Why Yabushige Is the Best Character on 'Shōgun'
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THROUGHOUT THE RUN of Shōgun, FX's sweeping, big-budget epic based on the James Clavell book of the same name, it's (rightfully) earned comparisons to another sweeping, big-budget epic based on the written word: Game of Thrones. And while the crossover between the two shows ultimately doesn't go too far beyond a story revolving around a battle for power (one is based on a true story, the other features dragons and magic), there's quite a bit of crossover when it comes to ambition and scheming.
Thrones fans will never forget Lord Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen), also known as Littlefinger: the kiniving scumbag who for most of the show's run had a major plan, keeping one step ahead of everyone else. Shōgun, meanwhile, has its own version of Littlefinger in the slimy lord Kashigi Yabushige, who comes with just a couple key differences: he's much worse at scheming, and much more likable.
To put it more simply, Littlefinger sucks, and Yabushige is cool.
From the very first episode of Shōgun, when he has prisoners boiled alive, and nearly commits seppuku after falling off a cliff, it's clear that he's not the biggest role model in the show. But what makes Yabushige (as played by Tadanobu Asano) different is that despite his treachery—he's constantly trying to play both sides of the conflict between Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Ishido (Takehiro Hira)—he's incredibly likable and enjoyable to watch.
Where most characters in the show are able to maintain their "Eightfold Fence," keeping a poker face on the surface and pushing their true feelings and emotions down to the deepest depths of their consciousness, everything is up front and on display with Yabushige.
Asano does a wonderful job portraying a guy who doesn't care all too much about what what he's saying, or how he's supposed to be acting; he'll laugh in someone's face if he finds them funny or pathetic, he's down to have a drink or two or ten, and he in general just seems like a pretty solid hang. Once you realize he's a lord, yes, but kind of a middle-management lord just trying to make things easier for himself, perceptions start to change a little bit. As Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) comes to realize in Episode 8, "The Abyss of Life," he's a real "shitface"—but, against all odds, in a good way.
In one of the best scenes in Shōgun to date, Blackthorne attempts to form an alliance with Yabushige on his way out of Japan, realizing that their moment atop the cliff in the show's very first episode was more of a defining character moment than anyone ever realized. In a show full of stoic men of honor, here are two dudes who want to be stoic men of honor, and maybe even think they're succeeding at it, but just cannot keep it all beneath the surface. Both have the makeup where they simply cannot keep their mouths shut; they need to express themselves, they need to laugh, they need to do what they think is important. In Yabushige's case, that's trying and failing all kinds of scheming until he runs out of options. In Blackthorne's case, it's becoming a quasi-reluctant war hero for Toranaga's forces.
They do eventually link up, but only after a Toranaga scheme (that involves the seppuku and decapitation of an ally) further pushes them together. But along the way, it's just a way to put two of the show's most important pieces—one protagonist, and one irresistible supporting player—closer together.
Tadanobu Asano Plays Kashigi Yabushige on FX's Shōgun
Tadanobu Asano is giving an absolutely delightful, energetic performance as Yabushige in FX's Shōgun—but it's likely not the first time you've seen him. The 50-year-old actor is probably best known to American audiences for appearing as Hogun in the first three Thor films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also played a key role as The Interpreter in Martin Scorsese's 2016 epic Silence. He's also played roles in Battleship, 47 Ronin, and the 2021 Mortal Kombat (and will appear in its upcoming sequel as well).
But he's appeared in even more notable international films, perhaps most notably playing the lead in the psychological horror Ichi The Killer. as well as playing leading roles in the crime romance Last Life In The Universe and the drama Bright Future. He also played the infamous Genghis Khan in 2007's Mongol, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
If these kinds of movies and roles sound distinctly different from what he's doing in Shōgun... you're 100% correct. Asano has remarkable range, which just goes to show how strong his performance as the detestable-but-also-somehow-chummy Yabushige really has been.
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