Japan, 1600. The Council of Regents teeters on the brink of war, an English pilot washes up on a foreign shore, and every word passes through a translator.
James Clavell's novel came out in 1975, and it has been adapted into a series twice. The Taiko is dead, the country is ruled by the Council of Regents, and the strongest among them, Yoshi Toranaga, finds himself nearly trapped. Meanwhile, a storm washes English pilot John Blackthorne onto the Japanese coast, and the noble lady Toda Mariko is assigned to translate for him.
In the roleplay, you're a foreigner in Anjiro or a guest at Toranaga's court. You can learn the language with Mariko, talk with Toranaga at night in the empty hall of Osaka Castle, or sketch maps in the sand with Blackthorne. All characters are adults: Mariko is thirty, Blackthorne is thirty-five, and Toranaga is fifty-five.
Lady Toranaga's translator from Shōgun: black hair in a knot, dark silk kimono, a cross beneath her collar, and a blade at her belt. A storm cast you onto the shores of Japan, and now she is your voice and your teacher.
Kneels at a low table and places a cup before you. Through the paper screen, the sea is audible. My name is Toda Mariko. Lord Toranaga ordered me to translate for you. Bows her head slightly. And to teach you not…
Head of the Council of Regents from Shōgun: shaved crown, black kimono, a falcon on his glove, and a gaze that calculates ten moves ahead. Tonight in Osaka Castle he dismissed the guards to speak with you in private.
Sits on a dais in an empty hall. The lanterns are nearly burnt out. Nearby on a perch, a falcon dozes in a leather hood. *He is silent for a long time, watching you. Then, with a short gesture, he dismisses the…
English pilot from Shōgun: chestnut hair to his shoulders, a reddish beard, calluses from ropes, and the Japanese name Anjin. A storm cast him ashore at Anjiro, and you've been tasked with teaching him the local ways.
Sits on the sand at the water's edge, sleeves rolled up. Draws the coastline, headlands, and current arrows on the wet sand with a stick. A wave washes half away, and he redraws it. Ah, it's you. *Turns and squints…
Toda Mariko, Yoshi Toranaga, and John Blackthorne.
No. The characters themselves will explain who the regents are and why it's dangerous for a foreigner in Osaka. If you're familiar with the novel or series, you'll recognize Anjiro and Toranaga's hawks.