FX’s Samurai Series ‘Shogun’ Wins 18 Emmys
Composers Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Nick Chuba worked for over two years on the music to the 10-episode miniseries. Combining authentic Japanese instruments, and modern digital production, the score is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
Composers Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Nick Chuba worked for over two years on the music to the 10-episode miniseries. Combining authentic Japanese instruments, and modern digital production, the score is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
The accolades for “Shogun” reflect not only the growing diversity in American entertainment, but also the legacy of Japan’s “jidaigeki” samurai films, which have influenced directors worldwide.
“Shogun” recently racked up 18 Emmy Awards for its first season — the most ever for a show in a single year. The previous record holder was “Game of Thrones” with 12 wins in 2015.
Sanada and Sawai are the first Japanese actors to win in their respective categories, and “Shogun” is now the first non-English-language winner of the best drama Emmy.
“Shogun” is the second foreign-language show to be nominated for best drama, preceded only by “Squid Game.”
Because few of the characters other than Blackthorne and Lady Mariko speak English — technically Portuguese; the show uses English as a stand-in — most of the dialogue is in Japanese.
Created for FX by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the FX series is an adaptation of the 1975 novel of the same title by James Clavell.
The latest version produced by Walt Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab’s FX studio relied on Japanese actors and producers to create a realistic portrayal of the nation’s Warring States period in the 1600s.
Based on a true story and set in feudal Japan at the beginning of the 17th century, this best-selling work of historical fiction has been adapted into live-action formats twice before: it was made into a mini-series in 1980 that focused on the shipwrecked English captain played by Richard Chamberlain.
Best actor Hiroyuki Sanada, also the producer of the series, plays Lord Yoshii Toranaga, the man in command of the region of Osaka. His nuanced performance renders the warlord’s steely reserve either inspiring or infuriating, sometimes both at once.
Anna Sawai, winning best actress, is also a first for Japan.
Sawai was nominated alongside Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Maya Erskine (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), Imelda Staunton (The Crown) and Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show).
In her speech after receiving the award, she thanked the Academy for nominating her alongside people she “grew up watching and love.” She went on to thank the FX team for “believing in our story” as well as co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo for giving her “the role of a lifetime” as Lady Mariko.
“Shogun” Music & Soundtrack
Quite unlike Maurice Jarre’s music for the 1980 original adaptation, FX’s new miniseries worked with Oscar-winner Atticus Ross (“The Social Network,” “Soul”), his brother Leopold Ross (“The Book of Eli”) and their collaborator Nick Chuba (“Dr. Death”) to create the epic effects.
The “Shogun” composers spent more than two years composing four hours of music.
The brief from the producers initially was for something “epic” and may be assumed that it meant “orchestral”. But technology in music production is way ahead for a less conventional approach.
“We could do something a bit more unique and match the scale without necessarily having to default to a big orchestra,” Atticus Ross tells Variety.
Not particularly trying to match the place or period, the music has to be more about scale and psychology.
However, these kind of new music used to portray the Edo period have deeper origins and was inspired by the research into traditional Japanese music and sounds, notably Gagaku. And even recruited California-born, Japan-based arranger-producer Taro Ishida to visit multiple sites to record Gagaku Music.
Atmospheric pieces of various palettes of sounds divided into themes and musical ideas were sent to the Japanese ensembles to improvise upon.
Period Japanese music by the composers is now creatively and authentically defined. As specifically designed towards the language of the show, it was music that cannot be identified as Eastern of Western nor modern or ancient.
Neither is its music defined as a kind of pastiche that might be condemned as cultural appropriation.
Traditional instruments incorporated into the score are the zither-like koto; the shakuhachi, ryuteki and hichiriki flutes; the stringed shamisen, biwa and kokyu; and the massive traditional taiko drums.
The “Shogun” score sees Chuba and the Ross brothers uses classic Japanese material. Through music production using a mix of analog and digital devices, its soundscape fulfills the dramatic needs of the story.
BUY MUSIC: Mutant, in partnership with FX and Hollywood Records are proud to present the premier physical release of the original soundtrack to the critically acclaimed FX series Shōgun. This premiere physical release features exclusive artwork by award-winning illustrator Yuko Shimizu, an 8 page booklet, with a forward by co-composer Leopold Ross, and is pressed on 140gm vinyl.
Click here to buy.
Japan
Japan’s government and people cheered the record trophy haul for period drama “Shogun” at the Emmy Awards as yet another win for their history and culture, which are becoming increasingly popular with tourists and international audiences alike.
“We would like to further encourage Japanese creators to take on the challenges of overseas productions,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Moriya told reporters.
The Japanese government also set up a committee this month to support the entertainment and content industries, he said.
The accolades for “Shogun” are the latest showcase of Japan’s rising prominence on the global stage.
In March, the monster movie epic “Godzilla Minus One” nabbed a visual effects Oscar after becoming a sleeper hit in U.S. theatres, while HBO’s critically acclaimed noir crime series “Tokyo Vice” finished its second and last season in April.
“Shogun” is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar & Hulu.
