Updated with more about the BC filming locations.
Game of Thrones in feudal Japan.
The epic new FX Shōgun series filmed in rainy but beautiful British Columbia for 10 months, starting in the Fall of 2021 through the Winter and Spring of 2022 — from Wya Point on Vancouver Island to Minaty Bay on Howe Sound to Vancouver, with a huge harbour set in Port Moody.
I think in the beginning, they told us six months. And then they were like, one more, one more. We were calling it the never-ending show. We were doing a lot of outdoor exterior shots in the rain, in kimono, with a wig that goes down to the hip. I wasn’t feeling myself fully during those 10 months– Anna Sawai to Variety.
Why didn’t Shōgun film in Japan? There isn’t enough open, undeveloped land and it turns out coastal British Columbia is “a very good match” for 1600 Japan, according to Shōgun co-creator Justin Marks.
Adapted from James Clavell’s bestselling 1975 novel, Shōgun charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai:
Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga, ,Cosmo Jarvis as English pilot John Blackthorne and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko.
Filming in BC:
Erasmus ship wreck at Wya Point in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island.
Fishing village of Ajiro played by Minaty Bay on the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler.
Minaty Bay on the Sea to Sky Highway near Britannia Beach.
Osaka harbour set in Port Moody.
The Osaka harbour was a set built around a manmade inlet at the closed Flavelle sawmill on the Port Moody waterfront.
Black Ship set in Port Moody.
Osaka Harbour set at night.
Shōgun
Shōgun is set in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.
Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.
Extended trailer:
Pilot frenemies John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and Vascos Rodrigues (Nestor Carbonell) at Ajiro. Filmed at Minaty Bay on the Sea to Sky Highway.
We wrapped physical production on the limited series Shōgun in June [2022), which was by far our biggest and most ambitious production ever. We still have a long process of post-production ahead of us but the show looks fantastic — FX CEO John Landgraf.
Shōgun:
BC filming dates:: September 22 2021 – June 30 2022.
Episodes: 10.
Created by: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks.
Showrunners: Justin Marks.
Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai,.Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Tokuma Nishioka, Takehiro Hira, Ako, Shinnosuke Abe, Yasunari Takeshima, Hiroto Kanai, Toshi Toda, Hiro Kanagawa, Nestor Carbonell, Yuki Kura, Tommy Bastow, Moeka Hoshi, Yoriko Doguchi, Yuka Kouri
Cosmo Jarvis as Pilot Major John Blackthorne, Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshi Toranaga, Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabu, Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba No Kata (Lady Ochiba), Tokuma Nishioka as Toda Hiromatsu, Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari, Ako as Daiyoin Lady Iyo, Shinnosuke Abe as Toda Buntaro, Yasunari Takeshima as Mura, Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi, Toshi Toda as Sugiyama, Hiro Kanagawa as Igurashi, Néstor Carbonell as Vasco Rodrigues, Yuki Kura as Yoshi Nagakado, Tommy Bastow as Father Martin Alvito, Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji, Yoriko Dōguchi as Kiri No Kata, Yuka Kouri as Kiku, Yuki Kedoin as Takemaru, Mako Fujimoto as Shizu No Kata.
Producers: Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Michael De Luca, James Clavell’s daughter Michaela Clavell, Tim Van Patten, Hiroyuki Sanada.
Shōgun series premieres February 27th on FX and streams on Disney+.
1980 Shōgun Miniseries:
Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune and Yoko Shimada played John Blackthorne, Lord Toranaga and Lady Mariko in the 1980 Shōgun miniseries.
