Lord Toranaga,
in the year since the Taikō's death,
we have watched with concern
as you've aligned power against the Council.
If we go to war now, four armies against one, I will lose.
Which is why you must go to Ajiro in my place.
Lord Toranaga confiscates this ship... and all it contains.
Izu is my fief.
It was my understanding that you were loyal to our lord.
I think our fate has brought us together.
You, me,
and this barbarian who could turn the tide.
Rest, husband.
Please fix your mind on the Buddha.
Where is my son?
Like staring into your mother's eyes.
Perfect endlessness.
Don't be afraid.
Soon I'll be reborn in the Pure Land.
How will I find you there?
Will you still have your eyelashes?
And your fingernails?
So strange, this life...
Just a dream of a dream...
Go to your mother.
The Taikō would like to be alone.
If he doesn't receive the Sacrament,
he'll be lost to God's Kingdom.
Or maybe God's Kingdom is up your own ass...
Have you thought of that?
Toranaga.
Stay.
To think there was a time
when Ochiba could have been married to you.
I never cared for beautiful women.
And I cared too much.
That night we had too much saké,
do you remember what I told you?
"We've shit too many times in the same pot
to piss on our own feet."
I wish we'd taken Joseon together.
I could have given you Japan.
Let it be a gift from your son.
My son...
The vultures are circling.
What would you think...
of becoming sole Regent until he is grown?
If you were to protect him, I could grant you this title.
Giving my enemies a perfect reason to unite.
Killing me,
then your son.
I don't seek that cruel form of punishment.
A very wise answer.
It's been over 100 years since the end of any true Shōgunate.
All my life I worked to subdue our infighting.
Now, I fear the civil wars will start again.
So I've ordered the formation of a Council of Regents.
Ishido, Kiyama, Ohno, Sugiyama...
and you.
Sharing power until Yaechiyo is sixteen.
A political stalemate.
My lord is the cleverest in the Realm.
I ask you to protect my son
from his enemies and his friends.
Teach him...
the most important lesson...
The man who stands at the greatest height...
is the loneliest man in the Realm.
Greetings, Lord Yaechiyo.
Is he a cannibal, Tsuji?
Toranaga says some barbarians eat humans.
I don't know, Young Master.
But I'll keep my distance, just in case.
My apologies, Lord Toranaga.
I hope I haven't kept you waiting.
I hope Lady Mariko's presence doesn't offend.
I asked that she be here to practice her Portuguese,
since you are the master.
You flatter me, Lord.
Lady Maria's company is always welcome.
The Anjin believes I cannot translate for him truthfully
because I am Portuguese.
I have given the Anjin the word "enemy"
so he can indicate to you that we are not friends.
Lady Maria, do you agree?
The Father translates perfectly.
Ask the barbarian why he is an enemy of my interpreter.
He says that our countries are in conflict.
And what is your country?
His nation is England.
One thousand miles from Portugal.
Tell me.
Why are you at war with Tsuji's kingdom?
You are not Catholic?
But both believe Jesus is God?
Is this why you became a pirate?
To wage war against your Catholic enemies,
in the name of this God you don't quite believe in?
What about your twenty cannon?
What if it's us who dare stop you?
I can, very easily.
What then?
I'm told you've invited a barbarian to this castle.
How ugly.
With a dog's face.
We should exhibit him throughout the Empire.
"The Freak from the West."
I find it strange,
with your impeachment so near,
why you've taken an interest in this man.
Surely your final days could be better spent.
The Christians call him a heretic. Is it true?
Yes, Lord Ishido.
What an offense he must be to your faith.
The heretic is of no value to me.
If it pleases you, I'll have my son escort him to prison.
I only wish to keep the peace.
Were his eyes really blue?
Think of the color of a shifting storm.
And...
hair color like this daikon?
I'd say more like this gobo.
You laugh with our son like he's a lady of the court.
What's this about gobo?
Today, Lord Toranaga invited Mother to meet a barbarian.
Why were you summoned there?
Our lord wished for me to practice my Portuguese.
And why would he wish that?
Maybe you know...
why your mother should be anything outside this house?
Father.
Something to eat?
No. No time.
Lord Toranaga has called another meeting.
Not you.
Ah, Lady Mariko!
Younger and more beautiful than ever.
Lady Kiri, you are wise and warm and happy,
and you bask in Lord Toranaga's favor.
Just like Lady Shizu, ripe with his son.
Lady Mariko hasn't changed one bit since we met.
It was sixteen years ago,
at the last feast given by Lord Kuroda.
She was just married.
Even then I knew she was rare.
Don't bother my interpreter, Kiri.
Kiri no kata, please.
I'm an old woman
and I need lots of respect before I'm dead.
After all these years, she still picks on me.
And you were as unmanageable then as you are now.
Just like the size of your rump.
You!
In front of Lord Hiromatsu.
Now I'll have to shave my head and become a nun.
Excuse me, Lord.
So. Your judgment on today?
The Father is an honest man.
His translation never deceived us.
And the barbarian?
My instinct is to guard against him.
Did it offend you, what he said about your faith?
My faith would not be sincere if it could not be tested.
Lord, I'm not as clever as you,
I know that very well.
But what does any of this
have to do with your impeachment?
My grandchild was born in Edo this morning,
and Lady Ochiba requested to return to Osaka.
Obviously I've granted it.
To do otherwise would have been a hostile act.
So now we wait for the Council
to vote on all of our deaths.
Yes.
But my spies tell me
this barbarian troubles the Portuguese.
They will soon ask the Christian Regents, Kiyama and Ohno,
to protest his presence in Osaka.
And why should we care about the Christian Regents?
Because our lord can only be impeached
if the Council votes as one.
He uses the barbarian to sow division
between Ishido and the Christian lords.
You could use some of your daughter-in-law's intuition.
Lord, but are you certain...
Sankichi!
Let's go.
Hurry up.
Make room for our friend.
So the birth went well, the baby is healthy,
and the Heir's mother has been permitted to leave Edo.
It seems Toranaga will accept his fate.
Thanks to your leadership, Lord Ishido.
Thank me after we put an end to Toranaga's threat.
Let us vote.
Lord Ishido...
There's one item of business.
It concerns a heretic.
Brought here by Toranaga.
Yes, I saw him.
I protested, and Toranaga sent him to prison.
Unfortunately, his imprisonment is not sufficient.
There have been unsettling stories
about the massacre of Christians at this man's hand.
Appalling.
Is there proof?
The priests possess the heretic's private letters.
We must politely demand this man be executed.
Before we vote.
It's funny, what becomes clear as years go by.
This morning I woke up and saw us as Toranaga must see us.
Bureaucrats.
While we are stamping our documents,
Toranaga flaunts our rules and uses them against us.
The heretic offends our God.
I wonder if you'd be so devoted to this god,
were it not for the riches his priests heap upon you.
I won't delay this any further.
I demand a vote on Toranaga.
In the name of the Lord Jesus...
the heretic first must die.
Sōbei!
What joy it brings me to see you keeping up your prayers.
Ah, Father.
Are you visiting Lord Toranaga?
Dropping off papers.
How long since your family arrived?
We've been in Osaka for a week.
Please.
Lord, excuse me.
Lord Ishido is here.
Let him through.
Here is the proud samurai
I once pulled from under a mountain of Joseon corpses.
And here is the proud general who will never let me forget it.
Toranaga hasn't had the manners to host you at the castle?
Somehow the invitation was lost.
I never understood why you declared fealty to that Minowara.
He knows nothing of gratitude.
See those walls?
When the Taikō was building this castle,
all lords in the Realm gave their finest stones.
He chose mine as the corner piece.
And rewarded me with a seat on the Council.
It's a fine stone.
Tell me about this barbarian you brought to Osaka.
He's a pirate.
A man of little character.
Brash and simple.
What does Toranaga see in him?
Perhaps it's what he represents.
Twenty cannon, five hundred guns...
Japan has such things.
...and a hatred of the Portuguese.
He believes the Christian Regents will soon be our enemies.
Nonsense.
Our Council is united.
But go on.
I'm only thinking of the future.
What might happen when Toranaga is impeached and dead.
And you with him, as his ally.
Yes that's true.
But looking past myself...
You would have the most power.
Yet you would next have to contend with Kiyama and Ohno,
with their Christian support.
It's a war I would lose.
But if you had this barbarian,
and a vassal to control him,
things might be different.
It's only a shame I had to approve the barbarian's execution.
The Christian Regents demanded it.
There was nothing I could do.
Then perhaps there's something I could do.
Anjin!
You are now a prisoner of Lord Kiyama.
What are you doing on these grounds?
Step out of the way!
Bandits!
Well done.
Thank you.
Listen to him.
Speaking like a civilized man.
He's a smart dog.
Then, let me teach you this--
"I am a dog."
Say it.
"I am a dog."
I am a dog.
That's right. Good boy.
Now, on your knees. Dogs kneel down.
Yes, "I am a dog." That's right.
Thank you.
All he wants is a good master.
My greatest appreciation, Yabushige.
You've now brought me this barbarian twice.
I was only lucky...
On his way to his execution, he was ambushed by bandits.
I only happened to be passing by.
You do have a way
of being in the right place at the right time.
He's dirty.
May I tell him he needs a bath?
Of course, Lord.
But first let us welcome our translator.
Tell the Anjin,
I hope his time in prison wasn't too difficult.
He thanks you.
Our young lord wishes to know about his country.
Its rulers and customs.
He claims not to be our enemy,
and says his Queen extends friendship.
Give the Anjin a ladle.
Young Lord, forgive us for disrespecting your garden.
But I would now like for the Anjin
to draw a map of the world as he knows it.
He points out Japan, and England.
He came through this land mass.
Says it was a Portuguese and Spanish secret.
He claims there is a Portuguese base in Macao.
A secret base for gun running. It contains ronin.
The guns were used during the uprising...
I think against the Taikō. I'm not sure.
Tell the Anjin, later I will want detail to this map.
With all Portuguese bases marked.
He believes Portugal and Spain
have divided up this region.
He claims that Japan...
belongs to the Portuguese.
Did he really say "belongs"?
Yes, Lord.
Absurd--
Why not just split the heavens between ourselves and China?
Be silent.
What did he say?
He says the Portuguese...
want to replace all non-Christian rulers
with leaders of their own.
What do you seek in Japan?
To enlist you against his enemies.
I think you should abandon this war.
You are outnumbered.
There is no hope for you.
He says, "Unless I win."
Tell the Anjin he'll stay in the West Palace tonight.
It's dangerous out there, with bandits lurking.
For some reason, the Anjin doesn't wish to bathe.
The winds have not been favorable lately...
If the Black Ship isn't soon allowed to leave for Nagasaki,
she won't return in time for next year's shipment.
So, as you are President of Foreign Relations,
perhaps it's time you sent her off.
I keep thinking about the profits...
your country's and mine.
There's so much I don't know.
And so much the barbarian seems to know.
I'd like to hold off on the departure of the Black Ship for now.
The seas can be so dangerous.
Perhaps that's why
your Church is building secret bases in our region.
Perhaps we should learn more about these bases
before negotiating further arrangements.
What are you doing here so late?
Assassin!
Protect our lord!
What are you doing?
Where's Lord Toranaga?
Intruder!
There's an intruder in the castle!
He's in the guest quarters.
No, he's over here.
It's Kayo the maid.
She's looking for Lord Toranaga.
Lord! Are you hurt?
Ishido's gone mad.
- This is war! - No.
This wasn't Ishido.
I gave my quarters to the Anjin.
Concealed myself in his.
The assassin didn't come for me.
She came for him.