Rocky Swift
TOKYO, Sept 17 — Japan’s government and public hailed the period drama “Shogun”‘s record-breaking trophy win at the Emmy Awards as another win for Japanese history and culture, which is becoming increasingly popular among tourists and overseas audiences.
The historical epic set in Imperial Japan won 19 awards, the most ever for a single season of a drama, including best drama and best acting awards for stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai.
Another Japanese period drama, “Blue-Eyed Samurai,” won an Emmy for best animated program.
The government welcomed the achievement, noting that 70 percent of the dialogue in “Shogun” is written in Japanese and that Sanada, who played the lead warlord Yoshii Toranaga, was involved in the production.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Moriya Hiroshi told reporters, “We would like to further encourage Japanese creators to take on the challenge of expanding overseas.”
The Japanese government also set up a committee this month to support the entertainment and content industry, he said.
The shogun’s praise is the latest sign of Japan’s rise on the world stage.
In March, the monster movie blockbuster “Godzilla Minus One” became a surprise hit in U.S. theaters and won an Oscar for best visual effects, while HBO’s critically acclaimed crime noir drama “Tokyo Vice” wrapped up its second and final season in April.
In the sports world, Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani is second in home runs in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Japan came in third in gold medals at the Paris Olympics that concluded last month.
Meanwhile, foreign tourists are flocking to Japan every month, with visitor numbers and total spending set to break records this year.
Mano Naomi, president of Tokyo-based travel agency Luxurique, said many tourists are attracted to the idea of experiencing the shogun’s Edo period as it was.
“We are an island nation, and everything was isolated during the Edo period,” Mano says. “Now we are at the stage where we are trying to help people understand why we do things or how we practice our traditions.”
“The Shogun” was based on a 1975 historical novel by James Clavell and was later made into a miniseries in 1980, focusing more on a shipwrecked British sea captain played by Richard Chamberlain than on any Japanese characters.
The latest version, produced by Walt Disney’s FX studio, used Japanese actors and producers to create a realistic portrayal of Japan’s Sengoku period in the 1600s.
Jake Adelstein, executive producer of “Tokyo Vice,” said the worldwide popularity of shows like “Shogun,” which celebrate values such as honour, likely stems from a sense of disillusionment with politics.
“In America, particularly, a culture of honor, integrity and reciprocity can seem foreign and exotic in a world of duplicitous politicians,” Adelstein said.
News of Sunday’s Emmy win reached Japan on a national holiday Monday, but that didn’t stop “Shogun” from becoming a top trending topic online.
“The heart, way of life and soul of the Japanese people have crossed the ocean and touched the hearts of people all over the world. I’m so happy,” wrote X user Shock Eye.
Sanada, a veteran actor and producer who has won an Emmy Award, received particular praise on social media, with the video of his acceptance speech becoming one of the most viewed online.
“The reason Sanada is fighting so hard alone is to give back to Japan,” a user named Rui wrote to X.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.