Life and Honor - Shōgun

Life and Honor - Shōgun

Hey there! Peter here! Since today is Sunday, I found some time to read Shōgun and decided to share what I've read with you. As the storm approaches, Rodrigues betrayed Blackthorne and tried to throw him off the galley. Unfortunately for him, Rodrigues was washed off the ship instead. He was taken by waves into the rocks. Blackthorne however didn't hold any grudges against Rodrigues and wanted to save him. Blackthorne went up to Hiro-matsu, who is in charge of this ship. After begging, Hiro-matsu agreed and they went towards the land. After they went on the land, they found Rodrigues stuck in a crevice. Yabu, the daimyo volunteered to help Blackthorne to earn his trust. Yabu believed that if he is able to convince Blackthorne to his side, he will become a very powerful daimyo. Yabu got down and held on to Rodrigues but the problem is that he could not get back up. His men tried helping him up. One of his men even sacrificed to help Yabu. Finally, Yabu got up with the body of Rodrigues. Blackthorne then had to follow Hiro-matsu's order and obediently go to Osaka with him to meet the most powerful man in the country, the Shōgun.

What I thought: This chapter is very important because it shows that the Japanese and Blackthorne had to work together to save Rodrigues. What really surprised is that Blackthorne wanted to save the man who tried to murder him. Could this be one of Blackthorn's weaknesses? However, there is a possibility that Rodrigues will help Blackthorne in the future to pay back his debt. This chapter also serves to highlight another cultural difference between the Western and the Japanese. Rodrigues warned Blackthorne before the journey that these samurais (Japanese soldiers) are dangerous. "They love to kill, Ingeles. It's their custom even to sleep with their swords." Blackthorne was quite surprised by this statement. On the other hand, the Japanese were very surprised when Blackthorne desperately want to save Rodrigues. "How could someone who had meekly allowed an enemy to piss on his back to save the life of an insignificant vassal." Yabu thought to himself. However, Blackthorne and Yabu worked together and succeeded in the rescue with hand communications (they can't speak the same language) and I found that very impressive. They came from a very different background but they still managed to succeed together.