Shōgun

The Erasmus finally makes land in the small fishing village of Ajiro, where Omi, an ambitious young samurai, sees an opportunity in this mysterious ship. Omi sends for his uncle, the conniving warlord Yabushige, who takes Blackthorne’s men prisoner, eager to use them for his own gain.Miles away, Toranaga, the most brilliant warlord in all of Japan, arrives in Osaka for a meeting of the Council of Regents. Since the death of Japan’s ruler, the Taikō, this group of rivals has shared power.&nbsp;

The Council was put in place to rule until the Taikō’s young Heir comes of age, but suspicious of Toranaga, the other Council members have united against him. They insist that Toranaga has been expanding his land and is keeping the Heir’s mother, Ochiba, hostage in his castle.&nbsp;Although Toranaga calmly protests these claims, one of his young vassals, Tadayoshi, is outraged at this affront to his lord and draws his sword, stepping into the hallowed Ceremonial Meeting Hall.&nbsp;To deescalate this egregious offense, Tadayoshi must offer to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide. All hope seems lost for Toranaga after this tragedy, until he receives word from his spies of the mysterious foreign ship.

<figure class="table" style="width:89.5%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:6.18%;"><col style="width:93.82%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="width:50px;">&nbsp;</td><td>INSIDE THE EPISODE:&nbsp;Falconry, The Council of Regents, What did Tadayoshi do wrong?<a href="#historyfalconry">LEARN MORE </a>&gt;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

Back in Ajiro, Blackthorne is taken before Yabushige for questioning and immediately realizes he’s in danger when a Portuguese priest arrives to translate. At this time, Protestant England was in conflict with Catholic Portugal, and the Portuguese held a monopoly on international trade with Japan.&nbsp;When the Catholic priest sees Blackthorne, he accuses him of piracy. Blackthorne quickly breaks the priest’s crucifix to demonstrate that they come from warring nations, startling Omi and Yabushige. They realize they’ve encountered a new type of European. Yabushige keeps Blackthorne alive for later use and decides to punish another sailor for piracy, in his particularly sadistic way. That night Yabushige boils the young sailor alive while being entertained by Kiku, the region’s most renowned courtesan.

<figure class="table" style="width:89.5%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:6.18%;"><col style="width:93.82%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="width:50px;">&nbsp;</td><td>INSIDE THE EPISODE:&nbsp;The Jesuits in Japan, Burei Uchi "License to kill”, The Cauldron<a href="#historyjesuits">LEARN MORE </a>&gt;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

The very next day, Yabushige's duplicity is put to the test. Hiromatsu, Toranga's general, arrives in Ajiro to confiscate the ship, ordering Yabushige and Blackthorne to accompany him to Osaka. Yabushige, as Toranaga's ally, must appear loyal, so he lies and insists that Blackthorne's ship and all its weapons are a gift to Toranaga.&nbsp;

In Osaka, Toranaga plays with the young Heir and confers with the Taikō’s widow, Daiyoin, who believes he is the only one who can protect the young boy. She begs Toranaga to take the title of his ancestors and become Shōgun, the supreme military leader, but he refuses.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Fuji, the distraught young wife of Tadayoshi, struggles with her family’s fate. Her infant son and husband must die, but because she is the favored granddaughter of Hiromatsu, she will live. As the samurai close in on her to take her infant by force, Mariko, a mysterious noblewoman, intervenes. She comforts Fuji, and though she remains stoic, this encounter reveals that Mariko is haunted by her own past.&nbsp;

On Blackthorne’s journey to Osaka, a terrible storm hits, throwing Rodrigues, the ship’s Spanish pilot, overboard. In a daring rescue mission, Blackthorne challenges Yabushige to save Rodrigues and gains insight into the samurai attitude towards death when Yabushige nearly succumbs to the sea.

<figure class="table" style="width:89.5%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:6.18%;"><col style="width:93.82%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="width:50px;">&nbsp;</td><td>INSIDE THE EPISODE:&nbsp;Iberian Pilots and Storms<a href="#historyiberian">LEARN MORE </a>&gt;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

Mariko is surprised to be summoned to a meeting with Toranaga, as they have rarely spoken, even though she is married to one of his vassals. Toranaga offers Mariko a deal: he will restore her to her lost purpose if she assists him in translating for Blackthorne. Assuring Toranaga that her Catholic faith will not impede her loyalty, Mariko accepts his proposal.

As Blackthorne’s journey to Osaka ends, he takes in the vast and impressive city, while inside the castle, Fuji endures her husband and son’s tragic deaths. Finally, we return briefly to Ajiro, where we learn that Muraji, the humble village headman, is Toranaga’s spy, sending him secret information about Yabushige. The opening episode culminates in the fateful meeting of Toranaga, Blackthorne, and Mariko, each unaware that their destinies are about to become inextricably linked.

<figure class="table" style="width:89.5%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:6.18%;"><col style="width:93.82%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="width:50px;">&nbsp;</td><td>INSIDE THE EPISODE:Seppuku<a href="#historyseppuku">LEARN MORE</a></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

Falconry

It is fitting that the powerful warlord Toranaga makes his first appearance in a falconry scene. Tokugawa Ieyasu was known to be particularly fond of falcon hunting. Ieyasu's official diary, Tōshōgū gojikki, is full of references to falconry. &nbsp;One reference tells us the following: "It seemed as if falconry was his second nature. From his youth to his old age, whenever he had time, he went hunting."Falconry was an ancient custom dating back to the emperors of ancient times. In the Sengoku period, falconry took on a special significance for the warlords. By practicing falconry, the warlords were not only perpetuating an ancient tradition.&nbsp;They presented game to their loyal vassals and falcons to other warlords, thus cementing their alliances. Ieyasu used falconry as a way to keep fit himself, and train his vassals. Falconry was a useful pastime to foster cooperation among the samurai involved. Falcon hunts usually developed into spectacular feasts, with the participating samurai all dressed in hunting garb. Above all, it demonstrated the military prestige of the samurai class.

The Council of Regents

Before his death in 1598, the Taikō (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) established two bodies, the Five Elders (Go-Tairō 五大老) and the Five Commissioners (Go-Bugyō 五奉行). These two bodies form the basis of the Council of Regents in the series. The Five Elders were Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Mōri Terumoto, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Ukita Hideie. These were the five greatest warlords, with vast territories under their control. The most powerful of these was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was appointed head of the Council of Elders.&nbsp;This body was responsible for maintaining peace in the realm. All the domains were ruled by their respective warlords, so this body mainly had to keep the peace between the domains. They were also tasked with protecting the Heir and staying out of power struggles themselves.The five commissioners were Ishida Mitsunari, Maeda Gen'i, Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori and Natsuka Masaie. Their domains were much smaller than those of the Five Elders and they wielded much less power. They were installed mainly to administer the domains of the House of Toyotomi. Some of them, like Ishida Mitsunari, possessed great administrative skills and exerted influence on other warlords.After the death of Hideyoshi, the heir Hideyori resided in the Main Palace of Osaka Castle. Ieyasu initially stayed at Fushimi Castle, but he later moved to the Western Palace, where he administered the affairs of the realm as if he were an absolute ruler. He decided to redistribute some fiefs and strengthened his position by arranging political marriages in violation of Hideyoshi's orders. This did not sit well with the other regents and fostered an environment of conspiracy and opposition to Ieyasu's rule, led by Mitsunari.

What did Tadayoshi do wrong? 

During the Sengoku period, samurai adhered to a code of conduct. This code was designed to keep the unruly samurai in check. Small incidents would quickly turn into a spiral of revenge that would ruin great houses. For this reason, the samurai were subject to strict rules. Disputes had to be prevented before they got out of hand. &nbsp;One of these rules was that only the shorter of a samurai's two swords could be brought into the palace. The swords were the status symbols of the samurai. Therefore, a samurai was entitled to carry at least one sword at a time. However, it was a capital offense to take a sword out of its sheath in the palace. Another offense committed by Tadayoshi was to enter the hall where the council was held. Entering the hall and drawing his sword was enough for Tadayoshi to be sentenced to death.&nbsp;In addition to these offences, he also put his lord, Toranaga, in jeopardy. In fact, this was Tadayoshi's greatest offence. When he realized his mistake, he asked for permission to commit seppuku (suicide by cutting open one's belly), which was granted by Toranaga. This was a natural reaction for a samurai, as the only way Tadayoshi could save his family's honor in this situation was to commit seppuku.

The Jesuits in Japan

In 1549, Francis Xavier was the first Jesuit to set foot in Japan. He was followed by many other Jesuits. Through their zealous missionary work, they were able to convert numerous Japanese to Christianity. Many peasants became Christians, as did some warlords and their families. No doubt the philanthropic aspects of Christianity appealed to the peasants. In the case of the warlords, conversion to Christianity opened a window of opportunity to trade with the Portuguese and obtain cannons and ammunition. As a result, Christianity spread mainly to Kyushu, where Portuguese trading ships made frequent stops. &nbsp;Fearing the influence of the priests on the warlords of Kyushu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the Taikō) issued an edict banning Christianity in 1587. However, the edict was not strictly enforced. After the death of Hideyoshi, the Jesuits came out of hiding and began to preach again. When Adams and his companions washed ashore in 1600, the Jesuits used all their influence to have them executed, considering the Protestants to be heretics.

Burei Uchi "License to kill”

Samurai had the right to cut down commoners who they thought were rude to them. This was called burei uchi 無礼討 ("killing a rude person," burei meaning rude, uchi meaning to cut down, to kill) or kirisute gomen 斬捨御免 ("license to kill," kirisute meaning to cut down, gomen meaning permission, pardon). However, this was only allowed if the rudeness of the commoner justified such harsh treatment. If there was no valid reason, the samurai would be punished. There are many stories of samurai fleeing a domain after cutting someone down in anger.&nbsp;Drawing a sword against another samurai was unacceptable and resulted in the death penalty. If both samurai drew their swords, both faced the death penalty, even if one was in the right (this is called ryōseibai 両成敗, punishing both).&nbsp;A lord had the right to kill vassals or commoners at will. He could do this if he thought the person's behavior was rude. The lord was the highest rank in the domain, so he had no obligation to explain his actions. From a medieval Japanese point of view, Omi had the right to kill the peasant on the spot because the peasant didn't retreat after being warned and because he showed his Christian faith, which was officially forbidden in the realm.

The Cauldron

Sentencing Pieterzoon to be boiled alive in a cauldron was nothing new. 6 years earlier, in 1594, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the Taikō) had imposed the same sentence on Ishikawa Goemon, a notorious bandit who ravaged Kyoto with his gang. After being captured by Hideyoshi's men, he and his son Ichirō, along with 10 other gang members, died while being boiled alive in a cauldron on the Sanjo-Kawara banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Another 10 to 20 gang members were crucified. This exceptionally harsh punishment was intended to scare other would-be bandits.However, because of its unprecedented severity, the execution became famous and was adapted into a series of joruri and kabuki plays that portrayed Goemon as a rebel against the Taikō's reign. Many legends arose after this. In one of these legends, Goemon lifted his child in the air as long as he could before he expired. Another legend says that Goemon drowned his child in the cauldron to spare it from suffering.The name Goemon-buro, which means "Goemon bath," was used in the Edo and Meiji periods to refer to an iron bathtub heated over a fire. Although a wooden tub was placed inside the cauldron, people referred to Goemon's execution when they saw this type of bath.

Iberian Pilots and Storms

Because the Japanese didn't have enough experience as sea pilots, they often relied on Portuguese and Spanish pilots to navigate their larger ships on ocean voyages. Blackthorne's route from Izu to Edo was considered one of the most dangerous in the world because two powerful ocean currents, the Kuroshio and the Oyashio, collided just north of Edo Bay. Ships also had to contend with typhoons in the late summer months. When exposed to the force of such a typhoon, ships were easily wrecked.

Seppuku

There are several misconceptions about seppuku. The biggest misconception is probably that seppuku was a form of punishment. Indeed, during the Edo period, when wars were no longer being fought, seppuku evolved into a form of punishment that was reserved for the samurai, but in the Sengoku period seppuku was still a way of voluntary suicide.&nbsp;

There were many ways to commit suicide, but the samurai adhered to seppuku. Seppuku is the act of cutting one's belly with a sword. Even if one commits seppuku, the person does not die immediately. In some cases, he would live in excruciating pain for a day or two. The pain was so severe that some people even fainted. This led to the custom of having the neck cut by an attendant (called kaishakunin) after the disembowelment. In other words, it took courage and mental strength beyond the human level to commit seppuku. Because it was a way of dying that showed bravery, it was chosen by the samurai as the ideal method of suicide.&nbsp;Ise Sadatake, a samurai of the mid-Edo period, wrote about the beginning of seppuku in his Ansai Zuihitsu, a collection of essays on samurai culture and customs: "The origin of seppuku lies in the desire of the samurai to show courage."From the above it is clear that seppuku was not perceived as a punishment in the early days. It was a voluntary act of suicide committed by the samurai. In most early cases, the samurai committed seppuku before he fell into the hands of their enemies after a defeat in battle. In the Kamakura period, when the samurai rose to prominence, there grew a widespread sense among the samurai class in Japan that seppuku was the most appropriate way for a samurai to show his courage when having to commit suicide. Since the sword represented the soul of the samurai, it was also considered a virtue to commit suicide with the very same sword. This was a common feeling shared among the samurai.From such a feeling it became natural that it was the duty of a samurai to commit seppuku when he lost face. Conversely, Tadayoshi's act was a crime punishable by execution, but because he was a samurai, he had the right to commit seppuku and avoid execution, which was considered a shame for a samurai. While seppuku was the most painful way to die, it was also an opportunity for the samurai to show his courage and regain his honor. Toward the end of the Sengoku period, there were cases in which a lord would order his vassals to commit seppuku if they had committed a serious crime. This was influenced by the long-standing samurai culture, which held that a samurai should commit seppuku in such cases. From this point on, seppuku transformed gradually into a form of punishment.Although the image of seppuku as a ritual performed in front of a large audience on a stage set up in a courtyard is well established, it was not until the Edo period that seppuku became a ritualized practice and the method of committing seppuku became fixed. Until the Sengoku period, each individual performed seppuku in his own way. Mostly seppuku in the Sengoku period, as in the case of Tadayoshi, was performed in a quiet and secluded environment, surrounded by a few witnesses.Terminology: There are several ways to express belly cutting in Japanese, with seppuku 切腹 being the most common. Other words include harakiri 腹切り, which means the same thing but is considered more informal. Kappuku 割腹 is also used, which literally means to split the stomach. In modern Japanese there is an expression: hara wo waru 腹を割る (split the belly), which means to be open with each other. In the Sengoku period, words like jigai 自害 (self-destruction) were also used.

A barbarian ship washes ashore.&nbsp;Host Emily Yoshida and guests break down episode 1 of FX’s Shōgun. Featuring showrunner Justin Marks, actor Hiroyuki Sanada "Toranaga," historian Frederik Cryns, and costume designer Carlos Rosario. From cultural bonding to falcon training to dressing samurai and dutch sailors, join them as they discuss the first chapter to the epic tale.

Episode 1 - Anjin

In war and in peace, a good enemy can be more valuable than a good ally.

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An Unwavering Way of Life.

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Destinies converge in Japan after a barbarian ship washes ashore in a poor fishing village. Meanwhile, in Osaka, Lord Toranaga finds himself outplayed by his enemies.

John Blackthorne kneels before Lord Toranaga with his hands tied

Episode 1: Anjin | FX Shōgun Episode Guide

A Mysterious Barbarian Ship

INSIDE THE EPISODE

Falconry

The Council of Regents

What did Tadayoshi do wrong?

The Jesuits in Japan

Burei Uchi "License to kill”

The Cauldron

Iberian Pilots and Storms

Seppuku

Episode 1 - Anjin

Discover the warriors from Anjin

Toranaga

Blackthorne

Mariko

Yabushige

Omi

Ishido

Fuji

Hiromatsu

Nagakado

Explore the Costumes of Shōgun

Explore scenes from Anjin

An Unwavering Way of Life.

More Shōgun awaits

The Making of Shōgun – Chapter One: Honoring Authenticity