TV Recap: FX’s “Shōgun” Episode 1 – John Blackthorne Receives a Hostile Welcome to Japan

FX’s series adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel Shōgun has much to set up in the first episode. Blending Clavell’s historical fiction with period authenticity, this 10-part adaptation offers a more comprehensive version of the story than the 1980 miniseries could, which simplified the narrative by just following John Blackthorne’s journey. Here, all of the main players from Clavell’s novel get their proper amount of screen time, which makes the series a little more challenging to recap, but I will do my best. A quick note before we begin, this episode’s title is “Anjin,” which isn’t explained until the next episode, but it’s Japanese for “Pilot,” which doubles as both Blackthorne’s profession and the typical title for the first episode of a series.

Chapter 1 – "Anjin" – Written by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks

“The year is 1600. For decades, Portuguese Catholics have richly profited from trade in Japan. They have kept its whereabouts hidden from their sworn enemies – The European Protestants. In Osaka, the reigning Taikō has died, leaving behind an heir too young to rule. Five warrior lords are now trapped in a bitter struggle. All of them seek the title that would make their power absolute… Shōgun.”

A ship called the Erasmus emerges from the fog like a ghost. Its crew has dwindled down to almost nothing. One of its few survivors, Pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), pulls up the lead line and inspects the sand in its base, noting that it’s white. He immediately takes it to the Captain General (Ned Dennehy) in his quarters to tell him the sand is white at mark 10, which indicates land is nearby. The Captain General doesn’t believe it. Blackthorne points out that the Spanish rutters (a mariner’s handbook) correctly led them through Magellan’s Pass, and therefore, it must also be right about the location of Japan. The Captain General takes the rutter and puts it in his desk drawer, calling it a death trap. He reminds Blackthorne that they began this voyage with 5 ships and a crew of 500, now down to barely a single ship. He suggests that Blackthorne spend his remaining energy making plans to die, as they are out of food and water. “Erasmus remains home to a dozen men looking to you,” Blackthorne objects. “We cannot fulfill our mission,” the Captain General says. Blackthorne sets his pistol on the Captain General’s desk. Before he can walk away, the Captain General takes his arm and tells him that the Almighty is calling them. Blackthorne exits the captain’s quarters and returns to the deck, looking out at the endless mist as he hears a muffled gunshot from the captain’s quarters.

The fog extends to the island nation of Japan, where a man, Muraji (Yasunari Takeshima), sings to himself as he walks along the rocky shore. Facing the sea, he takes a wooden crucifix from his kimono, holds it out, and prays. But his prayers are interrupted by the sound of creaking wood. He opens his eyes and sees a battered ship emerge through the mist, the Erasmus.

An army of samurai warriors run along the beach, arrows drawn as the Erasmus brushes against the rocky coast. The army is led by Kashigi Omi (Hiroto Kanai), lord of Ajiro, the small fishing village where the Erasmus made landfall. The samurai use grappling hooks to climb up onto the ship, finding dead bodies on the deck. Descending below, Omi hears coughs and labored breathing from the few survivors. The ship is full of crates, the first one containing silver. Checking one of the dying men’s teeth, Omi declares that they’re all starving. Blackthorne awakens and tries to make a run for it, but is tackled by samurai. He puts up a valiant fight, but he’s outnumbered and passes out. Omi reaches in a crate and pulls out a cannonball.

Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) watches his falcon as she hunts in the skies above a field outside the protective walls of Osaka. He is followed by a traveling party of samurai on foot, while he and his son, Yoshii Nagakado (Yuki Kura), ride on horseback. The falcon attacks another bird, diving it to the ground. Nagakado rushes to retrieve the falcon, bringing it back to Toranaga, who talks about how the bird conceals herself, conserves its energy, and waits for the right moment to attack, an analogy for his own methods. The caravan proceeds forward, arriving at a drawbridge surrounding Osaka Castle. “Lord Ishido asks that you confine yourself to your personal quarters,” a guard says before letting them pass.

From up on the outermost protective wall, we see Lord Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira) watching. “I’m surprised he actually came,” one of Ishido’s best samurai, Nebara Jozen (Nobuya Shimamoto), says. “A wise man knows when his time has ended,” Ishido smiles.

Toranaga’s caravan proceeds through the many protective walls, at last arriving at his residence outside of Osaka Castle, where he is properly dressed in his formal robes for a meeting of the Council of Regents. “I hate Osaka,” says General Toda Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka), Toranaga’s most trusted ally. Toranaga takes his sword and fan and begins his procession to the meeting, flanked by Hiromatsu, his son Nagakado, and a group of samurai. He enters the meeting room. The other regents – Lord Ishido, Lord Kiyama (Hiromoto Ida), Lord Sugiyama (Toshi Toda), and Lord Ohno (Takeshi Kurokawa) are already seated in a straight line. Toranaga’s cushion is facing them. “This seating arrangement is new,” Toranaga observes after sitting and bowing. “We thought it appropriate, under the circumstances,” Sugiyama chides. The rest of the parties sit along the perimeter of the meeting room.

During the meeting, Ishido accuses Toranaga of orchestrating strategic marriages that doubled the size of his fief (area of domain), which has made the other Regents feel threatened. “I am content as Lord of the Kantō, I will never be the first to break any peace,” Toranaga assures the Council. Ishido says the unauthorized relocation of the Heir’s mother, Lady Ochiba, seems like a move to guarantee his safety. “The Council has voted to demand the Lady’s return under penalty of impeachment,” Ishido declares. A scroll is rushed over to Toranaga with these demands, signed by the other Regents. Ishido continues his monologue about traitors, namedropping Toranaga’s ancestors, the Minowara. One of the men on Toranaga’s side of the hall had been shaking with rage for a while, which finally exploded. He rises to his feet, holding the hilt of his katana, causing all the other samurai in the room to do the same. He verbally tries to defend Toranaga. “Tadayoshi, sit down,” Toranaga orders. “How dare you imply that Lord Ishido insulted me.” The man, Tadayoshi (Yuki Takao), asks for permission to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) and end his family line. Toranaga ignores him, apologizing to Ishido. “You have seven days to release the Heir’s mother from Edo,” Ishido says, standing up. “And then, we will vote on your fate.”

Toranaga and Hiromatsu wait in the loft for a message to arrive by carrier pigeon. “I’ll see to it that she lives,” Toranaga tells his friend about his granddaughter Fuji, who is married to Tadayoshi and mother to his newborn grandson, who is also to be executed to end Tadayoshi’s bloodline. “The boy was reckless, he has only himself to blame,” Hiromatsu agrees about the punishment. Toranaga disagrees, saying he doesn’t approve of pointless death. “As soon as they have the boy’s mother back, they’ll vote to kill us all,” Hiromatsu says. Toranaga knows that if war breaks out, he will lose, so his only option is to stay in Osaka. While they were talking, a pigeon arrived, and Toranaga took the scroll from its leg and read it. “You must go to Ajiro in my place,” he tells Hiromatsu, passing the scroll to him to read. “You’re a prisoner to your enemies, days from death, and you want me to look into a barbarian ship?” Hiromatsu questions his lord.

Rowboats tow the Erasmus into the small port of Ajiro. “Everything is to remain on board for my uncle to inspect,” Omi instructs Muraji. “He wants to see this in person,” Omi smiles. Muraji seems concerned, making the sign of the cross and praying to Heaven.

Blackthorne and his crewmen were already brought to shore, stored in a pit with a wooden deck and shroud built above it so they can’t escape. It’s guarded. The crew is very anxious, but Blackthorne is calm. “We’ve reached it,” he smiles. “Portugal’s secret empire.” The crew thinks all is lost, but Blackthorne reminds them they have goods to trade, and he speaks fluent Portuguese. One of the crew, Salamon (Dakota Daulby), points out the possibility that the Portuguese will tell the Japanese who they are. “The rutters are still locked in the Captain General’s quarters,” Blackthorne reminds him. “As long as they stay that way, we are safe. We’re just merchants lost at sea looking for safe passage home.” He tries to motivate the twelve men that their arrival in Japan is a miracle. “This is not where we die.”

In Osaka, Usami Fuji (Moeka Hoshi) holds on to her baby, refusing to let Tadayoshi take him. She pulls out a kaiken (small sword) and holds it up to her throat, threatening to commit seppuku. “Fuji,” a woman’s voice comes from behind the samurai around Tadayoshi. They part to reveal Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), who moves past them toward her friend. She wears an elaborate cross around her neck, and her eyes seem wet, as if she is fighting back tears. Fuji tells Mariko that she has been ordered to live while her husband and son die. Tadayoshi starts to argue with Fuji, but Mariko shuts him up. “This is the granddaughter of Toda Hiromatsu, a name that should command your respect,” she scolds him. “Her family ends today because of what you’ve done.” Tadayoshi bows his head in shame. Speaking to Fuji, Mariko shares that she has also felt the pull of death and has been forced to live. Fuji allows Mariko to take the blade from her. As the samurai move in to grab the baby, Mariko stops them. “Let her hands be the last to hold her son,” she instructs. Fuji holds her baby close and cries.

Mariko returns to her room, the walls painted with a wintery scene. She kneels on the tatami floor and has a memory of her father’s death. She removes the ornate cross from around her neck and prays. “God, forgive me,” Mariko cries.

A massive army of samurai march into Ajiro. Villagers bow their heads as Omi’s uncle, Lord Kashigi Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), arrives. “We must all make the most of this moment,” Omi’s mother, Kashigi Saki (Manami Hara), reminds him. “Only Lord Yabushige can give you the fief you deserve.”

Blackthorne and his crew can hear the arrival of a horse from below. The hatch is lifted, and Omi yells something in Japanese that the men don’t understand. Blackthorne tries to talk to Omi and his guards, but nothing is understood. Blackthorne starts to climb up, but Salamon and another man, Pieterzoon (Jared Ager-Foster), pull him back, saying they’ll kill Blackthorne if he goes up. Instead, a few of the guards come down to try and retrieve them. The crew starts to fight, despite Blackthorne’s pleas to comply. They end up overtaking one of the guards, stealing his katana, and holding him hostage. Suddenly, they are all doused with buckets of fish blood. The crew begins to retch and vomit. Blackthorne curses the guards and announces that he’s coming up alone to speak for his men.

No sooner does Blackthorne’s head appear above the surface than he is yanked off the ladder and thrown into the dirt street. The guards take turns kicking him as he is placed in front of Omi. He points to the ship and speaks calmly, asking to be released and returned to Erasmus. Omi looks around and sees Muraji, calling him over because he speaks a little bit of Portuguese. “Omi-sama say, be good,” Muraji tells Blackthorne, who stares at the wooden cross dangling from his neck. “Is this the Japans?” Blackthorne asks. Muraji confirms. “I ask for my men to be freed,” Blackthorne says. “Not possible,” Muraji replies. Blackthorne gets frustrated with the way he’s been treated and vows to piss all over the country. At this, the guards once again kick him down. A foot is held on Blackthorne’s back as Omi urinates on his head. “You’re a foul-mannered savage,” Omi tells Blackthorne.

Blackthorne is dragged through the streets of Ajiro. Villagers and shopkeepers stand outside to watch, bowing as he passes. A man with a wooden cross around his neck steps in front of Blackthorne, blocking his path and making the sign of the cross with his hands. He doesn’t see the swiftly moving katana blade from behind, which instantly decapitates him. Blackthorne looks up in shock. Omi is holding the sword. Blackthorne is pushed forward as villagers crowd around their fallen brother.

It’s raining as Blackthorne is forced to his knees before a covering where Lord Yabushige is waiting. Father Sebastio (Paul Moniz De Sa) is there to translate, but his Japanese is lacking. Blackthorne is reluctant to answer questions from a Portuguese Catholic. “Why is he angry with you?”, Yabushige asks Father Sebastio, who simply says Blackthorne is an evil pirate. “I’m English, pilot of the Erasmus,” Blackthorne says, describing it as a Dutch merchant vessel. “Lies,” Father Sebastio calls out, saying it’s a privateer and he’s a pirate. As Father Sebastio continues to speak Japanese to Yabushige and Omi, Blackthorne interrupts. “They don’t know about us, do they?” he asks. “You told them Portugal is the only flag in Europe, which means I’m the first Englishman to reach your Catholic treasury, and you have no intention of translating my words.” Blackthorne bows to Yabushige and asks for safe passage. “Tell him his ship is confiscated,” Yabushige instructs. In the translation, Father Sebastio adds that Blackthorne and his crew will be executed. In a rage, Blackthorne grabs the rosary from Father Sebastio’s belt, tosses it in the mud, and stomps on it. “Bring him to a house and bathe him,” Yabushige orders his samurai, seemingly excited by what just happened. Father Sebastio protests, declaring Blackthorne a dangerous pirate. “Do you have proof he’s actually a pirate?” Yabushge asks. Father Sebastio merely rants about how Blackthorne must be killed. “Choose another in his place” Yabushige orders. “We’ll do it in my special way.” At this news, Father Sebastio looks like he’s going to be sick. As Blackthorne is led away, he says to Father Sebastio, “I’m sorry, Father, we’ll be all over your continent soon.”

In Osaka, the Taikō’s heir, Nakamura Yaechiyo (Sen Mars), plays with Lord Toranaga in a garden, entertained by stories about how Toranaga was traded amongst enemies in his youth. A Buddhist nun named Daiyoin (Ako) steps out to announce that it’s time for the boy’s writing lesson. He says he’d rather practice archery, but Toranaga encourages the Heir to comply. “A leader must write clearly and beautifully,” he reminds the future Taikō’. Yaechiyo asks if his mother is coming home soon, and Toranaga confirms that she is. The boy heads inside to practice his writing.

“I can’t imagine what Ishido promised the Regents to fall in line,” Daiyoin says to Toranaga as they walk around the garden. “My fief, probably,” he tells her. She believes Ishido will kill the other regents after Toranaga is gone, and will ultimately murder Yaechiyo in his quest for power. Toranaga reaffirms his vow to protect the Heir with his life. “You are a good man, but now is not the time for a good man,” Daiyoin tells Toranaga. “It is a time for Shogun.” Toranaga rejects the idea. “That title is a brutal relic from a bygone era,” he says. Daiyoin brings Toranaga to a tree that was planted when Yaechiyo was born, with wooden splints still supporting it. She compares Toranaga to the splints and Yaechiyo to the sapling. “What happens to him if you’re gone?” she asks.

The shores of Ajiro are busy as boats transfer cargo from Erasmus to land. Pieterzoon has been chosen, and is dragged out of the pit towards a large outdoor hearth where a fire is being tended to beneath a giant iron pot. “We’re just merchants!” Pietezoon begs over and over as he is dragged towards the pot. Omi seems stiff as Pieterzoon is tossed into the pot of hot water. “Please!” Pietezoon begs over and over as the water gets hotter and hotter. Omi walks away, unable to watch.

Screams can be heard from a yard where Blackthorne sits in a small tub, servants scrubbing him clean and giving him a haircut.

The sun has set, and the screams are still loud and clear in the rainy night air. Yabushige sits in the garden under a tree, meditating on the sounds. Takemaru (Yuki Kedoin) watches his lord from the comfort of the home as courtesan Kiku (Yuka Kouri) arrives. “I’m sorry for the discomfort my lord has caused your village,” Takemaru says. “It won’t be much longer now,” she responds. Takemaru tells her about Yabushige’s obsession with the moment of death. “This is the closest he can get,” she observes, looking out at Yabushige as he listens.

Pietezoon dies.

“I kept waiting but… nothing,” Yabushige says as he enters the hose. He sits in front of a scroll and begins to write as he complains that the death was inarticulate. Takemaru introduces Yabushige to Kiku, “The most celebrated courtesan in Izu.” She begins to remove her outer kimono, and Yabushige scolds Takemaru for watching. Yabushige resumes his writing as Takemaru gets up to leave. But it seems that Kiku has experience with men like Yabushige. She stops Takemaru from leaving, pressing herself against him while she looks at Yabushige. She draws Takemaru over to the futon. “What are you doing?” Yabushige asks, stunned. She doesn’t answer but kneels down with Takemaru and guides his hands to slide off her under kimono. She begins to kiss Takemaru’s neck, her eyes fixed on Yabushige. “Shall I stop?” she asks. Yabushige puts his brush down and turns to face them so he can focus solely on Kiku and Takemaru, watching the two make love.

The next morning, Blackthorne wakes up alone in a room on a futon, naked. A trey is in front of him with small bowls of food, which he quickly wolfs down. He stands up and tries to open a door, but ends up pushing his arm through a thin paper wall. A woman rushes over, getting on her knees before sliding the door open and bowing to Blackthorne. He covers his privates as he asks for his boots. Not understanding, the servant dresses Blackthorne in a kimono. He asks about the screaming last night. He asks to speak to the leader and mimes swords around his waist to try to get his point across.

Yabushige talks about Pieterzoon’s death over breakfast with Omi, Takemaru waiting on the engawa (verandah). “He was stronger than most Christians,” Yabushige observes, asking Omi for a poem about him. “His eyes were just the end of hell– all pain, articulate.” Yabushige nods in satisfaction. As they exit the house, Yabushige compliments Omi on how he’s run Ajiro since his father’s death. “Your fief is increased to 3000 koku,” Yabushige rewards Omi (koku is a rice-based currency system). “I’ll see to it as soon as I get home.” Omi asks if Yabushige plans to tell Toranaga about the ship. “Our lord Toranga is trapped in Osaka,” he responds. “Why tell a dead man the future?” Yabushige expects war when Toranaga dies, and thinks the Christian lords will have the upper hand since they have weapons from the Portuguese. “So a lord who possesses a ship with these weapons would make a valuable ally to anyone?” Omi points out. “My brother never told me about his son’s great qualities,” Yabushige smiles.

A foot soldier rushes in to announce that another ship has arrived in Ajiro. Hiromatsu sets foot on the shores of Ajiro, and Yabushige is there to greet him. “Lord Toranaga had requested you wait for him in Edo,” Hiromatsu reminds Yabushige. Yabushige defends his decision, saying he felt it was important for him to be here because of the ship. “Where are the cannon?” Hiromatsu asks, much to Yabushige’s surprise. “I’m told there are five hundred muskets, twenty cannons, and several crates of silver and gold on board that ship.” Yabushige tells him he had everything brought ashore. “As President of Foreign Relations, Lord Toranaga confiscates this ship, and all it contains.” Yabushige reminds Hiromatsu that Izu is his fief. “So sorry, it was my understanding that you were loyal to our lord,” Hiromatsu replies, his hand touching the hilt of his katana, prompting his soldiers to do the same. Yabushige lets out a laugh of disbelief, covering by saying he was hoping it could all be gifted to Toranaga as a surprise. “He’ll be pleased with your generosity,” Hiromatso replies, unfooled.

“He knew everything,” Yabushige whispers to Omi as men load cannons onto Hiromatsu’s ship. “There’s a spy in your village,” he adds. Blackthorne is brought to Yabushige, furious after learning that one of his men was murdered without a trial. Hiromatsu is drawn near, curious about the barbarian. “Tell him he’s being taken to Osaka,” Hiromatsu orders. Muraji translates. “I go nowhere until I see my men,” he yells. Omi forces Blackthorne to bow. “Is he the pilot?” a Spanish voice asks. “Anjin-ka?” Rodrigues (Nestor Carbonell) steps into the group and bows to Hiromatsu, offering to take care of Blackthorne, whose hands are bound. Rodrigues leads Blackthorne to a dingy, testing his knowledge to prove that he’s a pilot. “I must know if my crew is alive,” Blackthorne begs. Rodrigues asks Omi and translates back that one is dead, the rest are prisoners. In the boat, Rodrigues tells Blackthorne that Toranaga wants to meet him. “What does he want with me?” Blackthorne asks. Rodrigues doesn’t know but says he’s the leader of the Kanto, way more powerful than anyone in Izu.

Yabushige is on board the ship for the voyage to Osaka, piloted by Rodrigues. Blackthorne observes that a storm is coming. Rodrigues tells him that this crew, manned primarily by rowers, likes to stay within sight of land, which makes navigating storms more difficult. They ask about each other’s histories. Blackthorne says he was on a merchant vessel that sailed through Magellan’s Pass and got caught too long in Chile, so they missed the winds home. “Command rests on you; Shukumei.” Rodrigues says. Blackthorne asks what shukumei means. “It’s like an attitude out here, it’s karma, fate, fixed destiny.” Blackthorne watches Yabushige and calls the Japanese “godless savages.” Rodrigues says they don’t care what he thinks, calling him a pirate. “Why do you think I’m a pirate?” Blackthorne asks. “You had twenty guns on that ship.” Blackthorne says it was to defend themselves from the unlawful Portuguese, sailed by Spanish pilots. Rodrigues laughs and tells Blackthorne that he likes him. He gives him the honor of taking watch so he can take a nap. The ship is steered with a large beam, which Blackthorne loops his bound arms around.

As expected, the storm arrives, and the ship is ferociously tossed around. Blackthorne argues with Rodrigues that they need to turn into the swell, but the rowers keep trying to forge ahead along their intended path. Rodrigues cuts Blackthorne’s wrists free in case they need to jump ship. Moments later, he saves a crewman who was almost swept overboard. Blackthorne goes down to the rowing deck to try and coordinate the rowers, with Yabushige following him. He sees Rodrigues get swept out to sea and tosses him an oar to hang onto. He gets the rowers to row as he runs back up to the helm and steers the ship into the swell.

Blackthorne saved the ship from sinking, and with the storm past, they dock along a shoreline full of cliffs. Blackthorne grabs a rope and tries to communicate that he is going to look for Rodrigues. Hiromatsu tries to stop him. “Where I come from, we don’t leave a man behind,” Blackthorne insists to a crowd that doesn’t understand him. Yabushige, however, seems to understand and intervenes, saying that Rodrigues is a skilled pilot and that if he can be rescued, they should try. Hiromatsu orders Yabushige to go with Blackthorne and to make it quick.

Blackthorne, Yabushige, and two foot soldiers head up the cliffs for a better view. They spot Rodrigues and the oar face down on some rocks below a steep side. Blackthorne is about to climb down to see if he’s alive, but Yabushige stops him. Blackthorne hands Yabushige the rope. “You can’t turn down a challenge in front of your men, can you?” Yabushige takes the rope. One of his men offers to go in his place, but Yabushige insists on proving himself. The rope is dropped down, and he begins to descend, his men holding the other side of it. However, the cliff face is wet, and he slips several times, causing the rope to snap. He crashes onto the rocks below, but he’s alive. He gets up through the pain and goes to Rodrigues, announcing that he’s breathing. One of the men runs back for more rope as Yabushige tries to pull Rodrigues higher on the rocks. But a large wave crashes into them, pulling Yabushige into the sea and tossing him around between two large boulders. It seems that he won’t be able to climb out, and Blackthorne is surprised when Yabushige pulls out his katana and aims it at his gut. The soldier returns with more rope just in time, with Yabushige and Rodrigues both pulled up to safety. When Yabushige gets to the top, Blackthorne meets his eyes and then gives him a deep bow. Yabushige grins.

It’s nighttime in Osaka, and Mariko enters a room where she thought she was meeting her father-in-law, Hiromatsu, surprised to find Toranaga there instead. He tells her Hiromatsu is away on business and he sent for her. He acknowledges that they’ve barely spoken in the 16 years she’s been part of his general’s family, and thanks her for helping Lady Fuji through her grief. “I’m told you speak Portuguese,” he says, telling her that a prisoner is on his way from Ajiro. “I want you to translate for us.” She thinks it would be best if the Portuguese sent Tsuji to translate. Toranaga brings up Mariko’s father, Akechi Jinsai, saying he knows it’s haunted her that she wasn’t permitted to join him in death, similar to Fuji’s ordeal. He says she was robbed of her purpose, but it may test her faith. “Would your loyalty to God conflict with your service to me?” he asks. “If I were just Christian, yes,” Mariko responds. “But I have more than one heart.” Toranaga turns to look outside. “I think our fate has brought us together,” he says. “You, me, and this barbarian who could turn the tide.”

Rodrigues recuperates in a cabin on the ship. Blackthorne tells him about Yabushige’s suicide attempt and asks Rodrigues if he will die here. He says it’s likely, quoting a Japanese proverb about the unforeseen path of nature. “I fought too hard and too long to come here,” Blackthorne says, shaking his head. “That’s funny, I thought you washed up by accident,” Rodrigues grins. He pulls out the rutters from the Erasmus. “I found this on your ship,” he says. “It’s a rutter, stolen off a Spanish sailor, I imagine.” The second book is a journal detailing Catholic bases the crew had set fire to. “Real savage business, if you ask me,” Rodrigues says, reading from the book. “Your orders: Plunder any Spanish territory, reach the Japans, open trade in the new world.” Rodrigues tells Blackthorne he will be giving these to the Portuguese when they land. Blackthorne stands up, hands bound again, and picks up a metal mug, ready to attack Rodrigues with it, only to find a pistol pointed at him. “I won’t die in this wretched land,” Blackthorne vows as he backs up. “We’re coming into port soon,” Rodrigues declares. “Why don’t you go up there and tell me what you see. And tell me, when you set eyes on Osaka, if you really think our world is the hilt of civilization. And then ask yourself, what kind of man wields power in a land like this? The one who schemes in the open or the one you never see?” Blackthorne goes to the upper deck and gets his first view of Osaka Castle as the ship pulls into port.

Lady Fuji releases her baby, watching as her son is brought into the arms of Tadayoshi, both dressed in white for their execution. Mariko is present, eyes watery.

“There’s a saying out here,” Rodrigues’ narration continues. “Every man has 3 hearts. One in his mouth for the world to know. Another in his chest just for his friends. And a secret heart buried deep where no one can find it.”

In Ajiro, we see Muraji walk through a cavern on the shore, making sure nobody is following him. Hidden in an alcove are pigeon cages. He takes one out, puts a scroll in its ankle strap, and sets it free.

In Osaka, Toranaga intercepts a pigeon and takes out the scroll.

Blackthorne is taken ashore and led through village streets as peasants bow to him.

“You’ll understand soon,” the narration concludes. “And who knows? Maybe fate brought you here for a reason? Maybe you’ll find out what it is.”

Blackthorne is brought before Toranaga, Mariko seated beside him. All of their eyes meet for the first time. Blackthorne bows deeply.

Next Episode:

Chapter 2 – "Servants of Two Masters" – Written by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks

Blackthorne’s arrival in Osaka stirs up a hornet’s nest of rivalries. Mariko is trapped between her cause and her faith when she must translate for the barbarian in Lord Toranaga’s custody.