Japan celebrates Shogun’s historic Emmy win, even if many haven’t seen the show

Japan celebrated on Monday the record-breaking Emmy Awards triumph of Shogun, although many confessed not having watched the series about the country’s warring dynasties in the feudal era.

Shogun smashed all-time records at the television awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home an astounding 18 statuettes and becoming the first non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.

Lead Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Lord Toranaga, became the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy, while Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko achieved the same feat with the best actress award.

“As a Japanese, I’m happy Sanada won,” Kiyoko Kanda, a 70-year-old pensioner in Tokyo, said.

“He worked so hard since he moved to Los Angeles,” she said.