In the year 1600, a bedraggled English sailor and his sick and dying crewmates anchored off the coast of Kyushu, Japan. His name was William Adams, and over the next two decades, he would rise through the ranks of Japanese society to become the first Western samurai. As a close advisor to the revered shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Adams was a first-hand witness to a defining period in Japanese history.
To hear about Adams' remarkable life, Dan is joined by Frederik Cryns, author of In the Service of the Shogun: The Real Story of William Adams and historical advisor for the Disney+ series, Shōgun.
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/.
We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
Tutankhamun's 'Curse' & Other History Mysteries
The 'Elgin' Marbles
Hades: King of the Underworld
Rasputin
4. Napoleon: The Myth
3. Napoleon: The Lover
2. Napoleon: The Commander
1. Napoleon: The Early Years
Habsburg Inbreeding with Dr. Adam Rutherford
The Belfast Blitz
Napoleon's Greatest Battles with Ridley Scott
Remembrance Day: Searching for My Father the WWII Pilot
3. Hitler's Third Reich
2. The Rise of Hitler
1. Hitler's Early Years
Pocahontas: The True Story
Hunting Pablo Escobar
Babylon
The Salem Witch Trials
James Beckwourth, Conquering the American Frontier
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
History Extra podcast
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk
Key Battles of American History
Gone Medieval