SHOGUN
“Karma is the beginning of knowledge. Next is patience. Patience is very important. The strong are the patient ones, Anjin-san. patience means holding back your inclination to the seven emotions:JClav
Dear friends,
This week, I can't help but share the myriad of thoughts that accompany me while I write my trilogy. Spending a considerable amount of time in Japan, I've found a gem that bridges the past and the present. Who among you watched the television miniseries adaptation of "Shōgun," which aired in 1980, starring Richard Chamberlain? He portrayed John Blackthorne, based on the historical figure William Adams. I remember my fascination with it. Perhaps it was my first introduction to the Samurai, the warriors of service who did so much for their people.
What would it be like to be stranded in a strange place, with a strange culture, during the "Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan" (a documentary I've mentioned in a past post)? It's a page-turner of a novel, which I've just downloaded the audiobook to refresh my memory. But now, in the year 2024, a new version, a realistic and truly Japanese account of the period, has been in the making for 11 years. I thank all of those involved. Among them is a very underrated actor, Hiroyuki Sanada, whom everyone calls Hyro-san (in modern Japanese parlance). However, he carries the title of Taranaga sama in the Sengoku period and I reckon, the Edo period too, which is indicative of someone with clout (very interesting things to learn) for me who is battling with how best to do it for the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji era.
Not only does he portray his role well, he represents the spirit of an entire era with such dignity, that the only other comparison I can draw is that of the Jicarrilla Indian photographed by Curtis which hangs on my kitchen wall for over 30 years. The jaw parallel to the ground. I haven’t found a better portrait of American Indian nation and how I imagine it, than that. Hiroyuki san portrays his role with such dignity, such elegance. I am glued to the screen, there is nowhere else to look.
You may have seen him in "The Last Samurai," "John Wick 4," and "47 Ronin." He is a revered actor in Japan and has previously portrayed Tokugawa Ieyasu in Japanese productions. This time, he brings us a true Japanese perspective as a producer of the show as well. He was seemingly tireless in doing so. And you can feel that there was a lot of love and enjoyment in this production. I am so happy they persisted to have it made.
I love the entire cast; there isn't a single actor who feels out of place. Jarvis Cosmos's portrayal of Blackthorne is equally unique. I loved Richard Chamberlain with his longish hair. I always loved boys with long hair, regardless of who they are. Even Jesus' first appeal to me can be traced back to his long hair. There's something authentic about living in a time when hairdressers were not easily available, letting nature take its course sort of speak. Like when we were in lockdown or a me as a struggling student in film school. It was the longest I ever wore, mainly out of necessity.
One thing to note is that the first version of Shogun was entirely shot in Japan, while the present series was shot in Vancouver. But perhaps we can’t tell it is Vancouver unless you live there. Great location scouts! And good CGI.
But, if you need something to decide whether you would like to watch this very authentic version depicting the difficulties of finding yourself in a place where you do not speak the language, have a look at the same scene in both iterations and notice the difference in care and attention to detail. Don't get me wrong; I'm one of those people who loves to watch old movies. Sonny Chiba movies, Ed Wood movies. And I will revisit the Old Shogun series too. True Romance is one of my top ten scripts in the entire world since it came out. It has a clip of a Sonny Chiba movie. As the years go by, it is astonishing to me to realise it will never be outside of that list of movies I remember to rewatch if I am feeling down.
Speaking of which, I have since discovered that Sonny Chiba died during the pandemic at the age of 82. If you go back to the post I made about the "Age of Samurai," I may not have mentioned it, but Sonny Chiba's son, Mackenyu, appears in one of my favourite series of movies, "Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final." I(Yes, he is the guy in yellow hopping on top of the train). I believe it's still on Netflix, and I'm waiting for episode 6. In the previous post, you'll find suggestions on the order in which to watch these wonderful movies. Spoiler alert !!! - like Shogun, they are violent, but I feel Rorouni Kenshin is a great artistic representation of the end of the Edo period, depicted in "Shōgun". Sonny Chiba was born in Fukuoka, where a lot of book one in my trilogy takes place.
So, on my brother's birthday, the 27th of February, I couldn't get hold of him on the phone, so I wished him a Happy Birthday here on my Substack post. And because I was faffing about waiting to see if he would pick up the phone, I went down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos, and that's when I found "Shōgun." I immediately signed up for Disney+, and I am going back in time. I believe the whole series has been released in the US, but for me, it's back to one episode a week. I've watched 6, and I can't believe it will soon be over.
It's a book and a story that will never be out of date, as it explores timeless themes: power, culture, and human nature. But this time, just watching it is a lesson in itself. In episode two (spoiler alert!), Toranaga, the character based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo period in Japan, offers his living quarters to the Anjin (pilot)(Blackthorne). That night, there is an assassination attempt (by a maid who has been working at the castle for years) and the maid is well trained and placed there with the sole purpose of carrying out a mission such as this should the need arise. If you watch Toranaga's character's response to the perpetrator, you can see Bruce Lee's principle of "economy of motion" in a certain, elegant, and precise action. It brought me back to Bruce explaining it in his own words in 1965 when he was 24 years old. Well, needless to say, that is the moment that got me hooked. I was in awe and I wanted more of it. It completely arrested my attention. Hiroyuki-sama is masterful in his samurai movement. A pleasure to watch. And let’s not forget, women were samurai too. You will get as much pleasure on watching actress Anna Sawai as Mariko sama, fighting. I had never seen her before. She is jut great and apparently SHOGUN is the story of her character. As a producer and a well known actor in Japan, Hiroyuki san as they affectionately call him got a lot of Japanese experts involved in the production, master of gesture, ceremony and samurai fighting. And they did a faithful job as possible to show us what a samurai fight would have been like. I mean really like. You get hacked by one of those katana, and you won’t be able to walk about for much longer. And Japanese steel remember? I won’t name the rest of the cast, go and watch it, they are all brilliant. Oh, and there is also a Podcast dedicated to the series. Listen on Apple Podcasts: and my favourite version which you can find on Disney plus or Youtube.
Samurai, meaning "of service," could finally honour their name. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu ended 150 years of war in Japan and brought about 250 years of peace. It's no small feat, you know. I've looked into this kind of thing before, and the only other periods I found when there was peace for a number of years in our world - in a particular part of the world - was at the time of the Buddha in what is today Nepal and in India. Siddhartha and his wife's work brought about 143 years of peace to the region. And there is the story of Princess Jieyou of the Han dynasty. She was sent to the Wusun kingdom to marry King Weng Kunmi, and the two empires formed an alliance against the Xiongnu. If you checked, this is a series that has many interesting scenes, and I am curious about the dialogue in them; unfortunately, the subtitles only go up to episode 20, and the scenes I am referring to happen later in the series. So very few periods like these for us to revel in, which is a pity. Yes, I know it is weird, but these were the kinds of things I used to be curious and preoccupied about.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was indeed a remarkable man. The Taiko who dies at the beginning of the Shogun is, of course, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, originally a peasant of the Oda lands in central Japan, who started out serving as an ashigaru - foot soldier for Oda Nobunaga who appreciated his independent thinking and leadership capabilities. He was brave and self-motivated and he came up the ranks being made a samurai by Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga was betrayed and had to perform Seppuku. Seppuku was a private affair at this time, not the public affair it became later.
Samurai were more than warriors. Hideyoshi is said to have written and performed plays about himself as himself. Samurai were men who loved poetry, tea ceremonies, and much of what we now view as fine or refined Japanese culture. These fine aspects of a samurai’s existence are also represented well in this version of Shogun. I believe another famous samurai (Matsamune - the one-eyed dragon) is said to have read poetry to Ieyasu on his death bed. The friendship, honour, and loyalty that were valued above all else are also demonstrated in Shogun in various relationships. Taranaga and Mariko. They are wonderful actors who love their culture and the project. You can tell. There is also something I am very curious to see how they portray in the series, and I cannot remember if they did in the first Shogun series, but something I find of interest.
In our culture, we would probably call her a "devouring mother" in the Jungian sense. Ieyasu suffered a massive defeat shortly after joining Oda Nobunaga's clan (when his daimyo was killed) because his wife betrayed him and Hideyoshi forced him to kill her as well as the son he had with her. It is said that this disturbed him greatly, but as it was back then, he said as he was commanded to do. When the Taiko (Hideyoshi) dies, his son was only 7 and perhaps because of his own experience, when he comes to the position of prime minister and Shogun of the Japans, he lets the boy live. And the boy grows up into adulthood. His mother, Lady Yodo, sometimes referred to as Lady Cha Cha, was unbelievably powerful. This is the period that precedes the Geisha era, but you can see that some women in Japan had great agency. This is also very well portrayed in the series. If I remember correctly, Lady Yodo was Nobunaga’s daughter, (can’t recall precisely at the moment), and what she does is lead her own son to his death. She was not defending her son’s right to rule. She was exercising the power she had, but she picked the wrong side to do it with. And at what cost.
I sometimes wonder, in terms of existence as a whole, what happened to Ieyasu? He gave people 250 years of peace. Peace is just about the most precious commodity in our world, mainly because we aspire for peace while the hearts of men are at war. From giving comes wealth. Giving peace if I look at scripture, it would definitely It is just not possible under these circumstances to have peace.
He did a lot of killing, including some against his will. I wonder when we got back from the lower realms, who would he be like if reborn in our modern times? And I think that Elon Musk is a good candidate. He is wealthy so in terms of giving he must have done a lot of it. And there is also another “experience similar to the cause” that is very fitting. Two of the many of Ieyasu’s sons made it to be Shoguns, and many others contributed to the running of the country all the way to the Meiji era. Elon has ten children? Something crazy like that, and he does seem to do a lot for humanity. Buying X and the purpose he attaches to it could be a modern way to give more. He will never be poor.
In all, my dear friends, if you are looking for a wonderful series, with a wonderful cast and crew, from samurai expert fighters to language experts and mannerism experts. Oh, and they also have a podcast. In here, I learned about the Shogun Bible. It is a book, as long as Shogun the novel (1000 pages), compiled by the production team or someone in the production team, about all they had to learn for the production. That is dedication. And you will feel it if you choose to watch it.
I would love to read it. I wonder if it will ever be released as a book. It would have immense value for someone like me trying to lavish my trilogy with more authenticity than what I can make of it. So if there are any Japanese historians out there, please reach out. I do need a lot of help. I will try and find a western series to recommend next. Miroko, the story I wrote about the main character in part II of the trilogy (when she was a very young girl) is as we speak, with a Japanese translator to check the words I used. I am considering putting it here as weekly excerpts. Do you want to read it?
Until next time,
Bee well,
Xanda