Call number
Publication
New York: Penguin, 2004, c 2002
Pages
368
Description
In 1611, the merchants of London's East India Company received a mysterious letter from Japan, written several years previously by a marooned English mariner named William Adams. Foreigners had been denied access to Japan for centuries, yet Adams had been living in this unknown land for years. He had risen to the highest levels in the ruling shogun's court, taken a Japanese name, and was now offering his services as adviser and interpreter. Seven adventurers were sent to Japan with orders to find and befriend Adams, in the belief that he held the key to exploiting the opulent riches of this forbidden land. Their arrival was to prove a momentous event in the history of Japan and the shogun suddenly found himself facing a stark choice: to expel the foreigners and continue with his policy of isolation, or to open his country to the world. For more than a decade the English, helped by Adams, were to attempt trade with the shogun, but confounded by a culture so different from their own, and hounded by scheming Jesuit monks and fearsome Dutch assassins, they found themselves in a desperate battle for their lives. Samurai William is the fascinating story of a clash of two cultures, and of the enormous impact one Westerner had on the opening of the East.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
368 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
9780142003787
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User reviews
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
It's an interesting topic and an interesting story, one man who survives in 17th century Japan after being shipwrecked and who becomes more Japanese as time goes by has to then try to cope with dealing with both worlds as Portugal, England and the Netherlands try to get a foothold. This is the
If you read this be prepared to hunt up some other stuff about the period and what was going on, this left me vaguely frustrated and wanting more and felt light and insubstantial.
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second Giles Milton book I've read and he really hasn't grasped my imagination, there seems to be stories that I'd like to read about what's going on that are missing and while this says it's about Samurai William (who is still apparently remembered in Japan) it's more about trading and the English factors who fouled things up badly. Apparently James Clavel's Shogun is a fictionalised account of this. If you read this be prepared to hunt up some other stuff about the period and what was going on, this left me vaguely frustrated and wanting more and felt light and insubstantial.
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LibraryThing member bell7
William Adams was the first Englishman to set foot on Japan. One of only 18 survivors of a horrific, two-year-long voyage, he became influential in the rule of eventual shogun Ieyasu. Adams convinced the East India Company (which was trading in Java at the time) to try trading in Japan, interpreted
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for the traders, and helped them learn local customs. Less a biography than a history of trade, this account illuminates international trade relations between the English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Japanese in the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Milton remains objective in his narration and does a good job of making a topic that was very unfamiliar to me understandable. Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
Giles Milton’s history of 17th century Japan is a superb window into Eastern philosophy and culture. In April 1600, William Adams, the pilot of a Dutch ship (the only one out of five to reach its destination) stepped off his boat and became the first Englishman to set foot in Japan. In his twenty
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years living there, he became the favored adviser of not one but two emperors, amassed a great fortune trading with the Javanese, Malaysian, and Chinese empires, and helped opened up a whole world of new culture and ideas to the Western hemisphere. His tale, as well as the tale of countless sailors and traders to follow, is one of detailed intrigue and peril. Milton does a very good of weaving together what little information there was and offers a very competent vignette of Japanese history. An excellent read. Show Less
LibraryThing member bluepigeon
The story of William Adams, the first Englishman to live in Japan and gain high esteem in the shogun's court, is interesting. Giles Milton is a good storyteller, and the story is one of treacherous sea voyages, unruly seamen, and the rivalry and hate between the Catholic (Spanish and Portuguese)
Why only three stars then? Well, compared to Nathaniel's Nutmeg, I found the fumbling adventures of Englishmen in Japan to be less captivating. It seems that there was very little business done, many incompetent "factors" who were just criminal-minded or good old drunks, and the only competent man, William Adams, was stuck in Japan, unwillingly trying to help the Englishmen to survive the shogun's and the local lord's trade policies. Beyond that there seems to be just a lot of sitting and waiting and drinking and whoring. In the end, I am not sure what the historical impact of this brief British presence in Japan was. Perhaps none. Certainly, for two centuries no other foreigner had access to the shogun's court like William Adams had.
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and Protestant (British and Dutch) colonizers. As with Nathaniel's Nutmeg, which is the only other book I have read by Milton so far, he tells the story of all, not just the title character, with its twists and turns. The wealth of information gathered here from historic records and letters is impressive, though at the same time Milton's easy going yet elegant language makes everything read like one epic story.Why only three stars then? Well, compared to Nathaniel's Nutmeg, I found the fumbling adventures of Englishmen in Japan to be less captivating. It seems that there was very little business done, many incompetent "factors" who were just criminal-minded or good old drunks, and the only competent man, William Adams, was stuck in Japan, unwillingly trying to help the Englishmen to survive the shogun's and the local lord's trade policies. Beyond that there seems to be just a lot of sitting and waiting and drinking and whoring. In the end, I am not sure what the historical impact of this brief British presence in Japan was. Perhaps none. Certainly, for two centuries no other foreigner had access to the shogun's court like William Adams had.
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LibraryThing member Jamie638
This is the true story of William Adams, the English sailor who was shipwrecked in Japan in 1600. John Blackthorne, the protagonist of James Clavell's Shogun, is his fictional counterpart (just as the fictional Toranaga is the counterpart of Tokugawa). He really was called Anjin-san ("Mr. Pilot")
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by the Japanese. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cecrow
An excellent non-fiction companion to James Clavell's fiction epic "Shogun", describing the real-life facts surrounding Anjin-sama, aka William Adams, an English pilot who barely survived a sea voyage to Japan from England at the beginning of the 17th century and who became a close confidant of
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Ieyasu Tokugawa (portrayed as Toronaga in "Shogun"). But that is only a third of what this book has to offer: it also describes the history of European contact with Japan up to that point, and the plight of England's attempt to establish lasting trade relations. Minor annoyances I had with the author's style and presentation did not significantly detract from this wonderful historical. I will read other works by him if the subject matter interests me. Show Less
LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis
A very well-written and interesting book about William Adams, the first Englishman in Japan. It managed to give plenty of information not only about Adams, but also Japan in general and all the things influencing Adams's life in Japan. And somehow it stayed interesting all the way through.
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Oftentimes, such indepth nonfiction books end up boring me with dry, uninteresting writing, but Giles Milton's is trully impressive. Show Less
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
A much wider-ranging book than I at first assumed, this is as much about the West's first incursions into Japan as it is the life story of William Adams. In fact, for the last third, Adams seems to recede from view, his place being taken from a more salubrious cast of characters.
LibraryThing member jennannej
A nice piece of history. I enjoyed learning more about the interaction between Japanese and Europeans hundreds of years ago. As mojosmom said, it's not really just about Samurai William Adams, but a wider view.
Takes a few pages to get used to the olde english spelling taken from primary sources.
A
Takes a few pages to get used to the olde english spelling taken from primary sources.
A
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good read for this topic. I enjoyed it Show Less