‘Shōgun’ star Anna Sawai on J-pop beginnings: “I would not want my kids to do that”

Shōgun star Anna Sawai has reflected on her J-Pop beginnings, admitting that she “would not want my kids – if I were to have any in the future – to do that”.

In her cover interview for the September issue of W Magazine, Sawai discussed becoming a child actor at the age of 11, before eventually joining the J-Pop group Faky as its lead vocalist in 2013.

The actress, however, didn’t speak fondly of her time in the music industry, recalling the somewhat cynical manner in which Faky found its name.

“They were labelling us as the ‘real girls,’ like we were gonna be very, very authentic,” she said. “So they thought the name showed self-awareness – like, we’ll call this fake, because we’re so real.”

On the gruelling performance prep and rehearsals, Sawai continued: “For those 10 years, I was taught to listen more than say anything. That made me lose confidence in myself. I’m having to unlearn a lot of the things that I was taught, which is kind of unfortunate, and hard to do when you’re in your 30s.

“Maybe if I hadn’t had that experience, I would have had a shortcut to being comfortable with the way I am and unapologetically myself.” The actress also explained how the experience still impacts the way she navigates authority in her acting career. “When I was entering the industry, I would always go to my agents and be like, ‘What should I do?’ ”

She continued: “I would never recommend to anyone, ‘You should go join the J-pop industry.’ I would not want my kids – if I have kids in the future – to do that.

“It feels long ago enough, like it was a different person,” she added, before explaining that she’s now ready to explore her past in the industry. “Now I feel it’s important that I tell the story of my J-pop days. I don’t know if it would be me producing it or just me as an actor, but I’m ready for it.”

Sawai stars in season one of FX’s Shōgun as Mariko, a highborn woman who serves as an interpreter between Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English Protestant who ends up shipwrecked in 17th century Japan, before aiding Toranaga against his enemies.

Following widespread critical acclaim – Shōgun has become the first Japanese-language series to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, earning 25 Emmy nominations in total – a second and third season have entered early development.

In a recent interview, Sanada revealed his hope that the second season would begin shooting “sometime next year,” adding that he wants the new instalment to break the “big wall between East and West”.

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