In the Service of the Shogun

“Writing in a clear, straightforward style, Cryns tells a fascinating story. Watching Shogun and reading In the Service of the Shogun proves that truth can follow storylines every bit as surprising as fiction.”– “Japan News”
“William Adams, the Englishman who loosely inspired James Clavell’s bestselling novel Shogun, comes alive in the revelatory In the Service of the Shogun… . Carefully researched and replete with thoughtful insights, In the Service of the Shogun is a concise and enjoyable exploration of the first known Englishman to visit–and fall in love with–Japan. Fans of the novel Shogun and the television series would do well to pick this one up.”–Peggy Kurkowski “Washington Independent Review of Books”
“Most readers know Adams as the inspiration for James Clavell’s novel Shogun. Adams’s experiences are such that one wonders why Clavell even bothered fictionalizing them: Five ships set off from Holland in 1598, but after nineteen months at sea, only one ship remained and only nine men survived to set foot on Japanese soil. Arrested as [a pirate] and sentenced to death, Adams somehow rose to be a trusted advisor of military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu.”– “Japan Times”
“Cryns’s treatment of William Adams’s life in In the Service of the Shogun is the most thorough and focused that I have had the opportunity to read. It delves into not only the sources, but uses them to create a sensitive and thoughtful interpretation of the wider world in which Adams lived. The pace and density of content are just right, drawing both veteran and novice visitors to Adams’s life and times in with ease and pleasure. Unlike many other works on Adams, it eschews speculation and hyperbole, particularly of a nationalist bent, and focuses on ‘The Real Story.’ A heartily recommended read.”–Thomas Lockley, associate professor at Nihon University, and author of “A Gentleman from Japan: The Untold Story of an Incredible Journey from Asia to Queen Elizabeth’s Court”
“William Adams, the real-life figure who inspired James Clavell’s novel Shogun, was a fascinating man, and Cryns’s new book explores his life in vivid terms, using untapped sources in English, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese. This book is destined to become a classic, combining vivid prose with exemplary research, but it’s not just for people interested in imperial Japan. Anyone who wishes to understand the birth of our interconnected, global world will find much to enjoy and ponder.”–Tonio Andrade, professor of Chinese and global history, Emory University

Frederik Cryns is Professor of Japanese History at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of several bestselling books in Japanese on the early interaction of the Western world with Japan. In addition to his academic work, Frederik appears regularly on Japanese television history programmes and supervised the historical aspects of the television series Shogun (2024).

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