'Shogun' Emmy success draws tourists to Japanese Samurai experience

A workshop in central Tokyo that teaches people how to swing a Japanese sword has seen an increase in tourists seeking an authentic samurai experience, as the period drama series "Shogun" won 18 Emmy Awards, the most ever for a single drama season, according to the Emmys website. "They totally deserve it," 31-year-old student Dominique le Noble who traveled from the Netherlands to attend the workshop said on Tuesday (September 17). "The show is really well done, the acting is really natural," she added. The session was held in the underground dojo called "Samurai Theater Tokyo" where students can practice slicing apart woven reed mats with a real Japanese sword. "You feel the weight of a sword and how it would be to handle a sword and to, you know, hack at an opponent," said 37-year-old Dutch engineer Bob Verstaeten who also joined the session. Set in Imperial Japan, the historical epic claimed best drama and acting awards for leads Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai. "As a fan of Hiroyuki Sanada, I feel very happy. Because of him, Japan's old culture is coming alive today and I'm glad that people all over the world get to learn about the origins (of the TV series)," said the Japanese sword-fighting teacher Gensei Kamide. "Since last year we have seen a 150-200% increase in our customers," said the owner of the dojo Kazuko Mitsui. "So I feel there might be some effect (of 'Shogun' on the number of visitors)." (Production: Tom Bateman, Irene Wang)