Shōgun Creators Considered “Every Mistake That Hollywood Has Made” When Developing Series

FX’s upcoming adaptation of Shōgun marks the second major TV adaptation of James Clavell’s classic novel. With the series however, the creators are shaking things up. Rather than cementing the world of Shōgun entirely around the perspective of the white characters that have made their way to Japan, FX’s Shōgun is rooted in the perspective of the Japanese. Speaking with ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, series co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo revealed that one the key elements that helped them make 2024’s Shōgun even better was by giving star Hiroyuki Sanada an executive producer credit. Not only did the star take this seriously, he brought major perspective to how the Japanese culture had been portrayed.

Best known to western audiences for his roles in The Wolverine, John Wick: Chapter 4, Westworld, Mortal Kombat, and Avengers: Endgame, Hiroyuki Sanada’s career has spanned decades, beginning with work as a child actor in Japanese feature films and television in the 1960s. Though he has had extensive work in Hollywood projects over the past decade, his Japanese credits have made him a household name in Japan. That made him the perfect person to know exactly all the wrong ways that Japan had been shown on screen by Hollywood.

“The point of view that he brought, which was so important and so crucial to making this show was ‘I’ve been doing it here in Hollywood in the United States for 25 years. I have seen every mistake that Hollywood has made in conveying my culture,’” Marks revealed. “So now let’s do it and you can just give us the laundry list and we can walk through it and we can try to avoid it every single day as we make this show, which meant that what he began to do is say, ‘I know the person you need to hire. I know this person. I know that person.’”

Sanada became responsible for the involvement of Shōgun’s Japanese producer Eriko Miyagawa in addition to securing key crew members like advisors for the props department and art department, plus language advisors, translators, and historians. As Marks put it, he not only was vital in finding the right people for these jobs on Shōgun but also for convincing them to leave Japan and come work in Vancouver for the better part of a year.

“Without his contribution in addition to what Rachel saying, which is just being there, making sure everyone’s in costume right, that the hairpieces are looking right that everyone overseeing our Japanese crew, who are really guests here, and making sure everyone felt comfortable and felt like they had the ability to speak up when something was wrong. That was such a crucial part. I mean, there would just be no Shōgun without that.”

Se Rachel Kondo added, “And you would think that he would be doing this to kind of like, this is the pinnacle of his career, it’s the role of a lifetime. No, he would always talk about I’m actually doing this for the young cast, many of whom had signed on to do this show to work with him. He’s always doing it for the younger generation so that their twenty, twenty five year journey might be a little collapsed.”

What is Shōgun about?

Based on James Clavell’s novel, FX Networks describes Shōgun as follows:

Set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who 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, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies – the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

Shōgun cast

In addition to Hiroyuki Sanada stars taking on the role of Lord Yoshii Toranaga, the cast for Shōgun also includes Tadanobu Asano as “Kashigi Yabushige,” a notorious backstabber and close ally of Toranaga; Hiroto Kanai as “Kashigi Omi,” the young leader of the fishing village where Blackthorne’s ship was found; Takehiro Hira as “Ishido Kazunari,” a powerful bureaucrat who is Toranaga’s chief rival; Moeka Hoshi as “Usami Fuji,” a widow who must find new purpose amidst her lord’s fight; Tokuma Nishioka as “Toda Hiromatsu,” Toranaga’s trusted general and closest friend; Shinnosuke Abe as “Toda Hirokatsu” (“Buntaro”), Mariko’s jealous husband; Yuki Kura as “Yoshii Nagakado,” the brash son of Toranaga with a strong desire to prove himself; Yuka Kouri as “Kiku,” a courtesan renowned for her artistry throughout Japan; and Fumi Nikaido as “Ochiba no Kata,” the revered mother of the heir who will stop at nothing to put an end to Toranaga and his threat to her son’s power.

The first two episodes of FX’s Shōgun premiere February 27th on Hulu and FX