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Hiroyuki Sanada aims to use ‘SHOGUN’ as a way “to introduce our culture to the world correctly.” “I thought [this series] was a great opportunity to make an authentic samurai drama in Hollywood.”

The team behind FX's new samurai epic explains why now is the right time to revisit the classic story.

The story follows Blackthorne (Jarvis), who’s shipwrecked in Japan and finds himself embroiled in a treacherous plot centering around Lord Toranaga (Sanada), a powerful daimyo whose political rivals seek to destroy him. Clavell’s novel spawned a 1980 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune that was said to have helped popularize sushi in the United States, while its iconic book cover featuring a white man wearing a kimono has been a staple of many parents’ nightstands. Sanada had been working as a child actor since the ’60s, but he became best known to international audiences for his roles in Hollywood productions like The Last Samurai, Lost, Westworld, Avengers: Endgame, and most recently, John Wick: Chapter 4.

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