Plot
James Clavell's Shogun is set in the year 1600 A.D. A Dutch/Englishman named John Blackthorne, who is the Pilot-Major of the Erasmus, an English ship from a fleet of dozens. The ship and crew, sick, without food are lost in a storm. John awakes in a room with sunlight, he is naked and sleeping on a weird bed. He then sees food and wolfs it down. He then spots a cross wondering if was in Japan or another place.
He meets a woman who calls herself "Onna", which he belives is her name. She brings his clothes and shows him where his boots are. Once he gets his shoes, he explores a bit and sees his ship in the harbor and also people working in boats. He sees people coming all wearing orange. He sees a cruifix, and notices they are all priests. The lead priest is Portugese and the two get into a heated argument until the Daiymo comes. The priest whose name is Father Sebastio whose predjustice of anyone who is not of his religion is known very early.
Father Sebastio begins telling the local Daiymo, Kaisga Yuba that Blackthorne is a pirate and evil. Another samurai arrives whose name is Omi-san.
Characters
Historical Equivalents of Characters
- Akechi Jinsai - Akechi Mitsuhide
- Father Martin Alvito - Joao Rodrigues, SJ
- Beppu Genzaemon - Hojo Ujimasa
- John Blackthorne - William Adams
- Friar Braganza - St. Pedro Bautista OFM
- (Toda) Buntaro - Hosokawa Tadaoki
- Alban Caradoc - Nicholas Diggins
- Chano-Tsubone - Saigo-No-Tsubone
- (Yoshi) Chikitada - Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
- Chimmoko - fictional
- Father Carlo Dell’Aqua - Alessandro Valignano SJ
- Friar Domingo - fictional
- Elizabeth Blackthorne - Deliverance Adams
- Felicity Balckthorne - Mary or Elizabeth Adams
- Captain General Ferriera - Hoaratio Neretti
- Fujiko - fictional
- Fujimoto clan - Fujiwara
- Lady Genjiko - Asai Ogo (Tokugawa Hidetada’s wife)
- Go-Nijo - Go-Yozei
- Goroda - Oda Nobunaga
- Gyoko - fictional
- Harima Tadao - Arima Harunobu
- (Toda) Hiromatsu - Hosokawa Fujitaka
- Ikawa Tadazuki - Imagawa Yoshimoto
- Ishido Kazunari - Ishida Mitsunari
- Ikawa Jikkyu - fictional
- Kiku-fictional
- Kiritsubo-noh-Toshiko - Acha-no-Tsubone
- Kiyama - Konishi Yukinaga
- (Toda) Mariko - Hosokawa Gracia
- Brother Michael - Chijiwa Seizaemon
- Minikui - fictional
- Minowara clan - Minamoto clan
- Mura - fictional
- Yoshi Naga - Tokugawa Tadayoshi
- Nakamura - Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Yoshi Noboru - Tokugawa Hideyasu
- Yoshi Nobunaga - Tokugawa Nobuyasu
- Lady Ochiba - Asai Chacha (Oichi’s daughter, Hideyoshi’s consort)
- Kasigi Omi - fictional
- Lord Onoshi - a composite of Konishi Yukinaga and Otani Yoshitsugu
- Vasco Rodrigues - fictional
- (Toda) Saruji - Hosokawa Tadatoshi
- Lady Suzuko - O-Kane
- Father Sebastio - unidentified ‘Portugall Iesuite’ who confronted Will Adams in Kyushu
- Sen-no-Nakada - [[[Sen-no-Rikyu]]
- Paulus Spillbergen - Jacob Quaeckernaeck
- Yoshi Sudara - Tokugawa Hidetada
- Lord Sugiyama - Maeda Toshiie
- Lady Tachibana - Lady Tsukiyama (Ieyasu’s first wife that he had put to death)
- Yoshi Tadateru - Tokugawa Tadateru
- Takashima clan - the Taira clan
- Yoshi Toranaga - Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Tudor Blackthorne - never named son of William Adams
- Uraga-noh-Tadamasa/Brother Joseph - Chijiwa Seizaemon (also the model for Brother Michael, as he was baptized Don Michael)
- Usagi (Fujiko’s husband) - fictional
- Kasigi Yabu - fictional (Possibly his personality was based on Saito Dosan)
- Yaemon - Toyotomi Hideyori
- Lady Yodoko - Toyotomi Onene
- Captain Yoshinaka - fictional
- Saigawa Zataki (Toranaga’s half brother)-fictional, although the daimyo of Zataki’s fief were historically the Satake
Miniseries
Book Information
Clavell, James. Shogun Dell, 1986
Purchase Information
ISBN 0440178002
