Okay, so I got curious about this whole Shōgun thing, the show everyone’s been talking about. I kept hearing bits and pieces, and one thing that stuck out was the use of Japanese. I thought, “Alright, let’s actually figure this out. How much Japanese is really in this show?”
So, I decided to dedicate some time to it. Didn’t do anything fancy, just sat down and started watching, but this time with a specific mission: pay attention to the language.
My Process – Just Watching and Listening
First thing I did was simply re-watch an episode or two. I put the subtitles on, obviously, because my Japanese isn’t exactly fluent, hah. I just wanted to get a feel for the balance.
Observation 1: The Japanese Characters
- Right away, it was obvious. Characters like Toranaga, Yabushige, Ishido – basically all the Japanese characters – they speak Japanese to each other. Like, almost exclusively.
- It wasn’t just short phrases here and there. These were full conversations about strategy, politics, personal feelings. Pretty complex stuff, all happening in Japanese.
Observation 2: The Foreigners
- Then you’ve got Blackthorne, the English guy. He speaks English, or sometimes what’s supposed to be Portuguese.
- The priests speak Portuguese or Latin.
- So, there’s this clear linguistic divide.
Observation 3: The Bridge – Mariko
- Mariko is key here. She’s the translator. A lot of scenes involve her translating between Japanese and English/Portuguese.
- This actually highlights how much Japanese is being spoken, because her role is necessary for communication between the groups. Without her, Blackthorne would be completely lost, and vice-versa for many interactions.
Trying to Quantify It (Roughly)
Okay, ‘quantify’ is maybe too strong a word. I didn’t sit there with a stopwatch or count lines. That felt too much like work. But I tried to get a general sense.
I’d say in scenes involving only the Japanese lords and their retainers, it’s pretty much 100% Japanese dialogue. These scenes are frequent and often quite long.
In scenes with Blackthorne and the Japanese characters interacting, it’s a mix, heavily reliant on Mariko translating. But even then, you hear the original Japanese first, then the translation, or vice-versa. So the Japanese language is still very present.
Overall? If I had to guess, maybe 40-50% of the total spoken dialogue across the series might be in Japanese. It feels substantial. It’s not just flavour; it’s a core part of the storytelling.
Final Thoughts
It was quite interesting just focusing on this one aspect. You realize the show really commits to depicting the language barrier and the distinct cultures. It uses the Japanese language extensively, relying on subtitles for the audience. It’s not like older movies where sometimes foreign characters just speak accented English.
So yeah, there’s a lot of Japanese in Shōgun. Way more than I initially might have guessed before I actually sat down and paid close attention. It really adds to the authenticity, I think. Made the whole experience feel more grounded.