Shogun by James Clavell

A friend came to stay for the weekend and put on a Japanese show with English subtitles. I don’t usually watch much TV, but it held my attention and I realized I’d come across Shōgun many times while researching books. So I decided to read it — and it turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for.

​​Shōgun tells the story of John Blackthorne, the first Englishman to arrive in Japan in 1600. By this time, the Portuguese had been in Japan for many years, but their influence was tightly controlled by the authorities: European trade was confined to Nagasaki, and Japan remained an isolated and feudal society.

Blackthorne is the pilot of a Dutch ship sent to challenge Portuguese dominance of trade routes to Asia. When the ship is caught in a storm, nearly the entire crew is lost, and only two dozen men survive to wash ashore in a Japanese port.

Separated from his surviving crew, Blackthorne is drawn into the power struggles between competing factions as Japan moves toward civil war; his knowledge of navigation, warfare, and European politics makes him a valuable tool. As he rises in status, Blackthorne must balance his desire to return home with his growing involvement in Japanese politics, all while navigating betrayal, shifting loyalties, and the threat of Portuguese interests.

Clavell, who returned from World War II as a Japanese prisoner of war, wrote an entire series of historical novels set in Asia. Shōgun is the best place to start; it’s his most acclaimed novel and the first chronologically in the Asian Saga. It’s long and usually split into two parts, but a combined edition is available; mine runs over 1,000 pages. I’ve read two others so far, King Rat and Tai-Pan, and enjoyed both.

At its core, the story is about two cultures colliding, and through Blackthorne’s eyes we see the differences between medieval Europe and Japan. Europeans avoided bathing and practiced bloodletting, while the Japanese bathed daily, ate cleaner, and used more advanced medicines. Blackthorne’s opinions shift over time — he starts disgusted but gradually comes to admire Japanese life. I really enjoy these contrasts; it’s rare for historical fiction to explore societal dynamics this deeply but still have an engaging plot. To some readers, this makes the story drag in the middle, but I appreciated the depth. 

The historical settings are very developed, including food, clothing, architecture, rituals, and everyday customs. By necessity, most of Clavell’s novels are written in third-person omniscient; there is too much intricate political and social maneuvering to be understood from a single viewpoint. 

Despite the detail, his writing isn’t flowery — much of the worldbuilding comes through dialogue and characters’ inner thoughts. It’s a unique feel; depth usually comes with longer, heavier sentences but Clavell keeps it short and engaging. It makes sense that he described his books like several shorter novels woven into one. 

Some critics argue that Clavell simplifies the cultures he writes about. There are minor historical inaccuracies – like the use of carrier pigeons – but they don’t undermine the story’s central themes. Clavell himself described the novel as “passionately pro-Japanese,” and a Middle Eastern ruler once offered him a full oil tanker for a novel that would do for his country what Shōgun did for Japan.

Shōgun inspired me to explore more historical fiction that is longer and uses that length to fully immerse you in the societies they depict. I’ve read King Rat and Tai-Pan, but I’m also excited to read ones by other authors such as Aztec, The Pillars of the Earth, and Musashi.