Servant of the Shogun
1981
First Published
3.43
Average Rating
137
Number of Pages
Having reached Japan in 1600 after a perilous journey, this enterprising young Englishman entered an extraordinary career as a powerful shogun's aid (whose adventures served as a model for the hero of James Clavell's bestseller Shogun & TV miniseries). Based on Adams' diaries & journals & letters of Japanese, English & other contemporary Europeans, Tames, a staff member at the University of London's School of Oriental & African Studies, depicts the era's unrest caused by Japanese factional wars, rivalry between Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch & English traders, & feuding Jesuit & Franciscan missionaries. As interpreter & diplomat at court, Adams successfully represented the interests of the East India Company in the face of Japanese ambivalence toward foreigners. He remained in Japan until his death in 1620, leaving an estate divided between two wives—one in England & one in Japan—& their offspring.—Publisher's Weekly
Avg Rating
3.43
Number of Ratings
14
5 STARS
29%
4 STARS
7%
3 STARS
50%
2 STARS
7%
1 STARS
7%
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