Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Japan - 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 17 on BBC Two Wales

About this Broadcast

Japan
Season 1, Episode 4

Sophie Okonedo narrates a look at the collapse of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate in the mid-19th century, which saw a dramatic collision between the country's rulers, ii's samurai class and the industrialised West. This clash is explored through the characters of US naval commander Matthew Perry, who was eager to establish a US-Japan trade route, the shogun aiming to keep his grip on power, and samurai Saigo Takamori, a warrior and reformer dedicated to protecting Japan's independence

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Education/Science/Factual Topics General

Cast & Crew

Sophie Okonedo (Narrator)

Yuya Sato (Actor) .. Shogun

Joshua Jo (Actor) .. Saigo Takamori

Ulzii Khishig (Actor) .. Matthew Perry

Patrick Dickinson (Director)

Jack Levy (Producer)

Anthony Mitchell (Series producer)

Alexander Leith (Executive producer)

More Information

Did You Know..

Sophie Okonedo (Narrator)

Born: January 01, 1969 in London

Best Known For: Her role in Hotel Rwanda.

Early-life: Born on January 1, 1969, in London, to a Jewish mother and Nigerian father. He was a government worker who returned to his native country when Sophie was five, leaving her mother to raise her. She left school at 16 and worked on a clothing stall at Portobello Market. She later attended a writing workshop run by Hanif Kureishi, but discovered she was better at acting in plays than writing them, prompting her to study at Rada. Upon graduating, she embarked on a series of theatrical roles.

Career: Throughout the 1990s, Okonedo steadily built up a body of TV credits, including appearances in Casualty, The Bill and The Governor. She got her break in films with a small role in 1995 Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. She also featured in The Jackal and Mad Cows, but it was Stephen Frears' thriller Dirty Pretty Things that people really began to take notice. More TV work followed in Clocking Off, Never Never and Spooks, before an Oscar-nominated performance in Hotel Rwanda. Other projects include Doctor Who, Tsumani: The Aftermath, The Secret Life of Bees, Skin, Criminal Justice, and Mrs Mandela.

Quote: "I'm pretty secure about who I am. Anything that's truthful I'm not ashamed of."