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The Needle-Watcher: The Will Adams Story, British Samurai [Paperback]

Richard Blaker (Author)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 494 pages
  • Publisher: Charles E Tuttle, Vermont, USA (1 Jan 1973)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 080481094X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0804810944
  • Product Dimensions: 18 x 10.9 x 2.5 cm
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,363,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Richard Blaker Page
Richard Blaker
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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.6 out of 5 stars  5 reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A great read 20 Oct 1997
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
For those who have read Shogun by James Clavell, you might be surprised to find that it was based upon a true story, the story of Will Adams. This book is an easy read and recounts the adventures of Will Adams, the first non-Japanese Samurai and founder of the Japanese Navy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars the anjin miura story 3 Jun 2006
By Conrad C. Skinner - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This discerning book tells the story of Will Adams an English navigator in Dutch employ whose ship founders on the Japan coast in the early seventeenth century at the dawn of the Tokugawa era. Blaker skillfully nuances Adams character as a man who navigates the cultural differences between Japan and Europe, building a navy which helped Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidate power and politically unify Japan. Adams realizes that he will never leave Japan's closed shores and shares all his maritime knowlege with Shogun Ieyasu. Ieyasu confers on Adams the title of "daimyo" or lord, giving him a manor in Yokoyama. Ieyasu's successor takes Adams for granted and ceases to patronize him. Adams loses his status. The book ends with an episode in which Adams proves his loyalty to the institution of the Shogunate showing that he embodies the valued personality trait "majime" or sincerity as much as any Japanese.

The Japanese challenge almost all foreigners living in their country to measure up to values of loyalty and sincerity. Blaker's book details Adams' life living with that challenge because his own sense of honor and his generosity left him with no choice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoyed Shogun.... 1 April 2012
By Kevin H (Portland, OR) - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I strongly suspect that James Clavell got his inspiration for Shogun from the story of Will Adams, a real English pilot who ended up in Japan and actually did become an aid to a Shogun. The "Needle-Watcher" is an interesting biography and well worth the read. It is not historical fiction, so don't expect a fast moving novel like Shogun. However, if you want the real story, a good solid read that is not so long that you will become board or and drop it midway through.
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