george D

I found Shogun fascinating on many levels. The most interesting aspect for me was learning about the relationship between the characters and the expected behavior towards one another. They had to choose their words so carefully being conscious of not offending each other, even to the point where some characters felt compelled to end their lives for showing a perceived lack of respect. I found their customs fascinating but at the same time cumbersome to live. Must have taken so long to navigate through them and get things done. Then, the Barbarian comes into the picture, and seems to disturb, at times, quite a bit of the accepted behavior in their society. With time, he is taught and somewhat learns how to function in the Japan of that time. He did have skills to offer that were valued. That must have been quite a learning experience not knowing the language and also being in such a hostile environment towards foreigners. I think some us can relate in some ways to his experience even in our "modern and reasonable" world. In any case, watching this program was very worthwhile.