The first episode of Shōgun spends most of its time establishing the world of the Samurai in 1600, but what else did we learn about the plot and its characters?
It’s the year 1600. The former Japanese leader Taikō, known in history as the Great Unifier, has perished. Before passing away, Taikō tasks five of his daimyos (lord vassals) to protect his heir and keep the peace.
Meanwhile, a Dutch trading ship called Erasmus is heading towards the coast of Japan. Among the ship’s crew is an English pilot named John Blackthorne, who is on a mission to fight off the Jesuit influence in Japan (under the whim of the Portuguese) and introduce this new world to Queen Elizabeth’s Protestants.
This is the basic premise of Shōgun, but in case you had trouble keeping up with the story and all the elements it introduced in the pilot episode, here’s a summary of everything that happened in “Anjin.”
The first episode basically centers around two points of view. One is that of Lord Toranaga, who is summoned to Castle Osaka by the other four daimyos and accused of kidnapping the heir’s mother. Toranaga explains that the mother’s sister, his daughter-in-law, is in labor and that’s why she is at his castle, but the four lords give Toranaga a seven-day ultimatum to return her to Osaka. This coalition against Toranaga is led by Lord Ishido Kazunari, whom Toranaga suspects wishes to usurp power and kill the heir.
On the other side of the shore, Erasmus finally makes it to the land with barely a dozen of its crew left alive, including John Blackthorne. Blackthorne convinces the survivors to continue their mission, but when he’s taken to the local lord Kashigi Yabushige, a Jesuit priest accuses him of being a pirate. Yabushige isn’t convinced and orders Blackthorne to be bathed.
At Castle Osaka, Toranaga decides to stay even at the risk of death, and sends his general Toda “Iron Fist” Hiromatsu back to the village to check out the ship. Hiromatsu confiscates the weapons and the cannons from Yabushige (who plans to betray Toranaga), and they embark on a journey back to Osaka, with Blackthorne onboard as their prisoner. The story also introduces us to another navigator, a Spaniard called Rodriguez, who works with the Portuguese. When Rodriguez is thrown overboard during a storm, Blackthorne convinces the others to rescue him. Rodriguez reveals that he knows Blackthorne’s plans about destroying the Catholic influence, but wishes him luck in this new, treacherous land.
The episode ends with Blackthorne finally meeting and bowing before Toranaga, who has brought one of his subjects, Toda Mariko (another Catholic convert) to translate for them.