This work of historical fiction is a remarkable time of it. Shōgun is a colossal epic by Australian-born British writer James Clavell (1921-1994).
It's the first work (from an internal timeline) of his Asian Saga series and was published in 1975. An enormous global hit, it's since sold some 15 million copies.
This thing is well over 1,000 pages and is intricately detailed and meticulous in its depiction of feudal Japan in 1600. It's an extraordinary book. One fully worth committing to, even if it'll take you at least 12 months to read the thing.
Themes of Discovery, Honour, and Power in Clavell's Shōgun
Think of the Russian epics like Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle (1968) and this work is even more sprawling and vast.
We're a sizeable chunk of the way into it now, but still have a long way to go. But we can still mightily recommend this to anyone who fancies a sweeping narrative of derring-do in and around the shores of Japan.
Shōgun was adapted from a true story. The protagonist is Englishman John Blackthorne, who was based on William Adams (1564-1620).
He was a British navigator and the first Englishman to reach Japan, which he did in April 1600. He was there as part of a trading fleet, although only one of five initial ships made it to the land of Nippon.
Japan was a closed society at the time and authorities didn't allow Adams to leave, with the Englishman settling in the country with his second mate the Dutchman Jan Joosten.
Adams became a trusted advisor to the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu and decided to remain in Japan for the rest of his life, even when given clearance to return to the UK.
Writer James Clavell heard about this story from his daughter, who was taught it at school. And he decided to adapt that into Shōgun.
Now, Clavell had served in WWII after joining the Royal Artillery. He ended up in Singapore to battle the Japanese and ended up a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Clavell faced harsh conditions and routinely faced starvation.
Despite that, we don't think Shōgun is a racist work.
Some people we've seen online criticising it as a white male saviour book, which it kind of is. Although based on the true story of Adams, the protagonist John Blackthorne is embellished and he ends up being quite a high figure in Japanese society.
The novel is of its time, but also represents a unique time in Japanese history.
John Blackthorne's arrival in Japan isn't greeted well. He and his few survivors of their shipwreck are viewed as rude "barbarians" and are broken early on when one of their crew is boiled alive. Whilst the others remain in a pit that's had rotten fish tipped inside of, they must listen to the one unfortunate barbarian's screams of agony.
Blackthorne isn't exactly a sympathetic character, though, as his behaviour is obnoxious and his initial hatred of the Japanese is reflected by the hatred of the Japanese towards him and his kind.
1600 would have been a very closed off place to be alive, fuelled massively by racism and sexism. England was at war with Spain and Portugal and had been for decades.
We think Clavell balances this all out well. Shōgun depicts a complex situation where two sides deeply suspicious of each other try to comprehend a different way of life.
Blackthorne, for example, is just baffled by the Japanese samurai code of honour.
"The man scrambled up and talked rapidly to the others and they looked too. Now they all saw the ledge. And they began to shout. Still no movement from Yabu. He seemed liked a stone. They went on and Blackthorne added his shouts but it was as if they made no sound at all.
One of [the samurai] spoke to the others briefly and they all nodded and bowed. He bowed back. Then, with a sudden screaming shout of 'Bansaiiiiiii!' he cast himself off the cliff and fell to his death. Yabu came violently out of his trance, whirled around and scrambled up.
The other samurai shouted and pointed but Blackthorne heard nothing and saw nothing but the broken corpse that lay below, already being taken by the sea. What kind of men are these? he thought helplessly. Was that courage or just insanity? That man deliberately committed suicide on the off-chance he'd attract the attention of another man who had given up. It doesn't make sense! They don't make sense."
In Japan at that time samurai had a lot of power, including the ability to execute anyone they disliked on the spot. Also powered by an impossibly strong bond of honour, the slightest shame on their character would lead to suicide by seppuku.
However, that was considered as the ultimate honour and the samurai would launch into the grisly process believing it to be a blessing.
This all whilst maintaining exceptional standards of politeness, bowing to one and all, maintaining good manners, and biting their tongues in stoicism rather than having angry outbursts.
For their part, the Japanese are baffled by Blackthorne.
They view him and the rest of his crew as feckless, rude, foul-smelling (bathing wasn't much of a thing back then in Europe, whereas in Japan it was a constant), and nothing but a burden on their society.
His Christian religion is also despised and the Japanese can't comprehend why he maintains the virtues of preserving life and "thou shalt not kill" etc.
When Blackthorne meets the powerful warlord Toranaga they have a discussion about that, with why Christian nations are at war with each other.
'Ah yes! Pirates. I'll come back to piracy in a moment. You say both your sects are Christian, both venerate Jesus the Christ? Isn't the essence of his teaching to 'love one another'?'
'Yes.'
'Then how can you be enemies?'
'Their faith [Spain and Portugal] - their version of Christianity is a false interpretation of the Scriptures.'
'Ah! At last we're getting somewhere. So you're at war through a difference of opinion about what is God or not God?'
'Yes.'
'That's a very stupid reason to go to war.'
Despite rapidly detesting Blackthorne and his ways, the Japanese are nevertheless astonished by his exceptional seafaring skills and various other idiosyncrasies.
200 pages into the work and Blackthorne is still a prisoner and facing constant threat of execution. However, over time his knowledge of the west becomes invaluable and he and Toranaga bond.
Blackthorne rises to positions of power in Japanese society and heads his way towards becoming a respected samurai.
Shōgun's focus around that is Japan's civil war, which was bloody and bitter, with rival factions battling for supremacy across the nation. That's the bit we've not got to in the work yet, but we have no issue in confidently predicting it'll be riveting.
James Clavell's writing is sharp and clear, not taking sides in the narrative but displaying Blackthorne as someone hapless. Someone who must try to make the best of this unusual situation—the clash of different cultures that reared itself particularly during The Age of Discovery.
Again, we've seen some criticise the work for being racist and sexist. The white male saviour who rocks up and has a local beauty fall head over heels for his well-endowed ways. There are eye-rolling bits like that (reminds us of Luke Rhinehart's Dice Man in that respect).
Shōgun is a novel of its time, for sure, deeply entrenched as it is in a thoroughly well researched look into feudal Japan's history from the author.
But this is a book written for entertainment purposes over total historical accuracy. We must just note we think Shōgun is a riveting work, one embedded in some truth through the actions of William Adams some 423 years ago.
The level of intricacies in Clavell's writing are just astonishing, alongside his methodical but gripping development of the narrative.
It's pretty obvious why this thing sold 15 million copies. We highly recommend it and will be pushing on to complete its full 1,123 pages with gusto.
Shōgun's TV Adaptation
Shōgun was adapted into a TV series in 1980. James Clavell served as the executive producer with Eric Bercovici directing.
The mini-series consisted of five episodes. It starred Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Shimada, and Frankie Sakai. It was a big hit in America, bringing in over 20 million viewers per episode when it ran in September 1980.
It success also (perhaps somewhat oddly) led to a Broadway musical. Given the often brutal nature of the book we presume that project was toned down a little.
On another note, there was also an interactive fiction video game developed by Infocom. This was for PC and launched on Amiga, Apple II, DOS, and Macintosh in 1989.
It kind of plays out like one of those retro text adventure games, but with some fancy enough (for the time) graphics overlaid to the condensed story.
We must also note, as it's celebrating its 20th anniversary, director Edward Zwick's excellent The Last Samurai (2003). This was a Tom Cruise vehicle, but remains one of his best performances and we think it's an underrated gem.
However, there's no denying Shōgun must have been an inspiration.
The plot is similar to Clavell's work—American soldier is taken POW by samurai, rises through the ranks, and winds up a trusted samurai (whilst bagging a local beauty in the process).
But the plot is nuanced and we think The Last Samurai shows Japan and its people a tremendous deal of reverence.
It also does stand out as a project, as it depicts the coming end of the samurai way of life as Japan embraced the west and industrialisation. In this film, you see the decline of the samurai way and the principles that were lost.
A Bit About James Clavell
There's James Clavell speaking in 1980 about his work and other issues.
He was born in Australia but the Clavell family moved to England when James was nine months old. He grew up there and went to Portsmouth Grammar School.
After he joined the Royal Artillery and fought in WWII, his time as a POW to the Japanese left him with PTSD.
He refused to discuss his experiences with anyone for 15 years after the war ended and would carry canned food in his pocket at all times. Unless he fought the urge, he'd also end up foraging for food in the trash. These issues were accompanied by nightmares, highlighting the ordeal he and many others went through.
After the war he gained work as a director, writer, and screenwriter. He penned the screenplay to The Fly (1958) and The Great Escape (1963).
His career as a novelist started with King Rat in 1962. But it was Shōgun that put him on the literary map, a novel he spent three years researching and writing.
Future works in his Asian Saga series included Noble House (1981), another enormous work that took some four years to research and write.
That is some serious commitment. Full credit to the man and his dedication to this particularly vast series of novels.
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