Bridge to the Sun

Bridge to the Sun
Directed by	Etienne Périer
Produced by	Jacques Bar
Written by	Charles Kaufman
Based on	the autobiography by Gwendolen Terasaki
Starring	Carroll Baker James Shigeta Tetsurō Tamba Sean Garrison
Music by	Georges Auric
Production company	Cite Films
Distributed by	MGM
Release date	1961
Running time	113 minutes
Country	France / U.S.
Language	English

Bridge to the Sun is a 1961 film, directed by Etienne Périer, starring Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, James Yagi, Tetsuro Tamba, and Sean Garrison. It is based on the 1957 autobiography Bridge To The Sun by Gwen Terasaki, which detailed events in Gwen's life and marriage.

Gwen Harold, an American woman from Tennessee, meets Hidenari Terisaki (called Terry by his friends and family), the secretary to the Japanese Ambassador, while attending a reception at the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C. with her Aunt Peggy and friend Bill. They share a moment while Terry is showing her the antique Japanese artworks on display in the Embassy, and after some reluctance, she agrees to allow him to call on her.

They begin dating, even though Terry occasionally has fits of anti-western sentiment, and quickly fall in love. After asking her to marry him, she agrees, much to the chagrin of Aunt Peggy (who was raised in the Jim Crow South), who sees the relationship as unnatural, especially when there are "nice clean young men" available. The Japanese Ambassador also calls on Gwen and attempts to dissuade her from accepting, claiming it would hurt Terry's career by giving him an American bias, and states that even though the two countries are friendly, anything could happen between foreign countries. He seems to hint at possible aggression in the future, even though it is only 1935 and the Japanese have not yet resumed conflicts with China, keeping the countries of Gwen and Terry at an uneasy peace. They eventually marry despite the obstacles and, when Terry is recalled, travel to Japan by ship.

Almost immediately after disembarking and arriving in Tokyo, Terry begins to treat Gwen much differently, expecting her to behave according to the male-centric beliefs of contemporary Japan, such as being silent among men, always entering doors after the men, and virtually bending to every whim of Terry and her male relatives. They continually fight and make up, mostly because of Gwen's outspokenness among men and Terry's strict adherence to the local customs.

After having a fight one night over a general saying that Terry should be proud he may have a son to die for the Emperor, and Gwen speaking out about his distasteful comment, they make up and she reveals that she was so offended by the comment because she is pregnant. The baby daughter is named Mako.