‘Shōgun’: Inside the Making of FX’s ‘Very Poetic’ & Epic Series

How can one best describe Shōgun, the new 10-part adaptation of James Clavell’s epic 1975 novel of feudal Japan? It is indeed big, filmed across two massive Vancouver backlots, a remote mountainside, and a pair of expansive soundstages, upon which Japan in the year 1600 is re-created with astounding detail. And it’s thrilling: the tale of Yoshii Toranaga (an incomparable Hiroyuki Sanada), a commanding leader who works to beat back a cadre of enemies and secure his legacy of power with the help of captured English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis).

But Sanada, who also served as a producer for the five-year-long project, prefers a Japanese word — shosa — which he defines as “master of gesture.” Shosa dictated the actors’ movements: “how to walk, how to sit, how to kill, everything,” he says. “We hired the Japanese crew, who had experience in samurai drama. Wigs, costumes, props, everything: We tried to do our best to make it authentic.”

The series, airing weekly on FX (episodes stream the same day on Hulu), follows Toranaga, a formidable Japanese warlord in the bind of a lifetime. His enemies on the Council of Regents have ganged up against him, no doubt looking to seize power in this gulf of time before the new ruler of Japan has come of age. But the brilliantly strategic Toranaga has a secret weapon: Blackthorne, who may hold the key to tipping the scales in a way that makes Toranaga the most formidable shōgun of them all.

(Credit: FX)

History Speaks

Many of the characters are based on real people, including Blackthorne — modeled after William Adams, the first English navigator to reach Japan, in 1600 — and Toranaga (famed 17th century shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu). The same is true for the character of Mariko (Anna Sawai), the devoted Catholic noble who translates for Blackthorne and is eventually drawn to him.

“Initially, I think we came at these characters thinking we could broaden what they did,” says Rachel Kondo, who created this series with her husband, Justin Marks. “But we had to remember that we were working with figures who have been studied, figures who exist in the consciousness of a nation. We had to really understand that we need to write to the spirit of the character.”

(Credit: FX)

While it is a historical series akin to Netflix’s 2015–22 The Last Kingdom, Shogōn’s focus remains squarely on character and story, much like the beloved first miniseries adaptation from 1980 that starred Richard Chamberlain. It covers the forbidden love, shocking betrayal, secret alliances, and other by-products of power. “It is a very universal drama,” Sanada says. “It’s not just action, violence, geisha, stereotypes. It’s very poetic.”

Throughout, Toranaga must deal with the complicated ambitions of enemies and friends. That includes bitter de facto council leader Ishido (Takehiro Hira), who wishes to neutralize his counterpart, and Toranaga’s loyal general, Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka), who will stand by his friend to the end. Then there’s Blackthorne, who regards the Japanese first as savages and later as sages. Their society’s unique customs are detailed in the massive novel.

(Credit: FX)

“He was really a master storyteller,” says Marks of Clavell and the 1,152 pages of source material they worked from. “There are areas in the latter half that we had to condense, simplify, or just heighten for specific reasons. But everyone [had] a shared affection for the book.”

That very much includes Sanada, who carried his own dog-eared copy with him everywhere. “It’s a great script, but I brought the novel on set every day,” he says. “And then it was back and forth: read script, read novel; read script, read novel. It was like a Bible.”

Clavell’s descriptive prose inspired cast and crew to keep authenticity front of mind. “We had to bring Japan to Canada. And in terms of quantity, I feel like we brought half the crew of the show,” says Marks, who calls casting the series “the singular joy of my career.” The free use of the Japanese language — with painstakingly translated dialogue and subtitles placed onscreen for maximum reading comfort — became an enormous plus. “Most of our cast did not speak English, and they were allowed to perform and improvise in their own language,” he adds.

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That sense of “shosa” extended throughout, from the 10,000 roof tiles that needed to be replicated for the right period look to the 20 different fabrics that went into weaving the vestlike pieces Toranaga wears over his uniform.

And Sanada was always there to keep the production steered in the right direction. “Every single costume that came to the studio I checked and I taught [the actors] how to wear,” he recalls. “A French designer creating the kimonos, but he doesn’t know how to wear one!”

Shōgun, Series Premiere Tuesday, February 27, 10/9c, FX

This is TV Guide Magazine’s Shōgun cover story. For more on the series and other must-see TV, pick up the issue, on newsstands beginning Thursday, February 15.