And will it give him the element of surprise he desperately needs?
The latest episode of Shōgun, “The Abyss of Life,” changes everything for the final two episodes of the series in the next weeks. While Lord Yoshii Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) enemies are forming new alliances and mobilizing in Osaka, his own allies in Edo are confused about his intentions. He claims time and again that he is going to surrender to Lord Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira) and the Council of Regents, but no one is really sure about that. However, at a meeting that is supposed to formalize his surrender, one of his closest allies, Toda Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka), commits seppuku in protest of Toranaga’s surrender. This affects everyone in Toranaga’s camp and is bound to shake things up for him.
Hiromatsu Was Toranaga’s Most Trusted Ally in ‘Shōgun’
In Episode 7, “A Stick of Time,” Toranaga sees himself betrayed by his half-brother, Saeki Nobutatsu (Eita Okuno), a severe blow to Toranaga’s confidence and efforts since a good part of his army was lost in the earthquake at the end of Episode 5, “Broken to the Fist.” Saeki demands Toranaga to surrender to the Council of Regents in Osaka, where he will likely be executed. Instead of challenging this fate, Toranaga accepts it, to the dismay of all his allies. As if that weren’t enough, his son, Yoshii Nagakado (Yuki Kura), dies at the end of Episode 7, too, while attempting to kill Saeki himself.
All of this reflects on Toranaga’s state in Episode 8: in bad health and depressed. Despite his surrender, the Council and Saeki allow Toranaga the customary 49 days to mourn Nagakado and bury his son in Edo. However, he is in such a bad state that he doesn’t even attend Nagakado’s funeral and doesn’t leave his quarters, not even to meet his newborn granddaughter. But being in Edo allows his allies to regroup and think about strategies to fight back against the Council and attack Osaka — or, at least, that’s what everyone thinks. Toranaga calls a meeting with Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), Jesuit priest Martin Alvito (Tommy Bastow), and Hiromatsu to settle the remaining issues and to show his new distrust of the Jesuits. In the end, he sends Father Martin to Osaka to report on Toranaga’s state, and Hiromatsu sees that as an attempt to mislead the Council to launch an attack.
Hiromatsu reports this to Kashigi Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), and Toda “Buntaro” Hirokatsu (Shinnosuke Abe), but their expectations are quickly subverted shortly after. Toranaga calls a meeting of all his allies and vassals, which makes everyone think he will finally announce a plan of attack. Instead, he formalizes his surrender and demands all his allies sign a document formalizing their respective surrender, too, to prevent further bloodshed in case he is indeed executed. This is the last straw for everyone, and Hiromatsu confronts him in front of everyone, declaring he will commit seppuku as a protest against Toranaga’s decision. Their exchange is harsh, and Hiromatsu carries on with his promise, ordering his son, Buntaro, to continue living and serving Toranaga. It’s a shocking and very emotional scene that will have dire consequences for Toranaga’s efforts in the next episodes.
Hiromatsu’s Death Becomes a Part of Toranaga’s Greater Plan
Ever since he first declared his surrender to the Council of Regents in Episode 7, no one really believed Toranaga would simply give up and surrender after a whole season and years of fighting. Hiromatsu most of all. In Episode 7, a flashback shows a young Toranaga (Kai Coulter) fighting and winning his first battle ever at just 16 — and a young Hiromatsu (Kristopher Hori) was already by his side. The two of them shared a lifetime of fighting and were more than just allies, but also close friends. For Hiromatsu, seeing his friend surrender was unacceptable.
Hiromatsu marks the second time an ally of Toranaga commits seppuku — In Episode 1, “Anjin,” Usami Tadayoshi (Yuki Takao) sacrifices himself and his infant son to repent for a transgression — but it’s just as shocking. Many reasons led people to do this in feudal Japan, from repenting about a mistake to protesting something. Hiromatsu’s case is the second, and, although it may seem like too trivial a reason for Western audiences, it was a serious issue according to that time and place’s worldview. Hiromatsu and Toranaga were friends for decades, and his decision to end his life wasn’t made out of sadness for his friend or refusing to surrender, but rather to make Toranaga see how mistaken he was.
Toranaga knew that Hiromatsu wasn’t bluffing or being dramatic when promising to commit seppuku, of course. This isn’t the sort of thing that one used to promise without taking it seriously — it’s literally your life. However, Hiromatsu’s sacrifice may have been part of Toranaga’s plan all along. Toranaga is confronted many times about his decision to surrender, starting with John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) in Episode 7, and now with Hiromatsu. He even made it official and forced all his allies and vassals to commit to it, too. At the end of Episode 8, however, Toranaga finally visits the remains of his son’s funeral pyre, thanking Nagakado and Hiromatsu for the time they bought him and promising to not let it go to waste. This may have been just a statement of realization, Toranaga coming to his senses about what was happening, but it’s not likely.
Toranaga is known for being the embodiment of the show’s saying about the Three Hearts of a Man, which Vasco Rodrigues (Nestor Carbonell) recites in Episode 1: “One in his mouth, for the world to know. Another in his chest, just for his friends. And a secret heart, buried deep where no one can find it. That is a heart a man must keep if he wants to survive.” Toranaga usually plays things really close to the vest, and his surrender may be the ultimate deception in this sense. He even makes his allies surrender and sacrifices his closest friend and ally to make it look like he is really defeated, only to make his enemies comfortable and more prone to being attacked. Episode 9 is titled “Crimson Sky,” which is the name of the attacking strategy Toranaga and his army considered to attack Osaka a few episodes back.
Sacrificing Hiromatsu May Work, but It Will Surely Be at a Steep Cost
For Toranaga, it wasn’t enough to declare surrender, he had to appear defeated, too. That’s why he had to force his allies to surrender, too, convincing everyone that he was defeated. There’s no way of knowing what goes on in the third heart of a man, and Toranaga may not have predicted that the consequences of this act would include losing Hiromatsu, one of his most powerful and trusted allies, but it happened. Regardless, from a strategic standpoint, it works just as if Toranaga had purposely sacrificed Hiromatsu. And there will be consequences.
First, Toranaga loses his closest ally and friend, something that goes way beyond military affairs — it’s a personal blow. He won’t have anyone to laugh about war stories anymore, for example. A best friend of decades who always stood by him. A powerful and righteous ally, but a piece that must be sacrificed to play the long game. Hiromatsu was also one of the most balanced and sensible of his allies, usually offering military and strategic advice with experience that no one else had in Toranaga’s camp. John Blackthorne may know naval warfare, and Yabushige may understand about intelligence, but none of them had Hiromatsu’s knowledge.
The next best person to advise Toranaga on military affairs is Hiromatsu’s son, Buntaro, who was determined to follow his father to death — especially after being rejected by his wife earlier in the episode — and was distraught when ordered to keep living. Buntaro may command powerful military forces now, but he is not nearly as wise as his father, not nearly as stable and level-headed a person as his father. From a political perspective, Hiromatsu’s sacrifice is extremely important for Toranaga against his enemies, for it provides him with the surprise element he needs. Militarily, it remains to be seen.
Shōgun is streaming on Hulu in the U.S. New episodes are released weekly on Tuesdays.
