Shogun (The Asian Saga Chronology) by James Clavell

bowed.  " Konbanwa. "
    "Hello," Blackthorne said without thinking.  He walked up the steps, stopped, remembering his boots.  He took them off and went barefoot onto the veranda and into the room.  He crossed it into a corridor but could not find his room.
    "Onna!" he called out.
    An old woman appeared.  " Hai? "
    "Where's Onna?"
    The old woman frowned and pointed to herself.  "Onna!"
    "Oh, for the love of God," Blackthorne said irritably.  "Where's my room?  Where's Onna?"  He slid open another latticed door.  Four Japanese were seated on the floor around a low table, eating.  He recognized one of them as the gray-haired man, the village headman, who had been with the priest.  They all bowed.  "Oh, sorry," he said, and pulled the door to.
    "Onna!" he called out.
    The old woman thought a moment, then beckoned.  He followed her into another corridor.  She slid a door aside.  He recognized his room from the crucifix.  The quilts were already laid out neatly.
    "Thank you," he said, relieved.  "Now fetch Onna!"
    The old woman padded away.  He sat down, his head and body aching, and wished there was a chair, wondering where they were kept.  How to get aboard?  How to get some guns?  There must be a way.  Feet padded back and there were three women now, the old woman, a young round-faced girl, and the middle-aged lady.
    The old woman pointed at the girl, who seemed a little frightened.  "Onna."
    "No."  Blackthorne got up ill-temperedly and jerked a finger at the middle-aged woman.  "This is Onna, for God's sake!  Don't you know your name?  Onna!  I'm hungry.  Could I have some food?"  He rubbed his stomach parodying hunger.  They looked at each other.  Then the middle-aged woman shrugged, said something that made the others laugh, went over to the bed, and began to undress.  The other two squatted, wide-eyed and expectant.
    Blackthorne was appalled.  "What are you doing?"
    " Ishimasho! " she said, setting aside her wide waistband and opening her kimono.  Her breasts were flat and dried up and her belly huge.
    It was quite clear that she was going to get into the bed.  He shook his head and told her to get dressed and took her arm and they all began chattering and gesticulating and the woman was becoming quite angry.  She stepped out of her long underskirt and, naked, tried to get back into bed.
    Their chattering stopped and they all bowed as the headman came quietly down the corridor.  " Nanda?  Nanda? " he asked.
    The old woman explained what was the matter.  "You want this woman?" he asked incredulously in heavily accented, barely understandable Portuguese, motioning at the naked woman.
    "No.  No, of course not.  I just wanted Onna to get me some food."  Blackthorne pointed impatiently at her.  "Onna!"
    " Onna mean 'woman.' "  The Japanese motioned at all of them.  " Onna—onna—onna.   You want onna? "
    Blackthorne wearily shook his head.  "No.  No, thank you.  I made a mistake.  Sorry.  What's her name?"
    "Please?"
    "What's her name?"
    "Ah!  Namu is Haku.  Haku," he said.
    "Haku?"
    " Hai.   Haku!"
    "I'm sorry, Haku-san.  Thought onna your name."
    The man explained to Haku and she was not at all pleased.  But he said something and they all looked at Blackthorne and tittered behind their hands and left.  Haku walked off naked, her kimono over her arm, with a vast amount of dignity.
    "Thank you," Blackthorne said, enraged at his own stupidity.
    "This my house.  My namu Mura."
    "Mura-san.  Mine's Blackthorne."
    "Please?"
    "My namu.  Blackthorne."
    "Ah! Berr-rakk-fon."  Mura tried to say it several times but could not.  Eventually he gave up and continued to study the colossus in front of him.  This was the first barbarian he had ever seen except for Father Sebastio, and the other priest, so many years ago.  But anyway, he thought, the priests are dark-haired and dark-eyed and of normal height.  But this man: tall and golden-haired and golden-bearded with blue eyes