What better way to escape from the onslaught of so-called reality television than to sail away with Richard Chamberlain to the 'Japans' for a little samurai action and some discreet 'pillowing'? In his award winning perfomance, Chamberlain stars as John Blackthorne, the 17th century English navigator on a Dutch trading ship. A storm runs the ship aground off the coast of Japan, a 'torn and cruelly divided country' locked in a power struggle between Toranaga and Ishido, two warlords who would be Shogun. Blackthorne gets over his initial culture shock to become a trusted ally of Toranaga and the lover of the beautiful interpreter Lady Mariko. Their forbidden, ill-fated romance is set against political intrigue as Toranaga prepares for the inevitable showdown with Ishido, and Blackthorne's growing influence threatens the local Jesuits who had built up a lucrative trade monopoly.