With FX’s Shogun also streaming on Hulu, many wish to know its inspiration. Is it based on a true story or does it adapt a novel, or is it a work of fiction? Here’s all you need to know.
Is Shogun based on a true story, book, or fiction?
Shōgun is based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name, which is a fictional take on the real-world events of early seventeenth-century Japan.
Shōgun has multiple similarities to Game of Thrones having different houses fighting a political battle to gain power but it is very grounded and uses the events of the real world to shape its narrative. In reality, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu created a dynastic military government called Tokugawa Shōgunate that ruled over Japan from 1603 to 1868.
He became the new “Shōgun” (a chief military commander) after meeting with the English sailor William Adams. The Englishman became a trusted advisor for him due to the knowledge he possessed about the Portuguese and Spanish across the world. With Adams by his side, he turned the tide of war and emerged out of Japan’s power struggle against other houses.
But in the series, the names of these real-world people have been changed to give them fictional counterparts. Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu is Lord Yoshii Toranaga, played by Hiroyuki Sanada. William Adams has been changed to Pilot Major John Blackthorne, portrayed by Cosmo Jarvis. Similarly, other important characters of the show have real-world counterparts while some could have been added by Clavell to fit the narrative he wanted to tell.
Other important cast members include Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi, Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari, and Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige. The show further features Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji, Tokuma Nishioka as Toda “Iron Fist” Hiromatsu, Shinnosuke Abe as Toda Buntaro, and Yasunari Takeshima as Muraji, among others.
The official synopsis of Shōgun reads:
“In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.”
For more updates, learn what happened at the end of Shōgun episode 2. Also, find out if Dune: Part Two has a post-credits scene.
