The image of ambassadors has changed greatly over the years. Until the mid-20th century, ambassadors were said to be "dwellers among the clouds" -- a Japanese phrase for the nobility. This metaphor showed what ordinary people thought of nobles. To the commoners busy with their daily work, the privileged class people seemed to live in a fancy wonderland.

In the masterpiece film "My Fair Lady," the climax is the grand Embassy Ball in all its glory and splendor, where only aristocrats, generals and renowned academics or artists are invited. It was her dazzling debut at the ball that marked the transformation of the flower girl Eliza Doolittle from a ground-dweller to an inhabitant of the clouds. The story tempted viewers to catch a glimpse of romantic court life painted in ancient picture scrolls. Today it seems nothing but a fairy tale far removed from reality.

The arrival of the jet age and rapid advances in information technology have changed the style of diplomatic negotiations. Even when presidents and prime ministers fly across continents to hold summit meetings, they don't necessarily make banner headlines.