• Sanada and Anna Sawai won Emmys for outstanding lead actor and actress for their performances in Shogun

LOS ANGELES: “Shogun,” a feudal Japan-set drama starring and produced by Hiroyuki Sanada, shattered the Emmy record for most wins in a single season by claiming 18 Emmys, including one for outstanding drama series, according to the organizer of the awards known as the top U.S. television honors.

At Sunday’s 76th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sanada was named winner of the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his role in Shogun, becoming the first Japanese to claim the award.

Anna Sawai won the outstanding lead actress Emmy for her performance in Shogun and the drama’s director, Frederick E.O. Toye, claimed the Emmy for outstanding directing in a drama series.

The feats came after Shogun won 14 Emmys at the Creative Arts ceremony on Sept. 8.

In his speech after receiving the outstanding drama award, Sanada thanked all those involved in period dramas and said in Japanese, “The passion and dreams I inherited from you have crossed oceans and borders.”

Among other Japanese actors appearing in the drama, Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira were each nominated for outstanding supporting actor, although they did not win the award.

Shogun was created in Hollywood with the support of many Japanese staff and cast members, based on the same-name novel by British writer James Clavell. Inspired by Japanese warlords including Tokugawa Ieyasu, the drama depicts samurais’ struggle for supremacy. About 70 pct of the dialogue in the drama is in Japanese.

After its distribution started in February, Shogun became a huge hit and plans are already underway for a sequel to the drama.

JIJI Press