Modern Tokyo (1935)

James A. FitzPatrick: Self - Narrator

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  Narrator : Modern Tokyo, capital of the Japanese Empire and one of the three largest cities in the world, is also the surprise city of the Orient; for it has the unique distinction of having assimilated the exterior forms of a Western metropolis, without having sacrificed its Oriental modes of thought and feeling.

• Narrator : That was only a few generations ago when Tokyo was a modest little Japanese town with no apparent aspirations to compete with the great commercial marts of the world. But behold what a little time has done and consider what a little more time may do for Tokyo as it is now one of the fastest growing cities in the world, with a population of about six million inhabitants.

• Narrator : Nevertheless in spite of what we see here, Tokyo is inwardly Oriental. Her people may have surrounded themselves with Western architecture, Western machinery and all the other foreign trappings, but, fundamentally, they are still loyal to the ancient traditions of old Nippon and the undying philosophy of the East is still the chief inspiration for their thoughts and deeds.

• Narrator : Among the important buildings that escaped the horrible catastrophe of nineteen hundred and twenty-three, is the Imperial Hotel, designed by an American architect and subsidized by the Imperial family. One of the most celebrated hostelries in the Orient. It was completed during the tragic year of the earthquake, in time to provide shelter for many of the victims, as well as temporary headquarters for the foreign legations that had been destroyed.

• Narrator : Every year on March third, the day is set aside for the little girls of Japan to observe as Doll's Festival Day. And on this occasion, dolls that have been in the family for generations, are brought out to be honored and caressed with childlike affection. The Japanese doll is not simply a plaything, but a means of teaching a girl to be a good wife and mother.

• Narrator : Unlike the girls, the sons of Nippon have unanimously adopted Western dress. And this fact illustrates again the characteristic tendency of the Japanese to mingle modernity with antiquity.

• Narrator : And not the least of those in their list of heroes, are the ancient mariners of Nippon, who went down to the sea in ships, not unlike those that still ply their trade In the harbors of Tokyo and Yokohama. And even here, that strange and characteristic clinging to the old, yet ever absolving the new, is apparent when we compare the old Japanese junk with the latest Japanese liner, gracefully heading out to sea, carrying great cargoes and messages of good will from the East to the West.

• [last lines] 

  Narrator : A powerful messenger of modern times bridging the Orient and the Occident, and emphatically defying the idea that East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet. Commercially, at least, the twain have met as far as Japan is concerned. And that is the thought that we take with us as we sail away from modern Tokyo, the surprise city of the Orient.