Shōgun is one of the best reviewed new TV shows of 2024, as it amazingly brings viewers into the world of 1600s feudal Japan when James Clavell's epic story of warring factions and the arrival of European influences on Japan takes place.
Among the highlights of the series are the gorgeous period architecture of the city of Osaka and the beguiling wilderness of the Japan countryside. That raises the question, where was Shōgun filmed? On location in Japan, or somewhere else? And in either case, how did they build the incredible sets?
Thanks to FX, we have great details on Shōgun's production.
Was Shōgun filmed in Japan?
Chalk this one up to the magic of Hollywood, or in this case Canada, as Shōgun was filmed in Vancouver. Specifically, the show used two expansive exterior backlots, a remote mountainside location and two massive sound stages that housed many of the interior scenes. A virtual set and blue screen were used for some scenes that were too difficult to produce with practical production methods.
But while Shōgun used Canada as its base of operations, it did bring in expert consultants from Japan to work with the Canadian crew in what FX described as "a seamless collaboration between Eastern and Western talents in service of telling a truly authentic Japanese story."
FX says that as much scenery was built that would have been needed for an 80 to 100-day shoot on a movie.
And they constructed it to be as historically accurate as possible, relying on historians, artwork and antique collectors to recreate what castles, rooms, villages and gardens would have looked like in this era of Japan. This could often lead to some big projects, including creating 10,000 roof tiles for buildings, taking a team three months to make them with a special process to have them look as authentic as possible.
The locations and sets of Shōgun are absolutely incredible, so let's give a shout out to the team that helped make it happen: production designer Helen Jarvis, set decorators Lisa and Jonathan Lancaster, supervising art directors Peter Bodnarus and Chris Beach, and location manager Kirk Adamson.
Watch Shōgun on FX and Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
