Shogun

Incomparable.

Somewhere around page 600 or 700, “incomparable” popped into my mind and I spent the remaining 500 pages debating whether James Clavell’s Shogun was, in fact, incomparable.

Blackthorne is a English-born pilot, a first rate navigator and commander, hired by the Dutch to command a fleet that, one-by-one has dwindled to a single ship, until that, too, is wrecked on the shores of Japan. Disoriented, dispirited, and not a little disgusted, Blackthorne is quickly re-christened Anjin-san, or Mr. Pilot, and must learn how to be more Japanese and less Barbarian if he is to survive his ordeal and return home where riches must surely await him.

Slowly, slowly, Anjin-san not only adapts to the ways of the Japanese, but comes to believe that many of their ways are superior to those of the Europeans. With his vast knowledge, mental and physical strength, and ability to keep his wits even in the most desperate of situations, Anjin-san quickly becomes a valued counselor to the daimyo in whose territory he was wrecked, Toranaga. One of the five ruling Regents of Japan, Toranaga is one of the great daimyos, and also on the brink of war with his greatest rival, Ishido. Gradually he weaves his web, drawing the Anjin-san closer to the center, making the European a full samurai and hatamoto – and calling into question whether the foreigner will ever depart the shores of Japan again.

Clavell’s plot and characters are beautifully constructed, but what struck me the most is his portrayal of sixteenth century Japan and the events that led to the closing of the country and the years of the Shogunate. “The Japanese’re unbeatable…we know the whole point of life. … Duty, discipline, and death,” Clavell writes. Could anything speak to the culture of the kamikaze and karōshi more clearly? Indeed, throughout this entire opus, Clavell captured the essence of Japan, and most especially what it is to be Japanese, so perfectly that I wanted to cry.

Yes, in the end, incomparable is the right word. Shogun is quite possibly the best book I’ve ever read.