The World of Shōgun: History & Backstory | Shōgun | FX

[MUSIC PLAYING] Some are born under the banner of greatness. Others must claim it. For centuries, Japan was ruled by a sovereign emperor, a hereditary nobility-held power over the people, the Imperial Court. Over time, wealth and power shifted and disseminated across the country. Provincial affluence gave birth to a burgeoning group of feudal lords. The country spiraled into armed conflict, giving rise to a more definitive militaristic rule. The samurai, a warrior class bound to a code of conduc

t and sworn duty to protect their lords' land at all costs, emerged. The unprecedented rise of the samurai severely diminished the emperor's authority, unleashing an insurrection that established a new commanding ruler atop the social structure, the Shōgun. The dominance of the Shōgun furnished peace for a period, but unrest slowly simmered ever greater as nobles continued the battle to expand their fiefdoms. Conflict reignited as warring states threatened to drive the country apart, ultimately

plunging Japan into hundreds of years of turmoil and civil war. War was a way of life, death before dishonor, the essence of what it means to be a samurai. But true honor can only be attained through victory in battle. Bound by the code, defeated samurai must take their own life through the ritual of seppuku. [STABBING] Japan, 1590. Chaos has reigned since the fall of the last Shōgun. The country enters a period of peace under a new leader, the Taiko, but this moment of unity is short-lived. The

Taiko dies, leaving behind a seven-year-old heir not yet of age. The fate of the nation is thrown into jeopardy. A council of regents is assembled. One bushō from each of the five major regions who control territories of strategic importance-- Yoshii Toranaga of Kanto, Sugiyama Josui from the northern regions. Ohno Harunobu from Bungo, Kiyama Ukon Sadanaga from Higo, Ishido Kazunari of Gōshū. The samurai code binds the regents to duty, even as distrust poisons the council. In the absence of Nak

amura, Ishido takes the seat at the helm of Osaka Castle, the impenetrable fortress where the highest of the warrior class converge at the center of power. Within this samurai class, women are educated, accomplished, trained in the ways of war, and maneuver to influence the regions. Beyond these imposing walls lies the gateway to trade and influence from the outside world, the Christian faith war is bleeding onto the shores as Catholics and Protestants carve up the Western world into religious b

attlegrounds. The Catholics assert their reach across the Japans, attempting to convert the masses. These foreign agendas further deepen the divides within the country where each bushō has an unspoken agenda for greater power and control. They build upon their already-great samurai armies, but the will to rule will be forged in the blades of the samurai's katana as new and ancient bloodlines struggle for supremacy. The state is on the precipice of war when John Blackthorne, a privateer from the

West, is shipwrecked along the coast. Toranaga appoints Lady Mariko, a trusted advisor, as Blackthorne's interpreter and teacher. Now, three fates will be forged in one purpose, to fight for the future of a vast nation as history collides with the dawn of a new era.