Shōgun's eighth episode, The Abyss of Life, begins with a sick Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) marching with his men. A litter covered in white is behind him, carrying his son Nagakado's (Yuki Kura) body.
Shōgun travels to Edo
Yabushige (Tadonobu Asano) disparages the way he died, “Cracking his head on a stone.” But he still wants his retainer to record it in their book. It's a callback to the first episode with his obsession with death, as says, “I'd rank it lower than boiling, but higher than eaten by dogs.”
Mariko (Anna Sawai) tells Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who looks over their shoulder, to the gray-and-white clad army following them, “Saeki-sama's (Eita Okuno) army will camp at Edo's boundary where they will wait for Toranaga-sama to mourn his son.”
Buddhism traditionally requires 49 days of mourning, called goreizen, which means offering done to the deceased person's spirit. Buddhists believe that the spirit remains for 49 days between death and rebirth.
Lord Toranaga in mourning
It's disconcerting to see Toranaga without his finery. While he's always looked older, he also looked distinguished. Now, he doesn't. He huddles from the cold in his kimono, and looks wary even before he starts to formally mourn his son.
They're on their way to Edo (modern-day Tokyo), where Toranaga has been building new settlements. It's also the capital of his fief, Kantō.
Blackthorne rides ahead of Mariko to personally offer his condolences to Toranaga in Japanese. The Lord of Kantō slowly rides away without replying.
Mariko approaches and hands Anjin his journals, for the completion of his service. She tells him he's not required to join them when they submit to the Council in Osaka, a reminder that he's chosen no to stand with them as he left when Nobutatsu delivered his order in the previous episode.
Blackthorne is dismissive of Toranaga's surrender and praises Nagakado for at least going down fighting. Mariko ignores it and tells him that his men are in the city, asking if he's eager to be reunited with them.
He ignores the first part and asks what will happen to her, as his translator. When she stays silent, he urges her not to go to Osaka.
She replies, “My allegiance forbids me from doing anything else.”
Back in Osaka, Ishido is praising Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido) for her part in Toranaga's surrender. Since Toranaga still has 49 days to mourn, she admonishes Ishido (Takehiro Hira) for counting his eggs before they're hatched.
He then proposes to make their intentions public. What intentions? Ochiba stalls. But Ishido is nothing if not persistent.
He tells her that he's admired her for so long, his lord's most favored consort, listing the qualities that “captivated him.” She expertly rebuffs him by telling Ishido how the qualities he admires in her are mere reflections of the late Taikō.
He changes tactics and refers to their bond — as survivors of the Taikō's rule who carved their own place at court. And then proposes to strengthen that bond through marriage. Ochiba doesn't respond. Ishido retreats and basically says that the ball is in her court.
Back in Edo, Nagakado's body is being prepared.
Toranaga's own council speak about his son in a wake of sorts. Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe) says he was always eager to please, “full of long stories that went nowhere.” Noticeably absent is Toranaga himself.
Just as an aside, I appreciate the translation here. The Japanese language has so many nuances: in one sentence it can go from flowery to street slang. And as there are no languages that have a one-to-one equivalent, it's difficult to portray that nuance in translation. However, the show does a masterful job of doing it here.
Buntaro's father, Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka), counters his backhand praise by saying that Nagakado was reckless and an embarrassment. Omi (Hiroto Kanai) seems to be the only one truly mourning him.
Maybe he feels a little bit of guilt since he wasn't able to stop him from his ill-fated mission, or maybe even thinking that he may have inadvertently driven him to his death.
Morning comes and the Lord of Kantō is still absent from his own son's funeral procession, Yabushige points out. Hiromatsu makes excuses for him, saying that their lord has fallen very ill.
Yabushige points out that Toranaga's Edo generals are wearing their armor in protest, telling Hiromatsu that there's still time to attack Osaka with their guns and cannons.
The elder samurai pulls a reverse Uno on him and tells him that he will go to Osaka alone with the guns and cannons — to present them to the Council in surrender.
Nagakado's litter is set on fire as the Shintō funeral rite is observed. Elsewhere in Edo, Toranaga watches the smoke from his castle.
I will never shut about the show's cinematography. We don't see Sanada's face, only his back. However, we do see the slump of his shoulders against the backdrop of his capital city in the early morning gray.
Mariko is seen cradling Toranaga's granddaughter, one he hasn't seen yet. Her mother is Lady Rin (Haruka Igarashi), Ochiba's sister, who tells Mariko that she has been assured that as soon as their lord surrenders, her family will be spared. But that's all she knows. Mariko commiserates with her, saying that staying hidden is Ochiba's way of surviving.
Buntaro appears to tell Mariko that their lord has asked for her attendance later and offers to make tea for her.
Blackthorne tries, in his limited Japanese, to ask a maid for something. The priest Alvito (Tommy Bastow) tries to translate for him, telling the maid he's asking for firewood and apologizing for his manners. Anjin corrects him. It's not firewood he's asking for but charcoal, having suddenly found the word in his vocabulary, which impresses the priest.
Alvito correctly surmises that Blackthorne has been cut loose from Toranaga's service, seeing as he's living outside of the castle and not in it.
Answering the priest's question about his plans, Anjin tells him that he wants to reunite with his crew, get back on his vessel and makes a veiled threat about the Black Ship. Alvito points out that his men may not be so pleased to see him having gone native due to his manner of dress.
A frail-looking Toranaga appears to address Alvito. The priest reminds him of their deal aboard the Black Ship, but the Catholic regents couldn't be convinced to sway their allegiance from Ishido.
This is old news to Toranaga as his spies have proven efficient. He also makes his distrust of the Catholics known and asks Mariko to translate for him instead.
Alvito urges Toranaga to form an alliance with Ochiba so that her son, the Heir, will turn against Ishido. Hiromatsu agrees with Alvito saying that allying with Ochiba will remove Ishido's only recourse and the Heir's army could be on their side.
He asks Mariko's counsel on whether Ochiba could overcome her hatred for him. She tells him that she doesn't think he's her enemy; it's fear. Toranaga believes Ochiba would only ally herself with him over his dead body.
Hiromatsu points out how defeated the lord looks. Toranaga says that winning would come at much too high a cost so instead he is choosing defeat in peace.
He orders Hiromatsu to make sure his vassals — especially the ones wearing armor to Nagakado's funeral — sign a pledge that they will march with him in surrender.
Before he leaves, he tells the priest that he's fulfilling his promise to build a church in Edo in exchange for returning to Osaka to tell them what has happened in Edo.
However, Hiromatsu tells Yabushige the opposite, divining Toranaga's intention to actually fight and sending Alvito to tell Osaka of his surrender as a feint.
Mariko and Buntaro take their tea together after exchanging haikus. We are treated to a proper tea ceremony which Buntaro prepares. He reminisces over their life together. To him, there are happy memories but she cannot recall them.
He asks about Anjin and she is silent. He offers her the death she has long asked for — together. Mariko tells him it was never death she asked for, but “a life beyond” his reach. She would prefer to live alone for millennia than die with him. With that, she bows and leaves. As soon as she departs, Buntaro breaks in tears alone in the little room.
Speaking of departures, Blackthorne meets up with his men and tells him that they can all go back home through the Erasmus. One of the men, Salomon, refuses. He thinks that Blackthorne is only there in service to his ambitions. A fight ensues which sees Blackthorne beating Salomon seemingly to death.
Now that he can no longer count on his men to take the Erasmus back, he turns to the unlikeliest person to become his ally: Yabushige.
Mariko correctly interprets this as desperation. He offers to sail under Yabushige's banner, thinking he wouldn't join Toranaga in Osaka. The Lord of Izu tries to disabuse him of the notion that their lord is surrendering, which Mariko doesn't interpret.
Blackthorne explains, using his sword, that he feels the weapon doesn't belong to him in the same way he doesn't belong in Japan. In broken Japanese, he says his own people thinks he's strange as well.
He makes a callback to saving Yabushige on the cliff, finding common ground with him as someone who believes in taking his fate in his own hands. This puts a smile on his face, but still refuses and professes his loyalty to Toranaga.
We see Gin (Yuko Miyamoto) walking barefoot on marshland in the rain, envisioning what her Willow World in Edo would look like. Omi and Kiku (Yuka Kouri) watch. The subject of loyalty comes up again between the two on-and-off lovers.
Kiku, in what seems to be a foreshadowing of where this episode is going tells Omi, “If you look and see nothing, you must simply look harder.”
On the other side of the marshland, Alvito is there inspecting the area promised to him. He sees Gin's party on the horizon and he is informed that they are to be his neighbors. The courtesans and the Christians, unlikely neighbors, due to Toranaga's generosity.
In Osaka, Dayoin (Ako), the late Taikō's wife is dying. Ochiba arrives and is told that she can only be made to be comfortable and nothing else. Her dying words are to ask Ochiba to stop her games and release the hostages. She takes one last dig at Ishido's common beginnings.
Toranaga's vassals sign their pledges in front of him. He gives orders for Yabushige to go to Osaka, with the signatures of those pledging with him to surrender. Yabushige signs his name and so does Omi.
The others refuse, wanting to fight Ishido. Toranaga counters this, saying that for the greater good, they must surrender. To fight Ishido would be to destroy, to start, Edo.
Hiromatsu speaks up and says that if Toranaga refuses to change his mind, he will commit seppuku. He addresses his lord as his one and only friend.
The entire scene plays out in front of Toranaga's most senior advisors: his oldest, closest friend and confidant choosing death over surrender. It's a tense atmosphere but beautifully played out.
Hiromatsu says in a loud voice, “Your vassal dies in vain.”
To which Toranaga responds, “Then die.”
There are tears in Hiromatsu's eyes as he bids his lord farewell. He calls on his son, Buntaro, to serve as his kaishakunin, or second.
Buntaro tells him that he's following him to his death, but his father tells him no. And in a move I did not anticipate, he tells him he needs to live so he knows what it's like to be denied — the way he did Mariko.
Hiromatsu's final words to his son is to not give up on Toranaga even as he may have given up on himself.
The elder samurai apologizes as he slices his belly from left to right. As soon as he's done, Buntaro swiftly takes his head off giving his father a quick death.
Later in the evening, Mariko attends her lord. They trade haikus to acknowledge the passing of a man they both valued: to Mariko an indulgent father-in-law and to Toranaga a most loyal friend.
The earlier events are made clear. Toranaga knew Blackthorne would go to Yabushige and that the latter would refuse. However, after what happened with Hiromatsu, he predicts Yabushige will change his mind.
The Lord of Kantō refers to both Anjin and Yabushige as goshawks — short-winged and predictable. Mariko realizes — which Toranaga confirms in tears — that Hiromatsu gave his life for Osaka to believe that Edo (and all of its residents) have really given up.
And for this next part, will Mariko fulfill her duty? She readily answer yes.
In Osaka, Ochiba bows to Ishido, seemingly in agreement to his earlier proposal.
At sea, Toranaga's prediction comes true: Yabushige and Anjin have allied, which leaves Omi confused.
Language barrier notwithstanding, both Anjin and Yabushige agree that they are now allies.
And these allies welcome a guest onboard: Mariko, who has requested she accompany the two to Osaka, to their surprise.
In Edo castle, Toranaga rises from his bed and visits what's left of his son's ashes. He thanks Nagakado — and Hiromatsu — for buying him time and promises not to waste it.
I knew he had something up his sleeve. Not only because I know the story — at least the one James Clavell wrote — and the history on which Shōgun is based, but because Toranaga has long been billed as a trickster when it comes to strategy.
It may seem heartless how he used his son's death as a way to buy time — 49 days' worth — but that's the only thing in this episode he didn't plan. This was an unexpected gift from Nagakado.
You may think that Hiromatsu's death was — I truly hope you pardon this particular pun — overkill, it isn't. Nagakado's death was accidental. His death, while tragic, wouldn't have put a dent in his father's machinations. Hiromatsu's, on the other hand, was played out in public.
The death of Toranaga's most trusted advisor due to his disagreement of his surrender in front of the men they needed to convince was — and again, pardon the pun — a stroke of genius.
However, it was a logical play. Tragic, definitely. But strategic as well. I truly did not mean to rhyme. It must be all of the poetry in this episode.
All the great framing choices aside, there are only two episodes left. As loathe as I am to see this series end, I also want to know how it ends.
Toranaga said he won't waste the time two deaths have given him. What he'll do with them is up to the Lord of Trickery next week.
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