Samurai, sailors, blood and Japanese sacrifice: why the Shōgun miniseries is a must-see

“This is a story of service, honor and patience,” he says Hiroyuki Sanadathe famous Japanese actor, karate fighter and producer of the historical miniseries Shogun, which will premiere on the Star+ and Disney+ platforms this Tuesday, February 27. A sumptuous story of samurai, sailors, Japanese love and sacrifice. Shogun, one of the series of the year, “is a great opportunity to expand our culture around the world -extends-. Showing it authentically was my dream.”

Hiroyuki Sanada bows, clenching his fists, in dialogue with Clarion. With great spectacle and epic intrigue, Shogun has a large Japanese cast like the Western one: a 1600s action drama centered on the character of Sanada: Lord Yoshii Toranaga, the implacable leader who, after a bloody civil war, established a shogunate (military government)” and pacified Japan for 260 years”.

In the feudal era, coinciding with the maritime and commercial war between England and Holland against Spain and Portugal, the English captain John Blackthorne will arrive on the Japanese coasts and witness the rise of the shogunate, which will firmly dominate Japan for several dynasties, until 1848 . .

The third key character of Shogun is Lady Toda Mariko, the interpreter between Toranaga and Blackthorne: a female, Christian samurai, trying to prove her worth and loyalty. Shogun adapts James Clavell’s 1975 best-seller, which also inspired the iconic miniseries that was popular in Argentina in the 1980s, with Richard Chamberlain (Blackthorne) and Toshiro Mifune (Toranaga).

But the current Shogun -produced by FX- is not intended to be a remake of the 1980 miniseries, but rather a new adaptation of Clavell’s book. Its point of contact is the true story: the character of Yoshii Toranaga is inspired by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the exploits of John Blackthorne are based on those of the sailor William Adams.

The action inside Shogun he is fired when John Blackthorne’s (the actor) boat Erasmus leaves. Cosmo Jarvis in the new Shogun) runs aground in a Japanese fishing village.

Speaking with Blackthorne thanks to Mariko’s translation, Toranada will understand that the English can provide him with secrets that will help him liquidate the conspirators in the Council of Regents and silence Blackthorne’s own enemies: the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.

A battle that marked the 17th century

There are months to go until the terrible battle of Sekigahara: the beginning of the civil war that will mark the 17th century in Japan. In addition to Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Toranaga, Clarion interviewed actors Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai (John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko respectively) via Zoom.

But we must start with Sanada, perhaps today the Japanese actor with the greatest visibility in the West: he has worked in highly successful films such as RinguThe last samurai, Immortal Wolverine, 47 RoninAvengers: Endgame, high speed train AND John Wick 4as well as in the series lost, Westworld AND Hawk eye.

Says Hiroyuki Sanada, in a brown T-shirt and white jacket, from the other side of the Zoom screen: “The real character who inspired Yoshii Toranaga, the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, He was my hero since I was a child., because he stopped the war and established a period of peace for 260 years, until Japan opened to the world. I wanted to show this type of hero, who is ideal especially for the present. This was my biggest motivation while starring and producing it. Shogun. I understood his sacrifice: he never gave up”.

A great production

The miniseries Shogunwith ten episodes, it was created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks (both showrunner) and was filmed partly in Vancouver, Canada, in a strategic location with forests, river and beaches.

A large Japanese team was hired “specifically to recreate the drama of the samurai,” says Sanada. Seeing the Western and Japanese teams working together, respecting each other, gives a message of understanding to the world.. If we work together we can create magic. I hope this show sets a precedent for new projects between countries.”

In the plot, of great strength and suspense, the life of Yoshii Toranaga is linked to that of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis, who already acted in Peaky Blinders It’s inside Raised by wolves) and that of her interpreter, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai): an enigmatic and expert samurai, torn between her friendship with the British sailor, her bond with the Christian faith and her duty towards her deceased father’s lineage.

How do Blackthorne and Mariko connect? The actor Cosmo Jarvis answers, again via Zoom: he has a full beard (like his character) and a beige jacket with matching tie. “They both start their relationship for very different purposes., but deep down they share an understanding. Blackthorne and Mariko see something in each other that they want to admit in themselves,” says the actress and singer, like Anna Sawai.

The miniseries ShogunFrom great historical rigorproposes a key thought of feudal Japan, projected into the present: the concept of the three hearts.

“There is a saying that every man has three hearts.. One in the mouth, for the world to know. Another on his chest, just for his friends. And a secret heart, deep inside, where no one can find it,” we hear in the trailer.

Anna Sawai looks at her colleague Cosmo Jarvis, next to her on the Zoom screen, and talks Clarion: “My character, Toda Mariko, shows everyone one of her hearts, and Blackthorne shows his second heart, because he can see it well.”

Sawai smiles placidly. “Myself, Shogun It made me understand my Japanese culture much more than before. Thanks to the miniseries, I have a much greater love for my people and the history of Japan”.

Cosmo Jarvis listens to Anna Sawai and makes a comparison: “For me, Shogun it helped me accept it It’s not necessarily a terrible thing to not be able to control everything in life.. This is because of everything that my character, John Blackthorne, goes through. And being able to accept that you can’t manage everything can lead to personal growth.”

This Tuesday, March 27, the first two episodes of Shogun. Each subsequent week a new one will arrive until production of ten is completed – a great reflection of the arduous secrets of ancient Japanese culture and history.

“Do not be fooled by our kindness, our bows or rituals. Death is in our air,” Lady Mariko tells John Blackthrone, as sword fights, samurai blows, battles, oaths, and betrayals on land and sea surround them.

And Lord Yoshii Toranaga looks at the horizon, feeling a terrible certainty: “Life and death are the same thing. Both can have value and purpose. The war is approaching Shogun”.