‘Shogun’ reimagined for new generation of TV viewers

I'll give it a B-. Overall it's dark and depressing (shot in British Columbia). The actor playing Anjin is alright I guess. I do not like the actress playing Mariko (Anna Kawaii), no warmth or humanity in that one. Some of the interior sets are nice as are the costumes if you are into that I suppose.

We have enjoyed watching it.

Compared to the original series starring Richard Chamberlain, I like the fact that there is more of a balance between the acting time between the English speaking and Japanese speaking casts. The books actually reads more that way, even though there are some slight differences between the two but not too many. Besides, the book was over a thousand pages, so they'd have to slim it down in places to fit within 10 episodes.

It looks like a good show.

I read the book when I was a kid, and it opened my eyes to Japanese history and culture, however accurate. As usual, I'd recommend 15 hours with the book over two hours with the video.

Not mentioned in the article is that one reason this version is so much more accurate is because of Hiroyuki Sanada who apparently only agreed to star in the series if it stuck to more accurate history and culture and he is one of the producers.

His insistance on Japanese language etc...is said to be a major factor in how this got to be what it is!

I've been enjoying this series so far. They're very much going for a "Game of Shoguns" vibe. Even the title sequence is basically GoT with Japanese gardens.

I think the most impressive thing has been just how much of the show is in Japanese. Probably around 80% of it is Japanese dialogue. A bold choice for such a big budget American produced TV show.

I also like that it doesn't over explain elements of Japanese culture that would be common knowledge to locals. It happened a lot in series like Blue Eyed Samurai and Rirakuma. Best way I can explain it is that it'd be like having a scene in an American film where a character explains what a hotdog is whilst showing a detailed sequence of a hotdog being made.

This show has some graphic depictions of seppuku and natto but trusts its audience to piece together what's going on.

In the last episode, the part of the pheasant was unnecessary and strange.

I’ve quite enjoyed it so far.

My only complaint is that the village scenes are shot in coastal BC as noted by another commenter, which has a rainforest that doesn’t look like Japan.

Otherwise its great, I’m looking forward to the next episode.

My wife and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

I read the book decades ago and watched the first TV series but most has gone from memory.

The best actor of his generation, Mifune, "mailed it in" in the 1980 Shogun. Sanada, on the other hand, may have delivered a career defining performance. The actor, Yoko Shimada, who played the Mariko character in 1980 later developed an alcohol dependency and at age 58 was making porn movies to pay off her debt. When she died, famously nobody claimed the body.

Former Japanese PM in the 90's, Morihiro Hosokawa, is a descendant of Hosokawa Gracia, who the Mariko character is based off of.

One thing that I thought they would not include in the new series was when Anjin, played by Richard Chamberlain, was offered a male companion when he showed no interest in a female companion and the character reacted in pious offence. Richard Chamberlain, who is gay, really overplayed that scene. It's not 1980 anymore so I thought that they would not include it in the new series or use it to show that even in 1600 Japan was more open and progressive that the US was in 1980 but Cosmo Jarvis overplayed it a bit as well.

If you haven't seen the 1980 version it is available for free streaming on the Internet Archive.

AntiquesavingToday  09:06 am JST

Not mentioned in the article is that one reason this version is so much more accurate is because of Hiroyuki Sanada who apparently only agreed to star in the series if it stuck to more accurate history and culture and he is one of the producers.

His insistance on Japanese language etc...is said to be a major factor in how this got to be what it is!

That would make it better and more 'real' to us Western viewers.

“Japan bashing” spread in the U.S., and visceral anger exploded when American autoworkers smashed Toyota cars in March 1983 and congressmen shattered a Toshiba boombox with sledgehammers on the Capitol lawn in 1987. That same year, the magazine Foreign Affairs warned of “The Coming U.S.-Japan Crisis.”

In TIME magazine in 1991 there was an article about 'Is the US and Japan going to war?'. It was ridiculous sensationalistic crap. And some people in my immediate family have always been hung up on this 'Pearl Harbor' excuse to hate Japanese. Funny thing is, many of my uncles served in the Korean war and spoke of admiration and respect for Japan; went on liberty call there and they loved it. Got some good quality items there, cheap. They spoke admiration for Koreans too, but no love for the NK government or China's CCP!

I remember this TV show from my teens, I thought it was pretty good. It inspired me to take Japanese Studies for a non-Western/US humanities requirement in college. It was fun and I kicked the living snot out of it.

And for once, here's a 'newer' version of a TV miniseries that looks good.

I read the book on a shabby - but cheap - Soviet “passenger” ship from Hong Kong to Yokohama in 1978. I learned my first word of Japanese from the book and attempted to use it with two Japanese passengers in the ship’s dining room. I picked up the carafe of water from the table, looked at the young man opposite, and said “mizu”. I think I got the pronunciation right, but may not have used the correct form given the social situation. In any case, the young man looked at me bewildered until the older man next to him basically repeated what I had said in an obviously more comprehensible form.

To give the young man credit, he acknowledged that some sound had indeed been emitted from the face hole below my nostrils.

Thrilling and enjoyable. Shinnosuke Abe as Buntaro is a master class of acting.

I’m enjoying the series so far. Haven’t read the book or seen the original dramatization, so I can’t make comparisons there.

I do not like the actress playing Mariko (Anna Kawaii), no warmth or humanity in that one.

It’s Sawai, not Kawaii, and I think she has been very well cast in this role at least.

How good is Fuji though. My favourite character.

The character Fuji is certainly my favorite. Sorry, autocorrect switched Kawaii for Sawai. Still not a fan. Being able to quickly edit would be a nice, every other place has it feature.

I watched the original Shogun miniseries as a kid and then read Clavell's Shogun, King Rat, Noble House, Tai Pan, the whole series.

Fair enough. I can’t really say I’m a fan. I didn’t really like her in Monarch. Just I think this role called for somebody a little cold and I think she is doing it really well. Agree on Fuji, and Hiroyuki Sanada I’m a huge fan of now.

I credit the book by Clavell for getting me interested in Japan back in the '70s. Later, I was a college exchange student to Japan and then after that a Monbusho grad student in Tokyo. I spent my career in the Far East and live in Japan today. The new series is spectacularly entertaining for me. I have watched and rewatched the episodes so far.

Brilliant and quite faithful to the novel.

The book that launched millions of gaijin's interest - and obsession with - Japan. Kiwi actress Anna Sawai is fantastic as Mariko.

Read the book about 30 years ago and have forgotten a lot of the content, and of course a lot of the character names, but so far the show is not bad. Great actors in it, especially Sanada, Asano, and Jarvis, and I think the set pieces are pretty fantastic. I also like that a lot of the cast are actually Japanese (or of Japanese descent) and speak the language fluently (of course) and without accent. I don't care if they are not Japanese, of course, as long as they can act, but it's funny to hear characters who are supposedly Japanese speak worse than I do.

In 1980, when James Clavell’s blockbuster historical novel “Shogun” was turned into a TV miniseries, some 33% of American households with a television tuned in. It quickly became one of the most viewed miniseries to date, second only to “Roots.”

…

In 1982, historian Henry D Smith estimated that one-fifth to one-half of students enrolled in university courses about Japan at that time had read the novel and became interested in Japan because of it.

…

Clavell’s expansive 1,100-page novel was released in the middle of the Japanese miracle. It sold more than 7 million copies in five years; then the series aired, which prompted the sale of another 2.5 million copies.

So, apparently, this was the “anime and manga” of the 70’s and 80’s in North America and the reason why many older western folks ended up in Japan. I didn’t know the book (maybe because of my age) so it’s been interesting to read these articles and comments of people who are familiar with the history behind the book and the old miniseries; tbh, I’m still not interested in the book but(!) I’m gonna watch this series (I mean, duh, this looks amazing), (just waiting for the last episode (ten, I believe–five more episodes) so I can binge watch this); I’m a big fan of Hiroyuki Sanada, a very talented and intelligent man, Anna Sawai is beautiful, she’s fluent in English and she was born in New Zealand, which makes her even more attractive and I like Tadanobu Asano (such a cool guy, great presence). Can’t wait to watch this.

I'm really enjoying this show. It's well done. Sanada Hiroyuki is awesome. I am looking forward to the remaining episodes.

In the last episode, the part of the pheasant was unnecessary and strange.

It was a plot point to show Anjin that his words matter, and to teach Anjin how life, death, and society obligation are handled by the Japanese.

The absolutely best show I have ever seen on TV

Thoroughly enjoyed the 1980 TV series, as well as the latest one.

A bone to pick......in one scene Japanese are shown looking up at the "huge" European ship, in awe. While I do not know about the size and capabilities of Japanese ships of that time, I have read that the Chinese in the 15th century were building sea going ships that dwarfed anything the Europeans were building. Also, while it is not often mentioned in Western histories or literature, once they found out that it was possible to sail to North America, Chinese ships regularly engaged in trade with Europe via the port of Acapulco. Our guide to Acapulco told us that Chinese trading ships were frequent visitors to Acapulco in the days of sailing ships. There is also the case of the Chinese military fleet that was sent to California to bombard its cities, in the 19th century, in retaliation for slights to Chinese citizens in the USA. However, when they got to San Francisco, they were welcomed, and feted, and ended up being highly prized guests at parties.

I do not know if large Chinese ships were known to the Japanese, but since the two countries are so close together, and traded regularly, it seems likely.

I do not know if large Chinese ships were known to the Japanese, but since the two countries are so close together, and traded regularly, it seems likely.

But would the average person in Japan? It's not like there was TV or pictures. Many of them at most would have seen a picture, if that, so even knowing that there were larger Chinese vessels they still likely would be awed by the size of a large ship wherever it was from.

@1glenn

While I do not know about the size and capabilities of Japanese ships of that time, I have read that the Chinese in the 15th century were building sea going ships that dwarfed anything the Europeans were building.

Chinese shipbuilding devolved considerably by the early 1600 when Shogun takes place. And yes, Japanese daimyos saw Chinese war junks in person(Maybe not Tokugawa because he sat out of the Japanese invasion of Korea), but all the western daimyos saw hundreds in person, because they battled the Korean + Chinese naval fleet only a few years ago. Actually Chinese war junks of this era were smaller than Japanese Atakebune and Sekibune.

Again, historical authenticity research is poorly done. Japan at the time of 1600 had more muskets than all of Europe combined, having gone through Senkoku era + Korea War.

And yes, Japanese have witnessed how accurate the artillery can be, having tasted the infamous and deadly accurate Korean artillery that decimated Japanese troops in Korea both on land and at sea only a few years prior.

History is fascinating!