We’re reaching the end of this epic book-to-series adaptation, but if you’re wondering what “goshawk” meant in Shogun, it’s a sign of what Lord Toranaga is up to as the series draws to a close.
Based on James Clavell’s novel, Shōgun is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga 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. Enter John Blackthorne, an English pilot who serves on the Dutch warship Erasmus and becomes the first Englishman to reach Japan.
Initially a prisoner, Blackthorne—most commonly referred to as “Anjin”, which loosely means pilot in Japanese—begins to aid Toranaga in more ways than one and becomes enthralled by Japanese culture in doing so.
Clavell’s 1,000-page novel was turned into 10 episodes for FX and shed light on whether fans would get a second season. “We took the story to the end of the book and put a period at the end of that sentence. We love how the book ends; it was one of the reasons why we both knew we wanted to do it — and we ended in exactly that place,” co-showrunner Justin Marks told The Hollywood Reporter.
“And I’ve been party to this in the past with shows like this, where you build a whole factory, and it only pumps out 10 cars and closes up shop. It’s a bummer. You know, one of our producers wrote a nearly 900-page instruction manual for how we do this show — almost as long as the book Shogun itself. All of this infrastructural knowledge went into it.” With all that said, here’s what Lord Toranaga meant when he called Yabushige and Blackthorne a goshawk.
What does “goshawk” mean in Shogun?
What does “goshawk” mean in Shogun? A goshawk is a medium to large bird of prey found in many European and Asian countries, including Japan. They are known for being quite easy to catch, so what Lord Toranaga meant when he called Yabushige and Blackthorne a goshawk was that he expected them to go to Osaka together.
This is all to say that a more subtle version of Toranaga’s Crimson Sky plan has been set into motion. For it to work, he needs Osaka to believe he is already defeated and Hiromatsu committing seppuku made sure of that.
“[Hiromatsu] knew his mission…he knows that he will do it for our future, for the country,” Shōgun producer and star Hiroyuki Sanada told Decider. “So yeah, that’s why we’re both acting in front of the other samurais…maybe there is a spy from Osaka. So we had to completely, perfectly pretend, but deeply inside we know each other, looking at each other. We had a lot of subtitles with [each other] just watching [each other’s] eyes.”
Toranaga is loosely inspired by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who began the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan in 1603. Historically, he’s regarded as one of the country’s “Great Unifiers”. Ieyasu was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He emerged victorious in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which solidified his control over Japan and allowed him to establish a centralized government.
Under his rule, known as the Edo period, Japan experienced a long period of stability, economic growth, and cultural development. Ieyasu’s policies, such as the strict regulation of samurai and the establishment of alternate attendance (sankin-kotai), helped to maintain control over the feudal lords and stabilize the country. Speaking with Salon, actor Sanada explained what inspired his representation of this legendary historical figure.
“I thought [of] Toranaga’s real-life model, leyasu [who], after the war period finished, created the peaceful era for 260 years until we opened the country to the world. So that’s why he became a hero in Japan. And for me, I felt telling the story about his life is important, especially for now. We need that kind of hero. That’s why I took this role and then tried my best to put my dream into this show to bring to the world.”
He continued: “Most of the audience will see Feudal Japan, 1600 Japan through [Blackthorne’s] eyes at the beginning. And little by little, they’re gonna start understanding what I am thinking, what other Japanese characters are thinking, what’s going on. So Blackthorne, he’s learning Japanese words little by little and then wearing kimono, wearing the sword, and he’s gonna understand what the Japanese culture is. Like him, the audience will understand, step by step, each episode. So, very important his position is.”
Shōgun airs on hulu/FX on Tuesdays at 10pm ET.
