Shōgun (2024 miniseries)

Shōgun
Release poster
Genre	Historical drama Military
Created by	Rachel Kondo Justin Marks
Based on	Shōgun by James Clavell
Starring	Hiroyuki Sanada Cosmo Jarvis Anna Sawai Tadanobu Asano Takehiro Hira Fumi Nikaido
Composers	Atticus Ross Leopold Ross Nick Chuba
Country of origin	United States
Original languages	English Japanese
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Edward L. McDonnell Justin Marks Rachel Kondo Andrew Macdonald Allon Reich Michael De Luca Michaela Clavell
Producers	Jamie Vega Wheeler Eriko Miyagawa Hiroyuki Sanada Erin Smith Tom Winchester (eps. 1–2)
Editors	Maria Gonzales (ep. 1) Aika Miyake (ep. 2) Thomas A. Krueger (ep. 3)
Running time	53–70 minutes
Production companies	Gate 34 Michael De Luca Productions FXP
Original release
Network	Hulu FX
Release	February 27, 2024 (2024-02-27) – present (present)

Shōgun is an American historical drama miniseries created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, which was previously adapted into a 1980 miniseries. The series premiered with its first two episodes on February 27, 2024, on Hulu and FX, with new episodes of the 10-episode series then releasing weekly.

Premise

Shōgun follows "the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious woman samurai; John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyō, at odds with his own dangerous political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance".

Clavell's Shōgun is historical fiction. The character of Blackthorne is loosely based on the historical English navigator William Adams, who in Japan rose to become a samurai under a powerful daimyō. That daimyo was later the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose life and reign lasted from 1543 to 1616 and on whom Shōgun's character Yoshii Toranaga is based.

Cast

In the following lists, the names in parenthesis represent the historical figure upon which the character is based.

Main

• Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1543–1616)
• Cosmo Jarvis as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne (William Adams, 1564–1620)
• Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko (Hosokawa Gracia, 1563–1600)
• Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige (Honda Masanobu, 1538–1616)
• Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari (Ishida Mitsunari, 1559–1600)
• Tommy Bastow as Father Martin Alvito / "Tsuji" (João Rodrigues Tçuzu, 1561–1634)
• Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba No Kata (Yodo-dono, 1569–1615)

Recurring

• Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi (Honda Masazumi, 1566–1637)
• Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji
• Shinnosuke Abe as Toda Buntaro (Hosokawa Tadaoki, 1563–1646)
• Tokuma Nishioka as Toda "Iron Fist" Hiromatsu (Hosokawa Fujitaka, 1534–1610)
• Yukijiro Hotaru as Nakamura Hidetoshi, later the Taiko (Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1537–1598)
• Yasunari Takeshima as Muraji
• Yuki Kura as Yoshii Nagakado (Matsudaira Tadayoshi, 1580–1607)
• Yuka Kouri as Kiku
• Yoriko Dōguchi as Kiri No Kata (Lady Acha, 1555–1637)
• Ako as Daiyoin / Lady Iyo (Kōdai-in, 1549–1624)
• Toshi Toda as Sugiyama (Maeda Toshiie, 1539–1599)
• Hiro Kanagawa as Igurashi
• Junichi Tajiri as Uejiro
• Néstor Carbonell as Vasco Rodrigues
• Nobuya Shimamoto as Nebara Jozen
• Yuki Kedoin as Takemaru
• Mako Fujimoto as Shizu No Kata
• Haruno Niiyama as Natsu No Kata
• Louis Ferreira as Ferreira
• Joaquim de Almeida as Father Domingo
• Paulino Nunes as Father Paul Dell'Aqua
• Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama ukon Sadanaga (Konishi Yukinaga, 1555–1600)
• Takeshi Kurokawa as Ohno Harunobu (Otani Yoshitsugu, 1558–1600)
• Yuko Miyamoto as Gin
• Yoshi Amao as Sera

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Anjin"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks	February 27, 2024 (2024-02-27)	0.764
In 1600, the lone Dutch trading ship Erasmus and its starving surviving crew arrive at Ajiro on the coast of Japan. The ship had been part of a five-ship and 500-crew Dutch fleet, of which only the Erasmus is left to arrive in Japan. After the captain's suicide, Pilot-Major John Blackthorne, the ship's English pilot, is taken prisoner by samurai warriors. The Japanese leader Taikō has just died, leaving the rule split among five equal daimyō regents designated by the deceased Taikō to protect his child heir son, Yaechiyo Nakamura, at Osaka Castle (those being Ishido Kazunari, Sugiyama, Kiyama ukon Sadanaga, Ohno Harunobu, and Yoshii Toranaga). Toranaga is descended from the House of Minowara (but also see Minamoto clan), a powerful family in feudal Japan. The entrenched Portuguese traders and the Catholic Church's Jesuit order are the religious enemies of Protestant Englishman Blackthorne. The local Jesuit minister immediately attempts to have Blackthorne executed by the Japanese as a pirate, but the fief's ruler, Kashigi Yabushige, dismisses the minister's request and secretly plots to use the Dutch ship to his own benefit if war inevitably breaks out. At Osaka Castle, the other four regents initiate the process to impeach and thereby condemn to death Toranaga and all his clansmen. A spy in Ajiro sends a message to Toranaga about the captive Blackthorne, and Toranaga orders his general, Toda Hiromatsu, to confiscate the Erasmus cargo and bring the foreign navigator to the castle. Another navigator, Vasco Rodrigues, a Spaniard in service of the Portuguese, sails a Japanese ship to bring Blackthorne and the Erasmus cargo to Osaka, but along the way, a storm wave washes Rodrigues overboard; Blackthorne takes command of the ship and saves Rodrigues as well as his captor, Kashigi Yabushige. Rodrigues' ship arrives at Osaka, and Blackthorne is taken to the castle, where he meets Toranaga and Lady Toda Mariko.
2	"Servants of Two Masters"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks	February 27, 2024 (2024-02-27)	0.764
In 1599, a dying Taikō appoints the five regents but admits he only trusts Toranaga. In 1600, Rodrigues gives Blackthorne's confiscated rutter and journal, which contains a description of the secret Spanish and Portuguese trade intelligence, to the Jesuits. During Blackthorne's first interview, both Mariko and the Jesuit priest Martin Alvito translate for Blackthorne, but they are interrupted by Ishido's sudden arrival. Toranaga feigns disinterest in Blackthorne and has him thrown into prison to keep him from Ishido, privately musing that he can use Blackthorne's presence to sow division between Ishido and the Christian daimyō, Kiyama and Ohno. While in prison, Blackthorne meets another Jesuit prisoner, Franciscan Friar Father Domingo. Domingo explains that Toranaga is one of five competing samurai warlords attempting to ascend to the position of shōgun, the military governor of Japan, a position vacant since 1573. He also informs Blackthorne that Toranaga is currently losing and that the Portuguese Black Ship has been taking the vast profits from the silk trade between China and Japan back to Europe using a secret military base in Macao guarded by Catholic-converted rōnin, and that the Portuguese Church has smuggled guns to Japan to incite an uprising against the Taikō. Ishido calls upon the other four busho for a vote on Toranaga's impeachment, but Kiyama and Ohno refuse to sign until Blackthorne is executed, and Ishido reluctantly agrees. Later, Toranaga's opportunistic retainer, Yabushige, convinces Ishido that Blackthorne could be useful in discerning the Christians' plans for Japan. When he is taken to be executed, Blackthorne is rescued by Yabushige's men posing as bandits. In a second interview with Toranaga (with Mariko serving this time as sole translator), Blackthorne explains that Portugal and Spain have laid claim since 1494 over Japan and reveals that their end goal is to replace Japan's government with a Catholic one, and shares the existence of the Catholic secret base in Macau. Toranaga, Mariko, and all Japanese present are shocked to hear how all of Japan "belongs" to the King of Portugal, and in retaliation for this presumption, Toranaga bars the Portuguese Black Ship from leaving Osaka. That night, an assassin sent by Kiyama on behalf of the Jesuits tries to kill Blackthorne but Toranaga has secretly switched rooms with Blackthorne and attacks the assassin. Blackthorne comes to his aid and the two defeat the assassin together. As part of the episode, in a post-episode documentary to assist in the difficulty in Western audiences understanding non-Western thought, the show's producers give a synopsis of the historical silk worm trade immersed in the Japanese and Christian cultural, religious, and political elements of the three main characters in the television series (Blackthorne, Mariko, and Toranaga).
3	"Tomorrow Is Tomorrow"	Charlotte Brändström	Shannon Goss	March 5, 2024 (2024-03-05)	N/A
Lord Yabushige writes his will before meeting with Toranaga, believing he will be put to death. Instead, Toranaga promises him a larger fief and instructs him to move Blackthorne and Toranaga's wife, Lady Kiri, to his fishing village. In the Portuguese headquarters, Captain Ferriera rebuffs the official ban on the Black Ship, and disregarding the church's disapproval and the negative diplomatic consequences, he instructs Rodrigues that they will leave that same night. At the palace, the caravan escorting Blackthorne, including Buntaro (Mariko's husband), Yabushige, Lady Kiri and Toranaga's son, prepares to leave. Before they can do so, Ishido arrives to inspect the caravan under the guise of paying respects. Toranaga secretly takes his wife's place in the litter, which Blackthorne witnesses. Informed by Mariko that if this subterfuge is discovered, they will all be killed, Blackthorne creates a scene pretending to be outraged at their invasion of the Lady's privacy. The caravan leaves the castle and escapes to the harbor, but they are attacked later that night by both Kiyama's and Ishido's men and barely escape, with Buntaro staying behind to stall pursuit. Boarding the Black Ship, Toranaga meets with the Portuguese and strikes a deal, offering them clearance to leave, a sum of silver coins, and permission to build a church in Edo in exchange for passage on their ship. Toranaga also convinces them to sway the Christian regents in his favor, but in turn, the Portugese demand that Blackthorne is left in their hands. Ferriera, Rodrigues, and Toranaga's party sail away on the Black Ship, but Blackthorne follows it in Toranaga's galley and rejoins the Black Ship. Once safe at sea, Toranaga makes Blackthorne a hatamoto and asks him to teach Western tactics to a new regiment and to show him how to dive. In Osaka, Hiromatsu informs the regents that Toranaga has resigned from his position, which means they no longer have the quorum to vote on his impeachment.
4	"The Eightfold Fence"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Nigel Williams & Emily Yoshida	March 12, 2024 (2024-03-12)	N/A
Upon the galley's arrival in Ajiro, Toranaga inspects Yabushige's army before departing for urgent matters. Blackthorne is informed by Mariko that his men were relocated to Edo, and that they and the Erasmus now belong to Toranaga. Furthermore, he is given a home, a healthy salary, and Fuji as his consort, provided that he trains Yabushige's army on combat tactics for six months. Meanwhile, Omi suggests to Yabushige that in Toranaga's absence, Yabushige can take the confiscated guns and cannon and offer them to Ishido. During the first week of training, Blackthorne teaches the army the basics of English naval combat, first by helping them improve their efficiency with cannon. Later, Nebara Jozen from Ishido's army arrives and tells Yabushige to return to Osaka to pledge his loyalty to the Council, but Yabushige invites Jozen to stay and for a demonstration the next day. Later that night, Blackthorne gives Fuji one of his guns as a token of gratitude; in exchange, she gives him her late father's swords. The next day, during the demonstration, Nagakado takes matters in his own hands and kills Jozen and his army, much to the chagrin of Yabushige.
5	"Broken to the Fist"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Matt Lambert	March 19, 2024 (2024-03-19)	N/A
6	"Ladies of the Willow World"	Hiromi Kamata	Maegan Houang	March 26, 2024 (2024-03-26)	N/A
7	"A Stick of Time"	Takeshi Fukunaga	Matt Lambert	April 2, 2024 (2024-04-02)	N/A
8	"The Abyss of Life"	Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour	Shannon Goss	April 9, 2024 (2024-04-09)	N/A
9	"Crimson Sky"	Unknown	Rachel Kondo & Caillin Puente	April 16, 2024 (2024-04-16)	N/A
10	"A Dream of a Dream"	TBA	Maegan Houang & Emily Yoshida	April 23, 2024 (2024-04-23)	TBD

Production

Hiroyuki Sanada, one of the producers of the series, portrays Lord Yoshii Toranaga.

Development

During the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour in August 2018, FX announced it would make a new adaptation of the 1975 novel Shōgun by James Clavell and had given the production a straight-to-series order. Executive producers were expected to include Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell, Tim Van Patten, Eugene Kelly, and Ronan Bennett. Rachel Bennette is set as a supervising producer, Tom Winchester as a producer, Georgina Pope as a co-producer, and Eriko Miyagawa as an associate producer. Patten will also direct the series, and Bennett will also write. FX Productions is slated to serve as the production company for the series. Hiroyuki Sanada serves as a producer and lead actor.

In an interview with USA Today, Sanada expressed his role as a producer, saying "After 20 years in Hollywood, I'm a producer. It means I can say anything, anytime. [...] I had a team for the first time, ever. I carried the pressure of being a producer on my shoulder. But more than that, I had happiness." He also stressed keeping the show authentic to Japanese history. "If something is incorrect, people cannot focus on the drama. They don't want to see that kind of show. We needed to be authentic."

Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to commence in March 2019 in Japan and the United Kingdom, but was delayed because the network felt that the production wasn't in good enough shape and that they wanted to aim higher. Sanada did a single day of filming in 2019 in order for FX to retain the rights to the property as the series was being retooled.

In January 2020, it was revealed that after original writer Ronan Bennett was no longer available to keep working on scripts, they started over from scratch with new writer and executive producer Justin Marks, working alongside his wife, supervising producer Rachel Kondo. The series' writing team also includes co-executive producer Shannon Goss, consulting producer Matt Lambert, script editor Maegan Houang, and staff writer Emily Yoshida.

On September 22, 2021, principal photography for the series began in Vancouver and Ireland, lasting until June 30, 2022, two months longer than expected. Nikkan Gendai reported that Japanese extras were paid 50,000 yen per day, which is much higher than a Japanese production where they are paid between zero yen to 5,000 yen a day. A Japanese pine tree used on set was donated and planted after filming to the City Hall of Port Moody.

Marketing

To promote the series, an immersive exhibition of the series occurred at FX Lawn during San Diego Comic Con in July 2023. These included samurai performances and a virtual koi pond. On September 5, 2023, the series was teased in a showcase of upcoming FX television shows. On November 2, 2023, the show's first trailer debuted on YouTube, which revealed that the series would be released in February 2024 on Hulu. A 30-second trailer for the series aired during the second-quarter of Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024. Bill Bradley of Adweek wrote "The series has been in the works for years and is already the most expensive in FX history, so what's another $7 million-ish for an ad?"

Release

Shōgun premiered with its first two episodes on February 27, 2024, on Hulu and FX. The remainder of the 10-episode series will release weekly. Internationally, the series will be available on Disney+ and Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ (via Star in other territories.) An English dub of the series is available on Hulu. A companion podcast was also released for each episode.

Reception

Audience viewership

According to viewer tracking application Samba TV, Shōgun was the most streamed program across all platforms between February 26 and March 3, 2024. On March 6, 2024, it was revealed Shōgun drew 9 million views across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ in its first six days of release.

Critical response

Shōgun received critical acclaim worldwide. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 79 critics gave the series a positive review. The website's critics consensus is, "Visually sumptuous and enriched with cultural verisimilitude, Shōgun is an epic adaptation that outdoes the original." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian praised the show, calling it "mesmerising" and especially praised the battle sequences and its respect for the source material. Writing for The New York Times, Mike Hale compared the show to the 1980 adaptation, writing "You can correct for wooden acting, dated production values and Eurocentrism, but you can't really correct for the basic nature of the material." He especially praised the show for highlighting more of the Japanese characters than in the 1980 adaptation, which focused more on Blackthorne. His only complaints are Cosmo Jarvis' more neutered portrayal of Blackthorne and the Western-written source material. Forbes described the show as an "instant hit" and praised Jarvis' portrayal of Blackthorne, stating "I'm immediately drawn to his character because he's not just some good guy, some white savior or what have you. He's smart but he's also calculating and ruthless." Anita Singh of the Telegraph awarded the series four stars out of five, writing that “Disney’s glossy adaptation of James Clavell’s bloody novel – set in Japan in 1600 – looks great and feels unapologetically macho.”

Empire headlined their review by Jake Cunnigham with "Shōgun makes for gripping television. Look past the knotty bureaucracy and you'll find striking performances and stunning visuals", highlighting the intricate performances of its lead trio. He describes Jarvis as "compelling" and "magnetic", Hiroyuki Sanada as a "subdued lord [who] ripples with menace, micro-expressions of warfaring arithmetic revealing his tactical mind" and Anna Sawai as "a character torn in duty and spirituality, cloaked in a performance of stoicism". The Hollywood Reporter also praised the supporting cast, notably Moeka Hoshi, Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Shinosuke Abe and Tokuma Nishioka for their strong character work. IGN described some of the supporting cast as "stand-out", praising Néstor Carbonell as Rodrigues and Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige next to Jarvis' Blackthorne, "a force to be reckoned with".

Series creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks's adaptation of the novel also received positive responses, with Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter stating that "this Shōgun finds much more traction as an ambitious game of political chess." IGN writes "Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo have crafted a version of feudal Japan filled with visual splendor, brutality, and intrigue" whilst remaining "Highly faithful to James Clavell's bestselling novel". For Variety, Alison Herman attributes the show's success to "creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo have tapped into the true secret sauce of epic television: a balance between sweeping grandeur and intimate psychology."

Reception in Japan

In Japan, the series was acclaimed by audiences on Eiga.com. Japanese comedian and history buff Kunihiro Matsumura also praised the series for its authenticity. Ken Matsudaira, who played Tokugawa Yoshimune in The Unfettered Shogun and played Tokugawa Ieyasu (who was the model for the main character, Yoshii Toranaga) three times in his acting career, praised Sanada's skilled acting and his effort to bring more historical authenticity to the series, for which Sanada also serves as a producer. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sanada expressed his thoughts on the show's Japanese reception. "I was a little worried about the Japanese reaction because they know what is authentic, and what is not. But surprisingly, all the reviews and the reactions from the audience were great. That was exactly what we wanted."

Acclaimed video game designer Hideo Kojima, known for founding Kojima Productions, gave the series a glowing review, likening it to "a Game of Thrones set in 17th century Japan", and praised the show's scale, details, cast, costumes, sets, props, and VFX, as well as citing star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada's presence in the series.

External links

• Shōgun at FX
• Shōgun on Hulu
• Shōgun at IMDb