Is FX’s ‘Shōgun’ Based on a True Story? (And, Uh, What is a Shōgun?)

FX‘s grand new epic adventure Shōgun takes viewers back in time to 1600 Japan. It’s the twilight of the Sengoku period, a time of constant civil war and social upheaval in feudal Japan. Rival daimyos, or clan leaders, jockey for true power while the Emperor held a largely ceremonial role, backing the wealthiest and wiliest warlords. FX’s Shōgun opens with the arrival of an interloper to this world: English pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) has navigated his Dutch-owned ship all the way across the world, through passages kept secret by the Portuguese and Spanish. His hope and dream? To ease the Catholic superpowers’ grip on international trade so that his beloved Queen Elizabeth I and Protestant Church can ally with wealthy Japan. What actually happens? Well, Blackthorne finds himself a pawn in the brilliant daimyo Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) labyrinthine plans. But did all this really happen? Is Shōgun based on a true story?

Shōgun tells an almost unbelievable yarn, in which an uncouth Englishman finds himself a key player in samurai culture. Ninjas attack in the middle of the night, lady samurai fight for the honor of their houses, and a vast conspiracy pits warlords against each other. There’s no way any of this happened, right? Well, yes, and no…

FX’s Shōgun is 100% inspired by a work of fiction, James Clavell’s best-selling 1975 novel of the same name. There was never a genius Japanese warlord named Toranaga and no man named John Blackthorne ever managed to sail across the Atlantic, around Cape Horn, and across the entire Pacific with just the stars and some notes to guide him. However, James Clavell was in turn inspired by real life historic figures who did do all of these things.

Just about every single character in Shōgun has a real life stand in. Whether it’s Tokugawa Ieyasu, the historic founder of the prosperous Edo Period, aka the O.G. Toranaga, or William Adams, a contemporary English navigator who unwittingly found himself turned into a samurai at Tokugawa’s pleasure. Even the badass Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) is loosely based on a woman who really lived, and whose courageous actions were pivotal in taking down Tokugawa’s rivals.

So just what’s real and what’s fake about FX’s Shōgun? Here’s what you need to know about the new FX and Hulu show…

Is Shōgun on FX and Hulu Based on a True Story?

Yes, Shōgun is based on a true story — albeit the FX and Hulu show takes many, many liberties for the sake of drama.

As mentioned, Shōgun is the second TV adaptation of James Clavell’s beloved 1975 book. (The first adaptation was a massive 1980 miniseries starring Toshiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain in Sanada and Jarvis’s roles, respectively.) Clavell was inspired to write the novel when he stumbled up on mention of an “English samurai” who really lived in the early 17th century. Clavell then took William Adams, known to the Japanese as Miura Anjin, as inspiration for his literally epic story of life, death, love, murder, loyalty and honor.

Yoshi Toranaga, the sly daimyo with dreams of a united Japan, was inspired by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man responsible for outmaneuvering his enemies to eventually establish the Edo Period.

John Blackthorne, who will go by the nickname Anjin or Anjin-san, in Japan, is modeled after Williams Adams. (Note Anjin is the Japanese word for “pilot.” We’re told that Blackthorne’s own name is too difficult for the locals to pronounce.)

Toda Mariko, who also goes by the Christian name of Lady Maria, is similarly drawn from the story of Hosokawa Gracia. (However, we’d advise not googling her story to avoid Shōgun spoilers.)

While just about every figure in Shōgun has a real life counterpart, keep in mind that the fictional characters’ personalities are just that: fiction. The passions that drive Shōgun‘s drama are pure invention. In fact, historians note that Clavell definitely exaggerated the world for dramatic effect. And this isn’t new news! After the original Shōgun series premiered to acclaim in the 1980s, Columbia University published a whole academic guide analyzing the show (which you can read for free today!).

So if you want to know more about 1600 Japan, read a history book! You want a good show? Watch Shōgun.

What is a Shōgun? What the Title of FX and Hulu’s New Show Means

FX’s Shōgun opens with a tidy intro explaining the basics of where the story begins. It’s 1600. The Portuguese Catholics have been keeping trade routes to Japan secret from European Protestants. In Osaka, the Taikō has died. His heir is too young to rule. The remaining lords are locked in a power struggle to see if anyone of them can become Shōgun.

Okay, but what’s a Shōgun?

A Shōgun was basically a supreme warlord in feudal Japan. He would have enough power to bring all the rival daimyos to heel, but he also technically had to be of noble birth; i.e. from one of three ancient Japanese bloodlines. If you were, say, an all-powerful warlord, but you were not noble…you would be called, at best, a Taikō.

Becoming the Shōgun means you have absolute political, economic, and martial power in Japan. Sure, there’s an emperor, but because they are too divine to bother with gross things like “money,” the imperial family were more like, say, Britain’s modern royals. Sure they wear the crown and live in palaces, but they don’t make the big decisions. A Shōgun would.

That’s essentially what a Shōgun is: an all-powerful warlord, but with that fancy noble blood.