Shogun

As I continue to read books about Japan in anticipation of a trip there in March 2024, it was suggested by an Asian scholar that I read Shogun, a book that I read nearly 50 years ago after it was first published in 1975. I chose to get the audiobook format, and I enjoyed this 53-hour listen while doing my twice-daily dog walks. I can’t say which version I liked best, the book itself or the audiobook. Both are wonderful.

 

In this blog, we’ve now reviewed 1,638 books, and I’m certain that I read at least that many books before the blog was started in 2009. Among those books, this one is in my top five novels ever, and Amazon lists it as the 36^th bestselling historical novel of all time. This is one of those memorable books that is soul-gripping. Even before getting to the novel for the second time, I vividly recalled parts of the book, such as when the pilot of the Erasmus John Blackthorne became the first non-Portuguese person to sail through the Straits of Magellen. This book follows closely to the actual history of Japan. It is known that the real name of this Englishman who hired to guide a Dutch ship was named Will Adams. At the time of his arrival in the midst of a typhoon, the Portuguese were already well established in the country and had already spread their Catholic version of Christianity, and the Portuguese believed that the Dutch Protestant form of Christianity was heretical, something the Japanese did not immediately understand. The interaction between Blackthorne and the Jesuits was an important subplot throughout the story.

 

This book was such a big hit in the 70s that two television miniseries have been made about it, and a third miniseries is about to be aired. The novel is a historical and cultural masterpiece, and I can hardly wait to get back to Japan to savor all that I’m learning about this unique culture.