Gourt Home::Gourt :: Shogun (novel)
- This page is about the James Clavell novel. For other meanings of Shogun, see Shogun (disambiguation).
Shōgun is the first novel (chronologically speaking) in James Clavell's Asian Saga. It is set in feudal Japan somewhere around the year 1600 and gives a highly fictionalized account of the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu to the Shogunate, seen through the eyes of an English sailor whose fictional heroics are loosely based on William Adams (sailor)'s exploits.
Plot summary
John Blackthorne (given the nickname Anjin, meaning "pilot," by the Japanese because they can't pronounce his name), pilot and acting captain of the Dutch trading ship Erasmus, is shipwrecked on the coast of Japan. He and his crew are captured and forced to live in a pit for a couple days. The samurai in charge of them throws seawater on the crew when they misbehave. Eventually, the samurai in charge talks to Blackthorne and takes him to his daimyo's household. The daimyo plans to turn Blackthorne over to the custody of his lord, Toranaga. While in the household, Blackthorn's name is changed to Anjin-san. He then enters the service of Toranaga, a powerful feudal warlord who rules over the Kanto (Kwanto) plain, the site of modern-day Tokyo, and falls in love with Mariko, a convert to Christianity who is torn between her new religion and her native culture.
Despite a rocky start, Blackthorne slowly gains an understanding of the Japanese people and their culture, and eventually learns to respect it deeply. A turning point in this process is Blackthorne's attempt at seppuku (ritual suicide). The Japanese grow to respect the "barbarian" in turn and he is eventually granted the status of samurai and hatamoto. Blackthorne is torn between his love for Mariko (who is married to a powerful samurai), his growing loyalty to Toranaga, and his desire to return to the open seas aboard Erasmus and capture the "Black Ship," a treasure-laden Portuguese vessel. Eventually, he reunites with the survivors of his original crew and is so astonished at how far he's come away from the standard European way of life (rare bathing, meat-eating) that he is disgusted by what he sees. Blackthorne's plans to sink the Black Ship are complicated by his friendship with that vessel's pilot.
In parallel with this plot, the novel also details the strife between Toranaga and Ishido (two great daimyos or feudal lords), and the political manoeuvring of the Christians, particularly the Jesuits. Toranaga's ultimate goal is to be named shogun, the supreme military commander of Japan and second in power only to the emperor himself.
Characters in "Shogun"
These characters in Shogun are based on historical figures:
- Goroda: Oda Nobunaga
- Nakamura: Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Toranaga: Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Blackthorne: William Adams
- Yaemon: Toyotomi Hideyori
- Sudara: Tokugawa Hidetada
- Ishido: Ishida Mitsunari
- Mariko: Hosokawa Gracia
- Martin Alvito: João Rodrigues
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The ship's name of Erasmus is most likely taken from the original name of the ship De Liefde, the Dutch ship piloted by William Adams which made landfall on the coast of Japan in 1600. The real Erasmus was renamed to fit in with the names of the other four ships of the expedition leaving Holland in 1598.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been adapted as a groundbreaking television miniseries, a Broadway musical, and several computer games, including an Infocom text adventure called James Clavell's Shogun.
A television miniseries, Shogun, was produced in 1980. Nine hours long, twelve including commercials, it aired over five nights. It starred Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Shimada, and John Rhys-Davies. It was edited into a two hour version for theatrical release.
Computer games
There have been four games released by the name of Shogun. Two text-based adventure games (with sparse graphics) for the Amiga and PC, a unique graphical Virgin Entertainment adventure game for the Commodore 64, and a 3D war strategy game (titled Total War) released in 2000. While the first games are true to the story, the last is an unrelated real time strategy war game where troops are archers, horsemen, etc.
James Clavell's Shogun and Shogun (Mastertronic) are abandonware, and are no longer available for purchase. However, abandonware sites such as Home of the Underdogs may have them available. Keep in mind any such downloads may be illegal, depending on your jurisdiction, and that you would do so at your own risk. Wikipedia does not encourage the violation of any laws.
Shōgun for the Commodore 64, produced in 1986 by "Lee & Mathias" is available via emulation. Emulation can also be of questionable legality, so the above warning applies to this as well.
See also
"Shogun (novel)"