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**tinamasak** · 06-02-2006, 07:00 AM

I read shogun and its cool because I kinda wanna do all the same stuff Blackthorn did i.e. go to japan, get in adventures so I picked the name they gave him since they couldn't be bothered to pronounce burakusoruno.

Did you know that this character, John Blackthorne (or Anjin-san), in James Clavell's "Shogun" was based on the real-life experiences of an Englishman named William Adams? His Japanese name was Miura Anjin as well. My father first told me about Adams and suggested that I read the novel after I did some research on him beforehand. You can find some info here - http://hsv.com/writers/jeffog/wa-hist.htm - or alternatively do a Google search.

It's a good novel and it inspired me to visit his grave in Yokosuka (near Yokohama) when I went back to Japan last year. Getting to his grave wasn't easy (long train journeys and a lot of walking involved) but it was well worth it. If anyone is interested, his grave is closest to the Anjin-zuka Station (安針塚駅）, about 30-45min walk away. As I'm also British (I have 3 citizenships), it just felt awesome when I got there and the realisation (that this "gai-jin" actually had an influence in the affairs of the Tokugawa government) had sunk in.

At the moment, I'm reading another one of James Clavell's novels called "Gai-jin". This too is based on actual historical events so it's an entertaining way to learn about Japanese history.

Oh, back to the topic of the thread...
Yaiba can mean "blade" or "sword" in Japanese. It is also the title of a Japanese manga comic that I used to really like when I was in primary school.

06-02-2006, 07:00 AM	#24
tinamasak Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 511 Senior Member	I read shogun and its cool because I kinda wanna do all the same stuff Blackthorn did i.e. go to japan, get in adventures so I picked the name they gave him since they couldn't be bothered to pronounce burakusoruno. Did you know that this character, John Blackthorne (or Anjin-san), in James Clavell's "Shogun" was based on the real-life experiences of an Englishman named William Adams? His Japanese name was Miura Anjin as well. My father first told me about Adams and suggested that I read the novel after I did some research on him beforehand. You can find some info here - http://hsv.com/writers/jeffog/wa-hist.htm - or alternatively do a Google search. It's a good novel and it inspired me to visit his grave in Yokosuka (near Yokohama) when I went back to Japan last year. Getting to his grave wasn't easy (long train journeys and a lot of walking involved) but it was well worth it. If anyone is interested, his grave is closest to the Anjin-zuka Station (安針塚駅）, about 30-45min walk away. As I'm also British (I have 3 citizenships), it just felt awesome when I got there and the realisation (that this "gai-jin" actually had an influence in the affairs of the Tokugawa government) had sunk in. At the moment, I'm reading another one of James Clavell's novels called "Gai-jin". This too is based on actual historical events so it's an entertaining way to learn about Japanese history. Oh, back to the topic of the thread... Yaiba can mean "blade" or "sword" in Japanese. It is also the title of a Japanese manga comic that I used to really like when I was in primary school.
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