The story ofShogunis enjoying its third round of success. TheShogun novel— written by James Clavell — was published in 1975, and has since sold millions of copies worldwide. It tells the tale of John Blackthorne, an English sailor who washes up on the shores of Japan in 1600.
The book was turned into a 1980 mini-series that starred Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune, which was watched by more than 30% of households in America at the time.
And now Shogun has been turned into a brand-new big-budget mini-series that’s currentlyairing on Hulu and FX in the States, and Disney+ in the UK.
Shogun: Was John Blackthorne a real person?
No, John Blackthorne was not a real person — author James Clavell made the character up for the purposes of his Shogun novel.
But, Blackthorne isbasedon a real person — William Adams, who is thought to be the first Englishman to visit Japan.
You canread a more detailed biography of Adams here, but the basics are that he was born in Kent in 1564, joined the merchant marines as a young man, was captured off the shore of Japan, and thanks to his nautical and combat knowledge, ended up as confidant to the Shogun.
He settled in the country and married a Japanese woman, before dying and being buried in Japan in 1620.
John Blackthorne is played by Cosmo Jarvis in Shogun.
To find out why Shogun’s director doesn’t want to hear your Game of Thrones comparisonsclick here, while for more of the best in streaming this month,head here.
Chris Tilly is the TV & Movies Editor at Dexerto. He has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Newspaper Journalism, and over the last 20 years, he’s worked for the likes of Time Out, IGN, and Fandom. Chris loves Star Wars, Marvel, DC, sci-fi, and especially horror, while he knows maybe too much about Alan Partridge. You can email him here: chris.tilly@dexerto.com.
