How long does it take to read Shōgun?
Shōgun by James Clavell takes about 20 hours 34 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 20 hours 34 minutes
A long haul
First published 1975. 1,122 pages, about 308,550 words.
42 days (about 6 weeks) at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 34 hours 17 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 20 hours 34 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 12 hours 51 minutes |
The page count is the median across 29 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Shōgun is a historical novel set in Japan at the turn of the seventeenth century, when the country has long lacked a central ruler and is torn by rival factions. Portugal, backed by the Catholic Church and its Jesuits, controls trade with Europe and spreads its faith. A Dutch ship's navigator, the Protestant Englishman John Blackthorne, is stranded on the coast after his crew is devastated. Lord Toranaga, a powerful regent with a determined rival, takes an interest in him. Loosely drawing on real people and events, the story follows how foreign interests and Japanese power struggles shape the rise of a new order.
This summary was written by AI and checked by a second AI model. How these are chosen.
Subjects: Fiction, Historical fiction, History, Warlords, Adventure ficiton, Samurai
