The erudite, sincerely religious Jesuit priest Alvito is Toranaga’s interpreter. He has a greater understanding of the Japanese language and culture than any other Westerner and is a dedicated scholar who dreams of completing a Japanese-English-Latin dictionary. Quick to anger, Alvito often regrets the aftermath of his outbursts—one such episode of short temper makes the promising Japanese priest Brother Joseph renounce Christianity altogether. Still, Alvito is often torn between spiritual and political loyalties: While he finds himself immediately at odds with Blackthorne, he refuses to have Blackthorne killed, preferring instead to try to convert him to Catholicism in an attempt to save his soul.

John Blackthorne—known as Anjin or “pilot” to the Japanese—is an English navigator on the Dutch ship Erasmus, who slowly acculturates into Japanese society. Blackthorne is stubborn, always willing to fight if he feels he has been wronged, and very intelligent: He is an excellent maritime pilot, speaks Latin and Portuguese as well as English, and quickly picks up Japanese. Blackthorne is an ambitious man with a strong moral compass: He is eager to plunder the Portuguese Black Ship for his own gain, but refuses to allow a village to suffer on his behalf.

After spending the better part of a year in Japan, Blackthorne begins to appreciate Japanese hygiene habits, food, sexual attitudes; he also absorbs bushido, or

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