LOS ANGELES – Broadcast in 1980 and starring American actor Richard Chamberlain alongside legendary Japanese star Toshiro Mifune, the Emmy-winning series Shogun was ground-breaking television.

A tale of power struggles in 17th-century feudal Japan as seen through the eyes of an English sailor, it had Japanese actors speaking their native tongue and was the first Hollywood production shot entirely on location in Japan.

A hit in the United States and elsewhere, the drama was, for many viewers, their first in-depth look at Japan’s history and culture, and sparked unprecedented interest in the country.

But as much as the creators of a new remake admire the original, they tell The Straits Times they wanted to tilt the focus more towards the Japanese characters rather than telling the whole story from the Englishman’s perspective.

Now available on Disney+, the 10-episode historical drama Shogun is adapted from British author James Clavell’s sprawling 1975 novel of the same name, which also inspired the 1980 show.

A work of fiction, the book borrows from historical figures such as William Adams, an Englishman who became a samurai under one of the shogun, or military leaders who ruled feudal Japan.

In the new series, Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada plays Lord Toranaga, a feudal lord trying to outfox his rivals.

British actor Cosmo Jarvis is Major Blackthorne, an English sailor swept up in these rivalries after being shipwrecked in Japan.

And New Zealand actress Anna Sawai is Lady Mariko, a high-born woman who becomes Blackthorne’s translator and finds her loyalties torn.

The series was created by American writer-producers Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks and co-produced by Michaela Clavell, the late author’s daughter.

In a Zoom interview, Marks says they took pains to get the historical and cultural details right.

“Our goal was to never stop asking questions,” says the 43-year-old, who received a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination as one of the co-writers of action drama Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

“It was so important to us to render a version of feudal Japan that felt as authentic as possible.

“And the question of what is authentic was a five-year journey for us. It started in the writers’ room with conversations about doing this with a predominantly Japanese cast, and what some of the tropes and cliches are that we want to avoid.

“Then we began to add nuance to it, working with Japanese producers and language and cultural advisers to clarify whether we are telling a story from our own gaze (as foreigners), or working to subvert that gaze as much as possible,” he adds.

Sanada, 63, who has appeared in Hollywood films such as The Last Samurai (2003) and Bullet Train (2022), was also a producer and helped steer Shogun.

Marks says: “He came to it with a wealth of experience, having worked in the Japanese film industry since he was a child, but also in Hollywood in the last few decades.”

Sanada helped the production understand what Hollywood had done wrong when it came to depictions of Japan and how to avoid that with the new show.

“And he introduced us to a variety of advisers – make-up and hair consultants and movement advisers, and art department and historians – and we worked on a daily basis to get these details right.”

Clavell, who manages her father’s estate and publishing rights, says Kondo and Marks set out to make this version far more Japanese-centric than the original series.

“That was their point of view from the beginning, and (American television network) FX very much had that in mind, as well as how to make this story new and unique,” the British producer says.

“And the emphasis was on the point of view of Toranaga and the Japanese much more than in the first version, which was told through Blackthorne’s eyes.”

Kondo points out that this approach is more faithful to the late author’s novel.

“We basically went back to the original text and it’s the core of it, this braid of characters,” says the writer.

Clavell adds: “And as Rachel pointed out, it’s called Shogun, not Blackthorne.”

• Shogun is available on Disney+.