Upon arrival in San Francisco to meet with Prince Shinosuke of Japan, West and Gordon are attacked by horsemen wearing Japanese armor. At nearly the same time the valuable Sword of Kuniyoshi, due to be returned to Japan, is stolen from the Japanese delegation; they blame America for the theft and the Prince states that if the sword is not recovered before he leaves the next day, he will be forced to commit seppuku. On top of that, restoring the sword is important to strengthening the U. S.-friendly Emperor's power in Japan. West and Gordon are tasked with retrieving the weapon.
Disguises used by Artie: Paolo Martinez, Portuguese Fish-Skipper
(7:35)
Tropes present in this episode:
- Duel to the Death: The climactic swordfight between Jim and the villain.
- Evil All Along: Reiko O’Hara, the State Department representative's personal translator who does her best to help Jim and Artie locate the sword - or so they think.
- Evil Former Friend: Gideon Falconer, Jim's former instructor in the art of Japanese swordplay, turns out to be the villain.
- Fat Bastard: The sizable Hannibal Egloff, opportunistic, murderous General Manager of the Aryan-Pacific Trading Company.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Reiko. She seems very sweet and rather simple - until she kills you.
- Poirot Speak: Reiko. Except it's all a part of her Obfuscating Stupidity act. She really speaks perfect English.
- Self-Deprecation: Hannibal Egloff frequently draws attention to how portly he is.
- Sword Fight: Pretty much the entire episode builds up to one between Jim and the villain, which finally occurs at the end.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: Artie comes up with a trick briefcase which bleeds luminescent dust.
