"Sometimes, you know, misunderstandings, incorrect" — When Hiroyuki Sanada’s bold approach made Japanese culture feel authentic in ‘Shōgun’

The critically acclaimed series Shōgun premiered its 10 episodes from February 27, 2024, to April 23, 2024, on FX and FX on Hulu. Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks created the series, which is inspired by James Clavell's best-selling novel of the same name, published in 1975.

The historical drama series follows the powerful Lord Yoshii Toranaga's rise to the shogunate in feudal Japan. He is played by the Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who also serves as the producer of the series. On February 28, 2024, Sanada spoke to Lyn Ching of GMA Network about his meticulous approach to bringing the series to life.

Sanada shared that he hired Japanese consultants to oversee every technical and creative department of Shōgun to keep the period drama as "authentic" as possible.

"Sometimes, you know, misunderstandings, incorrect... so I wanted to correct everything in this show," he said.

Moreover, the 64-year-old actor called Shōgun the "perfect story to introduce our (Japanese) culture to the world."

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Shōgun is one of the best shows of 2024

In the same interview, Sanada also praised the hard work put in by the show's primarily Japanese cast. He said:

"They’re brave to jump into first time (in) Western style of shooting in another country. So I wanted to pick up their best performance everyday.... Some of them got great performance, and (when) all the producers and directors say, 'this is it,' I was like, 'yes!'"

The series boasts an ensemble cast comprising Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Cosmo Jarvis, Tadanobu Asano, Tommy Bastow, Fumi Nikaido, and Takehiro Hira, among others.

Shōgun has made history as the first Japanese-language series to win the prize for 'Outstanding Drama Series' at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024. It won a record-breaking 18 awards in total at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Moreover, it set the record for the most awards picked up by a single season of television in the award show's history.

Sanada won the award for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series' for his performance in episode 8, titled The Abyss of Life. His co-star Anna Sawai, who plays Toda Mariko, also won the 'Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series' award for the episode Crimson Sky.

Additionally, Shōgun won the Golden Globe award for 'Best Television Series – Drama.' Sanada and Sawai took home the acting prizes for their respective categories. Tadanobu Asano also won the 'Best Supporting Actor' category for playing the treacherous Yabushige.

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What is the plot of Shōgun?

Shōgun is set in 17th-century feudal Japan. The ruler Taiko's death creates a power vacuum, with rival warlords competing to become the supreme military ruler, Shogun, until Taiko's heir is old enough to rule.

When the Englishman John Blackthorne's trading ship, Erasmus, gets shipwrecked in feudal Japan, he gets mired in the political strife. Lord Yoshii Toranaga, one of the warlords, is on a collision course with the Council of Regents, led by his archrival Lord Ishido. Toranaga employs John's knowledge of Western warfare to sow discord among the various warring factions to aid his political ambitions.

Toda Mariko serves as the translator between Blackthorne and Toranaga and ends up sacrificing her life for the latter. Although she is married to Buntaro, Mariko falls in love with the Englishman. After her death, Blackthorne decides to leave his past life behind and adopt the samurai way of life.

Despite the council's plans to impeach Toranaga, he outsmarts them and uses a series of strategic moves and alliances to become the shogunate by the end of the series.

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All episodes of Shōgun can be streamed on Hulu.