Video: 'Shogun' Star Anna Sawai Delivers a Powerful Speech at the TIME100 Next Gala

At the TIME100 Next Gala, Anna Sawai reflected on her disbelief at becoming the first Asian actress to win an Emmy in her category, as well as the first Japanese actress to win any Emmy.

While the actress was proud of the accomplishment, she couldn’t ignore the fact that it took 76 years for this milestone to be reached. Sawai acknowledged the praise she had received for her win but emphasized that many Asian actresses before her were also deserving, though they didn’t have the same opportunities to play complex roles like her character Toda Mariko in Shogun, nor were they recognized as widely.

She noted how her own surprise at reading the Shogun script stemmed from not having seen people like her in layered, multifaceted roles before, and how that both excited and intimidated her.

Sawai is really happy that there is a growing  interest in Japanese culture and shows like Shogun. However, she  also stressed the importance of not reducing their stories to stereotypes like samurais or women in kimonos.

In her speech, Sawai emphasized that while she is an Asian woman and Japanese, above all, she is a human being with boundless stories to tell.