John Blackthorne [SEP] based on
John Blackthorne
John Blackthorne is the hero of James Clavell's 1975 novel "Shōgun", and is loosely based on the life of the 17th century English navigator William Adams, who was the first Englishman to visit Japan. The character also appears in the 1980 TV miniseries "Shōgun", played by Richard Chamberlain.
In the novel, Blackthorne is a described as a navigator, who is the "first English pilot ever to get through Magellan's Pass," working for Dutch traders in 1600 who navigates his ship
Shōgun: The Musical
Shōgun: The Musical is a musical with a book and lyrics by John Driver and music by Paul Chihara.
Based on James Clavell's 1976 novel and the 1980 television mini-series of the same name based on it, the musical centers on shipwrecked English sea captain John Blackthorne, who finds himself drawn into a political power play while involved in an illicit affair with a married noblewoman in 17th-century Japan. Clavell's novel was itself originally inspired by the true story of English navigator William