Shogun Characters & Character Analysis

Shogun Characters

John Blackthorne

Pilot-major of the Erasmus, he is thirty-six and very sure of himself when he arrives in Japan. Blackthorne becomes known by his Japanese name, Anjin, because the sounds of his real name are impossible to say in the Japanese language. Many of the people call him "barbarian." He is also called "Ingles" by the pilot Rodrigues, indicating his nationality as English. Blackthorne is immediately frustrated by the language barrier and this seems to be a motivation for gaining a rudimentary control of the language fairly quickly—an unusual feat among those who arrive in Japan. Blackthorne soon comes to have a slight grasp of the political aspects of the country and finds himself allied with Toranga almost by default, having landed in the region under Toranga's control. Blackthorne eventually becomes a pawn in the political aspirations of Toranga, losing his boat to the need for Toranga to gain the approval of...
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