History Literature / AsianSaga

* BitchSlap: In the 1980 miniseries of ''Shōgun'', Ishido cuffs Anjin-san across the face while the latter is ObfuscatingInsanity.

** Many Iranians in ''Whirlwind'', especially the wealthy, support Khomeini so as to remove the Shah for the presumed good of Iran/themselves. They seem to assume, however, that upon the revolution's success its driving force - a religious fanatic and the horde of zealous peasants who almost worship him - will simply disappear, rather than continue their course and steamroll their way to power. They also fail to consider that the revolutionaries - most of which are impoverished, ignorant, and live lives of misery and starvation - might resent the decadence (real or comparative) of the non-poor, as well as their more progressive, easygoing understanding of Islam, as much if not more so than their hatred towards "infidels". In a similar vein, many women support Khomeini over the Shah despite the latter's regime having granted them the rights they enjoy; they're subsequently surprised when Khomeini's archaic interpretation of Islam lead to very many men unleashing the aggressive misogyny they'd been bottling, as they consider it something nearing a religious mandate.

''Shōgun'', ''Tai-Pan'', ''King Rat'' and ''Noble House'' have been adapted for film and television (''Shōgun'' has seen two miniseries -- a 1980 one starring Creator/RichardChamberlain and Creator/ToshiroMifune and a [[Series/Shogun2024 2024 one]] starring Creator/HiroyukiSanada and Music/CosmoJarvis), and ''Shōgun'' was also adapted as an Creator/{{Infocom}} computer game and a Broadway musical. Also there was a strategy game based on ''Tai-Pan'' for many platforms, including ZX Spectrum, and a board game based on ''Noble House''.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: In ''Noble House'' Suslev gets rid of his [[TheStarscream executive officer]] by selling him out to the Hong Kong police - except he fully expects him to commit suicide before being caught. He doesn't, spills some details to the British and Suslev is left in a seemingly impossible dilemma: confirm Sevrin to the Western agencies and set Russia back in Hong Kong by decades, or stay silent and have the British inform the Soviets of his actions, and the inevitable death sentence that will entail.

* {{Doorstopper}}: All of the books save for ''King Rat''.

* TheDungAges: The filth of [[TheLateMiddleAges the 16th century]] Europeans (confirmed by the RealLife accounts of the Elizabethan Age) is shocking to their Japanese contemporaries, while things hardly improved until the 1840s (the timeframe of ''Tai-Pan'').

* EatTheDog: In ''King Rat'', Pirate, a mongrel pet dog of one of the [=POWs=], attacks and kills one of the few hens the prisoners have to provide vital eggs - which is the highest offense anyone could commit inside the camp. The rest of the camp forces the man to kill his dog. Since King is celebrating his birthday around the same time, he buys half of the carcass (even he couldn't afford the whole thing) [[ReducedToRatburgers and it is served as a stew]] during the birthday party.

** As it turns out, every character in ''Shōgun'' who insist that Toranaga is [[spoiler: intent upon subverting the Taikō's heir and achieving the titular position.]] The narrative itself misleads the reader as the characters who believe this are generally unpleasant, treacherous, and unreasonable, while the skeptical characters are comparatively admirable voices-of-reason. [[spoiler: Toranaga's historical counterpart does indeed manage to suppress and eventually wipe out the heir and his clan a few years later.]]
** In the same novel, the Catholics that insist Blackthorne is a major threat to their position in Japan, not a minor threat to be forestalled or converted, [[spoiler: are, historically, proven correct: Blackthorne's inspiration]] William Adams would go on to become chief interpreter and trusted advisor to the Shogunate. Attempts to convert him fail; desperate offers to smuggle him out of Japan are dutifully reported, weakening their relations with the Shogunate; and ultimately, thanks in no small part to his influence, [[spoiler: Catholicism is forbidden and banished from Japan 14 years after the events of the novel.]]

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Commented on in ''Noble House''. The Gornts villify Dirk Struan as, in Gornt's words, the most evil man to have ever lived while the Struans and Dunrosses do the same with Tyler Brock. However, Dunross, savvy to the myths and legends of Hong Kong, makes clear that he realises at least ''some'' of what the Gornts say must be true, but that with so much time passed and the two families well into their blood feud, the particulars really don't matter by that point.

* TemptingFate: The Chinese servant Lun in ''Gai-jin'', who, like many Chinese, constantly look for ways to insult and frustrate other peoples in a petty attempt to make them "lose face". This includes calling Japanese officials "monkeys" at a delegation meeting, confident none of them understand English; and when warned to be careful by the British ambassador he feigns misunderstanding and walks away laughing. It so happens that one Japanese "official" is a decoy secretly fluent in English, and, presumably having mouthed off in the man's earshot, Lun is later found decapitated with a monkey's head staked to his neck.

** ''Shōgun'' has quite a few; one of Blackthorne's crewmates is boiled alive, a punishment that other characters in the book mention occasionally and fear greatly. A samurai also ends up getting bayoneted in the gut and disemboweled, slowly cut at and mutilated, then left to be eaten by wild dogs for his dishonorable pleas for mercy. Worst of all, [[spoiler: Ishido (Ishida Mitsunari's {{Expy}})]] is buried up to the neck in mud after [[spoiler:his defeat and capture by Toranaga]], and random passers-by are invited to take turns sawing away at his neck with a bamboo saw. It takes three days for him to finally die.