Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531433
PROPERTYMASTERSGUILD.ORG 27 needed to match his base colors. Carlos intended to design and build everything, as the costume houses in Japan did not have the numbers he needed, nor anything he liked. At the time, I thought this was a bold but potentially dangerous move. We had heard some troubling news about our lead actor and his opinions about how things should be done. For one, Kyoto is the only place in Japan where directors like Akira Kurosawa have made their samurai movies for decades. Famous prop rental houses like Takatsu have always supplied props for these movies. In our lead's opinion, if things did not come from Takatsu, then we were not doing the right thing. So, it became quickly obvious that all our hero Regent's tachi and tanto swords needed to come from Takatsu. Only then could I stare our lead actor in the eyes as I presented him with his character's swords. I had to organize training camps for our samurai. Our Japanese experts trained them how to walk, sit, draw their katana; yes, we had naginata, kyudo or yumi longbows... On a show like this, the list of things to do was endless. In our shop, our boats were coming off the assembly line to get aged and ready for the camera. We flew Douglas Brooks in from Vermont for a week to teach our background rowers how to scull their oars and maneuver the boats. I have so many stories I need to write about, starting with a whole book on the Norimono, next the saddles the samurai used, then tacking up the samurai horse, and finally, what funeral props you will need. Many of our saddles had the original maker's mark. One that needed repair was inscribed with: "March – Lucky Day – 1634 – and the name of the maker" (photo attached). We opened fragile, handmade, ancient vintage boxes with a full set of lacquerware inside. One included the original purchase receipt dated 200 years earlier for the purchase of an antique. Our antique tea ceremony cups and whisks, etc., started showing up, and as I unpacked the boxes, I witnessed five geckos from Japan hop out and blend into their new surroundings. In all my years, I have never experienced or learned so much on a show. Finally, on June 30, 2022, Shōgun was officially and finally in the can. It would take almost two years before we would get a chance to see our work. If you have watched Shōgun, you will have seen an early scene in the first episode shot at our Lower Anjiro location. Hundreds of samurai line the shore of a beautiful bay as we establish Toranaga giving his speech. It's all real and when I look at that scene, I see every department's hard work. Without every department contributing at the highest level, I don't feel Shōgun would have had the same success. That included the props, which for some strange reason never get the recognition they deserve on any show ever seen in the history of film, finally received their due. In mid-January 2024, Shōgun aired on Disney FX and Hulu. Nine months later, the Emmy Awards honored our show with awards in 14 creative departments. Then, one week later, we received four more Emmys for Best Show, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director, totaling 18 Emmy Awards in all.