The Samurai Guy

This trip has been long. Over 13 hours in this airplane. The strongest horse would have needed rest many times over and would have traveled only a fraction of the distance. These airplanes will take me to far off lands I would have never been able to see in a lifetime of travel. Look at me, I speak as if my journey through time were not remarkable in itself.

I arrive in San Francisco, California, in these United States. I looked at a map before this trip and this country’s size is astounding! Over 9.2 million square kilometers. Gods, Japan is only 378,000 square kilometers! You could fit Japan into the United States 24 times! California alone is bigger than all of Japan!

Imagine my surprise when I arrive and am greeted by a museum exhibit of the “Lords of the Samurai.” I visited this Asian Museum in San Francisco. The exhibit itself was rather small and many of the pieces replicas, but I felt a strong pull of homesickness all the same. Sometimes I forget I have been gone for a few years already and the friends and family I have left behind seem so very far away. I must speak of this with Sensei later. The exhibit displayed items from the Hosokawa clan. I learned later they descended from a branch of my own Minamoto clan. Hah! At least they were not from those Taira dogs! Forgive me, these old feuds run deep.

It seemed my own sword and armor elicited quite a stir. The head curator of the museum almost fell over in shock when he saw my authentic battle armor. My sword, gifted to me by the Emperor himself for saving his life, is a Masamune, created by the master, Masamune Okazaki, himself. They pleaded with me to allow them to examine my weapon and to run some tests. It was almost their final wish. Are these Americans mad to try to take away a Samurai’s sword? I have killed men for merely daring to touch my sword. I made my hasty retreat through the crowd who had gathered thinking this was part of the display. I could have easily killed the guards, such as they were, where they stood but I have been warned by Sensei not to take any unnecessary lives during this journey.

The rest of my stay in San Francisco was less eventful. This is a beautiful region, with calm weather and diverse landscapes. Surprisingly, they had exceptional sushi and sake! Now I really do long for home. I felt I could stay in the Silicon Valley for a while, to learn more of the incredible pace of change happening on the Internet and World Wide Web. There is so much to learn and so many great things in development. I hope another host brings me back soon to the Bay Area.