Shogun Dazzles, Sets New Record at the Emmy Awards With 18 Wins

The 76th Emmy Awards were on at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night, September 15 local time. And it was a triumph for the Japanese drama series Shogun (FX, 2024). 

Entering the Emmy Award-winning season with twenty-five nominations, many expected the series to bring home awards in different categories. 

Notably, Hiroyuki Sanada acted in and was also a producer on the project. He is credited for the project's commitment to accurately depicting the Sengoku period in Japan. Sanada took a leading role in hiring experts, and has frequently talked of his commitment to showing authentic Japanese culture through the series. 

Best Drama

Without fail, the team won big in some of the most coveted categories. It grabbed eighteen awards overall, the highest number in history for a one-season TV series. 

The series also won the most prestigious award of the night in its category: the Oustanding Drama Award. 

Accepting the award on behalf of the whole cast, Hiroyuki Sanada thanked all his mentors and actors who helped make the project a reality. "We took your enthusiasm and took it abroad," remarked Sanada.  

Sanada, who plays the role of shrewd strategist Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the TV series, also took home the Outstanding Leading Actor Award. It was the first time he was nominated in the category.

A visibly overwhelmed Sanada said accepting the award he was "beyond honored" to be present together with other nominees. 

Highlighting the series as an East-meets-West project, he said, "Shogun taught me when we work together, we can make miracles. We can create a better future together," according to the Associated Press. 

Sawai Takes Home Outstanding Leading Actress

Fellow Shogun cast member Anna Sawai, on her first nomination, won the Outstanding Leading Actress Award. Sanada and Sawai both became the first Japanese actors to win in their respective categories. 

As Sawaii approached the stage in tears, she told spectators "This to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example for everyone," according to the Associated Press. 

Frederick EO Toye accepted the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. 

Shogun also racked up a series of accolades for its special visual effects and cinematography, among others. 

About the Series

Shogun is an American-made-for-TV series set in the 1600s in Japan. The story derives from the homonymous novel by James Clavell, published in 1975. 

It centers around a fictionalized story of an Englishman coming to Japan and an ensuing power struggle to become the ruling shogun in the country. 

In the series, most of the cast members are Japanese, with dialogue in their original language. The cast includes heavyweight names in Japanese cinema, such as Takehiro Hira and Tadanobu Asano, among others. 

In an interview with the Associated Press on September 15, he told reporters, "I hope that Western crew and cast and foreigners working together to create great drama with respect [for culture] can become a new normal." 

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• 'Shogun' Starring Hiroyuki Sanada Leads with 25 Emmy Nods
• The Geopolitics of 'Shogun' in a New Era
• Hiroyuki Sanada Brings SHOGUN to Life on Disney Plus

Author: Arielle Busetto