Heart of a Samurai Chapter 33 Summary

Tori

  • Setting: February 1849 (2nd Year of Kaei, Year of the Hen)
  • They're on an island to refuel and restock.
  • The crew dropped their captain back in Manila and things are all good now.
  • Manjiro's going around looking for a present for baby William Henry, who will now be five; when he hears a parrot say "Konichiwa!" he buys it for William.
  • He also hopes to find the person who trained the bird.
  • But before he can, his crew is all excited—there's gold in California.
  • So guess where they're off to now?
  • They head to California, where Manjiro will use the gold he finds to fund his trip back to Japan.
  • But before that happens, they all head back to New Bedford, Connecticut.
  • By now, Manjiro's taught the parrot—called Tori—all sorts of Japanese and English words.
  • When they get to New Bedford, the Whitfields are waiting for him; it's a good welcome back.
  • Except for William Henry—apparently, he died of a fever some years ago.
  • Manjiro's depressed.
  • He's also sad that he took Tori away from his island home to go with him to Connecticut; the bird is kind of like him.
  • But what can he do about everything now?