Photo/Illutration Hiroyuki Sanada produced and starred in the critically acclaimed “Shogun” adaptation. (Courtesy of FX Networks)

Movie subtitles have been considered a uniquely Japanese custom. Although foreign films are also shown with vernacular subtitles abroad, dubbing is the mainstream in many countries.

In Italy, every film starring a Hollywood A-lister is dubbed by the same voice actor. An acquaintance of mine, who heard Brad Pitt’s voice for the first time in a TV program, was surprised to find out what the actor’s real voice was like.

For anyone who wants to hear actors’ real voices, Japan is a blessing. But why did subtitles become mainstream in Japan?

Subtitle translator Naoko Ota observes, in a collection of essays about her profession titled “Jimaku-ya no Nihongo Tosei Funtoki,” that with written Japanese, “giving it just a glance” is all that the reader needs to do to “more or less grasp the gist of the message in a flash.”

And that, explains Ota, is because written Japanese consists of three visually different elements—kanji, hiragana and katakana.

That said, however, the basic rule of writing subtitles is “four characters per second.” This means that if an actor’s spoken line lasts two seconds, the written translation must not exceed eight characters.

This requires true expertise and talent.

The drama “Shogun,” which won a whopping 18 Emmy Awards this year, made me think that Japan’s “subtitles culture” could grow in influence around the globe.

Hiroyuki Sanada, the show’s star and producer, said he took a “big gamble” by keeping 70 percent of the lines in Japanese and using English subtitles.

And to minimize viewers’ eye strain, he explained, he paid close attention to the appearance and the placement of the subtitles.

Specifically, he ensured that they were placed at a higher-than-usual level on the screen where the viewers’ eyes would be focused while they followed the unfolding scenes. He also tweaked background colors to make the subtitles pop.

The growing familiarity of movie subtitles abroad is due probably to the increasing availability of foreign-language works for viewers to enjoy.

It’s fun to imagine subtitles gracing movie and TV screens all over the world.

Here’s looking at you, kid.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 15

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.