Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Shōgun’ On FX/Hulu, About The Unlikely Alliance Between A Japanese Lord And A British Ship Pilot

People of a certain age (which includes us) remember how much of an event the 1980 NBC miniseries Shōgun was. It was revolutionary for the time, showing a view of Japanese history that very few U.S. viewers knew about. But it was also centered on Richard Chamberlain’s character of John Blackthorne, at the sacrifice of any subtlety when it came to the Japanese characters. A new, sprawling FX on Hulu miniseries version of Shōgun looks to change that.

SHŌGUN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A Dutch ship with broken masts and torn-up sails floats aimlessly in the fog. The year is 1600.

The Gist: That disabled ship’s British pilot, Major John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) is confident that they can reach “the Japans”, despite having no food or water, and the ship’s crew down to him and a dozen weakened crew. The captain is ready to give up; he shoots himself rather than die of scurvy or dehydration.

Eventually the ship does limp towards the shore, near a fishing village named Izu, and that area’s military leader, Kashigi Omi (Hiroto Kanai) has his men plunder the ship and capture what’s left of the crew. The only one who puts up any fight is Blackthorne.

In the meantime, Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), Lord of the Kantō, is called to Osaka Castle to meet with his fellow members of the Council of Regents. Led by Lord Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira), they feel that he’s been consolidating power and doubling the size of his fief in the year there’s been a lack of a central leader, and that he’s been holding the mother of the heir to the throne hostage. They want the mother returned, and then the four other members of the Council will vote on whether to impeach Toranaga, something his right-hand man, Toda “Iron Fist” Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka) is akin to a death sentence. Toranaga decides he must stay in Osaka, and when he gets word about the captured ship, he sends Hiromatsu to investigate.

One of Toranaga’s men got hotheaded during the meeting with the council, and offered to commit seppuku in recompense. That includes ending the family lines, meaning his infant son will also be killed. Himoratsu’s granddaughter, Usami Fuji (Moeka Hoshi), is the baby’s mother and threatens to cut her own throat, until Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), an envoy for Toranaga, convinces her that her life will have purpose after her son is gone.

Back in the fishing village, Blackthorne is convinced he can persuade the soldiers to let him go. Assuming that Blackthorne is Portuguese, the only Westerners who have come to his shores, Omi has a Catholic priest translate for Blackthorne when he finally drags the pilot to his boss, Lord Kashigi Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano). Blackthorne tries to separate himself from the priest, telling Yabushige that he does not practice the same religion or has any relation to the Portuguese. Little does anyone know that his ship’s orders were to lay waste to the Portuguese and establish trade relations in “the Japans” at their expense. That saves Blackthorne’s life for the moment, but Yabushige, ever obsessed with the moment of death, wants one of Blackthorne’s other crew to die instead.

Himoratsu arrives at the village and orders Yabushige to hand over the ship’s contents and Blackthorne. Yabushige reluctantly hands it all over, grumbling to Omi that there is a spy in the village. Himoratsu is also under orders to bring Blackthorne back to Toranaga; a Spanish pilot named Vasco Rodrigues (Néstor Carbonell) volunteers to be Blackthorne’s minder during the voyage to Osaka, which turns out to be near-deadly as they go through a storm. Blackthorne demonstrates his abilities, but he also sees just how dedicated Yabushige and others are to honor and pride. For his part, Toranaga thinks Blackthorne has secrets that can help him in his battle with the rest of the Regents, and he employs Mariko as his translator.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, this version of Shōgun is a more authentic version of the historic story Clavell based the novel on than either the novel or the very Caucasian-centric 1980 miniseries version that starred Richard Chamberlain.

Our Take: In this version of Shōgun, created by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks (Marks is the showrunner, Clavell’s daughter Michaela is one of the show’s executive producers) are not interested in making Blackthorne the hero of the story. Yes, he’s a huge part of the story, and the alliance that develops between Blackthorne and Toranaga is what’s going to drive it through the limited series’ ten episodes. But what they are showing is that it’s just that, an alliance, one that’s a part of the sprawling civil war that’s about to hit Japan in the early years of the 17th century.

It certainly feels like a “righting of the ship,” so to speak, compared to the version that was one of the biggest television events of the early 1980s. The story is about the civil war, and one lord’s attempts to not only save his fief, but consolidate power at the same time. The fact that he’s aligning with this mysterious British pilot just makes that story more intriguing. They are mutually beneficial to each other; Toranaga wants to consolidate power, and Blackthorne wants to push the Jesuits and Portuguese out of the way to open trade routes between Japan, Great Britain and The Netherlands.

One of the things that works in this version’s favor is that we’re no longer watching the story with a novelty factor. U.S. and other Western audiences have been exposed to Eastern stories and culture for the last four decades, only accelerating with the advent of streaming. People are interested in the history behind the story but the culture is no longer the curiosity it was in 1980. That allows the show’s producers and writers to take a deeper dive into the rivalries and power struggles that surround the central story.

It also helps that the cast is stellar, with veteran Japanese actors able to convey the subtleties of their characters’ situations without needing to project a “good guy-bad guy” sentiment like we may have seen in the original miniseries.

Sex and Skin: A courtesan named Kiku (Yuka Kouri) gets undressed by one of Yabushige’s minions while the lord watches. Kinky!

Parting Shot: Blackthorne is brought to Toranaga, with Mariko at the lord’s side. He kneels and, realizing the powerful man he’s in front of, bows.

Sleeper Star: Anna Sawai’s character Mariko will be at Blackthorne’s side, and not only as a translator. Her character is Christian, and the pull between her faith and her loyalty to Toranaga will be constantly informing her actions.

Most Pilot-y Line: None, really, but here is a good place to mention that there are moments of sudden violence that are going to be shocking to some viewers.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Between the cast, the amazing scenery (some real, some CGI), and a story with much more authenticity than even the original novel may have had, the new version of Shōgun has the potential to be a captivating watch.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.