- Set in early 17th-century Japan, shipwrecked English navigator John Blackthorne finds intrigue and culture shock in a feudal society that puts a premium on honor. A rival Lord sentences Blackthorne to death.
- The year is 1598 and English pilot John Blackthorne navigates his Dutch ship Erasmus through the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America. In order to evade Spanish and Portuguese enemies who'd been trying to keep the pass secret, he sails his ship across the Pacific, a leg of the voyage that takes over 130 days. Several of the crew fall ill, the Captain General of the ship among them and the surviving crew seem on the verge of mutiny. Just as all hope of reaching land seems lost, Blackthorne meets with success landing in feudal Japan but beaches his ship on a reef in a violent storm off the coast of a coastal fishing town, Anjiro. He falls unconscious. When he awakens, he is greeted by a Japanese woman. Blackthorne is able to get a fisherman to take him to the Erasmus, however there are samurai guarding it and he's denied entry to his cabin to retrieve his rutter (a Portuguese one) and other important papers. When he arrives back on shore, he is confronted by Father Sebastio, Portuguese Jesuit priest, who translates for the local "hatamoto", Omi. The priest, being Catholic, is Blackthorne's sworn enemy. Blackthorne discovers that his crew are alive and staying in the village, confined to a small courtyard and guarded heavily by Omi's samurai servants. Sebastio demands to know how Blackthorne arrived in Japan. Omi tells Blackthorne he can see his crew. In a show of power, Omi suddenly beheads a man standing on the beach, shocking Blackthorne with the callous nature of the summary execution.
The local samurai imprisons Blackthorne's men to await the arrival of his lord, Lord Yabu, the "daimyo" of the region. Blackthorne and his men are put on trial where Sebastio uses his influence with Yabu to claim they are pirates. In desperation Blackthorne throws the Jesuit's crucifix on the ground and stomps on it in an effort to demonstrate the Jesuit is his enemy. Yabu is intrigued and imprisons Blackthorne and his crew while demanding they sacrifice one of their own to spare the rest. After the loss of the crewman, and the torture of their youngest man, Blackthorne yields to his captors and is given the name Anjin (Japanese for Pilot).
A Japanese ship arrives in the village bearing the jovial Portuguese pilot Rodrigues and the news that the region's warlord Toranaga has learned of the Dutch ship's arrival and sent for him. Anjin-san boards the ship gleaning some useful information from Rodrigues and beginning his journey of discovery in a seemingly strange and brutal land. Before they leave, Blackthorne asks Rodrigues to help him retrieve his rutter on the Erasmus. Rodrigues is able, through his prestige as one of Toranaga's advisers, to get Blackthorne into his cabin. Blackthorne finds that the Japanese have found the hidden panel where the pilot had stowed his rutter, which is missing.
Blackthorne's journey to Osaka to meet with Toranaga is one of peril and discovery. Despite the warring of their countries he and the Portuguese pilot Rodrigues find a kinship as navigators. Rodrigues provides him some of the political structure of Japan while hiding Blackthorne's navigational papers as well as the true intention of his Jesuit masters - the conquest of Japan. A storm forces Blackthorne to the helm while Rodrigues supervises the crew. A squall washes the deck carrying Rodrigues overboard to be saved by Blackthorne and Yabu, solidifying the new friendship.
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Episode #1.1 (1980) in Brazil?
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