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70 free Shogun TV Series trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Shogun TV series trivia quiz covers the 2024 FX drama that swept a record 18 Emmys, plus the 1980 NBC miniseries and the James Clavell novel behind both. The easy questions cover the cast — Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai — the ship, the year, the meaning of "Anjin" and the real Tokugawa Ieyasu behind Toranaga. Medium questions walk through the episodes: the cannon ambush, the pheasant, the earthquake, Crimson Sky, Hiromatsu's seppuku and Mariko's stand at the storehouse door. The hard and expert questions dig into the making of the show: the Vancouver shoot, Atticus Ross's score, the episode Sanada submitted for his Emmy, the birthday coincidence of Mariko's death scene, the Golden Hinde replica in the 1980 version and the Kentish birthplace of the real William Adams. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation, so the names, dates and plot points can be trusted. Difficulty is shown on every question, which makes it easy to build a round for a TV quiz night or play the whole set. When you finish, try our other prestige drama and Japanese history quizzes.
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Q 01The 2024 series Shōgun is based on a 1975 novel by which author?
James Clavell
The book had sold six million copies worldwide by 1980 and is part of his Asian Saga.
Q 02Who plays Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the 2024 Shōgun?
Hiroyuki Sanada
He also served as a producer and pushed hard for historical authenticity on set.
Q 03Which English actor plays the shipwrecked pilot John Blackthorne in Shōgun (2024)?
Cosmo Jarvis
He was born in New Jersey to an Armenian-American mother but moved to Britain at three months old.
Q 04Which actress plays the translator Lady Toda Mariko?
Anna Sawai
She was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and once sang in the Japanese girl group Faky.
Q 05On which platform did Shōgun premiere in February 2024?
FX on Hulu
Internationally it streamed on Disney+ and Star+.
Q 06Who created the 2024 adaptation of Shōgun?
Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks
They took over in 2020 after original writer Ronan Bennett became unavailable and the project was rebooted.
Q 07Blackthorne is loosely based on which real English navigator who became a samurai?
William Adams
Adams was known in Japan as Miura Anjin, "the pilot of Miura".
Q 08Which real Japanese ruler is the model for Lord Toranaga?
Tokugawa Ieyasu
He became shōgun in 1603 and founded a dynasty that ruled Japan for over 250 years.
Q 09How many Emmy categories did the first season of Shōgun win in 2024, a record for a single season?
18
It was the first Japanese-language series to win Outstanding Drama Series.
Q 10Which series was the first non-English-language nominee for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy, before Shōgun?
Squid Game
Shōgun then went one better and became the first to win.
Q 11Where was principal photography for Shōgun's first season based?
Vancouver, British Columbia
Sanada called it a perfect place for a samurai drama, with forest, river, beach and mountains half an hour from the studio.
Q 12Which Oscar-winning composer co-wrote the score for Shōgun (2024)?
Atticus Ross
He worked with Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba, while Taro Ishida arranged traditional gagaku music.
Q 13Which video game designer likened Shōgun to "a Game of Thrones set in 17th-century Japan"?
Hideo Kojima
Japanese audiences and critics largely praised the show's authenticity, unlike the 1980 version.
Q 21Who becomes Blackthorne's reluctant consort in Ajiro after her husband and infant son are put to death?
Usami Fuji
She is Hiromatsu's granddaughter and by the finale plans to become a nun.
Q 22In the episode "The Eightfold Fence", Toranaga's son Nagakado uses what to ambush Ishido's envoy Jozen?
Cannons
The novel had Blackthorne teaching muskets; the writers switched to cannon chain shot because Japan already knew muskets.
Q 23Which dead bird causes the death of Blackthorne's gardener Uejiro in "Broken to the Fist"?
A pheasant
Blackthorne had jokingly told his servants they would die if they touched Toranaga's gift.
Q 14Tadanobu Asano plays which scheming lord of Izu, who tries to play both sides?
Kashigi Yabushige
His character is loosely based on Honda Masanobu.
Q 15Toranaga's chief rival, the ruler of Osaka Castle, is which former peasant turned regent?
Ishido Kazunari
He is based on Ishida Mitsunari, who lost to Ieyasu at Sekigahara.
Q 16What is the name of the Dutch ship that carries Blackthorne to Japan?
Erasmus
The real William Adams arrived aboard the Liefde, the only survivor of a five-ship fleet.
Q 17What name do the Japanese give Blackthorne, meaning "pilot"?
Anjin
It is also the title of the series premiere.
Q 18In what year is the first season of Shōgun set?
1600
It opens with the Taikō dead and five regents ruling on behalf of his young heir.
Q 19Ajiro, the fishing village where Blackthorne's ship makes landfall, lies in which province?
Izu
Yabushige is the lord of the province and Ajiro is his nephew Omi's fief.
Q 20Which Portuguese Jesuit priest, nicknamed "Tsuji", translates for Toranaga?
Father Martin Alvito
He is based on João Rodrigues Tçuzu, and Tommy Bastow plays him.
Q 24What natural disaster strikes Ajiro in "Broken to the Fist", letting Blackthorne save Toranaga's life?
An earthquake
Toranaga loses his swords in the landslide and Blackthorne offers his own.
Q 25Mariko's father, Akechi Jinsai, killed which former ruler of Japan, disgracing the family?
Kuroda Nobuhisa
Jinsai is modelled on Akechi Mitsuhide, who betrayed Oda Nobunaga in 1582.
Q 26What is the name of Toranaga's secret plan for a decisive strike on Osaka Castle?
Crimson Sky
The finale reveals it was never an attack at all but Mariko's mission to Osaka.
Q 27Which childhood friend of Mariko becomes Ochiba no Kata, the mother of the Taikō's heir?
Ruri
Fumi Nikaido plays her; the character is based on Yodo-dono.
Q 28Toranaga's half-brother Saeki Nobutatsu is offered which prize by the Council in "A Stick of Time"?
The fifth regency
Nagakado dies trying to assassinate his uncle at the teahouse.
Q 29How does Toranaga's son Nagakado die?
He slips and hits his head on a rock
The accident happens while he is trying to kill his uncle Saeki at the Ajiro teahouse.
Q 30Which of Toranaga's generals commits seppuku in the eighth episode to make Toranaga's surrender look real?
Toda Hiromatsu
Buntaro, his son, reluctantly acts as his second.