Just days before the 2024 Emmys, Anna Sawai has returned to Los Angeles from Australia, where she’s been filming her latest project. A few days prior, at the Creative Arts Emmys, Shōgun – a retelling of the 1975 James Clavell novel, the story of an English sailor who has landed in feudal Japan – took home an impressive 14 trophies, and it won big once again last night. Sawai took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series – making her the first Japanese actor to win the award – while Shōgun won Outstanding Drama Series.
While Sawai has been heaped with praise for her performance as Lady Mariko, she chose to mark the milestone moment by honouring someone else: her mother. “After finishing Shōgun , I wanted to give my mom a gift just to thank her for allowing me to go the path that I’m on,” Sawai tells Vogue. “I bought her a Cartier Love ring.
I didn’t get one for myself because it is luxury; it was a lot, but I wanted to give the most important person a gift.” For the actor, jewellery is a way to honour important people or memories. “It’s more than just something that you put on – it’s like a memory that you carry with you, and whenever you look down, you’re thinking of that memory,” she says.
With her gift to her mother, Sawai wanted her to be able to look down at her hand and feel as though she was there with her. “If my mom looks at the Love ring, I feel like she feels connected to me.” Sawai spoke to Vogue upon .