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[ Hammering ]

[ Hammering Continues ]

[ Woman's Voice ] My dear son,

I write this thinking of you...

with your chisel,

shaping your dreams from unyielding stone.

I have been chiseling my own dreams and recollections...

pulled from letters and journals kept through the years.

They seem as scattered, and yet also as vivid,

as the autumn leaves I walk through.

[ Chattering, Shouting ]

[ Woman's Voice ] At their heart,

a strange meeting with an extraordinary man...

[ Bell Ringing ]

whose words brought us together in unexpected ways.

[ Groans ] Watch where you're going.

S-Sorry, sorry.

Uh, I was in a hurry.

It is I.

Yone Noguchi. The poet.

You're very late.

Please.

You must accept my apology. Please.

Do come in for tea.

You're younger than I thought.

Am I? [ Chuckles ]

Well, I grow older as we stand.

And colder.

Please, do come in.

On the shelf there, you will see some of my work.

Already published, two volumes of poetry.

Very impressive. [ Chuckles ]

It is only a small press in San Francisco,

but the reviews were quite good.

Some think I have real talent.

No talent, though,

for keeping house.

I am sorry.

Please, please do sit down.

[ Clears Throat ]

Go on.

Read it out.

"I see my soul floating upon the face of the deep,

nay, the faceless face of the deepest deep.

Ah, the seas of loneliness.

The mute, waving, silent waters,

ever shoreless, bottomless,

heavenless, colorless,

have no shadow of my passing soul."

Now you know a little of me.

I only know that you're teaching at the girls' high school.

Oh, yes.

Yes, I, um--

I went to a university in Philadelphia called Bryn Mawr.

And in my sophomore year...

I won a scholarship to the Sorbonne.

I spent a year in Paris studying French literature.

[ Speaking French ]

[ Chuckles ]

I'm afraid I'm only fluent in Japanese.

And a little English, as you can see.

I studied so that I might express the...

joy and pain and profundity of being human.

That's what poetry does, does it not?

It can do this.

Well, that's what I wish to learn.

No school can teach it--

how to take what is at the deepest level of the soul and---

and put it on a piece of paper.

Nothing happens from hesitation.

I have decided.

What is that?

My novel.

American Diary of a Japanese Girl?

I know.

Ridiculous.

Me,

write a novel.

But this novel--

- From the female perspective? - Yes.

It must seem to you, um--

- Presumptuous. - [ Chuckles ]

- Yes. - And ambitious. It's quite a challenge.

When do we begin?

Begin? I-I haven't even read it yet.

Perhaps I am presumptuous.

[ Laughs ] Perhaps.

And perhaps we have already begun.

"Any woman has elegance in the night sitting by a fireplace."

More unique.

[ Thinking ] Any woman appears well by night's time fire.

When I think that even I appear beautiful--

[ Thinking ] When I think that even I appear beautiful, I find bliss.

Excellent.

Perfect.

[ Woman's Voice ] I am sorry if I appeared strange when we met.

I am now worried you may think of me as a woman without manners.

As much of our future work will be done through letters,

I wanted to send you the first.

For me, creating poetry had been a dream since childhood,

and so working side by side with this dashing poet from strange lands...

felt like a long-awaited gift.

[ Chattering ]

[ Man ] Note the subtle proportions,

the attention to the axis of the hip.

We see this is of particular importance...

to the great artists of the baroque period,

especially the Italians.

Caravaggio.

Carracci, uh--

Gentileschi.

Orazio Gentileschi. Yes.

Thank you, Miss Gilmour.

No. Artemisia Gentileschi.Now, now.

Let us be careful about who we include in the canon.

Well, she's a first-rate example of the period.

Well, one would have to actually see her work before including her.

I have seen her work.

- Have you now? - Yes, when I was at the Sorbonne.

[ Students Murmuring ]

[ Bell Tolling ]

Wait.

I'm just not accustomed to that sort of talk.

What I'm saying is--

What I'm trying to say is, don't take it to heart, Leonie.

That is your name, isn't it?

And who might you be?

I am Catherine Burnell. I must say it's a pleasure to fin--

Might I suggest, Catherine Burnell,

that you follow the example of your classmates...

and not strain yourself too much with understanding me.

You'll find it much more pleasant to simply disapprove.

But I don't want to disapprove. Now you misunderstand.

[ Sighs ] How should I put this?

Yes, please. Put this.

What exactly do you mean?

Well, I-- I--

Look at you.

You're just waiting for someone to pull your strings.

I'm sure I don't know what you mean.

[ Whispers ] Don't bore me by being ordinary.

[ Woman Speaking Japanese ]

[ Woman Speaking Japanese ]

In Japan,

the government now advocates education for women.

However, it is not an education...

intended to give women intelligence or individuality.

It is an education to train women in their obedient duty to their husbands.

There you are.Thank you.

[ Japanese Woman ] I am not a madwoman.[ Catherine ] Pardon?

It is not my habit to make speeches to walls.

I was rehearsing.

[ Catherine ] Oh. I see. Are you an actress?

[ Chuckles ] No.

I am a graduate student.

But I will return to Japan soon,

and there, I intend to speak.

What about?

About my university.

The first university for women in Japan.

- You don't have one? - No, Catherine.

We do not.

So perhaps I am a madwoman after all.

[ Leonie's Voice ] Meeting Umeko...

had sparked in me a real interest in Japan's culture.

Mr. Noguchi's words are attuned for American ears...

while preserving that... exotic tone.

I'm sure you're quite aware of the current interest in Japanese art,

the avid sensation surrounding the works of people like Lafcadio Hearn--

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Madame Butterfly. Capital work. Capital.

Yes, quite.

It's a lovely approximation,

but, you see, Mr. Stokes, what we are offering your readers here...

is a story that is quite authentically Japanese.

[ Sighs ]

Which is why we propose to omit Mr. Noguchi's name entirely for the time being...

and rather to allow his invention,

Miss Morning Glory herself,

to claim the authorship.

Hmm.

Well, then-- [ Clears Throat ]

Can you keep a secret?

[ Leonie ] You must think me terrible. I don't know why I said that.

It was the only thing I could think to do.

They will publish my book?Yes, it seems so. Yes.

Yes!

You are a brilliant editor.

And in this country, you are my voice.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

Mr. Noguchi.

Not Mr. Noguchi.

My name is Yone.

You say it.

[ Laughs ]

Please say it.

Yone.

[ Laughs ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] It was more than a book for us.

It was almost our child.

Our first creation.

Miss Morning Glory herself.

I can't stand it anymore.

I can't stand it. I can't--No, I can't.

Please. Leonie.

I can't.

We're not married.

Tell me about Japan.

Japan is like... you.

Beautiful.

You're my Japan.

My hakujin.

Hakujin.

Hakujin...

is beautiful,

white...

skin.

[ Leonie's Voice ] Love is one of life's most spiritual...

and beautiful chapters,

but life is not a fully written book.

It is a blank one,

each page inscribed anew by our actions.

[ Men Laughing, Chattering Drunkenly ]

[ Knocking ]

[ Drunken Chattering, Laughing Continue ]

[ Knocking Continues ]

[ Man ] Oh!

I have returned!

Well, hello, Miss, uh, Lady.

The brilliant poet has returned from London.

[ Man ] I ask you,

has success ever fit a man as well as it fits Yone Noguchi?

He is, perhaps, my greatest discovery.

[ Leonie ] Who is this?

Oh, I should introduce you to her.

[ Grunting, Chuckling ]

This is my famous friend, Charles Stoddard.

Say hello.

Yone is the most talked-about man in London,

a man who walks ahead of the world.

I think we should celebrate his success.

Does this apartment have any champagne?

[ Stoddard Groans ]

Well. "Miss Morning Glory revealed."

Please don't touch my things.

Oh, Yone,

it seems such a shame to hide the identity of a genius.

Don't you agree?Mmm.

[ Chuckles ]

Could you leave, please?

You are being rude to my friend.I haven't seen you in months.

You come back without warning with this... man.

That's the thing about talent.

- Everyone wants to keep it for themselves. - [ Coughing ]

I think I will go to a hotel.

You know where I'll be.

See you soon, Miss Morning Glory. Ta-ta.

[ Door Closes ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] In my life with Yone,

each day truly was like turning a fresh page...

on which the unexpected might appear at any moment.

Yone.

My God, what happened to you?

There were men...

with sticks.

What?

Who were they?Don't.

I don't understand.

Have you been asleep?

Japan attacked the Russian navy...

at Port Arthur.

Oh, God.

And now...

they have their excuse.

I must go home.

What?

This is not my country.

There is nothing here for me now.

You can't go home.

My country is at war.

I'm pregnant.

Huh?

[ Laughing ]

[ Japanese ]

You are lying!

You think you can make up some lie to keep me here.

No. No, it's--

It's not a lie.

[ Sobbing ] It's not a lie.

Will you not say good-bye?

Good-bye.

[ Man ] Gentlemen!

[ Woman Chattering ]

[ Sobbing ]

Well, there you are.

Oh!

Oh, my.

Congratulations.

He went to his friends in Washington, D.C. for days at a time.

Sometimes he wandered at night and I had no idea where he was.

He couldn't bear the sight of me.

It was as if he could erase our history,

my existence, this child,

simply by closing his eyes.

He seems a bird that flew away from my window.

I might never meet him again.

What will you do?Oh, I don't know.

My mother talks of California.

California, yes.

I always thought it seemed rather beautiful.

It seems far away.

It's lovely here.

[ Sighs ] Quite.

Catherine, are you all right?

Of course.

I want for nothing.

I wake at 9:00.

I have breakfast.

I have tea at 2:00 and then again at 4:00.

Edward comes home at 6:00 and he's off to his club at 7:00.

And I go to bed at 10:00.

And I lie there and I think,

this is the most glorious prison.

Thank you.

Wait.

Do you remember when we went to school,

how you used to tell me not to bore you by being ordinary?

Do you remember that?

I don't know. It was so long ago.

We're not all given second chances.

Don't you bore me, Leonie Gilmour.

Don't you dare.

[ Chattering ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] After Yone left me, I too left New York...

for my mother,

the woman who had always taught me to chart my own course,

even if it led through territories seldom charted by others.

Thank you.

Catherine, I consider that I might be happier than other women.

I don't have to see my sweetheart grow old.

My sweetheart remains forever young...

and forever poet.

I have always believed that even when everything is lost,

the future still remains.

The new life within me is now my future.

Leonie!

Oh!

Oh, welcome!Hello, Mother.

How do you feel?I'm fine.

How was your trip?[ Laughs ] It was good.

It was long.Well, come on in.

Well, what do you think?

Look at our beautiful garden.

We have corn and tomatoes and lavender and herbs and--

I know it's not exactly what you expected,

but you are going to love it here.

I don't know what it is. There's just something about the dirt.

Everything grows. Oranges, beans, children.

Welcome to the Gilmour home.

Come on.

Mmm.[ Chuckles ]

[ Groaning, Whimpering ]You're doing beautifully, darling.

But don't forget to breathe. Breathe with me! Breathe![ Women Chattering ]

Two, three, push.Gotta push. Gotta push.

Have to push. Breathe! Breathe!

[ Exhaling, Straining ]Two, three!

Make it crown.Oh, it's crowning!

One, two, three!

Push harder!Two--

Baby's out![ Shouting, Laughing ]

[ Crying ][ Leonie Sobbing ]

He's all right?[ Mother ] Oh!

Oh, you beautiful baby boy!

My angel. My angel.[ Laughs ]

Oh, sweet thing. Here's your mama.

Hello, little boy.

Hello. Shh.

[ Crying Continues ]

Shh. Shh.

Shh.

Shh.

[ Mother ] "Wife of a successful writer of American literature...

gave birth to a son...

while the father Noguchi was as far away as Japan.

[ Fussing ]

By the side of an American mother, this little dark bundle of"--

Oh, stop it.

Stop it.

They didn't even have consent.

Violation of privacy.

Oh, it's not so bad.

Might bring a little sense to the father if you sent it.

[ Leonie's Voice ] I have found peace in these surroundings...

and joy in motherhood.

The land reveals how nature bestows gifts on every generation.

[ Boy Laughing ] My gift?

Being to mine own self true,

a right many women fail to fulfill.

My son is growing like a flower under the great heavens,

playing like a squirrel on the rolling hills.

No! Naughty boy.

[ Man ] Howdy, Albiana.Hi!

Howdy, Yo. [ Laughs ] Come here, cowboy.

What did they just call him?Yo.

Why? What's that?

"Yosemite" was too long.

Yosemite?

You love Yosemite.

Bad luck not to have a name.

It's a parent's job to name their child.

Then name him.

You're not still waiting for him to decide.

It's a father's right.

What about a father's responsibility?

Oh, please.

I did not raise you to be that man's slave.

I raised you to be strong and independent, and you were.

You were single-minded and opinionated, and you had a future.

I amindependent.

[ Yo Laughs ]

Mama!

[ Laughs ]

You're so fast!

Fast!

[ Leonie's Voice ] Yone still sends me his manuscripts.

I often think his words got inside me somehow,

like water in my ear I can't shake loose.

Marriage between Americans and Japanese has been prohibited?

I guess so.

[ Exasperated Sigh ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] Dearest Catherine,

A woman's life is far from fair.

The new laws ask me to either renounce my citizenship...

or renounce my marriage.

Being an American does not yet mean being free to love as we choose.

Hey, look at that kid. Who does he think he is?

He shouldn't be here.What is he, a Jap?

Doesn't he know how to read?

The sign says no Chinese or Japanese allowed.

[ Chattering, Indistinct ]

Go back to your own country!

Hey! That kid's a damn Jap too.

Hey! Hey! What are you doing?

Don't you dare put a finger on my son!

Go away! Go! Go! Get out of here! Go away!

[ Boy ] Get out of here!Are you all right?

[ Grunts ] Come on.

Oh.

[ Leonie's Voice ] The schools now segregate children of Asian descent.

I shudder to think what they will offer next.

My son deserves better.

[ Yone's Voice ] Come to Tokyo, Leonie.

A fatherless child is not right.

I have prepared a house for you to live in.

Another letter from him?

No.

I want to take him to Japan.

You can't go to Japan.

I want him to have a rich life.

How can you work in a country...

where you don't speak the language?

How can you raise a child?

Yone said there's an English teaching job,

and I'll be editing the poetry.

His poetry?

Yes, Mother.

And you believe him?

That man.

Don't do this, Leonie.

He doesn't love you.

He doesn't love his son.

I mean, you would be unhappy.

Yowould be unhappy.

The only time a person is guaranteed happiness is when they die.

Do you forget his cruelty?

He will break your heart.

I've made my decision.

Mother, if you won't talk to me,

will you at least say good-bye to Yo?

Nana will miss you very much.

Please don't ever forget Nana.

[ Exhales ]

Come on up, buddy. Here.

Don't go!

[ Leonie's Voice ] Catherine, perhaps it is a mistake,

but I am resolved not to live my life in want of my mother's forgiveness.

I can only do now as a mother must for her child.

Hello.

Look. What's that? What's that over there?[ Laughing ]

[ Chattering, Shouting ]

You all right?

[ Men Laughing, Chattering ]

Yone.

[ Clears Throat ]

Hello.

Hello.

[ Chuckles ]

This is your son.

He's been terribly seasick.

Yo? It's your papa.

I know how much you wanted to meet him. Say hello.

Hey. Hello.

[ Wailing ]No! No, no, no, no.

Come on. Say hello.

Say hello to your papa.

What do you want to name him, Yone?

Isamu.

Isamu?

[ Clears Throat ]

Isamu.

I-sa-mu.

It means "courage, valor."

I want him to live like a man,

with courage.

That is my wish.

Isamu.

I like that name.

Thank you.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

Wait. Wait.

Who are those men?

Don't walk by my side.

In Japan women follow men.

Quietly.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

Hello. My name is Leonie.

Ow!

Sorry. How stupid of me.

[ Laughs ]

Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa! Wa-wa. Wa-wa. Wa!

[ Both Vocalizing ]

He's just woken up.

Don't spoil the boy.

I have found three students for you to teach English to.

Uh, Second Lieutenant Tomoharu Iwakura,

Toshu Senda, a master of tea ceremony,

and Michihiko Kawada,

a student at Tokyo Imperial University.

All of them are coming from good families.

Their tuition is settled for 20 yen per month per person.

Your share of the manuscript fee from Stokes...

is the same as before.

You have this house.

It should be enough for you both.

You should rest tonight.

Thank you.

Come here.

I bought them for you.

Yone?

[ Birds Twittering ]♪♪ [ Man Singing In Distance ]

[ Sighs ]

[ Speaking Japanese ]

[ Groans ]

"Lo now, the direful monster...

whose skin clings to his strong bones...

strides o'er the groaning rocks."

Mr. Blake frightens me.

But they are all so beautiful, his poems.

I never thought I'd have to come to Japan to find a true aficionado of William Blake.

Oh, yes. I love poetry very much.

And, uh, Blake is great.

As great as Yone Noguchi, I think.

Yone Noguchi?Yes.

To go to America and become a great poet.

This is a most important achievement for us Japanese.

[ Thunder Rumbling ]

Good evening.

What are you doing there? Come in and sit down.

Where is Isamu?

He's sleeping.

Too late for a small boy.

Hello.

He is asking you why the Americans like my writing.

You have a good editor.

This is not the place for humor.

[ Chuckles, Clears Throat ]

Incantation.

Incan--

No, I truly believe that Yone has created a unique world...

by entrusting his soul to nature,

as Basho did.

And by absorbing the free and open mind of Whitman,

as well as the eternal sadness of Poe.

Although neither of them had wives who stayed up through the night,

trying to work out how to scan their verse.

[ All Chuckling ]

Banzai, gentleman!

[ Speaking Japanese ]What?

Hi. Nice to meet you.

[ Man ] How are you, Sensei?

Are you interested in Japanese arts?

Nice to meet you. I'm Leonie Gilmour.

Please sit.

Thank you.

I must say I'm surprised.

No one in this country seems to need help with their English.

There are only a few Japanese who can speak English well.

You must be one of them.

May I ask, why did you hire me?

For Noguchi-kun.

He did not want you from so far away,

such a foreign place, to be lonely.

Oh, I see. I'm--

That's what it was. I'm sorry I hadn't realized.

Since you don't seem to need a teacher,

perhaps you wouldn't mind having a student.

A student?

I don't understand much about the ways here.

It's a strange place.

It's very beautiful and...

very confusing.

Perhaps you could teach me about Japanese culture.

It will be my pleasure, Mrs. Noguchi.

- [ Chortles ] - [ Laughing ]

Hello.

[ Japanese ]How do you do?

Oh.

I am Tomoharu Iwakura,

your student.

It's very nice to meet you.

Oh.

I brought goldfish for the boy.

[ Laughing ] Thank you. Thank you so much.

"Ah, sunflower, weary of time,

who countest the steps of the sun--[ Yone Speaking Japanese ]

[ Kiku Speaking Japanese ]seeking after that sweet golden clime,

where the traveler's journey is done,

where the youth pined away with death."

Please excuse me for a moment.

Wait a minute. Where are you going?

Why won't you talk to me?

[ Chuckles ][ Whispering ]

Why did you ask me to come here? Hmm?

Where do you go all the time?Stop this.

Keep your voice down.No. I won't. I will not.

I won't lower my voice for you.

I will no longer silence myself for Yone Noguchi!

[ Gasping, Murmuring ]

I was going to see my wife.

Then you aren't welcome here any longer.

You must understand.

In Japan, it is not unusual...

for a man to have two families.

Why are you so confrontational?

I am Japanese.

We are in Japan.

This is the culture of this country.

There is nothing you can do to change that.

[ Inhales ]

[ Groans ]

[ Sobbing ]

[ Birds Twittering ]

Sadois much like poetry.

Part of the drama of life.

The theme of Sadois tea.

The expression is most important.

The tension of drama lays in the dedicated grace of a perfect moment.

The fragility of something beautiful.

Kakuzo Okakura teaches...

that there is a value in things out of balance.

It is not necessary for everything to be the same.

Consistency is born from the inconsistent shape of things.

Life is similar in this way.

I am sure that you understand more than most.

I have decided to leave Yone.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

Huh?

I have wonderful news.

I have found a Japanese publisher for my book--

Pilgrimage.

Congratulations.

Kiku?

No, leave that where it is.

It's all right.

I told her to put it all back.

I am planning to dedicate the book to you.

We have to make the evening train.

Did you hear what I said?

They paid a large advance.

You can stay. You don't have to teach anymore.

You can stay and be my editor. Full time.

I like teaching.

It's not a job...

worthy of the wife of a published author.

Not the job for my wife.

Well, you should be sure and tell her that.

Don't make this hard on me.

You've grown, Leonie.

I'm coming back.

Thank you.Stop this!

Think of our son.

What about our writing?

Our business with Stokes?

Oh, I'll still work for you if you can endure it.

Leonie, what are you doing?

You don't respect my writing.

You don't respect our relationship.

[ Japanese ]

No, no! Thank you, Yone.

I think Michihiko can handle the rest.

[ Leonie Speaking Japanese ]

[ Laughs, Speaks Japanese ]

[ Sobbing ]

Oh.

It's all right.

Thank you so much.

It's all right.

[ Rain Pattering ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] Dear Catherine,

Isamu is learning Japanese very fast.

He demands to grasp all aspects of life.

The trees, the dirt, the air, the sun--

They all live in him.

But if they are to flower, they need the chance to grow.

Where is the moon, Mama?

Where is the moon?

Come here. [ Chuckles ]

Are we poor?

Are we poor?

[ Laughing ]

Yes.

Yes. It seems we are.

But that's all right.

It doesn't matter how it looks.

It matters that it's ours.

[ Birds Twittering ]

Where are we going?I keep telling you where we're going.

We're going to meet my new students.

Don't worry.

You're going to like Setsu.

She is like my own sister.

Her husband, Lafcadio, was my most favorite teacher.

Setsu.

Oh! Oh.

[ Laughs ]

[ Speaking Japanese ]

[ Children ] Konnichiwa.How do you do?

Nice to meet you.

[ Chuckles ]

Hai?Thank you, Mrs. Hearn.

Call me Setsu.

I am sure Lafcadio is smiling in heaven...

knowing that we have someone like you as a teacher.

Shortly after my husband died, Mr. Noguchi paid me a surprise visit.

He said he wanted to write an essay about my husband.

Yes, I know that Yone identified very strongly with Mr. Hearn.

My husband hated a man who showed no respect for his wife.

Well, I'm not his wife.

I heard that you helped your husband with some of his work.

I told some Japanese folktales to my Lafcadio.

He wrote a ghost story from that.

I told this in mutual language of husband and wife,

a language that only we know.

[ Laughs ]

What a beautiful memory of your own world together.

[ Shouting ]

[ Rhythmic Shouting ]

[ Speaking Japanese ]

[ Japanese ]

Oh.

Mmm. [ Speaking Japanese ]

In English.

A most excellent fish.

It is a "su-won."

Swan.

Swan.

Swan.

Swan.

I'm so sorry to be late.

Isamu.

There is also great honor in making beautiful things.

My goodness. That's beautiful.

I thought you should have one.

[ Chattering ]

This fan matches your eyes.

[ Japanese ][ Chuckles ]

It's lovely.I'll buy it for you.

No. You don't have to do that.Oh, it's all right.

I want to do.

The children speak better English than I do now.

[ Setsu Laughs ]

Well, I love each of them as my own.

Thank you.

And I can never repay you, Setsu.

Stop.

No, honestly I think I'd forgotten what it is to be happy.

You reminded me as well.

So we are even.

[ Boy ] Mother! [ Japanese ]

[ Laughing ]

Your lunch.

Ah! I'd almost forgotten.

From New York.

Oh, my goodness, it's from Catherine.

She's my oldest friend.

[ Speaks Japanese ]

[ Setsu Laughs ]

[ Setsu Speaking Japanese ]

[ Michihiko Grunts ]

[ Japanese ]

[ Sobbing ]

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ Isamu ] Mother!

Mother!

[ Japanese ]

Mother!

Mother!

It's all right.

[ Leonie's Voice ] My mother taught me that freedom was a choice,

whether things happen to us...

or for us.[ Crickets Chirping ]

And so I forged my path ahead.

Umeko.

Isamu, come here. Read this for me, will you?

What does that say?

[ Japanese ]

[ Clock Ticking ]

[ Door Opens ]

Umeko.

It's been so long.

You've made it, Miss Gilmour.

Please take a seat.

Thank you.

My son reads the newspapers to me.

I've been following you and this wonderful school.

I just knew someday--

Since you are my old Bryn Mawr friend,

I will be honest with you Leonie.

I'd like to help you, but I'm afraid I cannot offer you a job.

Oh.

All of our students are girls from conservative families.

I'm hesitant to say so,

but it takes much time for the society of this nation...

to accept a woman in such a condition as yours.

My condition? What does that--

You must understand that education for women is very new here.

I'm challenging many old traditions,

and if I make one false step or--

We could lose everything.

No, of course, I...

understand.

[ Chattering ]

Isamu.

Sorry I'm late.

Oh, it's okay.

How was school?

[ Coughing ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] Once again I find my fortune cast to the wind.

Questions of who and how would dog us if we remain here,

and so I resume my journey as a vagabond.

It has been an honor to spend this time with you.

I have enjoyed very much watching Isamu grow.

If only... you could be my teacher forever.

Wait.

[ Boys Chattering ]

I daresay that anyone would consider your English to be exceptionally eloquent.

Ah. Even in America?

[ Laughs ]

Yes. Especially in America.

It is because of my teacher.

Thank you.

No. Thank you.

You have a very bright future ahead of you.

[ Leonie's Voice ] I procured a teaching position in another town...

where my condition won't shine brighter than my skills or character.

It seems I am fated to move wherever I seek to build my joy.

Mother, our things are here.

Thank God.

Come on. It's this way.

Come on. Let's look inside.

[ Blowing ]

[ Tapping ]

[ Shouts ]

Mother! Hurry up!

[ Woman Speaking Japanese ]

[ Both Laugh ]

God.

[ Laughing ]

[ Woman Speaking Japanese ]

[ Moaning ][ Woman Continues ]

[ Japanese ]

She said to push!I know what she said!

I know what you're saying, you mean--

[ Screaming ] Oh, God!

Where is the goddamn doctor?

[ Grunting ]

Do you even know what you're doing?

Don't you people have doctors in this place?

[ Hyperventilating ]

[ Leonie Screaming, Moaning ][ Woman Shouting In Japanese ]

Hurry, please.

Hurry. Please.

Please.

[ Baby Crying ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] Conflict is the spark of creation.

[ Laughing ] Hello.

Shh.

Shh, shh, shh.

Shh.

Something so fleeting has brought me a love that I will have forever--

my precious jewel, my daughter, Ailes.

[ Laughing ]

I brought you the manuscript for Stokes.

Hello. Shh.

My name is Ailes.

I'm Isamu's sister.

Where is Isamu?

Isamu?

Come in here.

I feel sorry for Isamu.

Who is the father?

Isamu!

Don't you say hello? Come in here.

I didn't think you could be such...

a slut.

Yone, we met many times when I was pregnant, but you never noticed.

[ Cooing ]

Yes.

Isn't that strange?

[ Laughing ] Yes.

[ Leonie's Voice ] Why should it be anyone's concern who the father is?

My family is mine alone.

Isamu struggles with his sister, but he will be fine.

He does not see the use of arithmetic and spelling,

although it is not for his want of learning.

Every surface, every object, calls to him as a palette for his creation.

In the end, he couldn't tread a common path any more than I.

Wow![ Laughs ]

And so I set him free.

Everything grows here.

So what do you think?

[ Groan, Mutters ]

What did she say?

[ Isamu ] She said it's the wrong shape for a house.

You're a very pessimistic woman.

[ Groans ]

I don't want to know what that was.

She's right anyway.

It's a damn triangle.

You decide what kind of a house it should be.

I can't. I'm just 10.

Well, you don't act like you're 10.

You're the perfect age for this.

But--You can do it instead of school.

You can build a house.

I'll hire a carpenter.

A mason, if necessary.

So think of a house for you, for me and for your sister.

I'm finished.

What's this?

A window.

A round window is a great idea.

[ Japanese ]

[ Chuckles ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] The house is a joy to behold.

It so fits with the land,

like a stone in your palm or a tree rooted in the earth.

Thank you, dearest Catherine.

The generosity of your loan and love resonates on every surface.

Mama.[ Laughs ]

[ Isamu ] Mama! Come here!

[ Speaking Japanese ]

It is for you.

"I am like a leaf,

hanging over hope and despair,

which trembles...

and joins the world's imagination and ghost."

Those are your father's words.

His gift to you runs in your blood.

Your art will be your weapon.

Your art will be your voice.

There are no boundaries for an artist.

No borders.

Through art you can speak all languages and lead a magnificent life anywhere.

I want to go to America.

Why?

'Cause I'm American too.

[ Leonie's Voice ] Isamu deserves this opportunity that is his birthright.

America is a beacon beckoning him, and there he may fit best.

[ Japanese ]

He shall become Sam Gilmour, an American boy.

I never knew it could feel so good to be so tired.

My mother knew it.

I know now that she knew.

[ Japanese ]

[ Laughs ]

Sometimes when I look at you, I feel as though my mother were here.

Haru, I believe you are my best friend.

[ Leonie's Voice ] Beyond our little borders a world war now rages.

The military pulls at each thread of our life here.

As a Japanese boy, he might have been caught in its net,

but at an American boarding school,

he will retain his U.S. citizenship.

[ Horn Blowing ]

They will show you to the train.

It's three days from Seattle to Indiana.

Don't be scared.

I'm not.

It's not forever,

just until this madness is over.

At least the Americans won't send you off to war.

Dr. Rumely will greet you at the boarding school.I know.

You'll write twice a week.Yes, Mother.

When did you get so brave?

[ Haru Shouts In Japanese ]

Isamu!

I'm always with you.Isamu!

Go. Go!

Isamu!

Go!

[ Yone ] You have no right!

I am his father. You have no right to send him away.

Isamu is Japanese. My son is Japanese!

[ Leonie ] Isamu is as Japanese as I am Japanese.

He's as much your son as I am your wife.

I am as much your wife as I am your dog, Yone Noguchi.

[ Japanese ]

[ Horn Blows ]

[ Chattering ] [ Traffic Sounds ]

Excuse me, miss.

Pardon me.

Ailes?

[ Laughs ]

I told you he wouldn't recognize me.

Mother.

[ Laughs ]

[ Sniffles ]

[ Isamu ] You see that?[ Leonie ] Yes.

You have a wonderful view from here.

That's the Singer Building.

It was the tallest building in the world for a year.

Really? [ Ailes Laughs ]

It's more beautiful than anything I could imagine.

It is, isn't it?

Will you both move in here?

We could be a family again.

Oh, Mother, can we?

Dr. Rumely, I cannot possibly express to you...

my gratitude for helping Isamu in Indiana and now here in New York.

It's been a pleasure.

Isamu is an impressive young man with a very bright future.

You've been a profound influence on him, I'm sure.

But the sooner we put an end to this medical school nonsense the better.

Mother!

It's not that I'm not grateful to you.

You meant well.

But Isamu is not a doctor. He is an artist.

I didn't force Isamu to go to medical school. He chose it.

He chose to repay his debt to you.Mother!

I know my son.

Come with me.

Forgive my mother. I am grateful to you even if she's not.

You do not have the right to interfere in my life.

I understand you more than anyone in this world,

even more than you understand yourself.

You're an artist, Isamu.

[ Bell Tolling ]

[ Chattering ][ Tolling Continues ]

[ Man Whistles ] Taxi!

[ Man ] Now there are two kinds of pathology, classically.

One is general pathology, disease processes,

for which we'll cover degeneration, inflammation--

[ Man Continues, Faint ]

[ Gulls Squawking ]

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ With Italian Accent ] The next Michelangelo.

[ Ailes ] I thought we could go to dinner.

I'm tired. I think I'd like to go home.

Could you give me a hand?

Let's go to dinner. I know a good place in the Village.

[ Siren Wailing ]

[ Dog Barking ]

[ Man Shouting ]

[ Woman Shouting ]

[ Chattering ]

[ Train Whistle Blowing ]

Come, Mother.

I've been here before.

All by yourself in this part of town?

I should hope not.

I came to meet a man.

More than 30 years ago.

[ Leonie ] Where is this famous restaurant of yours?

What are you doing here?

Close your eyes.

What? Why?

Please. For me.

[ Chuckling ] All right.

God. [ Laughs ]

[ Muttering, Laughing ]

Open your eyes.

[ Man Shouting ] All right, buddy, move it along.

What's this?

I'm sorry I did not ask before using that name.

No, it's... a very good name.

Congratulations.

Isamu Noguchi.

[ Laughs ]

[ Birds Twittering ]

[ Leonie's Voice ] Isamu, I received your money with gratitude,

and your words, as always, made me happy.

I am in complete agreement with your idea of visiting Japan,

of tracing the roots of your craft there.

Please do find your father and embrace him warmly...

for all the years of your lives spent apart.

Tell him this for me--

that I live every day in the nature of Maine,

that my children stand on their own feet.

In short, that I have reclaimed my own life,

so don't worry about anything.

I wonder sometimes, why was I so greedy in my youth?

I now find beauty in simple existence,

in abandoning all worldly desires,

just like a tree...

or a stone.

[ Yone ] I want to apologize.

I did not treat you as I should have.

You can say that now you know you'll never see me again.

When I first returned to Japan,

I longed for a traditional Japanese woman.

I married one,

as beautiful as she's ignorant.

[ Chuckles ]

Sometimes I even doubt...

that was the right thing to do.

We have our own poem, Yone.

Our child carries our wishes to the future.

The poem we wrote will last forever.

I want to kiss you just as I used to in New York.

But now,

I would like to give you a kiss...

different from all other kisses.

May I?

[ Chuckles ]