‘Shōgun’: Four Emmy Award Wins Bring Record-Breaking Total to 18
The first season of “Shōgun” (Feb. 23, 2024, Pacific Citizen) cut down all rivals Sept. 15 at the 76th Primetime Emmys, which aired on ABC. Originally released on the FX network and made available for streaming on Hulu, it won in the categories Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series for Hiroyuki Sanada (Toranaga Yoshii), Lead Actress in a Dramatic Series for Anna Sawai (Toda Mariko) and Direction (Frederick E.O. Toye) for the penultimate ninth episode, “Crimson Sky.” Prior to the telecast, “Shōgun,” which had originally been released as a limited series in February before getting greenlighted for two more seasons, won 14 Emmys in 16 categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards a week earlier, scoring in the categories Guest Acting, Casting, Costumes, Makeup (nonprosthetic and prosthetic), Hairstyling, Stunt Performance, Production Design, Editing, Visual Effects, Main Title Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Cinematography. In the run-up to the awards ceremonies, “Shōgun” had received a record-breaking 25 Emmy bids. With his win, Sanada, who also served as a producer, became Japan’s first actor to win an Emmy in his category. Sawai’s win in her category was also a first for Japan. The rise and recognition of onscreen talent of Asian descent was underscored when Steven Yuen, who had won a Lead Actor Emmy in a different category at the 75th Emmys for Netflix’s “Beef,” presented Sanada with his award. Sanada was the second Asian actor to win a Lead Drama Actor award, with the first being Lee Jung-jae in 2022 for Netflix’s “Squid Game.” For Sawai, the win made her the first Asian actress to win in her category. (Ali Wong won the best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for “Beef.”) In other samurai-related Emmy news, Netflix’s “Blue Eye Samurai” won four animation Emmys: Outstanding Animated Program (“The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride”) and three wins in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation.
Tateishi’s ‘Redress’ in Paperback; Yamashita’s ‘Entanglements’ Published
John Tateishi’s “Redress: The Inside Story of the Successful Campaign for Japanese American Reparations” (Heyday, 408 pages, ISBN: 9781597146463, SRP $22) was reissued as a paperback on Aug. 27. According to its author, “Redress” includes a new, short preface written for this edition. (The preface is available online at tinyurl.com/94zhtt5r.) Of Wendi Yamashita’s “Carceral Entanglements: Gendered Public Memories of Japanese American World War II Incarceration” (Temple University Press, 196 pages, ISBN 978-4399-2040-4, SRP $26.95), which was published Aug. 30, Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder Daryl Joji Maeda writes: “Yamashita shows how narratives of Japanese American incarceration instantiate discourses of gender, sexual, racial, and national/colonial power yet also contain avenues for critique and disruption. By reading cultural performances and practices, such as commemorations, digital archiving and pilgrimages, through the lenses of queer of color critique and critiques of settler colonialism, Yamashita powerfully argues that critically remembering incarceration can generate understandings and solidarities that decenter racism, patriarchal heteronormativity and empire.”
Visual Communications Accepting Applications for Armed With a Camera
The Asian American and Pacific Islander community media arts organization has announced that it is now accepting applications for its 2025-26 Armed With a Camera fellowship. This year’s accompanying theme will surround the idea of “Re-Envisioning.” Over a 12-16 month period, VC will work with fellows, culminating with their projects premiering at the May 2026 VC Film Fest, aka the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The deadline to apply is Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. PDT. To apply, visit tinyurl.com/2w5369az. To learn more about Armed With a Camera, visit vcmedia.org/awc.
DoJ: Pair Operating ‘Birth Tourism’ Scheme for Chinese Nationals Are Guilty
The Department of Justice announced Michael Wei Yueh Liu, 59, and Jing Dong, 47, both of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., were found guilty Sept. 13 of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering for operating a birth tourism business. Sentencing is set for Dec. 9. Liu and Dong face a maximum prison sentence of 205 years. They were arrested in 2015 for operating “maternity hotels” that charged pregnant Chinese thousands of dollars to give birth here.
— P.C. Staff
