Few literary works have reshaped the Western world’s knowledge of, and appreciation for, Japanese history and culture than James Clavell’s Shōgun. The best-selling novel exposed US and British (to name just two) audiences to the uniquely rich traditions of the East Asian island nation, albeit in a story that, while grounded in real-life events, is laced with cultural fetishization and historical inaccuracies.
The aim of Shōgun‘s latest TV adaptation – the first, a 1980 NBC production, captivated viewers stateside – that’ll launch on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus internationally, then, is two-fold. One, introduce Clavell’s engrossing tale to a new generation and, two, remedy the errors in his magnum opus and its TV predecessor, the latter of which was negatively received in Japan.
