In the first episode, I feel that she’s very reserved. She’s never been tasked to become an interpreter or have any kind of important role in this male-dominated society,” Anna Sawai says of Lady Mariko, the character she plays in FX’s “ Shōgun. ”

In “Shōgun,” which is based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name and set in 1600 feudal
Japan, Lady Mariko is tasked with translating for Lord Toranaga ( Hiroyuki Sanada ) and Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a ship’s captain who enters a society as it prepares for war.

Initially, Lady Mariko is wary and doesn’t fully trust Blackthorne. She’s also been given a new purpose: “If she’s able to serve her Lord and his needs — which is to help him understand who this barbarian is — then she’s happy to do that,” Sawai explains.

The woman Lady Mariko is at the beginning is very different from the woman she becomes. The show's artisans helped visualize Lady Mariko's growth through their respective crafts.

Costume designer Carlos Rosario found a key line in episode six that helped him understand who Lady Mariko was. Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe) complains to Toranaga that his wife, Mariko, “has always been ice.” Rosario also considered Mariko's backstory and the murder of her family. As the only survivor, he felt she was spiritless and heartbroken. At first, her costumes were primarily black and white.

“The initial costumes have a black and gold curve. That was a specific pattern from that time period to represent snow covering grass,” says Rosario. “I thought that pattern was very symbolic of who Mariko was at that moment. Emotionally, she was dead inside.”

Rosario also used symbolism in his prints to reflect her emotional state throughout the series. The crane prints on her uchikake, her formal kimono, “were about freedom and her taking off.”

The costumes were layered, representing the constraints the women faced. “The many layers felt like entrapment. The women are so restricted, controlled, and there's barely any room to breathe,” Sawai observes.

Musically, composer Leopold Ross collaborated with his brother Atticus Ross to find Mariko's theme, a melody that would capture her stoicism and poise. “We wanted a melody that felt delicate but had the potential to expand into something grand and powerful,” says Leopold.

The composers chose a solo flute for Mariko. Once that was in place, Japan-based arranger-producer Taro Ishida added layers of traditional Japanese gagaku sounds and music — the imperial court music of the time. “That would allow us to reveal those layers as the season progresses.

Lord Toranaga provides Mariko with a sense of purpose in her role as translator. She forms a new connection with Blackthorne and discovers a world of new possibilities she never imagined
before. So Rosario incorporated red camellias into her costumes. “Red was essential to me throughout. The way to incorporate that energetic heart was to paint the camellias onto the winter canvas of her [outfit] to symbolically represent that she was embracing life.”

As Mariko's journey progresses, the crimson tone becomes more prominent in her color palette and
the patterns become bolder. Everything culminates in episodes eight and nine where Mariko finally experiences a release. “There's only one direction she's headed, and she's moving forward with determination, and I sensed that liberation,” says Sawai.

Buntaro asks Mariko to take her own life with him that night, so they can die as husband and wife. But Mariko refuses, telling him that death is an escape, not a path to unity. By episode nine, Mariko confronts Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira), the warlord. She tells him, “I will never be a prisoner, hostage, or confined.”

Her strength and resolve are at their peak. When the castle gates are blocked, she takes on the
castle guards and fails. Mariko vows to commit seppuku, the ritual of suicide. But then Isihido grants her permission to leave Osaka. However, the castle comes under attack and Mariko declares she will give her life for the greater good. Mariko ends up dying in the explosion.

Cinematographer Sam McCurdy rarely placed Mariko’s eye line below anyone else — a deliberate
decision. “She’s always standing front and center,” he says. “We removed the restrictions that we had previously placed on her. The camera work around her was always free. She was in control of
her own [destiny] by that episode.” McCurdy wanted to give the character the importance she deserved, so in taking it further, they went with wider lenses with the closeups. “She took front and center for that episode, and we had never done that before,” he says.

Music also becomes specifically chosen, coming in “during particular moments” but not many,
says Leopold.

When Mariko arrives and meets Ishido, her theme plays announcing her arrival, and then it’s quiet until she declares she’s not taking part in the poetry competition. “The music used has some weight there because she’s taking a stand,” he explains.

Again, when she leaves in defiance, the music returns. It all culminates in her theme reaching its most powerful moment when she’s in battle. “That’s her melody at its most dramatic,” Leopold says.

When she declares she’s going to commit suicide, “it turns into this very defiant rhythm.”

By this point, Rosario’s patterns are bolder, but the fabrics are thicker, almost armor-like. “Everything feels so much more structured and architectural,” he says.

When engaged in battle, Mariko dons a red, black, and gold uchikake. The butterfly pattern adorning it was
representative of her transformation.

Rosario emphasizes that Lady Mariko’s journey to empowerment is not linear, so in the final design, he incorporates
some of the white seen in her previous attire.