Stories for the Telling

New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 888, 10 August 1956, Page 26

Stories for the Telling

‘THAT truth is stranger than fiction is not only a cliché but a misleading one at that. For fiction, even in its most airy flights, is but truth extended and distorted; truth looked on "askance and strangely" in the words of Shakespeare’s sonnet. So whatever story the novelist or the screen-writer dreams up, is sure to have been duplicated somewhere, sometime, in the lives of people whose story is unknown, or if known, forgotten, The Rev. G. A. Naylor, in a series of talks being heard from 4YA, entitled Raw Material, considers a group of these mostly forgotten people as raw ‘material for potential films or historical novels. Two of the stories in the series, Mr. Naylor claims, are particularly suitable for film scenarios. One of these is the story of William Adams, otherwise known as Anjin Sama, with whose spectacular career the first talk of the series deals, The scenario would begin with "a small, dirty, disreputable-looking ship drifting into a bay on the Japanese coast near Nagasaki. It would have to be made plain that the fine, shiny, April morning was in the year 1600. And the motning would contrast strongly with the pitiful remnants of the crew: for they can only crawl about the decks, and only one of them has strength enough left to free the anchor. The one man is William Adams, first of the English to enter Japan." After a contretemps engineered by Portuguese treders fearing competition, Adams was given comparative freedom ie -his knowledge as a shipwright was utilised by the Japanese. The crew of | the Dutch ship on which he arrived were allowed to return home, but the Shogun, who had made friends with Adams, though presenting him with many things, would not allow him his freedom. | In time he received the nickname of Anjin Sama-the Master of the’ Wanee mee

dering Needle, which nickname he was to keep throughout life. More importantly, he was admitted to the knighthood of Japan-becoming a Samurai-a two-sworded man. Separated irrevocably from home, wife and family, Adams made the best of his lot, and as friend and confidante of the Shogun rose to such eminence in Japan that, at least until Japan‘s entry into World War II, his name was perpetuated by a yearly festival. Such is the story of William Adams, and listeners might well agree that it would make a pretty good film. The subjects of other talks in this series, in order, ate: The Story of Four Russians (an account of four castaways on Spitzbergen), de Joinville’s Chronicle, Baron Trenck, Lady Smith, and Buccaneer to Admiral (William Dampier). The series is now running from 4YA on -Wednesday nights, and is due to begin from 1YA and 3YA in the week starting August 20.

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REV. G. A. NAYLOR