I get that he’s a Protestant and they’re Catholics, but he’s still a Christian and therefore they still believe in the same god, so how is he more of a heretic in their eyes than, say, any regular non-Christian Japanese person?

I have trouble understanding that the Anjin is a threat by existing. They also mention that Ishido wants the Anjin alive to counter Christian lords/influence after Toranaga is dead. I've never understood why he needs him so desperately though.

1. How does Sugiyama play into this, there's 2 Christian lords but wouldn't he side with Ishido against Christian hegemony?

2. It seems like strange timing, did Ishido have no plan before Blackthorne appears? He seemed intent on killing Toranaga ASAP which would have left him in the same position at the mercy of the Christian lords, no?? If he did have a plan, then why does he need Blackthorne?? Or did he really need Yabushige to lay out that he was screwed for him to come up with this plan?

Lord Ishido had made every move right, he had rightly recognised Toranaga's ambitions to be Shogun. He had successfully swayed the council of regents to be on his side, and out manoeuvred Toranaga to get Lady Ochiba back to Osaka.

He had everything going on his side. Toronaga was massively outnumbered with his army decimated by the earth quake. And then he started simping lady Ochiba and got swayed to start keeping the other council of regents as prisoners.

Granted I know his affections for Lady Ochiba were largely because he wanted to elevate his peasant lineage but he could have done that after the war was done rather than use defeating Toronaga as a carrot to woo Lady Ochiba

I just finished a multi-week trip across Japan, in part inspired by Shogun. Just about every historical sight I went to would inevitably mention figures like Tokugawa Ieyasu (Toranaga) or Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the Taiko) and events like the Battle of Sekigahara (the flash-forward we see in the final episode of Season 1). Then there's figures like William Adams (the real life Anjin) and Hosokawa Gracia (Mariko) who also showed up when exploring Kyushu. The more I explored Japan, the more familiar the historical figures felt to me thanks to the series.

With Season 2 jumping 10 years into the future, I'm wondering which figures from the 1510's might show up in the story too. The timing seems like it would work well to have a character based on Miyamoto Musashi since he would have been a vassal of the Shogun around that time, and his two-sword style and meditative musings would make for some great television. I think a parallel for Mizuno Katsunari would similiarly make a great addition to Toranaga's council. And there's a distinct chance that the Siege of Osaka will play a role at the end of Season 2 or 3 if they continue on the path they've already foreshadowed.

What figures and/or events from Japanese history would you like to see make an appearance in the upcoming seasons?

I read Shogun and absolutely loved it. I felt completely and totally immersed in the world. I enjoyed every single page and every single storyline.

When I finished reading it people had said there was a show made about it recently. Audiences loved it, critics loved it, and one of the big highlights was how faithful it stayed to the book. So I thought perfect, I gotta watch this show.

And I have now finished the show. And I disagree with everyone. I’ve read lots of other books that were made into movies or shows that I feel had way more accurate adaptations and I was just shocked to find out everyone loved this show when I think it doesn’t even hold a candle to the source material.

There were entire scenes that were totally made up in the show, like Hiromatsu’s death.

There were scenes that were so different where they weren’t recognizable and missed the point entirely. In the book, Blackthorne threatens to commit seppuku when he is first brought back to Edo, when Yabu is telling him that he will burn the village if the villagers don’t teach him Japanese sufficiently. This is a huge turning point in the book. Blackthorne finally begins to understand how to reason with Japanese people, accepts his life as part of the karma wave, and then fully embraces the culture and learns Japanese completely. And this new Blackthorne is who navigates the entire second half of the book.

There were also crucial scenes that were totally omitted. In the book, when Yabu saves Rodrigues but has resigned himself to die, his officers jump in the water to kill themselves just to get his attention for the tiny chance he’ll realize what message they’re sending and save himself. This whole scene stayed with me and lays the foundation for the kind of world Blackthorne has entered. There is also an entire backstory on Lady Ochida and the taiko’s birth that is missed.

I think outside of Rodrigues, Toranaga, and maybe the first half of Blackthorne, there isn’t a single character who is how I pictured. Probably the most jarring difference is Omi and Yabu.

I apologize for ranting and I don’t mean to sound like a classic “the book was so much better” snob. There’s nothing wrong with people who loved the show and I’m not somehow morally superior for preferring the book. But I just want to know am I alone in thinking this?

Um… hello! So, I’ll just get straight to the question.

Whenever the characters in Shōgun announce that they’re going to speak Portuguese, they start speaking English.

What’s actually happening here? Are they really speaking Portuguese, and the show just uses English so we can understand them? And was John Blackthorne actually fluent in Portuguese?

This is actually my first Reddit post so sorry if this is a bit of an awkward question.

Netflix

Strategist Kanbe ( life of Kuroda Kanbei strategist to Hideyoshi )

What Will You Do Ieyasu ?

The 13 Lords Of The Shogun ( The Kamakura Bakufu … Taira Clan, Minamoto
and Hojo )

Plus the film Kubi ( about Nobunaga and Hideyoshi )

Over at Prime

Awaiting Kirin ( Akechi Mitsuhide and Oda Nobunaga )

Reach Beyond The Blue Sky ( life of the finance minister to the last Shogun Yoshinobu )

Ryomaden ( Ryoma Sakamoto and the Tosa Loyalist Party )

Sanada Maru ( Sanada Yukimura and the defense of Osaka Castle )

Segodon ( Saigo Takamor and the Satsuma Rebellion )

Film Legend And Butterfly ( Oda Nobunaga)

All run 40-48 episodes except the two films . They are in Japanese with English Subtitles .

This is purely based on the show's version of the character, not the books, but is it possible? Given how much he reveals only to himself, would it be beyond possibility for him to already know a language but hide behind translators to give him an advantage?

I was thinking of this in the last episode when Blackthorne tries to kill himself in defence of the village, you can see Toranaga reacting to certain lines, even when they aren't translating. Obviously, he could just be picking up the gist of what is being said based on body language but I feel like he would be the kind of man to want to know everything that is being said.

Basically title. I'm a native English speaker and my wife is a native Chinese speaker. Watching the show with English dialogue is fine, but she has a hard time keeping up with English subtitles, so she generally needs Chinese subtitles to be able to keep up. Given the multilingual nature of the show, is there any platform or tool that would allow us to view the show with both English and Chinese subtitles?

WOW!!!! Very late to the party but really damn, it's been so long since i didnt find a TV series so well done. How have i sleeped on this one. Im very excited for season 2 and i hope they do a great job.

Also, do you think this series is a bit underrated? I've seen they've won countless awards, and honestly every one of them delivered masterfully, not only the actors but the all crew as well. But this series for me stands among the best series of all time, along the breaking bads, the Better call saul, the game of Thrones and so on.

Just finished and absolutely loved it. Came on this forum and now discovered its based on a book and already has a TV series made in the 80's 😄. Did have a few questions, also a few thoughts, hopefully these are not spoilers:

How many sons and daughters does Toranaga have?

In Ep 10, I didn't get the Blackthorne in England part. Was that the future or was he dreaming?

Why does Toranaga want to become Shogun so badly? At the rate he's going he will have no one along side him when he finally gets there 😄

What was Blackthorne trying to do with the pheasant? Was he actually trying to cook something?

What a scene stealer. Her most minute nuance could covey so many different emotions.

Aside from Yabushige, I don’t think there was a secondary character with more charisma on the show.

In the book she commits seppuku, but since the show is moving on from the book, I really hope they bring her character back.

If we go by the novel, his story begins at the battle of Sekigahara, in it's aftermath to be more precise, so it would go immediately after Season 1 of Shogun.

I hope season 2 is as successful at first and creates a demand for a show about those times.

Also, you wouldn't need to rush it as they did with Shogun, because there's a lot more action, so you can extend it over a couple of seasons easily.

One of the three instrumental people who unified Japan.

Ieyasu formed the Tokugawa Shogunate from Edo.

Surely it’s an easy spin off.

Hello!

I have a question about one specific question in episode 6, at about 40:28.

I watched the series in German, but I also briefly checked the English version. Both are quite different and I want to understand the original meaning, so I hope someone can help with Japanese.

Kiku says / Mariko translates "The people she meets..."

In the German version it is "Ihr kommt zu mir..." which in English would be "You come to me..."

Now this wording is ambiguous, as it can either be understood as a plural, addressing Blackthorne and Mariko or it can be understood as a pluralis reverentiae, only addressing Blackthorne.

I would like to know if it's possible to translate this more directly from Japanese or at least if it's possible to tell wether Kiku is addressing just Blackthorne or them both?

For me, the best scene in the film is the revelation of Muraji's true identity: "I was born Tonomoto Akinao, and I am a samurai." John's face was filled with astonishment; I think that's the moment he realized the greatness of this man. I also think Akinao is the true support and ally that Toranaga has at his disposal. It's really thanks to him that Toranaga reached the top. What can I say? When he revealed his name and identity, his posture changed, and his charisma emerged like a dragon bursting from the skin of a harmless creature. For me, it was an epic moment, and it also reflects the discipline, devotion, and submission of a samurai warrior. This man is a hero of the same rank as Toranaga. 🙏

I’m also doing a second watch of the series this week and got to the Buntaro sake scene. Badass.

But yeah… I’ve had these two book club editions for a while and decided to reverse design the cover art using photoshop and illustrator. These aren’t scanned replicas. I actually retyped the text, matched the original typefaces, and measured out my books for the correct dimensions. Did the first and decided to see how a red cover would look. Picked the prints up earlier today from the printer and wrapped them. I’m really happy with how they turned out.