Shogun by James Clavell (Dell Books)
I’m usually not prone to re-reading books I have previously read but I’ve decided to revisit this epic novel about feudal Japan for two reasons. One, I am no longer daunted by it’s one-thousand plus pages of prose. Secondly, I’ve just learned that it is soon to be an FX limited series, FX being a pay television channel owned by the Walt Disney Company. My first venture in reading this voluminous book was back in high school when along with my mother, who is Japanese, we were hooked on the mini-series which was aired on NBC in September of 1980. Even in my young mind, I felt the need to read the original.
As an adult, I’ve learned a few new things about this book. The protagonist, John Blackthorne, and many of the major characters were loosely based on actual historical figures. Blackthorne was modeled on an Englishman named William Adams who was a navigator for a ship for the Dutch East India Company and was one of the first of his countrymen to reach the shores of Japan.
The story is set in feudal Japan a few months before the Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600. A decisive point in Japan’s history and often cited as the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, this story is fiction and two of the opposing characters who hope to attain the title of Shogun are Yoshi Toranaga, who is modeled on Ieyasu Tokugawa and Ishido, who is modeled on Mitsunari Ishida. Toronaga’s rise to the Shogunate is seen through the eyes Blackthorne.
Portugal and the Jesuits of the Catholic Church have already set a foothold in Japan and hope to continue to expand their power in the country. Blackthorne is hoping to compete with Portugal by setting up trade and making an alliance on their own. However, Blackthorne and his crew are shipwrecked off the shore of small rural community and are taken prisoner by a local samurai. Once the daimyo arrives, The Englishmen are put on trial on pirates with a Jesuit priest being the interpreter. The Englishmen lose the trial and an infuriated Blackthorne rips off the crucifix from the Jesuit and stomps on it to let the daimyo know that the Jesuits and Portuguese are enemies of England. The local daimyo sentences them to death but the local samurai convinces his daimyo to spare their lives so they can learn more about Europeans and how they live.
As the story progresses, Toranaga learns of the captive Englishmen and sends his men to take Blackthorne, along with their ship so Toranaga can use it to his advantage against his rival Ishido. There is a lot of give and take from both sides with Blackthorne at the center. An epic telling of enormous proportions but is so well written, you can sense the unease and mistrust of the Japanese hierarchy of power. The book keeps you interested as you wonder what will become of John Blackthorne and his crew. With a bit of luck on his side, Blackthorne becomes a confidante of Toranaga and is granted the status of samurai. Add in a romance with a woman who teaches Blackthorne Japanese and you have all the elements of what makes reading such a fun pastime. Will Blackthorne ever leave Japan and return to England? Will Toranaga let him? Who will be Shogun? Toranaga or Ishido? ~Ernie Hoyt