Shogun Sweeps the Board: Historic 18 Emmy Wins Leave the Competition in the Dust

Historic Win for ‘Shogun’ at the 76th Emmy Awards

The drama series ‘Shogun,’ which depicts Japan’s shogun-era power struggle, made history at the 76th Emmy Awards by becoming the first non-English language TV series to win the Best Drama Series award.

‘Shogun’ is the second non-English language production to be nominated for Best Drama Series, following the Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ two years ago.

According to reports from Agence France-Presse and Associated Press, ‘Shogun’ won an impressive 18 awards, breaking the record of 13 awards set by ‘John Adams’ in 2008.

Veteran Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada won the award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for ‘Shogun,’ becoming the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy Award.

In his acceptance speech, Sanada said, ‘This is a dream project where East and West meet. I learned from ‘Shogun’ that cooperation can create miracles, and we can create a better future together.’

Japanese actress Anna Sawai also won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and the entire cast and production team took the stage to accept the award for Best Drama Series.

‘Shogun,’ adapted from the historical novel by British novelist James Clavell and produced by FX, a company owned by Disney, received 25 nominations, leading other works.

The show was filmed in Canada and featured a mostly Japanese cast, with dialogue subtitled.

Program coordinator Justin Marks thanked the production team for commissioning ‘a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece that climaxes around a poetry contest.’

He added, ”Shogun’ is a series about translation. It’s not about what’s lost, it’s what’s found. When you hold safety meetings in two languages, you don’t learn to walk on tatami with multipurpose boots.’