It gives you a sense of how good Shōgun is, that almost all of the dialogue happens in Japanese and you have to read subtitles.
What seems like an impediment, having to read words at the bottom of the screen instead of watching the visually rich goings on, is a masterstroke. There is added authenticity to Shōgun because it is not voiced in English.
For the most part, I prefer that, if you can live with the misplaced accents. Wallander talked with an English accent instead of Swedish because he was played by Kenneth Branagh, and similarly with Chernobyl. After struggling with subtitles for the excellent Money Heist, I chose the dubbed English track. There were often peculiarities when the spoken words didn’t match the lips, but it made watching that heist show easier.
Shōgun doesn’t offer you a choice. You experience medieval Japan through the language as much as the formality of the characters and the subtle tones in a visual treat of a show.
If you are a Japanophile as I am, who did karate as a kid and has been to Japan a few times, there is a real authenticity to the depiction of life in those feudal times.
Lord Toranaga (another excellent performance by Hiroyuki Sanada) is a warrior lord in the 1600s where Japan’s powerful clans fought each other. Traditionally, there is one overall lord, called the shōgun. While others clamour for Toranaga to take up this role, he replies “That title is a brutal relic”.
This uneasy state of simmering conflict isn’t helped by the arrival of Dutch sailors, led by Cosmo Jarvis (John Blackthorne), who just happens to speak English. This is partly how the greater global sea trade ends up in Japan, the story goes, as the Dutch have been searching for the fabled place the Portuguese sailors have already found.
Some of the best acting comes from Anna Sawai, who plays Lady Toda Mariko, whose monologues are exquisite.
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Part of what makes Shōgun so good – it won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, as well as both lead actor and actress in a drama series, and both supporting actor and actress – is its depictions of life in Japan and on a ship. There are close-ups of scurvy, massacres and battle scenes, and a gruesome form of suicide known as seppuku.
Japanese critics raved about its authentic depiction of 1600 Japan. In general, it was a pretty harsh time to be alive, especially if you were a sailor.
For a lover of Japanese culture, Shōgun is a glorious indulgence – all while being excellent television, as the awards demonstrate. The outfits are realistic, as are the settings and fight scenes, while the depiction of Japanese life, and court intrigue, is just as authentic.
It’s magnificent television, even if you haven’t grown up loving Japan or learning martial arts. It’s an epic show.
