"Shōgun" is an epic novel by American writer James Clavell, completed in 1975. The novel is written in the genre of a historical novel and tells the story of the fate of the English sea navigator, who was the first of his compatriots to find himself in Japan in the 17th century. The novel colorfully describes the historical and political events in Japan at that time. In 1980, a mini-series of the same name was filmed based on the novel.
"Karma is the beginning of knowledge. Next is patience. Patience is very important. The strong are the patient ones, Anjin-san. patience means holding back your inclination to the seven emotions: hate, adoration, joy, anxiety, anger, grief, fear. If you don't give way to the seven, you're patient, then you'll soon understand all manner of things and be in harmony with Eternity." ― James Clavell, Shōgun
John Blackthorne, an English navigator as part of a Dutch ship's crew, ends up in 17th century Japan, under the tutelage of the Portuguese at that time, who are trying to keep other Europeans out of the country. Initially, finding himself in a very difficult situation as a prisoner and miraculously escaping death, he, gradually learning the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun, becomes the right hand (hatamoto) of one of the daimyo - Toranagi. Possessing valuable knowledge about the world, inaccessible to the inhabitants of Japan, isolated from the outside world of those times, and having a sharp mind, the navigator inevitably finds himself drawn into a struggle for power between powerful Japanese feudal lords. The word "shogun" means the position of the military leader of the empire, in fact, the ruler of the state, since the emperor's power was purely formal.
John Blackthorn, the hero of James Clavell's novel "The Shogun", had a real historical prototype, the English sailor William Adams (1564-1620), who came to Japan in 1600, having gone on an expedition through the Strait of Magellan on the Dutch ship "Lifde" two years earlier. ("Mercy"). When the ship crashed on the island of Kyushu, Adams was also imprisoned in Osaka on false libel by the Jesuits, but was soon released and subsequently enjoyed the considerable favor of Tokugawa Ieyasu, for whom he built a European-style ship. William Adams died in 1620, having lived in Japan for 20 years, having a second family here and never returning to his homeland, England. Subsequently, the Andzin-cho quarter was named in his honor in Tokyo (Edo), and his son (from a Japanese woman) James in 1636 built a memorial temple in honor of his father.
Clavelle was inspired to write the novel by a line from a book he read to his daughter: "In 1600, an Englishman went to Japan and became a samurai."
The first draft was 2,300 pages long, and Clavell, with the help of his editor Herman Gollob, reduced it to 1,700 pages. The book became a bestseller and sparked the interest of Western readers in Japanese culture and history.
Clavell was not the first to novelize the story of William Adams. Before him, William Dalton (English) in 1861 published the book Will Adams - the first Englishman in Japan. Romantic biography "(eng. Will Adams, The First Englishman in Japan: A Romantic Biography). Never visiting Japan, Dalton combined in his work the romanticized views of Asia in Victorian England.
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