James Clavell’s ‘Shōgun’ is reimagined for a new generation of TV viewers

Actress Anna Sawai, who plays Mariko in FX’s ‘Shōgun,’ attends the Los Angeles premiere of the series on Feb. 13, 2024. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images by Constantine Nomikos Vaporis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County In 1980, when James Clavell’s blockbuster historical novel “Shōgun” was turned into a TV miniseries, some 33% of American households with a television tuned in. It quickly became one of the most viewed miniseries to date, second only to “Roots.” I’m a historian of Japan who specializes in the history of the Tokugawa, or early modern era – a period from 1603 to 1868, during which the bulk of the action in “Shōgun” takes place. As a first-year graduate student, I sat glued to the television for five nights in September 1980, enthralled that someone cared enough to create a series about the period in Japan’s past that had captured my imagination. I wasn’t alone. In 1982, historian Henry D. Smith estimated that one-fifth to one-half of students enrolled in university courses about Japan at that time had read the novel and became interested in Japan because of it. “‘Shōgun,’” he added, “probably conveyed more information about the daily life of Japan to more people than all...