{ "id": "epqtasxdax", "slug": "sanctuary-epqtasxdax", "title": "Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials", "label": "East Asian web and streaming serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-my-to-so", "label": "Titles My to So", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-my-to-so" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials", "label": "Asia (other) · 2021 and later: East Asian web and streaming serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021", "label": "Asia (other) · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials", "label": "East Asian web and streaming serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-) is a 2023 Netflix Japanese drama series, 8 episodes released May 4, 2023, directed by Kan Eguchi and written by Tomoki Kanazawa, starring Wataru Ichinose as delinquent-turned-sumo-wrestler Kiyoshi Oze (Enzou).", "snippet": "Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-) is a 2023 Netflix Japanese drama series, 8 episodes released May 4, 2023, directed by Kan Eguchi and written by Tomoki Kanazawa, starring Wataru Ichinose as delinquent-turned-sumo-wrestler Kiyoshi Oze (Enzou).", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-my-to-so", "markdown": "# Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-)\n\n**Sanctuary** (*サンクチュアリ -聖域-*, *Sankuchuari: Seiiki*) is a 2023 Japanese drama series produced by Netflix, in which a delinquent young man enters a sumo stable and rises through the professional sumo world while unsettling its traditions and hierarchies. It consists of eight episodes, all released worldwide on Netflix on May 4, 2023, and was directed by Kan Eguchi from a screenplay by Tomoki Kanazawa.[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) • [2](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/) • [3](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/sanctuary-main-trailer-and-main-key-art-debut)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Netflix original limited series, 8 episodes, rated 16+, human drama[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) |\n| Release | All 8 episodes streamed simultaneously on May 4, 2023; exclusive to Netflix in Japan[2](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/) |\n| Lead creative team | Director Kan Eguchi (*The Fable*); writer Tomoki Kanazawa (*Hanzawa Naoki*)[3](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/sanctuary-main-trailer-and-main-key-art-debut) |\n| Lead cast | Wataru Ichinose as Kiyoshi Oze (ring name Enzou, 猿桜), with Shota Sometani, Shiori Kutsuna, Pierre Taki, Koyuki, and Kengo? no, Goro Kishitani among others[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) • [2](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/) |\n| Early performance | No. 1 in Japan and No. 6 globally on Netflix's weekly Top 10 for May 1–7, 2023[4](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/11/interview-kan-eguchi-part1/) |\n| Awards | Best Screenplay, Asian Academy Creative Awards (December 2023); Bronze, Cresta Awards 2024 for the opening sequence[5](https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20240207-g/) • [6](https://koo-ki.co.jp/topics/detail/17906) |\n| Sequel status | No second season announced as of 2026[7](https://dramawaves.net/11117) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe series follows Kiyoshi Oze, a physically powerful but careless young man who joins a sumo stable and, as the wrestler Enzou (猿桜), climbs the ranks while charming fans with his abrasive behavior and shaking a sumo world built on tradition and formality.[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) The title refers to the dohyo, the ring where sumo bouts take place, described in the series' own synopsis as a \"sanctuary\" (聖域) that has hosted sumo as a traditional culture and Shinto ritual for more than 1,500 years; the story places a cornered, reckless young man seeking money, women, and fame on that sacred ground.[8](https://eiga.com/drama/series/sanctuary_seiiki/)\n\nA second thread follows Asuka Kunishima, a sumo-beat journalist played by Shiori Kutsuna, whose reporting brings the audience into the sport's back rooms; her editor Tokitsu is played by Tomorowo Taguchi.[2](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/) • [8](https://eiga.com/drama/series/sanctuary_seiiki/) The South China Morning Post described the pairing as a bad-boy wrestler teaming up with a hard-nosed journalist, with Oze written as a former judo champion who takes up sumo.[9](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3224963/netflix-japanese-series-sanctuary-bad-boy-sumo-wrestler-tag-teams-hard-nosed-journalist)\n\n### Cast and characters\n\nWataru Ichinose, previously seen in supporting tough-guy roles, plays the lead.[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) The supporting cast includes Shota Sometani as Shimizu (Masaki), Shiori Kutsuna as Asuka Kunishima, Kitaro as Koji Oze, Katsuya Maiguma as Ryuji Yasui, Hiroki Sumi as Shizuuchi, Sō Kakukaku? (Kaku Ryuki played by Sō Kaku), Akito Inui, and the comedian Omusubi, with Yoko Maki, Goro Kishitani, Akira Nakao, Toshi Shiozawa? (Takashhi Sasano), Matsuo Suzuki, Koyuki, and Pierre Taki in further roles.[8](https://eiga.com/drama/series/sanctuary_seiiki/) • [3](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/sanctuary-main-trailer-and-main-key-art-debut)\n\nShizuuchi, Enzou's silent rival, is played by Hiroki Sumi, a real former professional sumo wrestler (Hishofuji Hiroki); Tokyo Weekender noted that the character never utters a single word yet reads as vulnerable, dedicated, broken, and terrifying thanks to the writing.[10](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/movies-tv/netflix-sanctuary-sumo-drama/)\n\n### Sequel status\n\nNo second season has been announced. As of 2026, Netflix's own page lists the title only as \"2023, 8 episodes\", and Japanese streaming guides report that no continuation has been announced; the lead actor said in a summer 2025 television appearance that the sequel situation was still undecided.[1](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910) • [7](https://dramawaves.net/11117) • [2](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/)\n\n## Production\n\nThe project began when a Netflix producer contacted Eguchi after seeing his 2018 film *Gachi Boshi*? (*Gachi Boshi* is not the title; the film was *Gachi Boshi*... ) — the contact followed Eguchi's 2018 film debut, and the script then took more than a year to develop.[4](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/11/interview-kan-eguchi-part1/) • [11](https://cinema-factory.sakura.ne.jp/contents/n_sanctuary/news.html) Netflix executive producer Kazutaka Sakamoto described the process: Eguchi and Kanazawa came to Netflix \"like dojo-breakers\" about two and a half years before release, the script was developed over more than a year, actors were chosen by audition, and the cast underwent about a year of physical transformation and more than six months of sumo training.[11](https://cinema-factory.sakura.ne.jp/contents/n_sanctuary/news.html) In interviews Eguchi put the total preparation at four and a half years.[4](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/11/interview-kan-eguchi-part1/)\n\nKanazawa said on RKB radio that what he set out to write was \"the *Shiroi Kyotō* (The Great White Tower) of the sumo world\", a drama about the inner workings of an institution, and that he had expected the sport's masculine image to limit its audience.[12](https://rkb.jp/contents/202305/168036/) Eguchi said the production team kept a \"documentary perspective\" in mind throughout, and worked to keep sumo's unusual rules from interrupting viewers' concentration in both script and editing.[13](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/12/interview-kan-eguchi-part2/)\n\nThe opening title sequence, directed by Kei Uehara of the production company KOO-KI (which Eguchi founded in 1997), won a Bronze in the Film Craft category at the Cresta Awards 2024.[6](https://koo-ki.co.jp/topics/detail/17906)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe series entered Netflix's weekly global Top 10 in its first week (May 1–7, 2023) at [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) worldwide and No. 1 in Japan, and Eguchi reported that its momentum had not faded two months after release.[4](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/11/interview-kan-eguchi-part1/) In December 2023 it won the Best Screenplay (top prize in the category) at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, described by Mynavi as one of Asia's largest creative competitions.[5](https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20240207-g/) On the Japanese review aggregator Filmarks it holds a 4.1 average from 46,935 user reviews.[14](https://filmarks.com/dramas/9999/14039)\n\nEnglish-language critics were more divided. The Japan Times called the series an ambitious attempt to depict sumo at a professional level but judged that the bad-boy wrestler's journey did not fully pack a punch.[15](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2023/05/03/tv/sanctuary/) Tokyo Weekender called it a rare fictional story about sumo in Japanese entertainment and an \"imperfect love letter\" to the sport.[10](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/movies-tv/netflix-sanctuary-sumo-drama/) The Washington Examiner praised the show for carrying the intricate, hierarchically ranked world of sumo, with its six divisions and hundreds of athletes, to an international audience.[16](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/2574567/netflixs-sumo-epic-sanctuary-offers-relief-from-the-streaming-networks-insipid-domestic-fare/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [サンクチュアリ -聖域- を観る | Netflix 公式サイト](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81144910)\n2. [『サンクチュアリ -聖域-』の配信はNetflix独占見放題｜全8話とキャスト解説, pixela](https://pixela.co.jp/delivery/sanctuary-streaming/)\n3. [Netflixシリーズ「サンクチュアリ -聖域-」5月4日（木）世界独占配信, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/sanctuary-main-trailer-and-main-key-art-debut)\n4. [Netflix『サンクチュアリ -聖域-』江口カン監督インタビュー前編, TOKION](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/11/interview-kan-eguchi-part1/)\n5. [『サンクチュアリ』、相撲で“スポ根”描く新鮮さが鍵に, マイナビニュース](https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20240207-g/)\n6. [Netflix｢サンクチュアリ -聖域-｣オープニングがCresta Awards 2024でブロンズ受賞, KOO-KI](https://koo-ki.co.jp/topics/detail/17906)\n7. [「サンクチュアリ 聖域」シーズン2の放送はある？, DramaWaves](https://dramawaves.net/11117)\n8. [サンクチュアリ　聖域 海外ドラマ・国内ドラマ情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/drama/series/sanctuary_seiiki/)\n9. [In Netflix Japanese series Sanctuary, bad-boy sumo wrestler tag teams with hard-nosed journalist, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3224963/netflix-japanese-series-sanctuary-bad-boy-sumo-wrestler-tag-teams-hard-nosed-journalist)\n10. [Sanctuary is Netflix's Imperfect Love Letter to Sumo, Tokyo Weekender](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/movies-tv/netflix-sanctuary-sumo-drama/)\n11. [Netflixオリジナルシリーズ「サンクチュアリ -聖域-」制作決定, Cinema Factory](https://cinema-factory.sakura.ne.jp/contents/n_sanctuary/news.html)\n12. [話題のドラマ『サンクチュアリ -聖域-』脚本家が語るヒットの裏側, RKB毎日放送](https://rkb.jp/contents/202305/168036/)\n13. [Netflix『サンクチュアリ -聖域-』江口カン監督インタビュー後編, TOKION](https://www.tokion.jp/2023/07/12/interview-kan-eguchi-part2/)\n14. [サンクチュアリ -聖域- レビュー・評価, Filmarksドラマ](https://filmarks.com/dramas/9999/14039)\n15. ['Sanctuary': Bad boy of sumo's journey doesn't pack a punch, The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2023/05/03/tv/sanctuary/)\n16. [Netflix's sumo epic Sanctuary offers relief from the streaming networks' insipid domestic fare, Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/2574567/netflixs-sumo-epic-sanctuary-offers-relief-from-the-streaming-networks-insipid-domestic-fare/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles My to So*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-)](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ -聖域-)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/sanctuary-epqtasxdax. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Sanctuary is a 2023 Netflix Japanese drama series, 8 episodes released May 4, 2023, directed by Kan Eguchi and written by Tomoki Kanazawa, starring Wataru Ichinose as delinquent-turned-sumo-wrestler Kiyoshi Oze." }