shÅ gunEpisode 7, “A Stick of Time,” ends with an abrupt and bloody death that highlights how tenuous life and death are within the world of the foreign exchange show. A character dies in a rather anticlimactic manner, a victim of chance and a slippery rock. Make the moment even more shocking? It’s a complete invention for the FX show. Yes, the shocking death at the end of shÅ gunEpisode 7 “A stick of time” It never happens in the novel written by James Clavell!
**Spoilers for shÅ gunEpisode 7 “A Stick of Time,” now available on Hulu**
shÅ gunEpisode 7, “A Stick of Time,” ends with Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) naive but loyal son, Yoshii “Naga” Nagakado (Yuki Kura), deciding to murder his treacherous uncle, Saeki Nobutatsu (Eita Okuno). The episode had begun with Toranaga eagerly welcoming his half-brother, who seemed to immediately offer his support to his brother’s cause. However, halfway shÅ gunIn episode 7, Saeki bitterly reveals that he has allied himself with Toranaga’s enemy, Ishido (Takehiro Hira).
With Saeki’s betrayal, Toranaga’s cause is lost. His boastful son takes it upon himself to solve the problem. Naga apparently conspires with courtesan Kiku (Yuka Kouri) to install her uncle in the teahouse. Kiku offers to get the BDSM-minded gentleman additional toys to “elevate” her play and leaves him. This offers Naga and his men the opportunity to sneak in to kill Saeki.
However, between Naga’s inexperience, the rain, and some slippery pond rocks, the plan goes awry. Naga slips and hits his head on the stones, killing him. almost instantly. Emphasis on “almost,” because Naga gurgles and gasps to death. Saeki, disgusted, says, “Where’s the beauty in this?”
A savage death that deals another blow to Toranaga and is a scene that never occurs in James Clavell’s beloved novel.
Well, there’s definitely a moment where Naga is filled with bloodlust for his uncle, named Zataki in Clavell’s book, but Toranaga shuts down the fiery young man’s plans before they can get underway. Naga survives the entire book. In fact, he seems to simply float away to the periphery of the action. He lives, but he is no longer a major player in the story. shÅ gun Co-creator and showrunner Justin Marks told Jugo Mobile during the Winter 2024 TCA that it was Naga’s disappearance in the novel that inspired her death on the show.
“There’s one area of the book… where it was more difficult to adapt,” Marks said, referring specifically to the current run of episodes 6, 7 and 8. “We had to do some crossovers.”
Marks revealed that it was at this point that shÅ gun Executive producer Michaela Clavell was able to offer the most help and guidance. Clavell is the daughter of James Clavell, she is in charge of his estate and his partner in the FX adaptation. Marks said he and Clavell talked at length about this part of the novel: “How do we distill this and, you know, make a point out of it?”
“There are a number of characters in the book who just walked off stage without really saying goodbye, so to speak.” Naga is one of them.
So, no, Naga doesn’t die in James Clavell’s film. shÅ gun, but Clavell’s own daughter approved the change in the books. Time will tell if Naga’s death is worth it for TV fans in a way that her survival won’t be for book readers…
