Shogun S1E6: Ladies of the Willow World

This week, we look both to the past and the future, as various parties make plans for the inevitable conflict brewing, while we also see the seeds of the conflict being sown, in flashbacks to Mariko’s childhood, shared with Lady Ochiba.

There has been much mention of Ochiba, mother to the young Emperor-in-waiting, but we only finally see her in the flesh at the end of last week’s episode. After being held as leverage by Toranaga, she returns to Osaka and his rival Ishido, only to inform him that the ruling Council in which Ishido has so carefully accumulated power answers to her now.

But first, we go back 22 years, to the backstory Mariko recounted last week. Her father killed that era’s cruel Emperor (the one before the Taiko, whose death sets the story in motion), and he and her entire family paid with their lives. Except Mariko was spared because she was married, and her husband forbid her to commit seppuku and join them in death, but resents her to this day for her family’s dishonor.

Seeing all of this dramatized right after hearing the story isn’t terribly necessary, but we do get two more pieces of the story: Mariko’s father deliberately married her to Toda, an unpleasant man from a not-terribly-prominent family, to save her life. And that her Ochiba’s father was the Emperor that Mariko’s father killed. After the Taiko took power, his wife asked Ochiba to become her husband’s consort to try and produce an heir. (and no doubt grant himself legitimacy, by having a child with the previous ruler’s daughter)

Last week’s episode also ended with an earthquake, in which Toranaga was swallowed up by the ground, before Blackthorne dug him free. This week, Toranaga repays the Englishman for saving his life a second time, granting him a small fiefdom, and naming him both admiral in charge of the fleet, and general in charge of the cannon unit he had been training.

Toranaga also metes out justice to Toda, for hitting Mariko in a drunken rage. He’s to stay away from her for a week, while his wife remains under Blackthorne’s roof. Toda accepts this judgment, as he must, but we also see more of him than the callous, resentful brute we’ve seen thus far. He resents Mariko, not because of her family’s dishonor, but because in his view, he’s saved her life (by refusing to allow her to commit suicide), and instead of gratitude, she’s only ever been cold to him, even as she’s clearly warmed to Blackthorne.

Except she’s also cold to Blackthorne, wanting to keep their relationship professional. But she can’t resist arguing with him when he urges Toranaga to let him sail his ship against the Portuguese. Toranaga sees them as a friendly power, and Mariko doesn’t buy Blackthorne’s argument that they plan on undermining Japan with the ultimate aim of putting a Catholic puppet ruler on the throne.

Toranaga refuses the request, and he also asks Mariko to stay behind. To soften the blow of rejection, he suggests she arrange a night at a brothel for the tightly-wound Englishman to relax. As a further twist of the knife, he insists she accompany him as a translator. Does Toranaga know they slept together and wants to hammer it home that she can’t have him? Is he trying to test her loyalty by seeing how much she’ll put up with? Or is he thinking only of keeping Blackthorne happy, and Mariko’s happiness doesn’t merit even a passing thought? As usual Toranaga’s reasoning is opaque.

So we get a scene at a brothel, (the Willow World of the title), where Blackthorne is to spend the night with Kiku, the courtesan last scene whispering encouragement to Omi in “The Eightfold Fence.” Far from Game of Thrones’ infamous “sexposition,” our visit to the brothel is less about gratuitous nudity, and more about Blackthorne’s discomfort as Mariko calmly walks him through the very ritualized evening, which includes pouring sake, philosophy, and simmering sexual tension between the Englishman and his interpreter, held at bay only by the walls she continues to put up around herself.

All this happens in between more plotting, as Ishido tries to overreach in his attempt to consolidate power, and Toranaga prepares for a war he’s not sure he can win, between losing soldiers to the earthquake, and losing allies to Ishido’s machinations. It’s to the show’s credit that it’s been more focused on the characters’ relationships and intrigue than battle scenes, but with four episodes left, we’re going to have to get to the fireworks factory eventually.

Stray thoughts:
• We also see in flashback an older Mariko, training with weapons, which will no doubt come into play down the line.

• In a Hamlet-like move, Ishido, Ochiba, and the rest of the court watch a play that chronicles the Taiko’s rise to power. So Ochiba watches the stage version of herself become the Taiko’s consort, as she relives those events in flashback.

• We also get a brief scene with the Portuguese, who consider an alliance with Toranaga, fearful of Ishido consolidating power. They don’t come to a decision, so it’s just a reminder that they’re still a powerful player who have yet to join in the fray.

• Sorry we’re a week behind on these. We’ll try and get caught up with the next episode.