Shogun

Synopsis

"Shogun is a 1975 novel by James Clavell. It is the first novel (by internal chronology) of the author's Asian Saga. A major best-seller, by 1990 the book had sold 15 million copies worldwide. Beginning in feudal Japan some months before the critical Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Shogun gives an account of the rise of the daimyo "Toranaga" (based upon the actual Tokugawa Ieyasu). Toranaga's rise to the shogunate is seen through the eyes of the English sailor John Blackthorne, called Anjin ("Pilot") by the Japanese, whose fictional heroics are loosely based on the historical exploits of William Adams." [Wikipedia]"The story is based on the adventures of English navigator William Adams. The series follows Pilot John Blackthorne's experiences in Japan in the early 17th century. After his ship, the Erasmus, is wrecked along the coast of Japan, Blackthorne must juggle his identity as an Englishman associated with other Europeans, namely Portuguese traders and Jesuit priests, and the Japanese culture into which he is thrust. As an Englishman, Blackthorne is at odds with the Portuguese and the Jesuits. The powerful Catholic foothold in Japan puts Blackthorne - a Protestant - at a disadvantage, but it also brings him to the attention of Lord Toranaga. Already a powerful warlord, Toranaga competes with other samurai of similar stature to himself for the position of Shogun.
Blackthorne and the warlord forge a tenuous alliance. To help the Englishman assimilate, Toranaga assigns him an interpreter, the beautiful Lady Mariko. Blackthorne soon becomes infatuated with Mariko, but she is already married, and their romance is doomed. Ultimately, Mariko is killed while saving Blackthorne during an attack by Toranaga's enemies, and Blackthorne's ship under guard is lost (secretly) to arson. In the end, Toranaga prevails and earns the Shogunate.
Shogun concludes with Blackthorne supervising the construction of yet another new ship, determined to return home. He is observed by the soon-to-be triumphant Toranaga. A voiceover reveals the Shogun's thoughts - it was Toranaga who destroyed the Erasmus, as he will destroy the ship Blackthorne is now building, and any more he attempts to create, as well as disclosing Mariko's vital, but fateful, role in his triumph. The warlord is convinced that Blackthorne's karma brought him to Japan, and that he is destined never to leave.
In the conclusion of the miniseries, it is revealed that Toranaga is triumphant at the Battle of Sekigahara, captures and executes his rival Lord Ishido, and takes 40,000 enemy heads." [Wikipedia]

Genre

Miniseries

Released

1980

Location

East Asia

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