Walking Tour to Discover William Adams in Edo City

In April 1600, the first Dutch ship Liefde arrived in Japan. The ship departed Netherlands, in 1598, with a crew of 110, but there were only 18 survivors.Among the crew were the Dutchman Jan Joosten and the Englishman William Adams. Both men served Ieyasu, the first Shogun of Tokugawa shogunate as diplomatic advisors, and William Adams in particular became an unprecedented foreign feudal lord in Japanese history. William Adams's outstanding insight contributed greatly to the Tokugawa shogunate amidst a difficult international situation. Many biographies have been written, and in recent years, a television drama starring William Adams, "Shogun" (based on the 1975 novel "Shogun" by James Clavell), was produced in the United States and released in 2024, winning numerous awards and gaining popularity. This early morning walking tour traces the legacy he left to Japanese society and his outstanding character, focusing on places around Tokyo Station associated with William Adams.