Interview: Takehiro Hira Discusses His Emmy Nomination as Lord Ishido in ‘Shōgun’

When discussing the impact of Shōgun amongst audiences, Takehiro Hira revealed to Awards Radar on Zoom that he never expected the series to receive such a big response from viewers and members of the Television Academy, which received a historic 25 nominations at the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmys.

Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his turn as Ishido Kazunari, Hira described the character as being “the opposite of [Hiroyuki Sanada‘s] Toranaga. Toranaga was born into a ruling class in the feudal society of Japan back in the 1600s, but Ishido was born as the son of peasants.

Breaking the barrier and moving up the social ladder was extremely difficult during that time. But Ishido did it, and he was helped greatly by his former boss, Taiko, who also had a similar upbringing as Ishido. There was a lot of emotional grudge against the privileged class. He made himself a great politician, but he was lonely among the lords who were born in that ruling class and had their life paths already determined when they were born.

Ishido was the opposite of that. He didn’t have anyone to talk to. But he was very loyal to Taiko, and that’s why there are a few moments where he stares at the armor of his former boss as if he was looking at himself in the mirror, asking questions like “Am I doing all right, father?” Those elements were discussed with [showrunners] Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks.”

Hira also discussed working with Hiroyuki Sanada to develop the rivalry between Ishido and Toranaga, stating, “Ishido is a rigid bureaucrat who doesn’t think outside the box. He wants to get a consensus from the other four lords to decide. But Toranaga is more like a lone wolf, which really kicks him off. The show begins with a political rivalry, but as it progresses, it becomes more of a personal conflict for him.”

There was a lot to unpack in our twenty-minute-long conversation, seen below, where we discussed collaborating with Anna Sawai again after the two starred in Giri/Haji and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and how their collaboration has evolved with each project they’re starring in.

We also discussed his collaboration with Tadanobu Asano, who portrays Yabushige in the show, approaching the introspection of Ishido in some of the series’ quieter scenes and approaching a character who’s not necessarily a textbook antagonist.

You can listen to my full interview with Takehiro below and stream all episodes of Shōgun on Disney+ today:

[Some of the quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity]