Anna Sawai's 'Shogun' role felt personal: Mariko is 'every woman in Japan who has suffered'

One of the first questions Anna Sawai had for showrunner Justin Marks when they first met to discuss "Shōgun" was, "Why are you remaking this?"

Co-created by Marks and Rachel Kondo, FX's adaptation of James Clavell's bestselling novel has been a long-gestating project. But at the time, Sawai's perspective was limited to what she could glean from her audition materials, which included a character description, a synopsis and a portion of a script involving a bathing scene that was anything but revelatory.

"I wanted to know that they weren't just trying to do another white savior story," says Sawai. "That they were going to do it right this time."

The 10-episode limited series, premiering Tuesday, takes place in Japan in the year 1600. The historical drama primarily follows a core trio that includes Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a warlord and regent of Japan's five-member governing council whose life depends on outmaneuvering his political rivals, and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis),