RIZAL GROUP #2 REPORT

Rizal in Japan (BIACO)

Among the happiest moments of Rizal in his life was his sojourn in the Land of the Cherry
Blossoms. He stayed in Japan for one month and a half from February 28 to April 13, 1888. He
was charmed by the natural beauty of Japan, the manners of the Japanese people and the
picturesque of shrines.
February 28, 1888 - Rizal, after days of travel, arrived at Yokohama. He registered at the Grand
Hotel.
March 1, 1888 - He checked out of the Grand Hotel and entrained for Tokyo and there lodged at
the Tokyo Hotel. He was impressed by the city of Tokyo. After his arrival in Tokyo, Rizal was
visited by Juan Perez caballero, secretary of Spanish Legation. The latter invited him to live at
the Spanish Legation.
March 4, 1888 - He wrote to Blumentritt about the honesty, courtesy, cleanliness and industry
of the Japanese people. However, he also expressed his disgust on the use of the man
drawn jinrikisha.
March 7, 1888 - Rizal knew that this was the Spanish government’s way of monitoring Rizal but
he accepted anyways. He moved out of Tokyo Hotel and lived at the Spanish Legation. He and
Perez Caballero became good friends and described him as a young, fine and an excellent writer.
During his first day in Tokyo, Rizal could not speak the Japanese language. He had a hard time
for shopping for he could not be understood and children laughed at him. With his situation,
Rizal decided to study the Japanese language. He was able to speak within a few days. At Japan
he studied the Japanese drama, arts, music, and judo. He also visited museums, libraries, art
galleries, and shrines.

(CARANIAS) March 15, 1888 Rizal met a pretty Japanese girl. Her name was Seiko Usui (Rizal
affectionately called her O-Sei-san). Rizal first saw O-Sei-san walking past the gate of the Spanish
Legation. Rizal fell in love with Seiko. Both found happiness in each other’s company. Affinity of
interest in the arts paved the way for their romance. Rizal saw in lovely O-Sei-San the qualities
of his ideal womanhood—beauty, charm, modesty, and intelligence. O-Sei-San’s beauty and
affection almost tempted Rizal to settle down in Japan. At the same time, he was offered a good
job by the Spanish Legation. But then, his love for the fatherland and his mission to free his
oppressed people made him think again. Rizal’s great love for Seiko Usui and Japan will be
memories that he will always cherish, but it was his time to go.
April 7, 1888 Rizal wrote his family and envisioned that in the future the Philippines would have
more contact and relations with Japan.
April 13, 1888, Rizal boarded the Belgic, an English steamer, at Yokohama, bound for the United
States. He left Japan with a heavy heart for he knew that he will never see this beautiful land
again, so as his beloved O-Sei-San. His sojourn in Japan for 45 days was one of the happiest
interludes of his life.
(DAMGO) Despite his sorrowing heart, Rizal enjoyed the pleasant trans-Pacific voyage to the
United States. On board the ship, he met a semi-Filipino family – Mr. Reinaldo Turner, his wife
Emma Jackson (daughter of an Englishman), their children, and their maid servant from
Pangasinan. One day one of the children, a bright young boy, asked Rizal: “Do you know, sir, a
famous man in Manila named Richal? He wrote a novel, Noli Me Tangere. “Yes, hijo, I am
Richal,” repied Rizal In great joy the boy rushed to his mother, informing her that the famous
man is their fellow passenger, she felicitated Rizal, feeling proud that they were travelling with a
celebrity.
Another passenger which Rizal befriended on board the Belgic was Tetcho Suehiro, a fighting
Japanese journalist, novelist, and champion of human rights, who was forced by the Japanese
government to leave the country, just as Rizal was compelled to leave the Philippines by the
Spanish authorities. Rizal and Tetcho were kindred spirits. Both were variant patriots,
implacable foes of injustice and tyranny. Both were men of peace using their trenchant pens as
formidable weapons to fight for their peoples’ welfare and happiness. Rizal told Tetcho the story
of his life’s mission to emancipate his oppressed people from Spanish tyranny and of the
persecutions which he and his family suffered from the vindictive Spanish officials and bad
friars, causing him to flee to foreign countries where he would freely carry on his libertarian
activities. During their intimate acquaintanceship of almost eight months (April 13-December 1,
1888) Tetcho came to admire Rizal, whose patriotism and magnificent talents greatly fascinated
him and influenced him to fortify his own crusade for human rights in his own country. On

(ESMAEL, ALICER) April 28, 1888- the steamer Belgic, with Rizal on board, docked at San
Francisco on Saturday morning. Rizal first saw America. His arrival in this great country was
marred by racial prejudice. He kept notes of what he observed during his trip from San
Francisco to New York.

Rizal on board, docked at San Francisco. American authorities did not let the passengers to land
for one week because of the rumored cholera epidemic. Rizal knew there was no cholera
epidemic that time and he protest with other passengers the unjustifiable actions of American
authorities He soon discovered that it was motivated by politics. The ship was carrying 643
Chinese coolies. After a week of quarantine, all first-class passengers, including Rizal, we're
permitted to land.

May 4, 1888- Friday afternoon, the day Rizal was permitted to go ashore
Palace Hotel- Rizal registered here which was then considered a first-class hotel in the city. Rizal
stayed in San Francisco for two days—May 4 to 6, 1888
May 6, 1888-Sunday, 4:30PM, Rizal left San Francisco for Oakland nine miles across San
Francisco Bay, by a ferry boat.
May 7, 1888, it was morning Rizal awoke and had a good breakfast at Reno, Nevada, now
glamourized by American high-pressure propaganda as “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

From May 7 to May 13, 1888, Rizal wrote in his diary the beautiful memories from Nevada,
Chicago, until he reached Albany.
(MOJAIHA) May 13, 1888-Sunday morning, Rizal reached New York, thus ending his trip across
the American continent. Rizal stayed three days in this city, which he called the “big town.”
May 16, 1888- Rizal left New York for Liverpool on board the City of Rome. According to Rizal,
this steamer was “the second largest ship in the world, the largest being the Great Eastern”.
Rizal saw the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe Island.

Rizal had good and bad impressions of the United States. The good impressions were
(1) the material progress of the country as shown in the great cities, huge farms, flourishing
industries and busy factories
(2) the drive and energy of the American people
(3) the natural beauty of the land
(4) the high standard of living
(5) the opportunities for better life offered to poor immigrants
One bad impression Rizal had of America was the lack of racial equality: “America is the land par
excellence of freedom but only for the whites”

Rizal mentioned him in his diary as a millionaire senator representing California in the U.S.
Senate at that time. He was the benefactor of Stanford University.
December 1, 1888, Rizal and Tetcho had their last warm handshake and bid each other
“goodbye.”