She was the only female member of Shōgun's massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking English, for which she relied on a dialogue coach, as she was not fluent in the language at the time. Her English improved greatly during the production, however, allowing her to work in a few English language films during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1981, she won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series-Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy award for her work on Shōgun