The Most Powerful Man - Shōgun

The Most Powerful Man - Shōgun

Hey there! Peter here! Today when I took a break while studying, I managed to read further into the book and it became quite interesting. Here's the summary of what happened: 

Blackthorne arrived in Osaka with Hiro-matsu and Yabu. Osaka is a coastal Japanese city that was around 3 times bigger than London at that time. Rodrigues said that the forbidden capital, Kyoto, the city is even bigger. In fact, everything in Japan is enormous. Blackthorne thought about how the English would have a lot of trouble if Japan became catholic and sided with the Spanish. Blackthorne was taken into the Osaka castle which was also huge. The whole castle is a maze so that the invaders would have difficulty reaching the main keep. Finally, Blackthorne was brought upon the Shogun, Toranaga. The Shogun looked very big and strong. Blackthorne could feel the immeasurable amount of power this man has. The Shōgun used a Portuguese priest as a translator and began questioning Blackthorne. They mostly talked about the relationship between the English and the Spanish (and Portuguese since they were conquered). Blackthorne was calm and explained everything slowly but it seems that he had trouble trying to convey his message. The Shogun is somehow not happy with the answers he received. Blackthorne's suspicion fell on the priest since he is Portuguese. In the end, The Shogun ordered that Blackthorne is to be detained.

What I thought: This part has been one of the most meaningful part in the whole book. The Japanese people who met Blackthorne understood that he is a barbarian and didn't feel easy around him. However, the Shogun was on another level. He sees Blackthorne as a savage and gave Blackthorne a look of disgust. So far, it seems that he is siding with the priest and the Spanish. The Shogun could not understand the religious war between the English (Protestant) and the Spanish (Catholic) since he thought it was the same religion and that the reason to fight is really stupid. He also disdainfully, denounced Blackthorne and his country for having a woman (Queen Elizabeth I) as a ruler. Clearly, the Shogun of Japan is not an open-minded man. He could not imagine anything else other than his ideal.