What Is Shogun About?
AdaptingShogunin any capacityis an intimidating task.
Ultimately, their fates come down to karma: what goes around, comes around.
Image via Jefferson Chacon
Condensing a story as vast asShoguninto a ten-episode miniseriesdemands sacrifice.
Certain plot points must be trimmed.
UntilShogunfinishes, we won’t know if Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks deviated from larger plot beats.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.
What Happens in the Shogun Book?
TheShogunnovel opens in 1600.Japan’s Taiko leader has passed, leaving the country’s leadership in turmoil.
ThinkGame of ThronesorHouse of Cards, where every word carries the weight of life or death.
A terrible ocean storm tosses an unwitting John Blackthorne into this crescendoing social storm.
Almost every player on the chess board wants to use Blackthorne as a pawn or eliminate him.
Portugal, for instance, seeks to monopolize Japan’s trade industry.
Image via FX
Swords, honor, loyalty, romance, revenge…
What Are the Shogun Characters Like?
Shogun’s key themes include loyalty, honor, and interpersonal harmony.
The closer Blackthorne grows to Toranaga, the more he respects his unlikely ally and the Japanese culture.
He becomes contrite, losing his automatic racism and manufactured sense of white superiority.
Mariko is enigmatic and reserved, keeping her dignity close and her family’s shameful secrets closer.
Her father assassinated a high-rankingdaimyo, leading to the execution of her entire family.
Mariko resists him at every opportunity, her spine one that never bends.
Clavell based Mariko onHosokawa Gracia, a practicing Catholic and the last surviving member of her family.
Everything reaches its crescendo when Ishido turns the Council of Regents' families into hostages.
The move is designed to ensnare Toranaga to his death; the ever-fearless Mariko tries to rescue him.
Likewise, he told Japanese history through the eyes of a fictional Englishman.
It’s not just fitting for Japan to reclaim an appropriative story this famous.
This is the only wayShogunshould be told.
Shogunpremieres February 27 on FX and Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu
