‘Shōgun’ actors clash swords at North Vancouver university

The ancient art of wielding a Japanese sword cuts deep into the country’s history and culture.

The esthetic appeal of the weapons themselves and the fighting style that employs them have made the curved blades a fixture of countless popular culture productions – including the recent FX hit series Shōgun.

The epic show was primarily filmed in locations across B.C., such as North Vancouver’s Princess Park, and featured a number of Vancouver-based actors.

Two of those performers were at Capilano University’s main campus last Wednesday (May 21), where they demonstrated Tate (pronounced “tah-tay”), the traditional Japanese performance of sword combat.

Yuki Kedoin and Haruno Niiyama are co-founders of the group Hitotose, which was invited to perform at CapU as part of Asian History Month.

During their demonstration, the two expert katana performers taught a handful of volunteers how to properly hold a sword (wooden replicas in this case) as well as some basic choreography.

They also shared some traditional etiquette that samurai would have observed at the time, such as how to lay the sword on the ground and kneel beside it in a meeting with potential adversaries present: with their weapon in a non-threatening position, yet sitting poised to jump into action should danger arise.

Incredible effort to capture history in Shōgun

Kedoin and Niiyama’s attention to tradition reflects the incredible effort taken in Shōgun to replicate details of the dawn of Edo-period Japan in 1600 accurately on screen.

On the show, Niiyama plays Natsu No Kata, a noble taken hostage as several warlords vie for control in the Edo region of Japan (present day Tokyo).

It was her first time working on a Hollywood show, so Niiyama said she was surprised by the vast scale of the production.

“The sets and costumes and wigs, everything was so authentic,” she said. “They brought professional people from Japan, and they have proper knowledge and try to respect the culture.”

Kedoin plays Takemaru, a kosho (samurai’s attendant), under the brutal yet charismatic Kashigi Yabushige.

Kedoin also noticed how Shōgun was a cut above when it came to getting the sword fighting right, compared to past films he’s acted in.

“Sometimes, some productions ask us, ‘Oh, you are Japanese, and you can do katana, so you know everything. We are familiar with it, but we are not like a historical professional. So sometimes I feel too much responsibility. But Shōgun prepared everything – costume, historical Samurai language – everything,” he said.

Similar to the performances by Kedoin and Niiyama’s Tate group, which uses rehearsed moves but also vocal cues to co-ordinate movement, Tate is also used in sword fighting scenes in Shōgun.

Both actors moved from Japan to Vancouver in 2021 to improve their English speaking and acting. And now they have the unique opportunity to share their home country’s history on local stages, and on screen to millions of viewers worldwide.

Actors appear in new Assassin’s Creed Shadows video game

As the appetite for samurai culture continues to boom in the West, respecting tradition while providing entertainment is a balancing act, Niiyama said.

“Because it’s a historical thing … we have to do a lot of research and respect the culture. But also it’s entertainment. The balance is very important,” she said.

Learning about a country’s culture is part of respecting its people, Niiyama continued.

“If we have knowledge about the culture, we can respect the people [more] too. So that’s, I feel, very important,” she said. “That’s why we love to come here to introduce our Japanese traditional performing art. And if some people [are] interested in this style, or kimono or katana, that’s really appreciated.”

But for many, the draw of samurai shows comes down to the clash of Japanese steel.

“Simply the sword fighting – it’s really cool,” Kedoin said. “I think that’s why those series are attracting people.”

If you want to swing a katana on screen alongside these sword experts, pick up a copy of the new video game Assassin’s Creed Shadows where both Kedoin and Niiyama have voice acting roles.