Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531433
22 PROP CULTURE I WINTER 2025 I was told Shōgun would be based on the original book, like the 1984 TV series, and our story would be set in the Sengoku period of 1594 as Japan neared the end of 250 years of civil war. In my mind I thought, "But this is the west coast of Canada; we have zero knowledge of the history or this period, let alone history from over 400 years ago." There's not a rental house in North America with props from that period! In my head I told myself, "Calm down, you have done period shows and you know how to research Westerns, the Civil War, pioneers, 1800s stuff." (The oldest had been 1822 for The Revenant.) The more I thought about taking on a show like Shōgun, the more I realized just how difficult this project was going to be. There isn't a single aspect of Japanese life that isn't full of detail that we would need to research and source to help tell the story. Somehow, that still wasn't enough for me to talk myself out of taking on the challenge. A bit about me: I have stayed away from doing series for good reason for most of my career, because my prep has always been my most stressful time. To do a series, all I would be doing is prep for the next 18 months. Starting with 22 weeks of prep— which I had never heard of before, as normally 12-14 weeks of prep for a feature was more what I was used to. Then my phone rings, and it's one of the producers. "We normally have a picture car person, but this is 1594, we need boats. Our production designer tells us that you are a sailor and know a lot about boats. We need 24 traditional Japanese boats. If we start you a month early, would you be willing