Read a great book of JamesClavell Shogun to learn a lot about Japan - the culture, habits, behavior, customs...this is one my favorite books....
Japan in 1600 is a feudal country in a precarious peace. The imperial heir is young and power rests in a council of regents formed of the most powerful overlords perpetually jostling for power and the title of Shōgun (hereditary military ruler). Japanese society is insular and xenophobic with outsiders greatly distrusted and restricted. The Catholic Church, principally through the Jesuits and other monastic orders have gained a foothold and seek to extend their power. Guns are little used and despised, making the military capabilities of the Europeans highly desirable but risky.
John Blackthorne, an English pilot serving on the Dutch warship Erasmus, is the first ship from a Protestant country known to reach Japan. It is shipwrecked on the coast. He and the few survivors of his crew are taken captive under the direction of the local samurai Kasigi Omi. Their foreignness, and their conduct (which is seen as barbaric and disrespectful) leads Omi to imprison them in a pit until the arrival of his daimyo (feudal lord), Kasigi Yabu. Yabu orders that one sailor will be executed by boiling alive, and that Blackthorn is to be placed in a household with his crew as hostages for his good behavior. At Omi's suggestion, Yabu plans to use Blackthorn's knowledge and keep the guns and money recovered from the ship, but word reaches his overlord, the powerful regent Toranaga, and Yabu is obligated to turn Blackthorne, the ship, and its contents over to him.
Blackthorne is given the title Anjin, meaning "pilot," (a ship's navigator) by the Japanese because they can't pronounce his name. Blackthorne insists on being addressed respectfully, as Omi is, and is therefore known as Anjin-san ("Honorable Pilot"). Blackthorne is interviewed by Toranaga with the Jesuit Father Alvito and the Japanese Lady Mariko serving as translators. As an English Protestant, Blackthorne attempts to turn Toranaga against the Jesuits. In doing so, he reveals to a surprised Toranaga that the Christian faith is divided and that other European countries intend to sail the Asian waters because the Spanish Armada has been defeated. The interview ends when Toranaga's principal rival, Ishido, enters, curious about the 'barbarian' Blackthorne. Toranaga has Blackthorne thrown in prison for piracy, as a ruse to keep him from Ishido. In prison, Blackthorne is befriended by a Franciscan monk, who reveals further details about Jesuit conquests and the Portuguese "Black Ship" which each year takes the vast profits from the silk trade back to Europe. He is taught basic Japanese and a little of their culture. Blackthorne is taken from prison by Ishido's men, but Toranaga intervenes, "capturing" Blackthorne from his rival. In their next interview, Toranaga has the Lady Mariko translate. She is a convert to Christianity, torn between her new faith and her loyalty as a samurai's wife and to Toranaga.
As this is going on, Toranaga is threatened with forced seppuku by the council of regents. To escape the order, he escapes by taking the place of his wife in a litter, leaving with a train of travelers. Blackthorne inadvertently spots the exchange and, when Ishido shows up at the gate of the castle and nearly discovers Toranaga, Blackthorne saves Toranaga by creating a diversion. In this way, he gradually gains the trust of and enters the service of Toranaga. Toranaga resigns from the Council of Regents, paralyzing that body from taking further action since five regents are required to make any decisions and politically a new appointment seems unlikely. Toranaga's party reach the coast but their ship is blockaded by Ishido's boats. At Blackthorn's suggestion the Portuguese Black Ship is asked to lend muskets to blast the boats clear, but in return the Jesuits, seeing the presence of a Protestant pilot in Toranmaga's confidence as a grave threat, will only offer aid to Toranga in return for being given Blackthorn. Toranaga agrees and the ship clears the coast. The Portuguese pilot Rodrigues - whose life was saved by Blackthorne earlier in a storm - repays his debt to Blackthorn by having him thrown overboard to swim back to Toranaga's ship instead.
Blackthorne slowly builds his Japanese-language skills and gains an understanding of the Japanese people and their culture, eventually learning to respect it deeply. The Japanese, in turn, are torn over Blackthorne's presence; he is an outsider, a leader of a disgracefully filthy and uncouth rabble, but also a formidable sailor and navigator. As such, he is both beneath their contempt and incalculably valuable. A turning point in this perception is Blackthorne's attempt at seppuku to redress an insult. He demonstrates his willingness to commit suicide with honour in accordance with Japanese custom, which deeply impresses the Japanese, but is stopped as he is far more valuable alive than dead. The Japanese grow to respect the "barbarian" in turn, and he is eventually granted the status of samurai and hatamoto (a vassal similar to a retainer, with the right of direct audience). As they spend more time together, Blackthorne comes to deeply admire Mariko.
In parallel with this plot, the novel also details the intense power struggle between Toranaga and Ishido, and the political maneuvering of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the Jesuits. There is also conflict between Christian daimyos (who are motivated in part by a desire to preserve and expand their Church's power) and the daimyos who oppose the Christians in favor of the native Shinto, Buddhist, and other faiths.
Blackthorne is torn between his growing affection for Mariko (who is married to a powerful and dangerous samurai, Buntaro), his increasing loyalty to Toranaga, and his desire to return to the open seas aboard Erasmus to capture the Black Ship. Eventually, he visits the survivors of his original crew, and is so astonished at how far he has ventured from the standard European way of life (whom he now sees to be filthy, ignorant meat-eaters) and is disgusted by them. Blackthorne's plans to attack the Black Ship are complicated by his respect and friendship for that vessel's Portuguese pilot, Rodrigues.
Ishido is holding numerous family members of other daimyos as hostages in Osaka, referring to them as guests. As long as he has these hostages, the other daimyos, including Toranaga, do not dare to attack him. Unforeseen by Toranaga, a replacement regent has been chosen. Ishido hopes to lure or force Toranaga into the Castle and, when all the regents are present, obtain from them an order for Toranaga to commit seppuku. To extricate Toranaga from this situation, Mariko goes to what will be her likely death at Osaka Castle to face down Ishido and obtain the hostages' release. On the lengthy trip to Osaka, Blackthorne and Mariko become lovers.
At the castle, Mariko (in response to Toranaga's orders) defies Ishido and forces him to either dishonor himself by dishonoring Mariko, a lady of the first rank, or to back down. When Mariko tries to leave the castle, a battle ensues between Ishido's samurai and her escort until she is forced to return. However, she states that since she cannot disobey an order from her liege lord, Toranaga, she is disgraced and will commit suicide. As she is about to do so, Ishido gives her the papers to leave the castle the next day. However that night, a group of ninjas Ishido has hired slips into Toranaga's section of the castle to kidnap Mariko, with the help of Toranaga's vassal, Yabu. However, she and Blackthorne (who accompanied her but was not aware of Mariko's plot) and the other ladies of Toranaga escape into a locked room. As the ninjas blow the door down, Mariko stands against the door and declares that this is her act of honorable suicide, and implicates Ishido "in this shameful act."
Mariko is killed and Blackthorne injured, but Ishido is forced to let Blackthorne and all the other ladies leave the castle, seriously reducing his influence. Blackthorne discovers that his ship has been burned, ruining his chances of attacking the Black Ship, gaining riches, and sailing home to England. However, Toranaga gives him money and men to start building a new ship. Toranaga orders Yabu - who he learns helped the attack with the aim of being on the winning side - to commit suicide for his treachery.
A recurring motif in the book is Toranaga engaging in falconry. He compares his various birds to his vassals and mulls over his handling of them, flinging them at targets, giving them morsels to bring them back to his fist, and re-hooding them. The last scene involves Toranaga letting his prize peregrine fly free as he reveals his inner monologue: he himself had ordered Blackthorne's ship burned as a way to placate the Christian daimyos, save Blackthorne's life from them, and bring them to his side against Ishido; he then encourages Blackthorne to build another one, and will have that one burned too. It is Blackthorne's karma (destiny) to never leave Japan, Mariko's karma to die gloriously for her lord, and his own karma and purpose to become Shogun. In a brief epilogue after the final battle of Sekigahara, Ishido is disgracefully captured alive. In deference to an old prophecy that Ishido would "die an old man with his feet firmly planted in the earth, the most famous man in the land", Toranaga has him buried up to his neck in the untouchables' village with passers-by offered the opportunity to saw at the most famous neck in the realm with a bamboo saw. The novel states that "Ishido lingered three days and died very old."
Japan in 1600 is a feudal country in a precarious peace. The imperial heir is young and power rests in a council of regents formed of the most powerful overlords perpetually jostling for power and the title of Shōgun (hereditary military ruler). Japanese society is insular and xenophobic with outsiders greatly distrusted and restricted. The Catholic Church, principally through the Jesuits and other monastic orders have gained a foothold and seek to extend their power. Guns are little used and despised, making the military capabilities of the Europeans highly desirable but risky.
John Blackthorne, an English pilot serving on the Dutch warship Erasmus, is the first ship from a Protestant country known to reach Japan. It is shipwrecked on the coast. He and the few survivors of his crew are taken captive under the direction of the local samurai Kasigi Omi. Their foreignness, and their conduct (which is seen as barbaric and disrespectful) leads Omi to imprison them in a pit until the arrival of his daimyo (feudal lord), Kasigi Yabu. Yabu orders that one sailor will be executed by boiling alive, and that Blackthorn is to be placed in a household with his crew as hostages for his good behavior. At Omi's suggestion, Yabu plans to use Blackthorn's knowledge and keep the guns and money recovered from the ship, but word reaches his overlord, the powerful regent Toranaga, and Yabu is obligated to turn Blackthorne, the ship, and its contents over to him.
Blackthorne is given the title Anjin, meaning "pilot," (a ship's navigator) by the Japanese because they can't pronounce his name. Blackthorne insists on being addressed respectfully, as Omi is, and is therefore known as Anjin-san ("Honorable Pilot"). Blackthorne is interviewed by Toranaga with the Jesuit Father Alvito and the Japanese Lady Mariko serving as translators. As an English Protestant, Blackthorne attempts to turn Toranaga against the Jesuits. In doing so, he reveals to a surprised Toranaga that the Christian faith is divided and that other European countries intend to sail the Asian waters because the Spanish Armada has been defeated. The interview ends when Toranaga's principal rival, Ishido, enters, curious about the 'barbarian' Blackthorne. Toranaga has Blackthorne thrown in prison for piracy, as a ruse to keep him from Ishido. In prison, Blackthorne is befriended by a Franciscan monk, who reveals further details about Jesuit conquests and the Portuguese "Black Ship" which each year takes the vast profits from the silk trade back to Europe. He is taught basic Japanese and a little of their culture. Blackthorne is taken from prison by Ishido's men, but Toranaga intervenes, "capturing" Blackthorne from his rival. In their next interview, Toranaga has the Lady Mariko translate. She is a convert to Christianity, torn between her new faith and her loyalty as a samurai's wife and to Toranaga.
As this is going on, Toranaga is threatened with forced seppuku by the council of regents. To escape the order, he escapes by taking the place of his wife in a litter, leaving with a train of travelers. Blackthorne inadvertently spots the exchange and, when Ishido shows up at the gate of the castle and nearly discovers Toranaga, Blackthorne saves Toranaga by creating a diversion. In this way, he gradually gains the trust of and enters the service of Toranaga. Toranaga resigns from the Council of Regents, paralyzing that body from taking further action since five regents are required to make any decisions and politically a new appointment seems unlikely. Toranaga's party reach the coast but their ship is blockaded by Ishido's boats. At Blackthorn's suggestion the Portuguese Black Ship is asked to lend muskets to blast the boats clear, but in return the Jesuits, seeing the presence of a Protestant pilot in Toranmaga's confidence as a grave threat, will only offer aid to Toranga in return for being given Blackthorn. Toranaga agrees and the ship clears the coast. The Portuguese pilot Rodrigues - whose life was saved by Blackthorne earlier in a storm - repays his debt to Blackthorn by having him thrown overboard to swim back to Toranaga's ship instead.
Blackthorne slowly builds his Japanese-language skills and gains an understanding of the Japanese people and their culture, eventually learning to respect it deeply. The Japanese, in turn, are torn over Blackthorne's presence; he is an outsider, a leader of a disgracefully filthy and uncouth rabble, but also a formidable sailor and navigator. As such, he is both beneath their contempt and incalculably valuable. A turning point in this perception is Blackthorne's attempt at seppuku to redress an insult. He demonstrates his willingness to commit suicide with honour in accordance with Japanese custom, which deeply impresses the Japanese, but is stopped as he is far more valuable alive than dead. The Japanese grow to respect the "barbarian" in turn, and he is eventually granted the status of samurai and hatamoto (a vassal similar to a retainer, with the right of direct audience). As they spend more time together, Blackthorne comes to deeply admire Mariko.
In parallel with this plot, the novel also details the intense power struggle between Toranaga and Ishido, and the political maneuvering of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the Jesuits. There is also conflict between Christian daimyos (who are motivated in part by a desire to preserve and expand their Church's power) and the daimyos who oppose the Christians in favor of the native Shinto, Buddhist, and other faiths.
Blackthorne is torn between his growing affection for Mariko (who is married to a powerful and dangerous samurai, Buntaro), his increasing loyalty to Toranaga, and his desire to return to the open seas aboard Erasmus to capture the Black Ship. Eventually, he visits the survivors of his original crew, and is so astonished at how far he has ventured from the standard European way of life (whom he now sees to be filthy, ignorant meat-eaters) and is disgusted by them. Blackthorne's plans to attack the Black Ship are complicated by his respect and friendship for that vessel's Portuguese pilot, Rodrigues.
Ishido is holding numerous family members of other daimyos as hostages in Osaka, referring to them as guests. As long as he has these hostages, the other daimyos, including Toranaga, do not dare to attack him. Unforeseen by Toranaga, a replacement regent has been chosen. Ishido hopes to lure or force Toranaga into the Castle and, when all the regents are present, obtain from them an order for Toranaga to commit seppuku. To extricate Toranaga from this situation, Mariko goes to what will be her likely death at Osaka Castle to face down Ishido and obtain the hostages' release. On the lengthy trip to Osaka, Blackthorne and Mariko become lovers.
At the castle, Mariko (in response to Toranaga's orders) defies Ishido and forces him to either dishonor himself by dishonoring Mariko, a lady of the first rank, or to back down. When Mariko tries to leave the castle, a battle ensues between Ishido's samurai and her escort until she is forced to return. However, she states that since she cannot disobey an order from her liege lord, Toranaga, she is disgraced and will commit suicide. As she is about to do so, Ishido gives her the papers to leave the castle the next day. However that night, a group of ninjas Ishido has hired slips into Toranaga's section of the castle to kidnap Mariko, with the help of Toranaga's vassal, Yabu. However, she and Blackthorne (who accompanied her but was not aware of Mariko's plot) and the other ladies of Toranaga escape into a locked room. As the ninjas blow the door down, Mariko stands against the door and declares that this is her act of honorable suicide, and implicates Ishido "in this shameful act."
Mariko is killed and Blackthorne injured, but Ishido is forced to let Blackthorne and all the other ladies leave the castle, seriously reducing his influence. Blackthorne discovers that his ship has been burned, ruining his chances of attacking the Black Ship, gaining riches, and sailing home to England. However, Toranaga gives him money and men to start building a new ship. Toranaga orders Yabu - who he learns helped the attack with the aim of being on the winning side - to commit suicide for his treachery.
A recurring motif in the book is Toranaga engaging in falconry. He compares his various birds to his vassals and mulls over his handling of them, flinging them at targets, giving them morsels to bring them back to his fist, and re-hooding them. The last scene involves Toranaga letting his prize peregrine fly free as he reveals his inner monologue: he himself had ordered Blackthorne's ship burned as a way to placate the Christian daimyos, save Blackthorne's life from them, and bring them to his side against Ishido; he then encourages Blackthorne to build another one, and will have that one burned too. It is Blackthorne's karma (destiny) to never leave Japan, Mariko's karma to die gloriously for her lord, and his own karma and purpose to become Shogun. In a brief epilogue after the final battle of Sekigahara, Ishido is disgracefully captured alive. In deference to an old prophecy that Ishido would "die an old man with his feet firmly planted in the earth, the most famous man in the land", Toranaga has him buried up to his neck in the untouchables' village with passers-by offered the opportunity to saw at the most famous neck in the realm with a bamboo saw. The novel states that "Ishido lingered three days and died very old."
