ShÅ gun (Disney+): “The quest for authenticity was the reason for this series”

Justin Marks I think there are two main differences. The first is that today, we no longer have the novelty of Japan to create a distance. Everyone knows Japanese culture very well, and we live in a much more international culture than when the miniseries came out in the 80s.
Rachel Kondo: The other big difference is that our series was able to be performed and produced in Japanese. It’s a big contrast.
Justin Marks: The ability to subtitle what these characters are saying and being able to tell the story from various points of view allowed us to do this. We wanted to make a series which, I hope, will be able to say much more than what we could say 40 or 50 years ago.

Rachel Kondo I thought it was going to be complicated to have so many scenes with translations between English and Japanese. But Justin had the wisdom to say that this is precisely what the series is about. Because it is not only the act of translating language that is at stake here, it is also translating culture, from the past to the present, from man to woman…
Justin Marks: We worked very hard on this issue of the tedious process of translation, and we asked ourselves the question of whether it was possible to dramatize this. And the answer came from the point of view, with translators who cannot be trusted all the time. What happens on the faces and the translation choices are then just as important as what is said. We were really excited about the dramatic potential.

Rachel Kondo The book is this experience that offers not only the Western perspective of John Blackthorne, but also that of Mariko, and Lord Toranaga. These are perspectives that are presented in equal measure. It has become our responsibility to really return to the book and be faithful to what is told.
Justin Marks: The quest for authenticity was the reason for this series. We were able to call on a Japanese crew to work with us on the shoot in British Columbia. We were able to work with movement advisors […] to find out what was the correct way to move in the year 1600. Or with hair and makeup consultants, who specialized in wig systems that could be put together quickly . These people were brought onto the project by Hiroyuki Sanada [acteur et producteur de la série, ndlr], because they were people he trusted within the Japanese production system. This is why today with ShÅ gunwe were able to get closer to the most detailed and authentic vision possible.

Rachel Kondo I personally had a natural interest in this story, because I am of Japanese origin. But it really was a wake-up call for me […] because in reality, being an American of Japanese origin is a completely different experience than that of a native Japanese. It was exciting to be able to revisit this culture, and to know it in depth.
Justin Marks: It was really interesting to observe the crew members on set in Canada, whether they were Americans or Japanese Canadians, as well as Japanese nationals. Everyone was striving to reach an intimate part of themselves, which was really enlightening and empowering to see.

Justin Marks: We came to this series wanting to do something a little different, because I think what we’re all looking for as an audience is to see something that we want. never seen before. We hope that the impact of the series on the public will arouse the same curiosity.