Tadanobu Asano on a Curiosity for Cruelty in Shogun

We were recently joined by Tadanobu Asano who plays Kashigi Yabushige in the Hulu series Shogun, to chat about the origins and psychology behind his complex performance. In portraying a character who the audience might deem totally obviously to their own narcissism, Asano sought to play Yabushige “in a way people would not expect.” From early reads of the script, he determined that his character was actually acutely aware of his behavior, and delights in the reactions he gets to his cruelty out of a pure, even child-like curiosity.  

In asking Tadanobu about his character’s upbringing and how he believes it may have had an effect, he referenced his research on the Warring States period of Japan, calculating that Yabushige was probably raised by servants or other relatives rather than his own parents. This may have led Yabushige to become the “rule breaker” with “no remorse” that he is.  Asano was keen to “flip that around,” and portray a “perverse contrarian” living in a time where Japan was strictly governed by rules and customs.  Though Tadanobu described Yabushige as very “whatever” about death (including his own), he alluded to a twist involving Mariko (played by Anna Sawai) that he believes managed to shatter the character’s worldview.

Watch the full conversation below.

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