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 [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.