How Shōgun Makes Translation Exciting

when Paramount and NBC adapted James clavell's best-selling novel Shogun into a TV miniseries

in 1980 the writer Eric berkovichi reframed The Source material in a significant way

and I told James cell my idea

which was to take his story turn it inside out

and tell the whole tale of Shogun from blackthorn's point of view where we

understand what he understands where we see what he sees

and whenever he is confused we are equally confused to accomplish this the show

ch CH not to subtitle Japanese dialogue

so American audiences would be

as lost as protagonist John Blackthorne a ship pilot who's based on the first

Englishman to reach Japan in the year 1600 for this version of the story

The subtitle choice is dramatically effective we are fully anchored in blackthorne's perspective learning

as he learns feeling

as he feels want to go in there of course what you lose by

this framing is the interiority of all the characters who speak only Japanese

and for an epic set in Japan about an important period in Japanese history

the loss is a big one clell's novel definitely has

that Stranger in a Strange Land element Blackthorne is still the protagonist after all

but it also lets us into the minds

and conversations of the Japanese characters

which is what fx's Stellar 2024 remake of the Shogun miniseries does

as well instead of just one focal character Shogun 2024 has multiple most of

which are Japanese and all their dialogue is subtitled this Choice does make the

viewer less confused than Blackthorne

but it doesn't downplay the sense of East Meets West culture shock it just

balances it what's made this new series

so compelling to me is how it uses the Act of translation to explore

the possibilities and limitations of communication across cultures

and communication period how do I say I understand in your language

when Blackthorne arrives in Japan his first translator is a Japanese Catholic who knows

very little Portuguese which is spoken

as English on this show

and it's significant here at the beginning

that Blackthorne asks how to say I understand Shogun is very interesting

as we'll see in the difference

or the gap between simple translation

and understanding his second translator is a Portuguese Catholic priest who speaks broken Japanese

once he finds out

that Blackthorne is an English Protestant he refuses to translate honestly instead of communicating

black Thorn's words the priest communicates the meaning of black Thorn's presence to him

unable to speak for himself Blackthorne closes the language with a gesture not be

spoken for by Catholics blackthorn's first proper translator is another Catholic priest who honestly

relays his words to Lord taga in order to ensure this honesty taga invites

another translator lady Maro who also knows Japanese

and Portuguese the show communicates the faithfulness of this translation to us by gradually

removing the translators until taga seems to be directly speaking to Blackthorne

and here's the advantage to using subtitles Shogun 2024 is able to show a

true meaning of the minds between two focal characters who speak different languages my

Lord would like to say

that he is sorry for the time you spent in prison later in the

same episode lady Maro becomes blackthorne's primary translator I'm grateful to be alive

and what's interesting is how she suly Alters the conversation I hope your time

in prison wasn't too difficult doesn't necessarily suggest an apology

and I'm grateful to be alive doesn't necessarily suggest thanks Miko adds these sentiments

quietly controlling the tone of the exchange till this milk dribbling me I'm ready

to go this is a role Miko continues to play most dramatically in episode

five during a dinner scene with her husband bonaro Blackthorn

and blackthorn's consort Fuji Miko attempts to smooth out the aggression between the two

men by changing their language my husband comments on the way you eat your

noodles the sand you make

while eating reveals the depth of your pleasure

if you look at the 1980 version of the scene Miko still translates

but we're blocked from bonaro

and Fuji's words so we have to take her translation at face value in

the 2024 version with subtitles we get a riveting scene of dramatic irony where

the translation itself becomes significant a mediation between the interplay of four Minds in

trying to avoid conflict Maro is faced with translating cultural values

as well as language

and that's not easy

when Blackthorne ask buaro for War Stories he's communicating a positive English value for

boasting that buaro considers vulgar

and rude those three words carry far more meaning than their basic definitions

and this isn't the episode's only mistranslation of three words

when Blackthorne receives a pheasant from taga he hangs it outside his house to

quote unquote mature and tells his household off the cuff eventually the Pheasant rots

its stench disturbs the piece of the neighborhood

and the kindly old Gardener finally takes it down at the cost of his

life what have you done depending on the context the same work words can

carry wildly different meanings you put

that old man to death over stinking God cursed pheasant to translate the correct

meaning requires a deep familiarity with the two languages

and the cultures that created them go away you know I don't believe

that true translation is impossible I don't believe communication between cultures is impossible

and I don't think Shogun believes

that either but translation means more than a relaying of words words

and the show wants us to think about

that after all Blackthorne isn't the only English speaker being translated to here

so are we the English-speaking audience shogun's Japanese dialogue was actually written in English

carefully translated into Japanese into period specific phrasing

then carefully translated back into English to be consumed by us in the form

of subtitles the show Runners spend a lot of time

and resources on this clearly

but I can't help

but wonder about the

that I'm missing the fact

that I'm even thinking about

that means the show is doing its job you know translation is usually something

that creators of film

and TV try to avoid at all costs it takes up a lot of

precious time with unnecessary repetition shun 2024 has found a way to make translation

a central theme of the show

and the act of translation into gripping television this is not in our Lord's

interest I'm sorry were you going to translate hey everybody thank you

so much for watching this episode was brought to you by Squarespace the all-in-one

website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out

and succeed online whether you're just starting out

or managing a growing brand Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website

and now you can make a completely personalized website with their new guided design

system Squarespace blueprint choose from professionally curated layout

and styling options to build a unique online presence from the ground up optimize

for every device and with optimized SEO tools

so you show up more often to more people you can upload video content

you can even sell access to your video library basically a Squarespace site is

going to make whatever you're sharing

or selling look professional

and that's going to help you get the word out whatever

that word actually is head over to squarespace.com for a free trial

and when you're ready to launch go to squarespace.com nerdwriter for 10% off your

first purchase thanks guys I'll see you next time