Shogun

The Portuguese trading vessel nicknamed the Black Ship represents the riches of Europe. It passes through Japanese waters each year, filled with weapons and goods, often worth in excess of one million gold pieces. Blackthorne has always wanted to seize the ship and take its plunder for himself. After the Erasmus burns, Blackthorne hopes to take the Black Ship to recoup his losses, enrich himself, build Toranaga’s fleet, and strike back against his religious enemies. 

This symbol of Christianity represents faith, conflicts between Christian sects, and priestly hypocrisy. Mariko’s crucifix is a cherished symbol of her faith—the purest of the novel’s religious symbols. Conversely, the ornately decorated crucifix that Blackthorne breaks in front of Father Sebastio—a symbol of Catholic outward showiness, which is one of the things Protestants decry—symbolizes Blackthorne’s hatred of the Jesuits.

Named for a famed Dutch Enlightenment philosopher, the Erasmus is a Dutch ship trying to find a route to Japan so that the Netherlands can set up trade without going through the Spanish and Portuguese. The Erasmus represents Blackthorne’s love for the sea, his desire for freedom, and his ambition for conquest—Blackthorne hopes to use the Erasmus to take the valuable Black Ship and its cargo. When Blackthorne becomes pivotal to Toranaga’s plans, he burns the ship in exchange for Blackthorne’s life.

Toranaga and many other samurai in the novel believe in the Buddhist doctrine of karmic reincarnation—that they will be reborn into another form forty days after death. The deeds of one’s life determine one’s karma. The accumulation of bad karma leads to rebirth in a lesser form.

Seppuku is a form of ritualized suicide practiced by disgraced samurai. It requires the use of a short sword to make one, or at best two cuts across the stomach—one horizontally, one vertically. Seppuku can refer to any honorable suicide, however, such as when Mariko allows the door to explode with her back against it to protect Blackthorne and the women hiding in the secret room. The samurais view seppuku as restoring honor, and many beg to kill themselves after a failure.

Samurai, feudal Japan’s warrior class, enact a culture of war, duty, ruthlessness, and discipline. They are trained to be fierce fighters, who remain impassive in the face of pain and death. Their highest ideals are enshrined in an honor code called bushido, which dictates obedience to one’s lord, unflinching bravery, and above all the avoidance of shame and loss of face.