The Japanese Island Where the Real-Life SHOGUN Story Began
N_SorecchaWilliam Adams was an English navigator who arrived in Japan in 1600 aboard the Dutch ship De Liefde. He later became a trusted adviser to Tokugawa Ieyasu and inspired John Blackthorne, the main character of SHOGUN. His story in Japan began here, on a small island in Usuki.
Kuroshima, seen from the mainland in Sashiu, Usuki.
Photo: SORECCHA.
If you have watched SHOGUN, you may recognize the name William Adams.
Adams was an English navigator who sailed to Japan aboard the Dutch ship Liefde. After a long and extremely difficult voyage, the ship finally reached Japan in April 1600.
And the place where they arrived was not Tokyo, Osaka, or Nagasaki.
It was here in Usuki.
A Long Journey to Japan
In 1600, the Liefde was part of a fleet of five ships that had left the Netherlands for Asia.
The journey was extremely difficult. The ships crossed the Atlantic and sailed around the southern tip of South America before heading across the Pacific toward Japan.
Storms, disease and other difficulties took a terrible toll.
By the time the Liefde reached Japan after roughly two years at sea, more than 100 people who had originally been aboard the fleet were dead. The Liefde itself arrived with only about 24 people on board, many of them seriously ill. According to records introduced by Usuki City, only six were well enough to walk by themselves.
The Liefde left Rotterdam in 1598 and reached Usuki in Bungo Province in April 1600. Simplified route.
On April 19, 1600, the exhausted ship finally reached the coast of Sashiu in present-day Usuki.
The small island where they came ashore is called Kuroshima.
They Arrived in Very Bad Condition
Imagine seeing a strange European ship arriving offshore more than 400 years ago.
The people on board were not arriving as healthy explorers ready to discover Japan.
They were survivors.
Many were sick, and the ship itself had endured an extraordinarily long voyage.
Fortunately for them, they had reached Usuki.
At the time, Usuki was ruled by the local lord Ota Kazuyoshi. He provided the exhausted crew with food and medicine and reported their arrival to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
“Encounter” by Nobuyuki Tamada, at the Miura Anjin Landing Memorial Park on Kuroshima.
Image source: Usuki City.
This part of the story is one reason I find the connection between Adams and Usuki interesting.
The first Japanese people he encountered were not officials in Edo or Osaka.
They were people in a small coastal community in what is now Usuki.
From a Small Island to Tokugawa Ieyasu
The survivors did not stay in Usuki for long.
Adams and the other surviving crew members were eventually taken to Osaka, where Adams met Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
Ieyasu was interested in Adams' knowledge of navigation, astronomy, shipbuilding and the political situation in Europe.
Adams was not simply a sailor who happened to survive a disastrous voyage.
He had spent years working with ships and had extensive knowledge of navigation and the sea.
Ieyasu came to trust him, and Adams was eventually given an important position as an adviser on foreign affairs.
He was given the Japanese name Miura Anjin, and even received land in the Miura area.
More Than Just the Story of One Man
Adams went on to play an important role in Japan's relations with European countries.
He helped Ieyasu understand European countries, international politics and overseas trade. He also contributed to the development of foreign trade between Japan and both England and the Netherlands.
His knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation was also valuable to the Japanese government.
The arrival of the Liefde therefore became much more than the story of a disastrous voyage.
It became one of the events that helped open a new chapter in Japan's relationship with Europe.
And this is why a small island in Usuki has a connection to a much bigger story: the beginning of important Japanese connections with England and the Netherlands.
Kuroshima Today
Kuroshima today.
Photo: Masaharu Kitayama / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Today, it is surprisingly peaceful here.
Kuroshima is a small island off the coast of Sashiu. It is known not only for its connection with William Adams, but also as a place to enjoy the sea.
There is a monument commemorating Adams' landing, as well as the Liefde Memorial Park and a small museum connected with the story.
And in summer, people come here for swimming and camping.
That contrast is one of my favorite things about this place.
More than 400 years ago, a severely damaged ship arrived here after an incredibly difficult journey from Europe.
Today, you can come to the same island for a swim.
Standing Here Today
From Kuroshima, you can look back toward the mainland.
It is not a huge distance.
That makes the story feel surprisingly real.
It is easy to imagine the exhausted crew looking toward this unfamiliar coastline more than 400 years ago and wondering where they had arrived.
And then I look at the same view today and think:
This is where the real-life SHOGUN story began.
Not in Tokyo.
Not in Osaka.
Here in Usuki.
One More Local Story
There is one more local story about William Adams that I find interesting.
The commonly told story is that the Liefde arrived at Kuroshima. But Adams was extremely ill and may not have been able to leave the ship by himself.
According to a local story, the ship was at Kuroshima, but the sick crew members were taken to the mainland by a boat provided by the Usuki domain.
The place they were brought to may have been Omoto, a small harbor on the mainland, just across from Kuroshima.
Kuroshima on the left and Omoto on the right.
Photo: SORECCHA.
Kuroshima and Omoto are only about 100 meters apart, so the difference may seem very small today.
Perhaps this is why different versions of the story have been passed down locally.
Official accounts identify Kuroshima as the place where the Liefde arrived. But a local story also remembers Omoto as the place where Adams and other sick crew members were brought ashore.
Kuroshima and Omoto are only about 100 meters apart.
Illustration: SORECCHA.
I don't know if this explains the difference for certain.
But I like the idea that both places may be part of the same story.
After all, the important thing is that, after an incredibly long voyage, William Adams and the other survivors finally arrived here in Usuki.
