Shogun Episode 6 Recap: Enter Ochiba no Kata
Remember when I brought up the possibility of Lady Ochiba, the heir’s mother, being on Yoshi Toranaga’s side in the recap for Episode 5 of Shogun? Yeah, scratch all that. She’s a hater. That much was made abundantly clear in Episode 6 of the show, titled Ladies of the Willow World.
A major part of this chapter was devoted to Ochiba, who returned to Osaka in Episode 5 to take control of the Council of Regents, which was still reeling from Toranaga’s clever maneuvering – Episode 6 goes into detail on her power grab as well as her backstory. As for Toranaga and his faction, they are recovering from the big earthquake and landslide at the end of last episode – below the surface, though, conflict is brewing. Catch all the details in our Shogun Episode 6 recap.
Ochiba and Mariko
Let’s deal with those flashbacks first, shall we? Right off the bat, we’re getting a major reveal – Mariko and Lady Ochiba, who was known as Ruri back then, were childhood friends. Remember Kuroda, that previous ruler of Japan who Mariko’s father ended up assassinating? Turns out that Ochiba is this guy’s daughter and Mariko grew up in their household as a ward, hence their friendship.
We’ve got scenes of them enjoying nature together, of Mariko training with the naginata (the polearm weapon she so effectively used back in Episode 3), and of them saying goodbye to each other when Mariko has to leave to marry Buntaro. There is also a scene that shows Mariko observing some of the previous ruler’s tyrannical actions before she returns to bed, where she’s cuddling with Ochiba. Crucially, Ochiba seems to be oblivious as to her father’s true nature.
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Questioned by Toranaga in the present, Mariko states that she hadn’t spoken to Ochiba ever since she married, so it seems the two erstwhile companions never got back on good terms. Somewhat understandable, of course, given that Mariko's father killed Ochiba’s. One crucial detail is that Ochiba thinks Mariko’s father was merely a pawn in one of Toranaga’s schemes and that he was ultimately responsible for her father’s demise – hence her hatred of him.
Is there any evidence for this? Not really. Toranaga reveals to Mariko that her father deliberately married her to a talented, but ultimately not very important man such as Buntaro in order to keep her safe in the aftermath of the assassination, which suggests that he planned this for a while and that Toranaga may have been in the know – or he simply pieced it together.
After her father’s assassination, Ochiba was made one of his successor’s wifes and became the sole woman to bear him an heir. It’s implied that she had to go through great hardships to conceive – another reason to hate Toranaga, it seems.
I am the Senate
In Osaka, things are a bit tense. Ochiba is making Ishido do her bidding, controlling the Council of Regents through the man and controlling the man with the allure of effectively becoming the sole regent for the remainder of her son’s childhood.
Emboldened by Ochiba, Ishido takes the entire council hostage to force a vote on Toranaga’s replacement, spreading rumors about Toranaga plotting to kill the heir. However, one regent is not taking this treatment lying down – Sugiyama, the honorable and noble elder of the council, rejects Ishido’s candidate Ito (a puppet of Ochiba) and leaves Osaka. He is, however, killed by Ishido and his men outside the fortress. That leaves another council seat open, but probably shook the two Catholic regents a little – they were already discontent with the situation and it looks like the remaining members of Toranaga’s household in Osaka have taken notice.
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Even the Portuguese are getting nervous. Lady Ochiba is known to be against Christianity and Alvito counsels Dell’Acqua to side with Toranaga in the conflict that is to come – with Toranaga forbidding Blackthorne from fighting the Portuguese, an alliance seems to be on the horizon.
Ochiba is warned by the Taiko’s former consort, Daiyoin, that she picked the wrong ally in Ishido.
The World of Willows and Crimson Sky
It’s not just Osaka that’s in upheaval. Thousands have perished in the natural disaster at the end of Episode 5, including many of Toranaga’s soldiers, which puts him into a precarious position. It doesn’t help that conflict is brewing among his own ranks due to his generous treatment of John Blackthorne, who due to his courage during the disaster is awarded yet more land and titles – he has his own fief now, has been named Admiral of the Kanto and General of Artillery, including the cannon regiment he helped train.
Yabushige’s nephew Omi, who had just received command of that regiment last episode, is not taking this very well – and it gets worse: Toranaga, who sees the strife between Blackthorne and Mariko and wants to get the Englishman fully on his side, orders Mariko to book a courtesan for Blackthorne as a reward and to relax him a little. Naturally, she reserves the most revered lady this region has to offer – Omi’s lover, Kiku. That’s not going to help endear him towards John.
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Not having learned his lesson, Toranaga’s son Nagakado is still hanging around with Omi, who is seemingly trying to position him against Blackthorne by using the young man’s daddy issues and inferiority complex to fan his jealousy against the newcomer.
In the tea house, we also got an intense moment between Blackthorne and Mariko, who are both doing their best to keep their feelings for each other hidden – anything else could be used against them, especially with the political climate getting rougher.
In this tense context, Toranaga’s right-hand man, Hiromatsu, escapes from Osaka and arrives at the fishing village where the army is camped. He brings news of Ochiba’s takeover and her lust for blood. Toranaga bids his council to formulate a plan on how to deal with the situation – and it’s Crimson Sky, a secret plan Toranaga and Hiromatsu hatched together in the past, which wins in the end. Toranaga declines it at first, saying it’s suicide, but the news of Sugiyama’s suspicious death changes his mind.
Crimson Sky demands an all-out attack on Osaka to topple the government and take power as sole regent – and it’s exactly the opposite of what Toranaga hoped he could do, namely lure out Ishido and defeat him in the field. Though Toranaga repeatedly denied Blackthorne the return of his ship, this is probably where the Erasmus will finally come into play – Blackthorne himself stated that anchoring her in Osaka’s harbor would allow him to blast the fortress defenses into pieces and enable an easy entry into the castle. Alternatively, an alliance with the Catholics may open the doors in a different way.
Episode 6 marked a shift in Shogun’s focus – we got a lot less intercultural drama this week and a lot more of the Game of Thrones-esque politics and intrigue. This was clearly an episode to get some building blocks for future developments in place.
TL;DR – Shogun Episode 6 Recap
A flashback shows Mariko and Ochiba growing up together.
A flashback shows Ochiba going through hardship to conceive an heir for the Taiko after her father’s death.
Ochiba is making allies in Osaka, dictating Ishido’s moves; however, this appears to be splitting the Council of Regents further, leading to Sugiyama being murdered by Ishido.
The Portuguese are getting nervous and may be preparing to switch sides to Toranaga, whose remaining loyalists in Osaka might assist in this; Hiromatsu escapes.
Toranaga further rewards Blackthorne, who gets a fief and high military commands and wants none of them, reiterating that he desires to leave Japan with his men and ship.
Buntaro is ordered to stay away from Mariko for the time being, so she can do her job as a translator.
Blackthorne gets a night with Kiku, the courtesan Omi has taken as a lover, which gives him another reason to plot against the Englishman; feelings between Mariko and John persist.
Toranaga reveals to Mariko that her father planned a great future for her, keeping her out of the crossfire for a reason, which seems to restore her confidence.
Toranaga decides to make the first move after hearing of Sugiyama’s death, initiating the Crimson Sky operation to attack Osaka.
