Record 18 Wins at Emmy Awards for SHOGUN and Hiroyuki Sanada’s Commitment to Authenticity Since His 20s

The drama series ‘SHOGUN,’ produced by FX and starring Hiroyuki Sanada as lead actor and producer, achieved a historic milestone by winning a record 18 Emmys at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards held in Los Angeles on September 15 (local time), often referred to as the Academy Awards of the American television industry.

Sanada became the first Japanese actor to win the Lead Actor Award. The series also won awards for Outstanding Production, Lead Actress for Anna Sawai, and Directing.

The Hollywood-scale production cost of over 10 billion yen

For FX, this is the highest production budget to date, with a staggering amount said to exceed 10 billion yen, typical of Hollywood. The historical drama ‘Shogun,’ set on the eve of the Battle of Sekigahara, features Hiroyuki Sanada portraying Yoshii Toranaga, modeled after Tokugawa Ieyasu, with overwhelming presence and depth.

As a producer, Sanada is committed to authenticity, primarily casting Japanese actors. He brought in experienced staff from Japan, paying meticulous attention to historical accuracy, samurai movements, and dialogue. The series features 70% Japanese dialogue, with English subtitles in the U.S., resulting in a grand historical drama of high quality that even Japanese viewers can appreciate.

Initially planned as a limited series, ‘Shogun’ became a hit, recording 9 million views within six days of its first two episodes’ release in February. As a result, seasons 2 and 3 were announced in May, with Sanada continuing as lead actor and producer, and Cosmo Jarvis reprising his role as Miura Anjin.

Sanada’s journey began in 2003 when he appeared in the Hollywood film ‘The Last Samurai’ with Tom Cruise, leading him to relocate to Hollywood in 2005. He has since built his career in Hollywood with films like ‘Rush Hour 3′ (2007) starring Jackie Chan, ’47 Ronin’ (2013) with Keanu Reeves, ‘Minamata’ (2020) starring Johnny Depp, and ‘Bullet Train’ (2022) featuring Brad Pitt. It can be said that ‘Shogun’ represents the culmination of his 20-year journey.