From Shogun to The Great Escape - the story of Will Adams

"Shogun" - the father of the VCR

In 1975 the Australian, British, and later to be, American, author James Clavell published his best selling novel Shogun. The story of the exploits of a British sailor, John Blackthorne, arriving in Japan slightly before the decisive Battle of Sekigahara which estalished the Toranaga (Tokugawa) dynasty. In time, by adopting Japanese customs and learning to speak the language, and despite the efforts of the Portuguese Jesuits, he becomes an advisor to the Shogun himself. The book was a runaway success and the subsequent 1980 mini-TV series, starring Richard Chamberlain, was arguably responsible for the mass-market introduction of the VHS video recorder as people couldn't bear to miss a single episode on an evening out (and similarly, I like to believe, how Brothers in Arms introduced the CD player and The Matrix was ultimately responsible for DVD's).

Will Adams 1564 (England) - 1620 (Japan)

The character of John Blackthorne was actually based on the British sailor and pilot (ship's navigator), Will Adams who arrived in Japan somewhat accidentally in 1600 and did indeed become an advisor to the shogun Ieyasu and subsequently his son. Adams became, in effect, a naturalised Japanese citizen, being awarded lands in modern day Yokosuka, at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, for services advising the shogun on western culture, navigation and the construction of ocean faring vessels. Initially barred from returning home being deemed to be of great strategic importance, he rose to such a position of trust within the military command that he was issued with Red Seal Trading Letters (the red seal referring to the wax seal on the documents). He was also renamed Anjin Miura, a Japanese name that translates as The Pilot of Miura, which, in effect, became a symbol of his passing as an Englishman and re-birth as Japanese.

Adams, originally from a village near Greenwich in Kent in the south of England, left both English and Japanese families for whom he provided for from his awarded estates. He decided to settle in Japan and eventually died in 1620 near Nagasaki at the age of 55 following moderately successful trading exploits across China, Indonesia and The Philippines. And then some 370 years later they made a Broadway Musical of his life. And it has to be wondered what exactly would he have made of that? However, it is not Clavell's Blackthorne that has left the lasting impression on the English speaking world. That honour clearly goes to his co-writing of The Great Escape, the epic war movie starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, David McCallum (Ducky from NCIS) et al. The reason being that he created the classic Christmas Day question. Just how many of them did escape in the end? No one, I'm sure, has ever asked that particular question about Shogun. Then again, it was broadcast in Japanese without the aid of subtitles. What Will Adams didn't understand, we shouldn't understand either went the thinking.

Steve McQueen - The Cooler King

Sending salt to your enemy - if a job's worth doing....

"Teki ni shio wo okuru" is a Japanese phrase that literally translates as "Sending salt to your enemy" the meaning of which is taken to be that even in conflict, one should act with humanity. 

The origins date back to the long running conflicts and feudal disputes that ravaged Japan prior to unification under a single Shogun Ieyasu in the early 17th century. Laying siege to a castle, the lord of the besieging army believed it unfair to starve out his enemy and instructed that salt be delivered so that they may live to fight (and presumably die) in true battle for the lands.

Without debating whether this would also be the act of a true Klingon, the question though as to whether it is the appropriate colloquial translation. Given that the attacking army was looking to ensure the destruction of the defenders through open battle where they could be despatched with sword and arrow, a more accurate translation might be "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well".

The trees to the end of the world

Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa was born in 1543 within the walls of Okazaki Castle, to the southwest of the present day metropolis of Nagoya, Japan's third city. He would probably have been surprised to find that 400 years later the site was also home to the sole importer of the famous British sports cars, TVR. But that's a little off topic for today. The castle became the ancestral home of the Honda Clan and Ieyasu spent his early days caught in the political turbulence of vassal-hood as the family split along lines of diverging loyalties.

On reaching majority, fourteen in those days, he spent his life slowly climbing the military ladder. In 1567, after multiple name changes he finally settled on Tokugawa Ieyasu. Now aligned with the powerful Oda Clan he set about successfully clearing out the remaining opposition in the region, seizing the lands to reward his own growing coterie of vassals. And then he bet the farm and accepted a proposal to exchange his own lands in return for what is today the Kanto Plain, including a small castle in the town of Edo, eventually to become his capital, better known today as Tokyo.

Famously Ieyasu "won the war by retreating" as the phrase goes. And then in 1600 he solidified absolute power at the Battle of Sekigahara, on the shores of Lake Biwa near Kyoto, unceremoniously disposing of the massed forces of western Japan. After this and a few minor distractions he ruled in effective peace until passing away in 1616 at the ripe old age of seventy three. And then they buried him. And then dug him up and reburied him finally at Nikko, 130km north of Tokyo. And then they planted a 35km avenue of Sugi (cedar) trees totalling 200,000 in all. Today 13,000 still stand, though the avenue loses some one hundred each year to age and weather. But if you want to see a piece of history, why not walk the trees to the end of the world? The first Shogun of all Japan did.

Sending Salt to Your Enemy - An interesting Japanese saying

"Teki ni shio wo okuru" is a Japanese phrase that is literally translated as "to send salt to your enemy" the meaning of which is taken to be that even in conflict, one should act with humanity. 

The origins date back to long running conflicts and feudal disputes that ravaged Japan prior to unification under a single Shogun in the early 17th century. Laying siege to a castle, the lord of the besieging army believed it unfair to starve out his enemy and delivered salt so that he may live to fight (and presumably die) in true battle for the lands.

The question arises though as to whether this is the appropriate colloquial translation. Given that the attacking army was looking to ensure the destruction of the defenders through open battle where they could be despatched through arrow and sword a more accurate translation might be "If a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing well".