From Shogun to John Wick and Bullet Train, how Hiroyuki Sanada adds Japanese authenticity
Sanada, who has appeared in Japanese films and US blockbusters, talks about making the cultural references in TV series Shogun authentic
Every November the medieval city of Torun in Poland hosts Camerimage, a festival devoted to cinematography. In addition to honouring visually outstanding films and television series, this year it gave the award for best performance in a TV series to Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada for his role in Shogun.
Over the following days, Sanada was a familiar presence at the festival. He took part in a question-and-answer session after a screening of the pilot episode of Shogun, and discussed his career in a moderated talk.
When Sanada met the Post for this interview, we were at the Hotel Bulwar, converted from a former military barracks, on the banks of the Vistula River. Despite the piercing cold, Sanada kept the doors and windows open.
Shogun is based on a novel by the Australian-British writer James Clavell. Both the book and an earlier 1980 miniseries use a shipwrecked British sailor named John Blackthorne to tell the story of feuding clans battling for power in 16th-century Japan.
“They were told only through the blue eyes’ point of view,” Sanada says. “No subtitles for Japanese dialogue. They wanted audiences to feel like Blackthorne, not knowing what the people around him were saying.”
