The play is adapted from the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell. The story is set in Japan in 1600, at the dawn of the century's civil war, the Sekigahara War. The enemies among the five bosses unite to fight against themselves, and Yoshii Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) must fight for his life. When a mysterious European ship is found stranded in a nearby fishing village, the ship's British pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) brings with him the secrets that might help Toranaga displace the balance of power. These secrets may also destroy the powerful influence held by Blackthorne's own enemies - the Jesuit priests and Portuguese transplants. The fates of Toranaga and Blackthorne become inseparable from their translator Toda Mariko (played by Anna Sawai). Mariko is a mysterious Christian woman, the last family member from a declining aristocratic lineage. In an era of turbulent political relations, Mariko must not only serve her daimyo, but must also find a balance between her newfound sense of mission, religious and her father's wishes, with Blackthorne. The original work is told from two perspectives: Western and Japanese. The background is set in the Edo Shogunate period in Japan, and the prototypes are Tokugawa Ieyasu and Miura Anzu.