Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada leads the show in FX's new historical drama “Shogun.”
Dubai: “Shogun,” FX’s latest adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 best-selling novel set in 17th-century feudal Japan, is a far cry from the popular 1980s miniseries, as it is told mostly from the perspective of Western protagonist John Blackthorne (then played by Richard Chamberlain, now by Cosmo Jarvis) looked on.
While Jarvis' Blackthorne gets plenty of screen time in the “Shogun” remake, now streaming on Disney+ in the Middle East, co-writers and husband-and-wife duo Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo made sure to center the story around the film's Japanese characters.
Cosmo Jarvis as John “Shogun” Blackthorne. (Courtesy of Disney+)
“Shogun” follows the story of Lord Yoshi Toranaga, played by producer Hiroyuki Sanada, as he fights for his life against enemies in the Council of Rulers who are uniting against him. When a mysterious European ship is found stranded in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, John Blackthorne, comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the balance of power and destroy the vast influence of Blackthorne's enemies.
Meanwhile, Toranaga and Blackthorne's fates become inextricably linked to their translator, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a mysterious noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line.
Speaking about the importance of the book and why they wanted to revisit the story now, Marks told Arab News: “This book has a great legacy that has inspired many films, television shows and other stories over the decades since its release.” Outside. So, how can we say something new? And fortunately, when you open the book, you realize that Clavell is actually playing with some of these very modern ideas about how we encounter other cultures, and how we encounter ourselves within those cultures, and he does so with really great sensitivity. When we started talking about it, we realized that this was a story that needed to be told again, indeed 50 years later, because we seemed to have forgotten many of its lessons.
“It was as if it was meant to be told again, as it seemed strangely modern and unexpected — it seemed timeless,” Kondo said. And so, here we are a few generations later.”
Hiroyuki Sanada plays Toranaga, a Japanese master modeled on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the military ruler who helped unify Japan in the early 17th century after a long period of civil war.
(Courtesy of Disney+)
The show's central Japanese character is played by Sanada, who plays Toranaga, a Japanese master modeled after Tokugawa Ieyasu, a military ruler who helped unify Japan in the early 17th century after a long period of civil war, bringing about a period of peace. Which lasted for more than 200 years.
Sanada, who broke into Hollywood with 2003's “The Last Samurai,” is also a producer on the show and was eager to bring his years of experience working in Japanese films to Hollywood.
To make sure he could play the role when he was in front of the camera, it was important for Sanada to have all production matters taken care of in advance.
“I made sure to prepare everything in advance before I sat in front of the camera,” Sunada told Arab News.
“So, in the beginning, we tried to get a Japanese crew who specialized in making samurai films, and then we got specialists in wigs, costumes, props, a gesture master, a tea ceremony master, everyone. So, we had a good team for each department to make the show as authentic as it could be.” Possible. We also trained young actors and extras. So, before I start filming, I prepare everything. So, when I was on set as an actor, I felt free and relaxed. It was fun. “It felt like a reward,” he added.
Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko in “Shogun”. (Courtesy of Disney+)
And this authenticity is exactly why co-creators Marks and Kondo were thrilled to have Sanada join the team.
“The excitement of having Hiro on board, not just as our star, but really, as a resource, as a producer on the show, is what made the difference between a show I'd seen before and a show I'd never seen before,” Marks said. “.
“In our early conversations with him, we asked him, 'You've been in Hollywood for 20 to 25 years, what did we do wrong?' How can we change the way we work to improve this? And from the beginning, he was kind of saying, here's who you need to hire for this show, you need a cultural consultant, you need a language consultant, a historian, a Japanese playwright, period professionals who can add a little bit of freshness, but also make something Seems like a classic touch too. And these are all things for us as Americans in this matter, you know, that is way above our heads. Thus, without Hero, we would not have been able to reach the level of authenticity we were striving for.
For Sanada, who began acting at age 5 and trained in martial arts soon after, “Shogun” is an opportunity to introduce the rest of the world to Japanese culture, but without the Western gaze.
“I think this is a great novel – a great story to introduce our culture to the world. Earlier, our audience could see feudal Japan through Blackthorn's blue eyes. But this time, it's more like a novel. We tried to create the scenario, not just like Blue Eyes, but we put more of a Japanese lens on the script and then go deeper into each character or detail.”
