FX’s sweeping historical drama “Shogun” was already riding high with record-breaking wins from the week prior when the Emmys kicked off on Sunday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Last weekend, “Shogun” swept the Creative Arts Emmys, making history by claiming 14 awards and setting a record for the most Emmy wins by a show in a single year. The previous record holder was “Game of Thrones” with 12 wins in 2015.
Daniel Levy, who co-hosted the Sunday night show with his father Eugene, noted the milestone during the opening segment, saying, "We haven't even given out a single award tonight, and yet ‘Shogun’ has already made Emmy history.” As the night went on, “Shogun” secured four more wins: Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai for lead actor and actress in a drama series, respectively; Frederick E.O. Toye for directing; and outstanding drama series.
Sanada and Sawai are the first Japanese actors to win in their respective categories, and “Shogun” is now the first non-English-language winner of the best drama Emmy.
“I’m beyond honored to be here with amazing nominees. ... Thank you for all the cast and crew of ‘Shogun,’ I’m so proud of you," Sanada said during his acceptance speech, looking debonair in thick framed glasses and his hair tied back in a ponytail.
“It was an East-meets-West dream project with respect, and ‘Shogun’ taught me that when people work together, we can make miracles,” Sanada added. “We can create a better future together.”
As well as playing the lead role of Lord Yoshii Toranaga, who is based on real-life warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, Sanada is a co-producer on “Shogun” and one of the drivers of the period drama’s striking cultural and historical authenticity. The 63-year-old is a veteran actor with a nearly six-decade career that spans Japanese and Hollywood films and television, and he brought his expertise to a set that went to great lengths to offer accurate portrayals of Japanese people in the 17th century.
The period epic about the political machinations of Sanada’s Lord Toranaga in feudal Japan is an adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 bestselling novel of the same name. The book also inspired a 1980 NBC mini-series, which was a huge hit in North American and reportedly kicked off a boom in interest in Japan and its culture. Unlike its TV predecessor, which had an English ship pilot who becomes a samurai at its center, the recent “Shogun” is an ensemble show told primarily through the points of view of its main Japanese characters, and a majority of the dialogue is spoken in Japanese.
Soon after Sanada’s win, Sawai, who portrays the conflicted yet determined Lady Toda Mariko, was called to the stage to claim her trophy for best actress in a drama series. Notably, the only other Japanese actress to come close in the same category is Yoko Shimada, who was nominated for playing the same character in the 1980 NBC adaptation.
Sawai, regal in a red gown, wiped away tears as she walked up to the stage.
“I was crying before my name was announced — I’m a mess today,” Sawai told the audience when she reached the mic. After thanking show creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for giving her “the role of a lifetime,” Sawai showed her appreciation for Sanada, who “has opened doors and continues to open doors for people like me,” and her mother.
“Mom, I love you,” Sawai said. “You are the reason I’m here. You showed me stoicism, and that’s how I was able to portray Mariko. This is to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example for everyone.”
Toward the end of the night, “Shogun” triumphed in the outstanding drama series category over fellow nominees “The Crown,” “Fallout,” “The Gilded Age,” “The Morning Show,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Slow Horses” and “3 Body Problem.”
“You guys greenlit a very expensive, subtitled, Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition,” Marks quipped while addressing the show’s executives. “I have no idea why you did that, but thank you for your faith in this incredible team.
“‘Shogun’ is a show about translation,” he continued. “Not what is lost, but what is found when you do safety meetings in two languages and you learn not to walk on tatami mats with your utility boots.”
Sanada then brought the show’s historic night to a close by speaking in Japanese to give credit to the long line of creators in his home country who have built up the world of jidaigeki (period dramas).
