Series Shōgun just started on Disney+. Set in feudal Japan, it is adapted from a novel published in 1975.
She is presented as the first true heiress of Game Of Thrones : Shōgun is the Disney+ event series, to launch this month of March 2024. The first two episodes were posted online on February 27, followed by a weekly broadcast.
This work located in the heart of feudal Japan is a new adaptation of a work published in 1975, signed by the American writer James Clavell. The series follows the same thread as the book.
Cult novel from feudal Japan
In the book, as in the series, British captain John Blackthorne runs aground off the coast of Japan. He was first taken prisoner, with his crew, for several harsh days; before being delivered to a certain Yoshii Toranaga. The latter is a local governor, a daimyo. It is first and foremost their relationship that is explored. Both characters are inspired by real historical figures: Blackthorne is a fictionalization of the English navigator William Adams, and Toranaga is another version of a certain Tokugawa Ieyasu.
A third decisive character intervenes: Lady Mariko. It is also inspired by a figure who existed, namely Hosokawa Gracia. The latter was an influential woman in Japan at that time. On the other hand, in real life, she never met or had any relationship with William Adams.
Many other protagonists in James Clavell’s novel are fictional versions of historical characters, whose names the author has changed and whose destinies have been modified. Fact, Shōgun is anchored in a historical reality, a strongly documented narrative context, even if everything is nevertheless fictional. The same goes for the series – it’s impossible to talk about “docu-fiction”, it’s simply a period series.
Where to find the Shogun book?
This is not the first time that this work has found its way to the screen: in the 1980s, a mini-series adapted it into five episodes. The new FX/Disney+ version is ten episodes — and could well expand if it’s successful.
In France, the book Shōgun has just been republished by Callidor editions on March 1, 2024. It has been divided into two volumes, the second will appear on April 19, 2024 (i.e. at the end of the series’ broadcast on Disney+).
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