Shōgun is a TV series by FX and it is an adaptation of James Clavell’s novel. I was intrigued by its setting in medievial Japan. But I was putting this off for a while. The historical epic is filtered through western eyes. A white protagonist serves as our guide into Japanese culture from 500 years ago. I did not want to watch another attempt at depicting the “exotic samurai”. They are often reduced to being side characters in a story of their own history.
But the casting of Hiroyuki Sanada as a producer was something that gave me impetus to finally watch it. Maybe I was just running out of things to watch. 🙂
John Blackthorne remains a central character. What I discovered was a story about power and loyalty. It also conveyed the impossibility of truly understanding another culture. This was told with a sophistication that left me full of joy at the unfolding series.
World Building
This is not a documentary. But the series really takes a lot of efforts to get the visual and cultural world it is set in correct. Shōgun has a visual language that is extraordinary.
The houses, the wooden floors of the castles, Osaka, the village houses, parts of Edo (Tokyo) all look lived in. There is a lot of attention to detail for every scene. The ceremony around drinking tea, how the characters are positioned during formal discussion, showing their hierarchy at court.
Space and art design is used to show intimacy, status of the character, and even threat.
Hiroyuki Sanada playsToranaga, a fictional character based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was the founder of Tokugawa shogunate. Blackthorne, the English character, ends up in Japan aboard a Dutch ship. The Portuguese have already setup their business in Japan.
Blackthrone is what I was most afraid of. Is everything he sees exotic? Are his thoughts more important than the Japanese characters and their thoughts?
But that is not how it goes thankfully. The show somehow reverses it.
The Japanese characters speak to each other without bothering to explain intricacies to their foreign guest. It constantly reminds us of the limits of our own understanding. Blackthorne, is an outsider, who can learn and appreciate but never fully belong. We as an audience that is non-Japanese are also the same.
The Writing is Beautiful
Shōgun is remarkable for its writing. It is a political thriller, love story, human condition all rolled into one. Nothing in the show is wasted. Objects introduced casually become pivotal. Characters’ offhand remarks reveal themselves, a few episodes later. All are carefully planted seeds.
This is Chekhov’s gun elevated into high art. The show trusts its audience to remember and to connect. The writing rewards attention in a way that feels increasingly rare.
The dialogue, too, operates on this principle of layered meaning. Characters rarely say what they mean directly. The Japanese characters communicate through implication and a shared understanding. This remains partially opaque to both the protagonist and the viewer.
The culture is presented not to be consumed but to be explored.
Best part is it is not second screen enough
There is a new phenomenon about television series these days called Second Screen writing. This means many shows have a screenplay structured with the understanding that people are using a second screen. They do this while watching content. Mainly while watching a tv screen, people are also looking at the mobile phone. They may be chatting or looking at an Instagram reel.
This has led to characters becoming bland, acting and dialogues becoming shorter. Everything seems to be over explained, to allow people to use the second screen without missing too much on the first screen.
The one thing about Shogun I liked is that it does not fall for this phenomenon. It stays true and honest and demands attention from its viewer.
I almost missed watching Shōgun. I’m grateful I didn’t.
In India it streams over Hotstar Jio.
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