With Shōgun set to unleash a sprawling samurai epic on FX that critics are already favorably calling the next Game of Thrones, the show will no doubt raise questions about its historical accuracy. Based on the 1975 best-selling novel by James Clavell, the story behind Shōgun has an interesting beginning that is actually inspired by true events, but with a whole lot of dramatic flourishes.
We’ll break it down for you.
Is FX’s ‘Shōgun’ Based On A True Story?
The characters and events in Clavell’s are entirely fictional. However, Shōgun‘s main character, John Blackthorne, is based on a historical figure named William Adams. In the 1600s, Adams was among a small handful of survivors whose battered ship anchored off the coast of Japan. He became a retainer to a real-life shogun named Tokugawa Ieyasu. Fascinated by Adams’ skill at shipbuilding, the two men turned Japan into a major hub for overseas trade.
Via Brittanica:
Adams oversaw the construction of Western-style ships, wrote letters on behalf of the shogun encouraging Dutch and English traders to come to Japan, and then officiated between the shogunate and the traders who began visiting the country. In 1613 he helped to establish an English factory (trading post) for the East India Company at Hirado, in Kyushu northwest of Nagasaki. Adams was allowed to undertake several overseas voyages between 1614 and 1619, traveling as far as Southeast Asia.
While the book Shōgun obviously took creative liberties by changing the name of characters and adding in dramatic battles and political intrigue, the story was actually inspired by a real-life Englishman who shipwrecked in Japan.
Shōgun premieres February 27 on FX with episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu.