This is one of these books... 
 There are some books that may influence your life and the way you think. 
 There are some books that are tied with your childhood and when you grow up you will feel choked with emotion when you read them again. 
 When this book was firstly published in English, I was just born. 
 When the TV series was firstly shown on US TV, I was five years old. 
 A few years later, it was introduced in Greek TV. I was less than 8 years love but I fell in love with John Blackthorne. I still remember the impact of the TV series. Everybody was trying to learn Japanese (during the first episodes, it was the only language you could hear) and to play with swords. 
 When I grew up I tried to learn Japanese, but I never succeeded. I learned "Domo" and "Domo arigato", but only thanks to the series... 
 I tried to learn the Katana (wooden of course), but I was a disaster waiting to happen... 
 At least I managed to learn a bit of ju jitsu and judo. 
 I managed to visit Japan, when I was much older. And it was great because it was early April and it was cherry blossom season in Osaka. 
 When I was older I read the book finally and I watched the TV series again. I wanted to feel again how it was when I was a child and everybody was running on the street in order not to miss the beginning of the episode. I have missed this. Books and TV series based on books do not make the people so sentimental anymore. Expect maybe the "Game of thrones" lately, but not everybody will run on the street not to miss the start of the show hahaha. You can always watch it later on the internet. 
 Was the Shogun story based on accurate facts? Not really, but who cares? 
 It is a wonderful love story and a great way to present a great civilization. And this is the only thing that matters.