The New "Shogun"

The 1980 "Shogun" miniseries was one of the major prestige television events of its era.  I've never seen it, though the fact that the miniseries never bothered to subtitle the spoken Japanese doesn't strike me as a promising indicator of its quality.  The 2024 "Shogun" from FX arrives in a totally different television landscape, where prestige miniseries are very common, and audiences are more familiar with Japanese culture.  Even with my limited knowledge of the original, it's evident that the new "Shogun" is a far more nuanced, ambitious work that more than lives up to its predecessor.

Adapting a James Clavell novel based loosely on the life of William Adams, "Shogun" follows the adventures of a 17th century English sailor, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who is shipwrecked in Japan.  He eventually becomes a vassal of the daimyo Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), who is trying to maneuver his way into the role of shogun, a dominant warlord who can unite a divided Japan.  Other major characters include Blackthorne's translator Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) and her husband Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), Toranaga's scheming underling Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), a political rival Ishido (Takehiro Hida), and finally Lady Fumi (Moeka Hoshi), the widow of a recently deceased samurai.

Reportedly the most expensive FX series ever made, "Shogun" takes pains to establish the authenticity of its vision of 17th century Japan.  The show was created by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, and shot mostly in Vancouver.  However, the script was written to appeal to both American and Japanese viewers, with many little cultural nuances in the Japanese dialogue that Western viewers will likely miss.  The language barrier is handled extremely well, with the common tongue being identified as Portuguese - but actually spoken as English because this is an American backed production.  You get a sense of the cultural divide from both perspectives in a way that I've rarely seen in Western media.  The participation of several Japanese writers and producers, including Sanada, clearly helped immensely.      

And make no mistake that Sanada is the lead of the series.  John Blackthorne's "Stranger in a Strange Land" struggles serve as a good entryway into this universe, but the political maneuverings of Toranaga (a thinly disguised Ieyasu Tokugawa) and the other daimyo is the main event.  This is a series where viewers would benefit from having some familiarity with Japanese history and classical literature.  There are multiple Japanese POV characters, including Mariko and Yabushige, who each give us different perspectives on the strict honor-bound culture.  Seppuku is a common occurrence, thoroughly discussed and put into context with multiple examples, to ensure the cultural underpinnings are crystal clear.  Blackthorne's story does hit a few of the usual white savior tropes, but he isn't in this story to save the Japanese, but rather to be civilized and redeemed by their example.   

The world of "Shogun" is immaculately realized, rivaling the fantasy kingdoms of "Game of Thrones" and any other blockbuster epic you could name.  The art direction is gorgeous, and offers plenty of  spectacle, recreating period sailing ships, castles, armies, and cities.  There's an episode entirely built around Blackthorne teaching Toranaga's men cannon warfare, and another featuring a visit to the "willow world" of a famous courtesan.  The show's violence is brutal and graphic, but not exploitative.  It's used for worldbuilding and character building rather than easy shocks.  I love the sound design, including a finale that makes wonderful use of long silences.  

In the end, the performances were what I was the most impressed with.  Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano are absolutely magnificent when given the opportunity to work with great material.  I was impressed with Anna Sawai in "Monarch" earlier this year, but I'm thrilled to see her become a full fledged leading lady as the indomitable Mariko.  Her negotiation scenes are as tense and exciting as any of the action sequences.  As for Cosmo Jarvis, I certainly won't keep confusing him with Tom Hardy after this.    

"Shogun" is a rare experience in a crowded season of splashy television projects, a miniseries that truly feels like an event.  It may not have the big marquee stars, but the level of quality is truly exceptional, and can only hope it sets the standard for every Western foray into jidaigeki to come.    

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