The 1980 miniseries NBC, 15 to 19 September 1980
Paramount Television made the first adaptation for NBC, which showed it over five nights in September 1980. It was written by Eric Bercovici and directed by Jerry London, with music by Maurice Jarre, and Clavell himself was executive producer. It was filmed in Japan, with Hikone Castle standing in for Toranaga’s, and the ship was the Golden Hinde, the replica of Francis Drake’s ship now moored in London.
The makers told the story from Blackthorne’s side. The Japanese characters speak Japanese, and the original broadcast gave no subtitles, so that the audience understood no more than he did. Orson Welles narrated.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Richard Chamberlain | John Blackthorne |
| Toshiro Mifune | Lord Toranaga |
| Yoko Shimada | Lady Toda Mariko |
| Frankie Sakai | Lord Kashigi Yabu |
| John Rhys-Davies | Vasco Rodrigues |
| Damien Thomas | Father Martin Alvito |
| Michael Hordern | Friar Domingo |
| Orson Welles | Narrator |
It was a huge success. NBC had the highest weekly ratings in its history, and its average rating was second only to Roots. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series, the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series with Globes for Chamberlain and Shimada, and a Peabody Award, and it helped start the fashion for long miniseries in the 1980s. Shorter cuts were released in cinemas in Japan and Europe.
The 2024 series FX, 27 February to 23 April 2024
The second adaptation was created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for FX. Its ten episodes were released on FX and Hulu in the United States, and on Disney+ in other countries. Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Toranaga, was also a producer, and worked to make the Japanese details right.
Where the 1980 version stayed with Blackthorne, this one gives the Japanese characters equal weight. Most of the dialogue is in Japanese, with subtitles. It was filmed in and around Vancouver, in British Columbia, between September 2021 and June 2022.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hiroyuki Sanada | Lord Yoshii Toranaga |
| Cosmo Jarvis | John Blackthorne |
| Anna Sawai | Toda Mariko |
| Tadanobu Asano | Kashigi Yabushige |
| Takehiro Hira | Ishido Kazunari |
| Tommy Bastow | Father Martin Alvito |
| Fumi Nikaido | Lady Ochiba |
| Néstor Carbonell | Vasco Rodrigues |
| Moeka Hoshi | Usami Fuji |
At the Emmy Awards in September 2024 it won eighteen awards, the most ever for a single season of television. It was the first Japanese language series to win Outstanding Drama Series, and Sanada and Sawai won the lead acting awards, the first Japanese performers to do so. In January 2025 it won four Golden Globes, for Best Drama Series and for Sanada, Sawai and Asano, and it later received a Peabody Award.
The series was first planned as a single season covering the whole novel. After its success a second and third season were developed, going beyond the book, and the second began filming in January 2026.
Two versions compared
| 1980 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | NBC | FX, streamed on Hulu and Disney+ |
| Episodes | 5, over five nights | 10, the first two together and then weekly |
| Blackthorne | Richard Chamberlain | Cosmo Jarvis |
| Toranaga | Toshiro Mifune | Hiroyuki Sanada |
| Mariko | Yoko Shimada | Anna Sawai |
| Japanese dialogue | Not subtitled | Subtitled, most of the script |
| Filmed in | Japan | British Columbia, Canada |
| Emmys won | Outstanding Limited Series | 18, a record |