“Manjiro’s anger boiled up. Anger for every time he’d been treated as someone who didn’t deserve a voice, as someone with nothing to say, as someone whose opinion did not count—whether it was because of the family he was born to, because of the way he looked, because of his poor language skills, or because of his lowly rank.”

Repetition emphasizes Manjiro’s climactic assertion of his agency and power. This passage shows the equal problems in his treatment at the hands of both Japanese and Americans by listing the ways he has been wronged by each. Neither treated Manjiro well, and only by becoming an adult with agency can he overcome these prejudices.

“‘Imagine that!’ Manjiro said. ‘We’re on a vessel powered by steam.’ ‘Gold is nineteen times heavier than water,’ Terry said.”

This passage uses humor and contrast to show Manjiro and Terry’s priorities and perspective on the world. While Manjiro is fascinated by technology, Terry can only think of the future, not the journey to get there. Manjiro is consumed with thoughts about ways to improve the world, while Terry’s perspective is more centered on himself and his fortune.

“‘The weather is changing,’ the daimyo said. Manjiro nodded. ‘As is the world,’ he said. The lord turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised. ‘But I believe good will come out of this changing world,’ Manjiro said.”

Manjiro’s interaction with the daimyo shows his newfound confidence and perspective, characterizing him as an adult with fully developed beliefs about the future. His ability to communicate openly with the daimyo demonstrates that he no longer views himself as a lowly person, even if he is respectful of the daimyo’s authority. Additionally, his unwavering positivity about the future foreshadows his eventual role in opening Japan to the outside world.