FX Networks original series Shōgun premiered February 27th, 2024.
#Shogun is the most awarded TV season in Emmy history.
rottentomatoes: 99%
metacritic: 85
imdb: 8.6
emmys: 18 wins
Lord Toranaga
Yoshii Toranaga founds the Tokugawa Shogunate in feudal-era Osaka, Japan.
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
1 win: 2024
“Truly. Conceals herself against the sun. Conserving energy, waiting for her moment. You might never know she’s there. So. Shall we go then? Well? In that case, let’s be done with it. This seating arrangement is new. What power have I aligned? If my fellow Regents are concerned, let me say I am content as Lord of the Kanto. I will never be the first to break any peace. The Lady Ochiba’s sister, my daughter-in-law, is in labor. This is a time of peace, Lord Ishido. The Lady is no more a hostage in my castle than I am here, in this one. I think he’d be pleased, knowing the five of us still can’t agree. Yes, until his Heir comes of age. And I look forward to that day. These meetings are exhausting. Tadayoshi, sit down! Insults? How dare you imply that Lord Ishido insulted me? My host, please accept my apology.” — Yoshii Toranaga
“Usami Tadayoshi– he’s married to your granddaughter, isn’t he? I’ll see to it she lives. No, he was brave. I don’t approve of all this pointless death. Sorry friend, if we go to war now, four armies against one, I will lose. I must remain here. Which is why you must go to Ajiro in my place. Please leave immediately. I wonder if you made a mistake, Hiromatsu. Siding with me instead of those bureaucrats who want me dead.” — Yoshii Toranaga
“This is a new game for me, Lord. It’s too complicated for an old man. When I was your age, I was honored to eb a hostage. Until I was this tall, I was traded amongst enemies. A leader must write clearly and beautifully. He must be the very best in all things. Yes, absolutely. Go to writing practice. My fief, probably. I’ll protect the Heir with my life. I don’t seek the title of my ancestors. And I’ve told you before– I don’t seek to be Shogun. That title is a brutal relic. From a bygone era.” — Yoshii Toranaga
Toda Mariko
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
1 win: 2024
“I heard. I’m sorry. And this is the granddaughter of Toda Hiromatsu, a name that should command your respect. Her family ends today because of what you’ve done. Who are you to treat her harshly? I’m sorry, but he’s right. I know you feel the pull of death. I’ve felt it too. However, it’s a mercy that you must reject. If he’s ordered you to live, then that is your purpose. Let her hands be the last to hold her son. God– forgive me.”
Lord Ishido
“A wise man knows when his time has ended. Welcome to Osaka. The Council of Regents appreciates your coming. Lord Toranaga, in the year since the Taiko’s death, we have watched with concern as you’ve aligned power against the Council. Which the late Taiko had good reason to forbid. Six marriages you’ve consented to. How strange. When just this morning, the Heir’s mother was taken to your castle at Edo. No warning, no request. Or has Lady Ochiba been taken hostage to guarantee your safety here? What would the Taiko say if he were with us now? His dying wish was for a peaceful sharing of power. Then let me put it differently. The Council has voted to demand the Lady’s return. Under penalty if impeachment. The time has come to expose those traitors who wish to usurp the Heir’s power. Low-born, high-born, even a Minowara like yourself. You’ll see four signatures. Lords Kiyama, Sugiyama, Ohno and myself. What’s done is done. Though I must say this childish outburst is typical of your clan, and an insult to the Taiko’s proud legacy. You have seven days to release the Heir’s mother from Edo. And then we will vote on your fate.”
The Council
“We thought it appropriate, under the circumstances. And your fief has doubled in size.”
Toranaga’s camp/advisor
“I hate Osaka. This place… …it’s become a real shithole.”
“Your pardon, but hasn’t my lord done everything according to law? To call him a traitor on such flimsy accusations is– I’m so sorry, but I could not bear you hearing such insults. I ask permission to commit seppuku. I will end my family line, and all who carry my name.”
“Yes. Fuji, the best of all my grandchildren. The boy was reckless. He has only himself to blame. Then why are we still here? Trapped in this castle by bureaucrats who want us dead. As soon as they have their Heir’s mother back, they’ll vote to kill us all. You’re prisoner to your enemies, days from death– and you want me to look into a barbarian ship? The thought has crossed my mind.”
“Fuji, this has gone far enough… it’s our lord’s order. Stay back. Hand over our son! I won’t do it! Tadayoshi humiliated our lord in front of Lord Ishido then committed our son to die. But I am forced to live. The order comes from our master. I am your husband–! I’m not strong like you, Mariko. I can’t remain in this world without purpose.”
“Yabushige. Lord Toranaga had requested you wait for him in Edo. And where are the cannon? I’m told there are five hundred muskets, twenty cannon, and several crates of silver and gold on board that ship. Good. As President of Foreign Relations, Lord Taranaga confiscates this ship… and all it contains. So sorry… it was my understanding that you were loyal to our lord. He’ll be pleased with your generosity. Is this him? Tell him he’s being taken to Osaka.”
“What is he doing? Naran. You take him. Make it quick.”
Osaka Castle
“Welcome to Osaka Castle. Lord Ishido asks that you confine yourself to your personal quarters. I’m surprised he actually came.”
“Try harder, Uncle. You always lose! Didn’t you learn how to play when you were small? Lord Yaechiyo, you’ll be late for your writing lesson, as you well know. Hello, Daiyoin. I want to practice archery instead. This is what my mother says too. Is she coming home from your castle soon? I can’t imagine what Ishido promised the Regents to fall in line. He’ll kill them next. And then the child. It’s the Dark Centuries starting again. If only you could stop them. It’s not your name ‘Yoshii Toranaga’ they fear– it’s your Minowara bloodline. Because you are a good man. But now is not the time for good men. It is time for a Shogun. This was planted the hour Yaechiyo was born. The splint supports its growth. Like you and the boy. What happens to him if you’re gone?”
Yabushige
“Where is this translator? He’s the best priest you have? Priest, you will translate for me and this barbarian. Who is he? And why is he here? Priest. Why is he angry with you? Tell him his ship is confiscated. Bring him to a house and bathe him. Do you have proof he’s actually a pirate? I don’t have time for this Christian nonsense. Fine. But choose another in his place. We’ll do it in my special way.”
“I kept waiting, but… nothing. His final moment came and went. Like everyone else… inarticulate. What are you looking at with your pervert eyes? What are you doing? Go on. The barbarian took a long time to die. He was stronger than most Christians. Give me a poem about him.”
“You’ve managed this village well since your father’s death. How long has it been? Your fief is increased to 3000 koku. I’ll see to it as soon as I’m home. Our Lord Taranaga is trapped in Osaka. I told him it was madness, but he went anyway. Why tell a dead man the future? What do you think? In these uncertain times– what comes next? With their Christian weapons. My brother never told me about his son’s great qualities.”
“Hiromatsu. You honor me by coming to one of my villages. We’ve seized a foreign ship and its crew. I felt it was important to our cause to be here. I had everything brought ashore. With respect. Izu is my fief. Of course I am. Obviously, the ship is already his. It’s a gift, thought I had wanted it to be a surprise. He knew everything. There’s a spy in your village. Shut that pilot’s mouth. Going to Osaka just to become a prisoner. Feels wrong, no? Maybe we won’t be dying in Osaka after all! What is he up to?”
“Everyone, we’re leaving! He’s not wrong to search for the Spaniard. The man is a skilled pilot. Don’t let the pilot put himself in danger. Let’s be fast about this. Don’t you see what he’s doing? The barbarian wants me to fail. He’s testing me. He’s very simple, though he doesn’t know it. He’s breathing!”
Toranaga’s Son
“Father.”
Izu Village
“Starvation. What are they…?”
“Everything is to remain on board for my uncle to inspect. Lord Yabushige? I sent word to him as soon as I could. He wants to see this is person.”
“Your uncle never set foot in this village before. Not even when your father died. We must all make the most of this moment. Only Lord Yabushige can give you the fief you deserve.”
“Prisoners come up! Worthless cowards– you are ordered by Yabushige, Lord of Izu, to come up and present yourself. All men come up now. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Come up, all of you! Bring them up! Everybody go up the ladder! Stop resisting! Everybody up! Bring it over! Come back up! Filthy savages. Muraji. You’re Christian. You speak Portuguese? Very little. Tell him to behave. Omi-sama say, ‘be good.’ Hai. Yes. Not possible. Please, in Japan, must be good. You’re a foul-mannered savage. ‘Understand?'”
“Is this man a Christian? We don’t know… please! Stay away! Why is he being held prisoner? Enough! Back off!”
“Lord Yabushige, honored I that you come village. Our busho, Lord of Izu, Kashigi Yabushige, he asks to know who you are and how you came to this land. A servant of God. Him evil. Make death. Pirate. Lies! That is a Dutch privateer. And you’re a pirate, come to war on a peaceful Portuguese settlement. Priest! Translate. Very bad man. Make murder Japan and Portuguese. Yabushige-sama says your heretic ship now belongs to him. You will soon be executed, as will your men. Lord! Danger! Pirate must die! Insult to Cross! Pirate must die!”
“I’m sorry for the discomfort my lord has caused your village. It won’t be much longer now. My lord, he’s obsessed with the moment of death. When you are powerless, and it’s inevitable– how a man faces such a moment. This is the closest he can get. Lord. This is Kiku. The most celebrated courtesan in Izu. It is my honor to serve and my duty to please. Shall I stop?”
“His eyes… were just the end of Hell — all pain, articulate. Almost a year. Uncle, if I may… you’re not going to tell Lord Taranaga about the barbarian ship? Then… you have other plans. After Lord Toranaga is dead, no doubt there will be war. Lord Ishido will be the most powerful Regent, but he’d next have to contend with the Christian lords. So a lord who possesses a shup with these weapons would make a valuable ally to anyone. Lord! A ship’s arrived. You go… Osaka. Bow. One has been executed. The rest are prisoners of Lord Yabushige. Row! Row! Row!”
“The ship is ready. Lord! I found him! He’s there! Lord, let me go in your place. Lord! Fetch more ropes from the ship! Rope is coming! Lord! Please grab onto something!”
Rodrigues
“Hey, hey, piss-eating bastards. Forbidden! Is he the pilot? Pilot? Lord Hiromatsu. Lord Rodrigues will take care of him. Give him drink, then blow head off. Bow to the bastard-sama if you wanna live. The man is like a king here. And tell him ‘goyosha wo.’ Goyosha kudusare. Goyosha kudusare. To all the shit-eating samas, huh? Come. You pilot of that Dutchman, eh? Young little shit, aren’t you? What’s the latitude of The Lizard? Or they’ll send you tits up. By God, you are a pilot. And Ingles, too. Fuck me. Samurai. Pilot friends? Well, that’s good news. Only one of your crew is dead. And the Jappers say they’ll free the rest of them if you play nice. Here it is, Ingles. Your crew belongs to them now. Maybe you’ll see them if you get back. Maybe not, but it-it is out of your hands. Osaka. Big city. The Great Lord Yoshii Toranaga wants to meet you. Play with your balls, maybe. How should I know? But he’s a powerful sort, so I might let him. Lord of the Kanto? A million of them fanatics would die for the honor of wiping his arse. Rodrigues, and I’m a Spaniard who sails for the Portuguese. I’m not your friend. Yeah, yeah. Just as son as you lick my jib. Listen, Ingles, no more tricks. I told these samas that I’d be responsible for you. So, do us both a favor, blow her a kiss.”
“Eh, we should head northwest. This crew would love to keep within sight of land. Sailed for a living, hai. How’d you get here, anyway? And now command rests on you. That’s some fate. Shukumei. Shukumei? Shukumei, it’s like an attitude out here. It’s, uh, karma. Uh, fate. Fixed destiny. Everything is connected. Part of a whole. Life, death. You just have to accept your-your wee place. Or maybe they just don’t give a shit what you think, young, scheming little pirate. You had 20 guns on that ship. I like you, Ingles, I do. In fact, given we have a long night ahead of us, I think I shall allow you the honor of taking this watch. Come. Why not? You are a pilot, not a godless savage, huh? Understand? Hai. Hai! Where are your cojones, eh? Go below, get them to row. Can you swim? Never learned. Better to drown quickly, right? What? What are you still doing up here, you pirate bitch? Piss on all English. Que viva Espana.”
Dutch Sailors
“Move over. Can you see what they’re doing? Come on. I think they’re towing her in. Can you tell what they are? A-are they Cathay? Quiet! Impossible. What part of this is still on? All I know is we had Spanish ships to the south and north of us out of Santa Maria. And this pilot got us through. As soon as the Portuguese tell them who we are, we’ll be hanged. You really think it’ll work? Aye.”
“You can’t. They’ll kill you, Pilot. Pilot, look at their swords. Look out!”
“Please, we’re just merchants! Please! We’re just merchants! For the love of God! Oh, please, no! No! Please, no! Please! Please! Please!”
John Blackthorne
“Captain. I was unable to make any celestial declinations due to… yes, the clouds. However, white sand by the mark ten. Ten fathoms. White and in the tallow. Well, the son of a bitch Spaniard’s rutter was right about Magellan’s Pass, was it not? We’ll make land. We’ll make land. We’ll reach the Japans. We’ll lay claim to that dark land. Then it’s back to Holland, rich, having gone around the world. That would be a coward’s way out. The, Erasmus, remains home to a dozen men still looking to you. All right, there you have it.”
“It’s what I’ve been telling you. They’re Japanese. Well, don’t all thank your good fortune at once. We’ve reached it. Portugal’s secret empire in the East. The orders are still on. We can still negotiate. We have goods to trade. Not to mention I speak fluent Portuguese. They don’t know who we are because the rutters are still locked in the captain general’s quarters. And as long as they stay that way, we are safe. We’re just merchants, lost at sea, looking for safe passage home. Here’s what you’re missing, the lot of you. We’ve been caught alee, windless, a speck on a current. We’ve endured pestilence, known starvation. We’ve chewed the calfskin covers off the ropes. We should be corpses by now, but here we are. 12 shit-smelling… …but generally able-bodied Protestant scoundrels on a mission against a savage horde and the entire goddamn, motherless, shit-picking Portuguese fleet. I’d say our chances are fair. This is not where we die.”
“Hello there. You the leader of these men? My name is John Blackthorne, and I would very much like to speak to you. If it’s agreeable, I will come up alone. No, no, no, no, don’t fight them. No! No violence! We need him alive. You fucking savages! Now I will come up alone and speak for my men. You keep hold of him in case I don’t come back. Bastards! I submit. I submit. We are merchants. I request we be released to the safety of our ship. We mean you no harm. Is this the Japans? How do I say ‘I understand’ in your language? I ask for my men to be freed. I beg you. In the name of decency. If this is how he treats guests, tell this poxy little bastard I piss on his whole damn country!”
“Who are you? Your god? First make that distinction, you papist prick. My name is John Blackthorne. I’m English. Pilot of the Erasmus, a Dutch merchant vessel. We were blown off course two months ago. They don’t know about us, do they? You’ve told them Portugal is the only flag in Europe. Which means I am the first English sailor to reach your Catholic treasury. And you have no intention of translating my words. I beg your king for parlay. I humbly ask for safe passage. I am not one of them! And I will not be spoken for by Catholics! Not in Europe, and certainly not in this dark land. Well, I’m sorry, Father. We’ll be all over this continent soon. Go back in your sty, dick up your arse.”
“Ah, Christ. Good morning. Where are my boots? I heard a man screaming last night. Sounded as though he was in terrible pain. This is very tight. Well, listen, if it’s amenable to, uh, to either of you, I’d… I’d… very much like to speak to your leader again. With the swords. The man with the swords. Wonderful.”
“Where am I being taken? You. You look at me. You murder prisoners without a trial. Is that how it’s done here? I go nowhere until I see my men! Pardon me. Who are you? 49 degrees, 56 minutes north. And watch out for the reefs, south-southwest. Listen, sir, you speak Japanese. I must know if my crew is alive. Who of my men’s dead? Where are we going? And what does he want with me? More powerful than those men? I didn’t catch your name, friend. Any chance of me boarding my ship, Rodrigues?”
“Be a storm by sunset. You come over with the Portuguese? Came by Magellan’s Pass. Merchant mission. Captain-General held us in Chile too long. I warned him the winds would die. He wouldn’t listen. What is that word? These people are godless savages. Why do you believe I’m a pirate? 20 guns to defend ourselves from unlawful Portuguese galleons piloted by Spanish dogs. We drifted here by accident. We’re just merchants hoping to once again cast eyes on our coast of origin. Kind of you to trust me. Yes. Hai. We’ve got to turn ourselves into the swell! Where they should be, by God, and where I’d like them to stay! Can’t you? Goddamn it, into the swell! Piss on the Spaniard who serves the Portuguese. Pull! Big swell coming! Turn into it! Row! Rodrigues! Rodrigues! Rodrigues! If you bastards want to live, pull! Row! Row!”
“Rodrigu-sama. The pilot is somewhere here. For all we know, he could still be breathing. I don’t care what kind of savage whore-bitch turd you are, where I come from, we don’t leave a man behind. Rodrigues! Move a limb! I’m only trying to get a look. I’ll bring him up. Me. Oh, I see. You can’t turn down a challenge in front of your men, can you? Go on, savage. Maybe the fall will kill you before you drown. Sorry about your sack-of-shit lord.”
Captain
“The clouds. You see what you want to see. Oh, give it here. The cursed bastard thing is to be the death of us all. The time has come for you to start making plans. You have no food. As of tonight, no water. Goddamn English pilots. You never know when to give up. Japans. Listen to yourself. That is the scurvy talking. Eh. No. No, Pilot. Not me. Five ships when we began. A crew of over 500. We are now barely a single vessel. At my age, you draw your line. Looking to me for what? We cannot fulfill our mission. Don’t you see, there is nothing! Pilot. Pilot, it’s nothing to fear. It’s a blessed release. It’s like only a soft wind in your face. Can you feel it? That is the breath of the Almighty. He’s calling us. Listen. He is calling us home.”
