Shogun: what it got wrong

Recap: Yesterday's story detailed (roughly) what the Hulu/Disney miniseries "Shogun," based on James Clavell's historical novel, got right. Today we look at some of the things it got wrong. For yesterday's column on what it got right (which was a lot), see "Shogun: What it got right"

"Shogun" is a compelling historical drama miniseries based on James Clavell's novel of the same name, which transports viewers to 17th-century Japan through the eyes of an English navigator, John Blackthorne. After his ship washes ashore in Japan, Blackthorne finds himself entangled in feudal Japan's complex and dangerous political landscape. As he navigates through cultural shocks and diplomatic intricacies, he earns the favor and mentorship of the powerful and cunning daimyo, Lord Toranaga. Throughout the series, Blackthorne transforms from a stranded foreigner to a respected samurai, deeply involved in his adoptive country's power struggles and ambitions.

The book and the series are historically-set fiction. They are not accurate, and there are a number of important differences from the truth that should be noted before they become part of generally accepted facts.

First, the biggest issue is that the romance in the series - between Blackthorne and Mariko- is based on two real people who never met each other. Blackthorne is William Adams, who arrived in Japan in 1600. Mariko is based on Hosokawa Gracia, who was killed in 1600. While Adams was brought to Osaka and arrived on May 12, and Gracia died on August 25, there is no evidence that the two ever met. Gracia was living under house arrest in Osaka and was not allowed outside. Gracia learned to speak Portuguese, which Adams did understand, but his interpreter was merchant Suminokura Ryoi. Suminokura was with Adams extensively and even accompanied him to the Battle of Sekigahara, where Adams used his cannon to help lead Tokugawa Ieyasu to victory. (I am unaware of any romantic entanglements between the two men, but if someone wants to make yaoi fan fiction about it, I wish you nothing but happiness.) After Sekigahara, Adams broke up his Dutch vessel, which had deteriorated beyond repair, and assisted samurai Mukai Shogen in building the first Western-style sailing vessel. Aside from the Battle of Sekigahara, Adams was not present for much of what is depicted in the show. Adams was too valuable of an asset to Tokugawa Ieyasu to risk, so he spent many of the key moments in his Uraga, a quiet fishing village south of Edo.

Warning, the following paragraph contains descriptions of self-harm and suicide:

In the penultimate episode, Mariko moves to commit seppuku in an attempt to shame Ishido into releasing the family members he is holding in Osaka. The style of suicide she attempts is all wrong, if done for dramatic reasons. She lines up to disembowel herself, and Anjin-san is standing as her second to decapitate her. Women were not allowed to commit seppuku. A noblewoman in Japan during the Sengoku period would not have disemboweled herself but rather would have cut open the carotid artery on her neck with a tanto knife. And women would never have a kaishaku second waiting to decapitate her. Of course, the real "Mariko," Hosokawa Gracia, had been told by the Catholic priests that suicide was a grave sin, so she did not kill herself at all but instead was dispatched by family retainer Ogasawara Shosai when Ishida Mitsunari attempted to kidnap her and hold her hostage. After killing Gracia, Ogasawara then set the palace on fire and committed seppuku himself, presumably sans kaishaku. Her death did have the effect of preventing Ishida Mitsunari from taking other noble family members hostage, though not of releasing them from confinement in Osaka.

The story of the death of Mariko's father is similarly adjusted for dramatic purposes. In the series, it is said that Mariko's father killed Kuroda Nobuhisa (Oda Nobunaga) because he was corrupt and threatening to destroy Japan. Her father was then forced to kill his family and commit seppuku. Akechi Mitsuhide's reason for turning on Oda Nobunaga and forcing him (not Akechi) to commit seppuku is lost to time, but it may simply have been that Akechi thought himself more worthy of leading Japan than Oda Nobunaga, who was known for his erratic and uncouth behavior. Attempts to attach it to a moralistic Akechi then attempted to rally Nobunaga's forces around himself but was caught off guard by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi after a four-day, express-forced march over a distance of nearly 160 km. Akechi's army was defeated, and Akechi himself was killed by brigands who were looting the battlefield after dark. His family was then purged by forces loyal to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but Gracia/Mariko was hidden by her husband in a rural village on the Japan Sea coast.

Some changes were obviously made for understandable reasons. For example, married women of the time period in Japan were practicing teeth blackening, called "ohaguro" in Japanese. So Mariko would have had a mouth full of "black keys," not the white ones, which would be quite jarring to modern viewers. When the Japanese make their own historical dramas, they don't blacken married women's teeth, so this is somewhat forgivable.

While there was a council of regents assigned the responsibility of keeping the country under control and preparing Toyotomi Hideyoshi's son Hideyori to become Taiko, Ishida/Ishido was not on the council. The council consisted of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mori Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie (succeeded by Maeda Toshinaga), and Kobayakawa Takakage (succeeded by Uesugi Kagekatsu). Ishida Mitsunari was the leader of another group, the Five Commissioners, who were all from Omi and Owari provinces and had supported Oda Nobunaga.

Fuji (Anjin-san's reluctant concubine) is introduced with her husband wiping out his bloodline to atone for a modest infraction. While entire families were wiped out (much as Akechi Mitsuhide's was) after extreme acts of disloyalty (like Akechi's betrayal of Oda Nobunaga, which resulted in Oda's death), killing one's entire family to expunge minor infractions was not something that there is much evidence for.

Adams was never rescued from near execution. The Portuguese correctly identified Adams as a threat to their exclusive influence in Japan and repeatedly called for him to be executed; he was protected by Tokugawa, who continued to decline their requests to kill Adams, responding that Adams had done nothing to harm him or his holdings.

Toda Hiromatsu, the father-in-law of Mariko and Tokunaga's advisor, dramatically commits seppuku at the end of Episode 8. The character is based on Hosokawa Fujitaka, who also used the family name Nagaoka later in life. The suicide, an extremely dramatic act that moves the narrative forward, is not based on anything that happened in real life. Hosokawa Fujitaka died quietly at home in 1610 at the age of 77.

The number of secretly Christian daimyos was probably not as great as is indicated at the beginning of the series. Yes, there were 86 daimyos who officially converted to Christianity, but in many cases, this conversion was one of convenience. Oda Nobunaga had popularized the use of matchlock firearms, and by converting to Christianity (or claiming to have), daimyos would have preferential access to Portuguese saltpeter, a component of gunpowder. There's no strong evidence that any Council of Five Elders member was secretly Christian. Tokugawa Ieyasu was openly hostile to the Jesuits, and some of his fears were realized after his death in 1637 when a 17-year-old Christian convert named Amakusa Shiro led a peasant rebellion that resulted in more than 50,000 casualties.

Finally, to highlight something that the new version fixed from the original show. In the 1980s version, Blackthorne is shown as teaching the Japanese how to use matchlock weapons (arquebuses), implying that the Japanese were only using bows as ranged weapons. This is blatantly wrong, as Portuguese arquebuses had been acquired from an encounter at Tanegashima island and copied expertly by the Japanese many decades prior to the arrival of William Adams. The use of trained arquebusiers by Oda Nobunaga had been a major element in his rise to power. Portuguese cannon, however, was much less accurate than the Dutch and English cannon, which would have been available to Adams/Blackthorne.

"Shogun" is an enthralling journey into the heart of feudal Japan, intricately weaving historical facts with dramatized fiction for captivating storytelling. While the miniseries brilliantly captures the essence of cultural confrontation and adaptation, it's important to approach it with an awareness of its artistic liberties. The characters of Blackthorne and Mariko, among others, serve as engaging conduits for exploring complex historical themes, yet their narratives diverge significantly from historical accuracy. As such, "Shogun" should be appreciated for its narrative flair and deep dive into Japanese culture and politics of the era, but it should also prompt viewers to explore the actual historical events and figures to understand the rich tapestry of Japan's past fully. This blend of historical fiction provides entertainment and a potent reminder of the power of storytelling in shaping our perception of history.