‘Shogun' Star Tadanobu Asano on Creating Fan-Favorite Samurai Yabushige

Veteran Japanese character actor Tadanobu Asano is having a very overdue breakthrough moment. The chameleonic film star has been a mainstay of Japanese cinema for nearly three decades, while also regularly appearing in prominent supporting parts in big Hollywood productions. But his irresistible performance in FX’s period series Shōgun is giving him an all-new level of global recognition.

Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience over again with his gruff charisma before the first episode has even finished. Wily, put-upon and forever anticipating his imminent demise, Yabushige is mostly just very fun to watch, as Asano somehow makes a man of brutal, medieval circumstance vividly relatable.

Shōgun is the second screen adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 best-selling historical novel of the same name, following the popular 1980 TV miniseries produced by Paramount, starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. Many years in the making, the pricey new version has become a big win for FX and Disney, with analysts estimating that it will soon be – if it isn’t already – the House of Mouse’s most-watched streaming series to date. The studio is also banking on some awards recognition for the show, with Disney putting Asano forward for the Emmys in the category for best supporting actor in a limited series.

A survey of Asano’s filmography features starring roles in projects from many of Japan’s most acclaimed directorial voices of the past 30 years, including Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer), Takeshi Kitano (Zatōichi), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Journey to the Shore), Shinya Tsukamoto (Gemini), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Maboroshi), Shunji Iwai (Picnic), Gakuryu Ishii (Electric Dragon 80.000 V), and Nagisa Ōshima (Taboo), among others. On the international front, he has collaborated with top regional auteurs – Thailand’s Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe), Taiwan’s  Hou Hsiao-hsien (Café Lumière), Russia’s Sergei Bodrov (Mongol) – as well as a growing roster of Hollywood titans, like Martin Scorsese (Silence), Roland Emmerich (Midway), Johnny Depp (Minamata), Marvel with its Thor movies (Asano played Hogun), and Warner Bros’ with the Mortal Kombat franchise (Asano as Raiden). Throughout it all and whatever the part, Asano has remained consistently and beguilingly watchable.

Shōgun follows the intertwined plights of three principal characters, all loosely based on real figures from Japanese history: John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), an adventure-seeking English sailor who finds himself marooned in “the Japans”; Lord Yoshii Toranaga (the revered Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada), a high-level lord and crafty statesman; and Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai), an aristocratic woman tasked with serving as the translator for Tornaga and the “barbarian” Englishman. As lord of Izu, Asano’s Yabushige oversees the region where Blackthorne’s ship happens to wash ashore, setting in motion a series of events that test his ostensible loyalty to Lord Toranaga, whose hand will soon be forced to make a play for power over all of Japan.

With just two episodes of Shōgun yet to air, The Hollywood Reporter connected with Asano over Zoom in Japan to discuss the genesis of his portrayal of Yabushige.

So, believe it or not, I’m currently Zooming to you from Izu Peninsula outside Tokyo, where I happen to live – which is your character Yabushige’s domain on the show. Technically, I think that means you are my Lord.

Really? Well then, that’s exactly right. I am your Lord!

I offer my most humble respect and I apologize for the impertinence of these questions.

Thank you. Proceed. (Laughs)

So, in some recent promotional materials about your performance, FX has described Yabushige as: “Oozing charisma and wit, Asano’s ‘Yabushige’ is that dreadful lord we’d all love to grab a saké with.” That really captures some of the fun of your portrayal. So I have to ask, knowing everything you know about him, would you sit down for saké with Yabushige? I’d be inclined to say yes, but there’s a risk that he’d have me boiled alive.

Oh, I don’t think I would… I’ve studied him too deeply and I know him too well. He’s the kind of person who would be sipping water and only pretending to drink saké while you’re getting drunk – just to gain the advantage. I would take a pass on that saké invitation.

What are some of your other impressions of him as a character?

Well, other people in his circumstance would probably consider the pressures they are under and the tremendous power that is above them, and they wouldn’t question or challenge many things. But Yabushige is different. He completely understands that power and those pressures, but he nonetheless dares to ask questions and take actions. He’s always thinking, “If I were to do this, what would happen?” In a way, even though he’s a schemer, I think you could say that he’s very honest. And he’s always up to something interesting.

Tadanobu Asano in ‘Shogun’

What was your preparation process like for Shōgun? Did you read James Clavell’s book?

I didn’t read the original book, but I spent a lot of time with the screenplay, which I understand is quite loyal to the book. One of the directors I worked with earlier in my career taught me a method of preparation that involves reading the script many, many times. I don’t just read it repeatedly though; I change my perspective each time so that I’m imagining the story from the point of view of the different characters, pretending that I’m going to play each one of them. This method allows you to gain a more rounded understanding of the story, as well as the character that you will actually be presenting. The process was especially useful for the role of Yabushige, who is a very multi-layered character.

What were some of the details that were important to you as you began putting your performance together?

Well, when I was reading and rereading the scripts, I didn’t have access to the whole story at once. We mostly shot the series chronologically and I got the scripts in blocks. So, for example, when I was reading the first episode, there was that scene where Yabushige is on top of the cliff and he feels that he is being tested by Blackstone. So, rather than making one of his subordinates do the dangerous climb, Yabushige decides that he’s the one who should do it – because he feels Blackstone’s eyes on him. From that brief scene, I was able to get a peak into part of Yabushige’s character, and from there on I could continue developing that side of him. He’s often understanding himself based on the way he suspects other characters see him. With each script and situation, I got another piece of him, and I kept building him up in this way. I was always looking for more fun and interesting ways to portray him.

In some ways, Yabushige struck me as the show’s most relatably modern character – from both a Western or more contemporary Japanese point of view – because he’s always balancing his self-interest against his loyalties, whereas most of the other characters are deeply duty-bound – to their Lord or their God. Even Blackthorne, to an extent, is often expressing his motivations in relation to his church and country. At the same time, thanks to how brilliantly you play him, Yabushige feels entirely like a man of his time – totally alive within the world of the story.

Well, thank you! But I have to say that I played everything as it was written in the screenplay. I tried to be very faithful to the script and didn’t edit anything. It was all there. But I did try to put myself into the character and I often thought about how to make him relatable to today’s viewers in the way that you describe. So, I think that mix came from trying to be very loyal to the spirit of the script, while also putting myself into the character.

Tadanobu Asano in ‘Shogun’

How do you adjust your acting style when you’re performing in a samurai story? Films and series of this kind are such a deeply established genre in Japan, with conventions and mythology that have evolved over decades. When you’re playing a character from the feudal past, are you guided more by your own imaginings of how people might have lived in those times, or do you look to the history of samurai cinema for guidance and inspiration?

What’s most interesting in creating a period piece like this is that no one alive today has witnessed how people actually lived in that age – meaning, we all have absolutely no idea how people really spoke and behaved. We only have old works of art to go by. I try to imagine how people of that era may have felt and lived. Of course, I’ve watched many, many Jidaigeki [Japanese period drama, usually set during the Edo period of 1603 to 1868] movies, but not from the perspective of trying to imitate them. When I see a performance or character I like, maybe there are a few things I can learn. But mostly, I understand that the actor was probably trying to do the same thing that I’m always trying to do – putting themselves into the character and imagining how people lived in those circumstances.

You’ve been a big star in Japan for a long time, and you’ve appeared in some prominent Hollywood films. But Shōgun seems to be giving you a new level of global visibility – the show’s a hit and you’ve become a fan favorite. What it’s like to be experiencing this kind of success overseas at this stage in your career?

I’m extremely happy that people are recognizing my work and that I’m getting to experience this kind of moment. But I’m also very sad that a good friend of mine, Kevin Turen, who passed away recently, isn’t here to see it. This isn’t directly related to your question, but Kevin was largely responsible for me having this great opportunity, and I always wanted to live up to his hopes and expectations for me. So I’m very sad he didn’t get a chance to see me perform in Shōgun. (At this point in the interview Asano became somewhat emotionally overwhelmed and took a moment to regain his composure). I’m sorry…

Oh no, I’m sorry. My condolences on the loss of your friend. How was it that you came to know each other?

Well, some time ago I played Ghengis Kahn in a film called Mongol (2007). It was actually a Russian production and it got nominated in the best foreign film category at the Oscars. As a result of that, the film was screened in the U.S. market a bit and Kevin happened to go see it with his father. Not long after, he came to Japan and through a friend of a friend, he looked me up and we had the opportunity to have dinner together. And that time, Kevin was already a producer. He told me that if I was interested in being a part of more international productions, he was happy to support me however he could. That’s when I decided I had to start studying English. Later, I went to the States and stayed at Kevin’s house for over three weeks. He then introduced me to CAA, and from that relationship, I was able to work on films like the Thor movies and Scorsese’s Silence. It wasn’t like Kevin introduced me to any specific projects, but he really looked after me throughout that whole period – and I was able to take this bigger step into the global industry with his encouragement and help. Thank you for letting me talk about him here.

Of course. I understand FX is putting you forward for the Emmys in the best supporting actor category for a limited series. This must be a new step for you as well – the whole Hollywood awards campaign process.

Well, honestly, I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do exactly. (Laughs). But I’m very happy that people globally are embracing the character that I portray. At the same time, it doesn’t really seem so real yet. But I can feel the momentum that is building around the show, and I’m very happy for the whole team.

Tadanobu Asano in ‘Shogun’

You’ve played such a diverse range of characters across your career. I happened to rewatch Koji Fukada’s arthouse thriller Harmonium (2016) right around the time Shōgun was premiering – and wow, the character you play in that film is so disturbing and so different from your humorous, charismatic take on Yabushige. You’ve arguably already done it all – loads of artistic projects, as well as some big action movies, even Marvel. Are there any new challenges you’re looking for at this moment?

What I’m most interested in right now is playing a part that doesn’t have many lines of dialogue. I would be very interested in exploring how much I’m able to convey without saying anything. Drama can communicate powerful feelings, even messages, through the language of cinema alone. So, how much can I bring across without actually verbalizing? This is the kind of challenge I’m interested in right now.

New episodes of Shōgun release weekly on Tuesdays and are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.

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