Life after the Lottery Ch. 77

"Thank you, sir. You are more than worthy, Master. Dawn and I understand and appreciate all you have done. I know Dawn will cherish this honor for the rest of her life. This was a great surprise for her, and I know she will be happy with any help we may give you. We understand your talent and wish for you to be able to keep passing it down to your children and their children."

"Thank you, sir. I am pleased and honored that you and your family understand and honor me."

"We will be happy to help your school continue. Did you say you place the name of the person you make the sword for on it?"

"Yes. Right after my mark on the blade, I add the Master's name."

"May I ask that you add Dawn's full Cherokee name?"

"It would be my honor."

"Her full Cherokee name is Beautiful Morning Dawn Ahoyka. Ahoyka is Cherokee and means "She Brings Happiness."

"Utsukushī Chō no yoake. Kanojo wa shiawase o motarashimasu. That is beautiful and fits her so well. I will add that to the blade."

"Is that too long?"

"No. It is only 15 to 20 characters."

"Thank you. We are more than happy to help you because we can. How do I take care of payment?"

"I will notify you when the sword is nearly finished, and you may wire the money."

"Master, please allow us to pay you now."

"Oh. People usually wait until delivery."

"Master Yoshihara. I have no reason not to trust that you will fulfill our agreement. Allow me to pay you before we leave Japan. I am sure you can make use of the funds now."

"Sir, it would be greatly appreciated! You honor my family and me. Thank you."

"Thank you. You honor us, Master."

"I'll get you the bank information as you wish."

"Perfect."

"Ms. Dawn sounds like a very special and interesting person. I know some about your Native Americans. Was she raised on her reservation?"

"Not really. She is half Cherokee by blood but all Cherokee by spirit. I have recently learned how she was chosen by her ancient ancestors to take her place on the reservation when her great-grandparents pass on. We live about 200 miles away. When she was growing up, her mother and grandmother had her live on the reservation during the summers to learn from the time she was three years old until she was in her twenties. Now that she needs to help them more, she has learned to fly a helicopter so she can fly between there and our house quicker."

"She seems very dedicated. I have visited America but never seen one of the reservations where the Native Americans live."

"Unfortunately, Americans have disrespected the Native Americans throughout our history. They have not lived as well as they deserve on the reservations they were forced onto. Her tribe in North Carolina has a different history than the rest of the Cherokee forced to Oklahoma. She works hard to keep her traditions alive."

"That is what I have heard."

"They are getting the last laugh now. The reservations have their own government and do not fall under all the laws of the states. Now, on many of them, the residents are profiting from gambling casinos that can be built on them in places where gambling is illegal. On other reservations for other tribes around the country, natural resources have been discovered on the sad land the government gave them many years ago."

"Good for them."

"It is better, but still not proper."

"I am afraid no matter what country it is, many people have not been treated as they should through history," he said.

"No, they haven't. And what was done to the Japanese Americans during World War II was a disgrace also."

"Dr. Smith, I, as you, fear that type of prejudice is still not behind any of us."

"Sadly, I fear you are right, Master."

"If I get to return to your country, maybe I can visit one of these reservations."

"Sir, the next time you come to America, you come and stay with us, and Dawn will fly you to her reservation in her helicopter. It would be her honor for you to visit there."

"I may take you up on that offer!"

"We will hope you do! I am serious. If you are coming, you let us know, please. It would be an honor for my family."

He retrieved a document that had bank information on it that I would need to transfer the money. We discussed some of the custom work he wanted to do and agreed on 21,000,000 Yen. After that, we went back to the room with all the swords. Dawn was out of the uniform and showing some of them to Amy and Samantha.

"Are you all finished?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, we are. Have you found anything else you want?"

"Oh, James. Don't tempt me!"

"Ms. Dawn, I have a name and address for you. It is one of the traditional centers for herbal medicine. The director is a very old friend. I called him, and you can visit this afternoon."

"Thank you, Master Yoshihara. That will be a great opportunity for me."

"Maybe the two of you can trade recipes!" He teased Dawn.

He went outside with us and helped us hail a taxi, and told the driver where to take us. We settled in for the drive.

"Dawn...why did you summon the Eagle?" I asked.

"He needed to know...and even a Master Swordsmith would slip in a low-quality blade to an unsuspecting westerner. Now he fears I can bring bad fortune on him," Dawn said with a big smile.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. He respects you very much and called you a Master."

"Really!"

"Yes, he did."

"Oh my. What did the swords cost?"

"The price was acceptable, and we are going to make a nice donation to his school."

"Very good," Dawn said and kissed me. "I will cherish this."

We looked out the windows as we rode. When the taxi stopped at the medical school, we found a place to eat before we went in to meet his friend.

Amy and Samantha received a lot of attention from the men. Dawn and the director of the school talked for a while.

"Honey, you two talk shop. We are going to walk around and check out some things," I told her.

"Okay. Come back in a few hours."

The three of us went back outside.

"Dawn seems very happy," Amy said.

"This took me a year to put together. He wasn't interested in meeting Dawn until we traded many emails. I sent him copies of the award certificates she has from the Federation tournaments. I found out from him that he googled us. Before making one, even for rich corporate heads, he requires they visit his shop."

"James, she will never forget this."

"I think you are right."

"May I ask what the swords cost?" Samantha said.

"They were not cheap. They are worth more than I paid for them."

We walked in and out of shops for almost three hours. We found things to buy, and by the time we returned to school, we had a lot of bags. Dawn was with two older gentlemen, and they were writing things down. We waited while they finished.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Just about ready. I am getting addresses for places to order what I need."

They finished up and bowed to each other. One of them went out with us and helped us get a taxi, and we headed back to the hotel.

"Did you learn anything?" I asked.

"Yes! They were impressed by all that I knew. He gave me a list of Japanese books that have translations in them. He gave me addresses where I can order traditional things for my medicine. He was very interested in how I make some things that do the same things he does. I think this will be a great relationship! I could spend a year here!"

"Good for you," Amy said.

When we arrived and went in, the doorman greeted us, and several grabbed our packages. It appeared that people staying in the Presidential Suite were known by name while they were there. They took or packages to the room.

"We need to eat," Samantha said.

"We should try the deli they have that serves a variety of food," Dawn replied.

"You three go and get us a table. I need to exchange some money."

"Okay. Don't be long."

I walked to the exchange bank, hoping they would be able to help me transfer some money. I was greeted by a well-dressed man that spoke English.

"How may I help you, sir?"

"I need some help if you can. I need to exchange some money first. Then, can you help me make a bank transfer?"

"Yes, sir. We can help with that."

He escorted me to a desk, and we sat.

"I need to exchange some dollars so my wives can go shopping tomorrow."

"Certainly, but all the major stores will take your credit card."

"I don't know where all they may go."

"I understand."

"Can I use my American Express to get the money, or do you need cash?"

"Sir, if your American Express will allow you to get what you need, that is acceptable."

"Great."

I took out my American Express.

"Can you get me about 2,000,000 in Yen?"

"Yes, sir!"

He took my card and went away for a few minutes, then came back.

"Your transaction has been approved for 2,000,000 Yen. Please sign here."

I signed the form.

"Thank you. Do you understand the exchange rate?"

"Yes. I think 10,000 Yen is about $75."

"That is correct. Make sure your...wives know."

"It probably won't take them long to spend all this."

"Yes, sir! I will go and get the Yen."

He walked off and came back in a few minutes with a stack of 5,000 Yen notes for me to count. I just put them in the big envelope he had.

"How can I help you with a wire transfer?" He asked.

I handed him the bank information that Master Yoshihara had given me.

"I need to transfer some money to that account."

"Ahh, Master Yoshihara. Did you purchase one of his swords?"

"Something like that. He is making a custom one for my wife."

"Oh? Your wife is Kendoku?"

"Yes."

"Very good. She must be a Master. Do you have your bank information?"

"I do. Let me get it off my phone."

He pulled out a form and wrote Master Yoshihara's information on it as I looked up my bank information. Once he had the other information on it, he gave the form to me. I completed the rest of the bank information and the amount I wanted to transfer, 100,000,000 Yen, and signed it.

"Sir. You must have purchased many of his swords!"

"Just a very special one..."

"Let me go and make you a copy."

He walked off again for a few minutes, then came back.

"I will have the receipt of the transfer sent to your room once it is complete."

"Thank you. We will be in the café and deli."

"Yes, sir."

I took the envelope and went to the elevators and found the deli, and sat with the girls.

"I have some Yen for you all tomorrow in case you go somewhere that will not take your AMEX."

"I hope you got a lot!" Dawn said.

"Two million Yen."

"Damn!" Came from Samantha.

"That's only about $14,000," Dawn said.

"Oh...that won't last long."

The waiter came over, and I ordered some lunch.

"Do I want to know what the swords cost?" Dawn asked.

"They were reasonable. Less than your Muramasa, and we made a sizeable donation to his school."

"Thank you, honey. This has meant a lot to me."

"I thought it would."

"Thank you for my sword, too," Samantha said.

"You still must to earn it. Amy, he is sending your dagger DHL to get it through customs."

"It was so pretty."

"That was a custom-made Kaiken," Dawn said. "I am sure it was costly."

"That was a gift to you," I said.

"Wow. We must have made a nice contribution," Dawn said.

"He doesn't know how much yet, but it will help him keep his tradition going."

We sat and ate and enjoyed the atmosphere. Just before we left, a man came and gave me the receipt for the wire transfer.

We left and went to the suite.

"What are we doing this evening?" Amy asked.

"What do you two want to do?" Dawn asked.

"We want to go to some of the shops near the hotel."

"Can you two do that by yourselves?" Dawn asked.

"Of course," Samantha replied.

"Okay. I have a massage scheduled for us. You two make sure you have your passports, phones, and credit card," Dawn said.

"Okay! We will be back in a few hours!"

"Here, take some local currency."

I handed them a stack of Yen.

"10,000 Yen is about $75."

"Okay!"

They grabbed their things and ran out the door.

"The masseuses should be here in about 30 minutes," Dawn said. "We should shower."

"Sounds good."

We went to the shower and cleaned up, then grabbed the hotel robes and went and sat and waited.

"How much were the swords?"

"The one for Samantha was about $30,000."

"It's well worth that. How much was mine."

"About...$60,000," I said, holding back information.

"Wow, but it's worth it."

"There were some other costs to the government to get them exported. About $10,000."

"How much of a donation did we make?"

"I thought you would feel that it would be going to a good cause so he can keep teaching."

"How much?"

"About $700,000 total."

"Perfect. Thank you, honey."

"I told him the next time he was in the states, he could stay with us. He wanted to visit a reservation, and I told him you would be honored to fly him there."

"You think he would come?"

"Who knows? He was a very interesting man."

******

We had a great time for the rest of the week in Japan. We flew out late Saturday night. When we landed in LA, the girls went to their plane for Canada. When Dawn and I got back home, we were ready to be there. We settled in and waited for the girls to call us.