Shōgun - Official Trailer | Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai | FX
FX’s Shōgun – OFFICIAL TRAILER | An epic saga of war, passion, and power set in Feudal Japan. Coming February 2024 on Hulu and FX.
Based on James Clavell’s novel, FX’s Shōgun is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.
It could also be interesting to compare this new version of Shogun with the well-known series from 1980 with Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune in a couple of the leading roles.
Author William Spivey wonders over the Black presence (or the lack of it) in Shogun
quote:Where Are The Black People in 'Shogun'?
The 2024 version focuses far more on the Japanese perspective. The white characters appearing in the first episodes representing Portugal, Spain, England, and Holland could hardly be deemed heroic. However, the character John Blackthorne, now played by Cosmo Jarvis, is already a pivotal figure and will be a hero, along with several Japanese characters. Others are already praising the new 10-part series as a cultural sea change from the 1980 version. I ask the question now that I naively didn’t ask in 1980. Where are the Black people? I don’t ask out of a desire to see representation when it wasn’t historically accurate. I inquire because there were Black people in Japan in 1600 and before, though Japan could teach Florida a thing or two about rewriting history. According to multiple sources, one of the early real-life Shoguns, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811), was Black, though denied by others. There is a consensus he was something other than pure Japanese, and he is often considered descended from the Ainu, the darker-skinned indigenous people of northern Japan who were subjected to forced assimilation and colonization.
Historian Mark Hyman described a statue in honor of Tamuramaro in his book.
"As seen in the temple where he has was honored, Maro’s statue was taller than his fellow contributors," wrote Hyman "His hair was curly and tight; his eyes were large and wide-set and brown. His nostrils were flared, his forehead wider, his jaws thick and slightly protruded.”
The statue of Tamuramaro at Kiyomizudera is normally closed to the public. Since its construction in 778, Kiyomizudera has been plagued by numerous fires and rebuilt several times. The current statue has none of the Negroid features described by Hyman.
Many researchers have documented the suggestion of and existence of Africans in Japan, one dating back 22,000 years, near Osaka, where much of the Shogun series took place.
“The probable number of Negroes who reached the shores of Asia may be estimated somewhat by the wide area over which they were found on that continent," said Lois Maillou Jones. "Historians tell us that at one time Negroes were found in all of the countries of southern Asia bordering the Indian Ocean and along the east coast as far as Japan. There are many interesting stories told by those who reached that distant land, which at that time they called `Cipango. One of the most prominent characters in Japanese history was a Negro warrior called Sakanouye Tamura Maro.”
Whether or not Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was Black won’t be resolved here, but the existence of Black people in Japan in the period Shogun depicts is not in doubt. Black slaves and crew members accompanied the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and French ships. While British ships didn’t typically have black sailors until after 1800. The ship sailed by John Blackthorne was a Duch vessel, which often used Black sailors in 1600. Blackthorne’s character was based on the real-life William Adams, who landed in Japan in 1600 on his ship, de Liefde, sailing under Holland’s flag.
A group of Rotterdam merchants that pre-dated the Dutch East India Company commissioned five ships on the expedition to Japan, of which only one landed with 25 survivors. While the Dutch East India Company would have used Black crew members, I have no evidence that Adams (or Blackthorne) would have had Black crewmen. They would likely have existed among the contingents of Portuguese missionaries appearing thus far in the series.
Historian John G. Russell wrote a paper, “Excluded Presence: Shoguns, Minstrels, Bodyguards, and Japan’s Encounters with the Black Other.” He documented the arrival of Black people in Japan in several capacities and that some Black people even owned Japanese servants and enslaved people.
The primary setting of Shogun was Osaka, which was Japan’s economic hub and cultural center during the period of the series. If there were Black people anywhere in Japan (and there were), they would also be in Osaka. Not necessarily freely living and roaming among the people but certainly as part of the groups of European emissaries. Perhaps the 2024 version of Shogun will break ground in future episodes and include the Black people present at the time, though they didn’t in 1980. There is a range of hues among the Japanese people depicted; maybe one will be revealed to be Black. There are some upcoming naval scenes pitting Japanese ships against Europeans, so there’s hope some Black sailors will reflect historical accuracy.
One can wonder were are the proof that the in the text mentioned Shogun was black?
Are any of the Black sailors who visited japan according to Spivey documented? Seems much guesswork without actual documentation.
And what about the people who inhabited Asia 20 000 years ago? Maybe some were dark skinned but that does not make them related to todays Africans or Americans descended from Africa.
I'm liking this show.
Posted by Firewall (Member # 20331) on :
‘Shogun’ Seasons 2 and 3 in the Works at FX, Hulu
Creatives including Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo, Michaela Clavell and Hiroyuki Sanada are all returning as the former limited series will compete for Emmys in the drama categories.
