Shogun by James Clavell

I took a little detour with this novel set in medieval Japan, circa 1600. It's a classic from my childhood that was infamously made into a TV mini-series that gripped America for a week or two in the early 1980s.

It was a good novel.  I enjoyed (and was not expecting) the overarching plot involving Portuguese/Spanish/English entry into Japan and the rest of the Far East.  It fits well into my overall study of world history.

Any concern I have involves a suspicion that the story lacks authenticity.  Not so much from a historical perspective (it is a novel, after all) but from a cultural perspective.

On one hand, Clavell pays great homage to Japanese culture.  The central figure in the story, an English sailor named Blackthorne, is initially disgusted with Asian society and norms.  Nothing could be more repugnant to an Englishman.  Over time, however, Blackthorne becomes very acculturated with Japanese society and culture, in fact learning to love it over his European heritage.

But in many ways Clavell appears to mock Japanese society.  He portrays a society that loves, almost yearns for death.  Seppuku (Japanese suicide) is discussed, contemplated and/or performed on virtually every page of the book, it seems.  People seem to crave death.

Japanese culture is also depicted as exceedingly warlike.  Although I don't believe this to be true, it's understandable from Clavell's perspective, as he was held as a prisoner of war by Japan during World War II.

Altogether it was a fun read.  I don't know if I'm compelled to read the rest of his Asian Saga, but we shall see.