Fuji's actor is phenomenal she doesn't have that much dialogue but her facial expressions tell so much

Fuji-sama simps: ASSEMBLE! 🥰🥰🥰 Her sipping her tea, trying to act Oblivious to what Gin, Kiku’s *Ehem* handler, was trying to insinuate between Mariko and Anjin is A HUGE HIGHLIGHT of this episode.

Mariko didn't know that her dad actually thought so much of her that he plotted to keep her alive cause he knows when the time comes she'd step up and fight for his legacy. Her dad didn't think of her as a weakling needing protecting as Mariko thought, it's actually her strength that led him to marry her off.

Kiku's comment to her apprentice about empty space and noticing the pot was no longer where it had been was the set up to why she moved behind Mariko. It meant that she wasn't the 3rd point of a triangle but an empty space that provided a voice to what Mariko wanted to say. She was giving Mariko cover and then acted as her sex surrogate.

Nah... Buntaro's motivation is a lot simpler than that... He actually loves Mariko - they hint at it by the way he looked at her while she was fighting. He wished she loved him too, but she doesn't. He prohibited her from killing herself hoping that she would some day finaly give in, and uses her infamy as an excuse to mistreat her and save face from her rejection. But he still hopes, which is why he won't divorce her, and why he seems to hate John so much. P.S.: And yeah, Kiku's play is not for money per se, but for power. We've learned Yabushige would not be interested in her in the first episode, so Omi is both the next most powerful man whithin reach and the easiest to manipulate, and is in a good position to inherit (or take) Yabushige's fief. That's why she's courting him and whispering in his ears. P.S.2: Mariko's intent to kill herself only changed once she heard what Toranaga said about her father's plans. She wasn't looking for revenge, only to end her infamy. Now we don't know what's in her mind, but I suspect we'll soon find out.

Clarus was correct (again) To Mariko, "righting the injustice" was her survivors guilt talking. She feels that she should be allowed to die as the rest of her family did.

No, Mariko wants to end her life. That is the great injustice she is talking about.

In the 1600s, Japanese samurai learned traditional arts such as Noh theater for several reasons: Importance as Etiquette: Arts like Noh and tea ceremony were valued as means to refine manners and comportment. Samurai needed refined cultural skills to maintain social status and honor. Cultural Enjoyment: Samurai valued cultural pursuits alongside military achievements. Noh and Kabuki served as social venues and platforms for interaction among samurai. Strategic Training: Performing in Noh required specific movements and expressions, enhancing samurai's mental and physical discipline, improving focus and agility for combat. Cultural Symbolism of Authority: Supporting traditional arts like Noh was a way for samurai to demonstrate their authority and prestige as rulers. Patronizing the arts showcased their power and influence. From these perspectives, Japanese samurai of the 1600s saw the study of Noh and similar arts as essential for various aspects of their lives.

I'm with Clarus on this, I think Kiku wants to be in Omi's ear and Omi's enjoying himself a little too much because of it. Of course, if Omi gets a promotion, that's great for Kiku, but she's also playing that game of life as much as anyone lol

Mariko wanted to commit seppuku but her husband wouldn't let her, which may have changed now that she has received more info from Toranaga. She was not planning to finish any fight until Toranaga talked to her in this episode.

I think I've seen that it was normal for Samurai to practice the arts, not just martial arts, and that it was normal for a lord to play a part in a play. So the Lord they picked for the council was a Lord first and an actor second.

Not sure if people have said this already, but lady ochiba (the character and the real life person she is inspired by) were direct inspirations for Cersei. George RR Martin has said as much

Kiku is 100% taking advantage of Yabushige's nephew. I think she sees him as a way for her to have power knowing she can influence him and basically if his rank gets higher so is hers.

There seem to be an awful lot of "Bandits" around that city.

What I learned back in the 90’s was One koku is paper money equivalent to enough rice to feed a person for a year

Fujis face during the negotiations One of the best shots ever

"I would learn the language." Actually, in the book, literally everything revolves around that. It's been thus far completely omitted from this series, but Mariko's task throughout the book was to teach Blackthorn Japanese, and to serve as translator when necessary. In the book, the village of Anjiro, where Blackthorn initially made landfall in Japan, was told they would all be executed if Blackthorn didn't learn Japanese to an adequate level within 6 months.

Monme is to silk, what koku is to rice, basically. Rice was used for most things, but monme would be especially valuable for someone like Kiku, who the leader of the house said had lost 5 Furisode (expensive kimono, could value into the thousands) in the earthquake/fires/floods. 60 monme was equal to about 3.75 grams of silver; so in conversion, they spent approx 1000 dollars for the night.

Oh lookie, she's wearing a "My eyes are up here." shirt.

Mariko’s wish is to be allowed to commit seppuku, but her husband has ordered her to live. She is not plotting any revenge. And he is hopelessly in love with her, she is his greatest weakness: He is miserable because she has never warmed up to him, yet he is unable to give her up - it’s like an obsession. And now he is consumed by jealousy because of Blackthorne. It is a toxic stew Toranaga is reluctantly overseeing.

Nephew Omi has fallen in love with Kiku, the uber-cortesan. Kiku has some feelings for Omi but also knows if she can get Omi to buy her contract, she immediately becomes a consort to a samurai lord and potential daimyo. She's 80% money/status 20% caring for Omi.

Toranaga putting all together, and her face when he says "You will go with him" The scene in the Tea house is just so perfect. One of the most erotic things I have seen with everyone dressed. This show should get all the rewards, like even ones the do not technically qualify for.

Koku was like a tax, usually paid in goods, rice etc, around 180 litres. Monme was the currency at the time.

friendly advice 😊 I know it is harder to edit, but for foreign language reaction, it is great to have the subs band full screen 😉 Much love, your reactions are amongst my favorite !

I'm having a hard time reading the subtitles in this episode for some reason 🤔

Koku are actually a quantity of rice which was used as currency at the time, 1 koku is supposed to be a year supply of rice for 1 person (about 180 liters), so if his fief gets 600 koku of rice that’s about how many serfs he is likely to have.

The brothel scene is honestly so underrated. It's easily one of the best scenes in the entire show. Mariko being self-conscious when Kiku showed up; Kiku actually servicing Mariko knowing what she wants; Mariko wanting to give in but reigns it back when she remembers her duty (i actually thought they were gonna show some flashback of her and john doing it because she seemed so hot and bothered already); Mariko intentionally mistranslating John (out of jealousy 👀). The cinematography with Kiku blending in the background as Mariko comes to the foreground with her translation also changing from 3rd POV fo 1st... and she rarely uses "I". Damn. I know John was hard. 😩 Gotta give props to the writers and director for making this brothel scene so tasteful when they had every opportunity to show nudity but opted out for gratuitous scenes. Instead, we get these intense yet character driven moments for both Kiku and Mariko... Also, Lady Ochiba 😩.

Is it just me, or am I the only one who recognized the nun sitting next to Ochiba was also the Taiko's wife Daiyoin? She seems like the most influential character that nobody notices. She pushed Ochiba to be the courtesan to give an heir. When Toranaga was stuck in Osaka, she was influencing him to step up as regent to help protect the heir. She was also influencing Ochiba during the play that she should side with Toranaga. She also seems to watch over the heir as well.

As a backstory, we can be pretty sure the young Taikō heir is not the son of the previous one and that Toranaga-sama knows this to be true. Oh, and Lady Ochiba knows he knows.

IMO, Toranaga's statement that he doesn't want to be a Shogun is related to the 3 hearts saying. the first heart is in his mount: Toranaga adamantly saying that he desires no power and doesn't want to be a Shogun. His second heart is only revealed to his friends: He secretly have a crimson sky plan to rebel 'just in case' but he still only do it to protect the heir and not because he want power. His third heart is kept secret from the world: Toranaga is actually want the power of Shogun. And Lady Ochiba notices Toranaga's real intention, along with fact that he is from Minowara bloodline, make Toranaga a threat to her and her son, who is the heir of the late Taiko. Also, Toranaga's real life inspiration is Tokugawa Ieyasu, it is very likely that Toranaga is very ambitious and truly desire power.

Nerdy Nightly, The reason Shogun works so well is because the late James Clavell's book Shogun and the charactors are just so rich and fully developed. I hope someone has the nerve to make one of his other books, Tai-Pan, next please. Cheers, Chris Perry

Clarus just hitting out the park with intuitive interpretation and Nerdy firmly getting it wrong all episode haha, love to see it. (Imo anyway, thats the fun thing about interpreting ambiguity!) Esp with Kiku. Also fully agree about too much structural freedom is terrible for creativity - I think content wise a lot of streamers, esp disney, are very restricted.

Clarus is spot on in her analysis of what lessons D+ and other services should learn. Also, Lady Ochiba scares me too.

This is made by FX and Hulu, which is owned by Disney +. So it’s more than just another streaming show. It was also given a massive budge and they used that to hire some of the best in the business.

Just started watching the reaction, and in the book Blackthorne starts learning the language as soon as he steps in japan, when he leaves that prision where he met the spanish priest, he already could talk small sentences and communicate basic ideas

A koku was a standard volume of rice said to feed one person for one year. Traditionally one koku of rice equaled one ryo of money (a gold coin). A ryo also equaled 60 monme. So monme to ryo conversion would be she paid 50 ryo. Or rice for 50 people for 1 year. I don't think this is a great direct comparison, but If we take current prices for gold and silver then we can say that Mariko negotiating a price for Kiku's services of 300 Monme equals about $900 in today. And Blackthorne's salary was roughly $509,000. IF we are going on gold value. I'm Not sure the gold conversion is the best way to determine today's value. I'd say the amount of rice to feed someone a year, or a koku would be a better standard, as it was more important to them then. 150 kilograms of rice was what 1 Koku was worth. Rice today is about $1.91 U.S. per kilogram. So 1 koku is worth $287.25 U.S. She was paid 50 Koku. Or $14,362.5 today in rice value. Blackthorns pay was 114,350 in rice value today.

I just want to mention that there is one book. This season is the only season. Final episode is like...THE END. I love the show so much, but im starting to worry how we will fit in a proper ending in just 2 episodes. (Edit: 4 episodes left. 10 total. Thank you Chat)

I REALLY enjoyed your reaction and discussion-more insightful and sharp than any other I’ve seen. I read the book Shogun for the first time 30 years ago in college and then re-read it two more times. So the characters and story are very special to me…and you both just GET it. Please keep the reactions coming!

Brief explanation Oiran was a special category of courtesans until the early Edo period. The Oiran experience costs 3 million to 5 million yen per night, and you must attend at least 3 times. we can't spend the night together If the prostitute likes you the third time, you can spend the night with her. Also, playing with other prostitutes is prohibited. It is said that even feudal lords sometimes refused courtesans.

Succession, House of the Dragon, Andor, Gen V, Blue Eye Samurai, Shogun, & etc. are written and produced like TV is supposed to be. They're television, not 8 hour movies. I personally think Disney+ is behind every other streaming service right now. Every other streaming service has at least 2-3 great shows and mega hits because they know how to make television. Disney+ weirdly doesn't.

Toronaga is mad clever. With just one simple stroke he hit three targets. Anjin and Mariko as well as Oni, plus he removed any chance of romance and turbulence that may follow because of it. He's also very ruthless.

The tragic thing about Ochiba and Mariko, is that Mariko’s father killed Ochiba’s father. That is why Mariko wants to commit seppuku, because of the shame her father did in murdering the Taiko (not quite a Shōgun because Ochiba’s father was born a peasant). Mariko doesn’t want revenge, she wants to end the shame of what her father did. She is Samurai, the same as Usami Fuji, and when Fuji’s husband committed seppuku, she was forbidden to join him and become Anjin-sans consort. That is why Mariko wants to die, and has asked Buntaro to allow her to enter the void.

We appreciate how well you articulate your insights. Keep up the good work.

Drama name = historical name Yoshii Toranaga = Tokugawa Ieyasu Buntaro Toda Hirokatsu = Tadaoki Hosokawa Mariko Toda = Tama Hosokawa (Garasha) 1543-1616 /75 years old Yoshii Toranaga = Tokugawa Ieyasu 1563-1646/ 83 years old Buntaro Toda Hirokatsu = Tadaoki Hosokawa He is a handsome man who has trained in martial arts and culture to become the strongest samurai. He got his first job at age 15, and it was a great job. He receives a letter of appreciation handwritten by Nobunaga and becomes Nobunaga's favorite. Tadaoki has the shortest temper in the world Kill all those who surrendered. When training his subordinates, if they make two mistakes, the third one will result in the death penalty.

I hope that you both take time to read the novel. As wonderful as the scene with Mariko, Kiku, and Blackthorne was, the book was even better because it delves into Kiku's rection and understanding of Blackthorne, which is amazing. As you may have guessed she is a very perceptive courtesan.

"The Japanese had various units to measure monetary worth. A koku was a standard volume of rice said to feed one person for one year. Traditionally one koku of rice equaled one ryo of money, which was represented by a gold coin called a koban (Actual prices varied considerably though, depending on annual harvests). A koban had a fixed weight of 18.2 grams, or 0.64 ounces of gold. A ryo equaled 4 bu (rectangular silver coin) or 16 shu or 4,000 mon or zeni (round copper coin with a small square hole). A ryo also equaled 60 monme (silver coin weighing 3.75 grams, or 0.13 ounces). A monme traditionally also equaled a certain weight of silk." So a monme would be roughly equal in value to the rice necessary to feed one person for a bit less than a week (6 days, roughly).

That whole conversation about having a vision and sticking with it - that's why I was incredibly disappointed with Netflix cancelling 1899. Dark was masterful, made by people with a singular vision and wholly intentional. As a mystery show, it only started to properly pick up the views in Season 2 despite being critically acclaimed and highly regarded by those who watched it in Season 1. Many people regard it as the best Netflix original TV show made so far (I'd agree). Now, maybe 1899 wasn't as good (I havent watched it cause I couldn't before it was cancelled) but we'll never know cause it's a mystery show that was planned for 3 seasons and scrapped after 1. What I do know is that it was made by the same people who made Dark and who have a track record of having a strong, uncompromising vision. Interestingly, and somewhat related to this show, it was a multilingual show. Maybe it suffered because of these moves towards contentification and was not allowed to fully explore the vision. Which is a shame.

I think a lot of shows today are afraid the audience won't understand the seriousness of a situation and turn to exposition to tell the audience exactly what is happening and why they need to pay attention. In reality, if you film the scenes right, let the actors act and show subtle clues then the show becomes more interesting and intriguing.

At this point, the whole village knows how long his slong is. (Women talk, the minxes).

She was crying because her childhood best friend that slept comfortably with her was leaving...its that simple Did you just not get that it was the same character?

Actors can be great politicians. They are good at following the script.

Okay, so I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but in regards to your speech around tje 28:00 mark Nerdy and in relation to missing those shows that had a clear vision from start to finish and felt "made" for TV... again, I really really wish you'd give Black Sails a go, it hits exactly those feelings despite a slightly-under first season.

A monme was about 3.75 ounces of silver. 300 is 1125 ounces or about $28,000 by today's prices. Edits sorry got grams and ounces confused it's around $1000

Kiku reminds me of this amazingly beautiful hostess in Tokyo who had a degree in psychology and had an MBA in order to keep up conversation with her high-end clientele. Beauty + brains is a powerful (and intoxicating) combination!

That tea house scene was EPIC. Everything was subtext. it starts with Mariko did warn Blackthorne not to make a scene. 1. First she said that “this is a private place where it can be dark if you wish it”. As if to say “I know whats going on". 2. Then Kiku mentions to his apparent ice how you notice something when its gone. Translation “this must end” 3. Then, after observing his guests says “a woman cannot look away when someone else suffers”, which subtly hints at her deducing what's going on between Mariko-sama and Blackthorne. But also hunting they can have a moment one last time. 4.Then comes the part where Kiku sits behind Mariko while she behind to explain the willow world. Where she is saying the words but Anjin can only see Mariko. Mariko, on her part, started bu translating for Kiku dono, saying “she says” etc; but gets all caught up and started translating as if she herself was saying it. And you can see she was getting into it to, so much that she had to catch herself and refrain from translating the last line... because if she did, her and Anjin were just about ready to pounce on each other 5. And to cap it all off, Kiku-dono asks Mariko were to join them; and we know she knows how to give a live performance from episode 1. It was all well staged. So well staged that, thankfully, they did not add the actual pillowing scene which would have cheapened the whole thing. Then the walk the morning after was a highly ritualized public display that was meant to dispell any rumors, so whether or not something actually happened in the previous evening doesn't matter anymore. Toranaga got what he wanted out of that one. And since there's a lady with you, I'm sure she knows how much s3xually charged that situation was, in an er0tic novel kind of way....

It's funny that Buntaro has been carrying out the wishes of Mariko's dad by refusing to let her commit sudoku and she just HATES him for it. This episode even shows she hated him from the start for coming from a less prestigious clan. Dig a little deeper and I'm starting to realize the marriage problems started with Mariko herself.

1578 Through Nobunaga's mediation, he married Mitsuhide's third daughter, Tama (Garasha). She had one child the following year, and one the year after that. The Strongest Scary Housewife in the Sengoku Period Gracia Hosokawa is both talented and beautiful. When there was hair in Garasha's food Garasha ate without saying anything. Enraged, Tadaoki cut the chef's head and placed it on his lap. Garasha ate without saying anything. Garasha was so beautiful The gardener was fascinated by its beauty he cut off the gardener's head Tadaoki wiped the blood on his sword with his kimono. Garasha continued to complain without changing her kimono for three days. Tadaoki apologized

Drama name = historical name Yoshii Toranaga = Tokugawa Ieyasu Buntaro Toda Hirokatsu = Tadaoki Hosokawa Mariko Toda = Tama Hosokawa (Garasha) 1543-1616 /75 years old Yoshii Toranaga = Tokugawa Ieyasu 1563-1646/ 83 years old Buntaro Toda Hirokatsu = Tadaoki Hosokawa A handsome man who has trained in martial arts and culture with the aim of becoming the strongest samurai. He got his first job at the age of 15, and it was a great job. He received a handwritten letter of appreciation from Nobunaga and became Nobunaga's favorite. Tadaoki has the shortest temper in the world He will kill everyone even if they surrender. (At this time, his superior is warned not to kill anyone who has surrendered.) When training his men, the second time was fine, but the third time was a death sentence.

15:58 It's an old unit, so even Japanese people today don't know how much it's worth. If you convert it to the price of rice, I think 300 monme would be around 24,000 yen. It seems like she doesn't want to pay a lot of money.

Concerning Anjin learning the language. Lord Yabu had told the village that everyone needs to help Anjin learn the language. If Anjin hadn't learned the language well enough in 6 months, the entire village would be put to death. That was not depicated in this show.

Your reactions are great

Kuko is the amount of rice it takes to feed a person or family for one year in rice. Monme is silver Ryo is gold

tf is she wearing

My new campaign, Rodriguez for translator

IMO Mariko is asking for permission to kill herself/commit seppuku.

The "actor" was a lord of some sort first and an actor second.

Hes(nephew) the lord of this area/village its just that bigger fishes are staying here now so he's seems not so important

Thank you for continue reacting to this great TV show!

Thanks for the beautiful view :)

This is not a Disney production, this is a FX production. Disney owns FX, but doesn't run their production like they do Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. Disney+ is Disney's only service that has a global market, so that's why this show is being carried on it. FX has been making serious shows for awhile. Snowfall was the last one I got hooked on. American Horror Stories, Justified, The Strain, The Americans, Sons of Anarchy, Mayans, and Fargo are just some of the shows they have made/making.

Is crimson the same as blood red in English? Because in German the Japanese words are translated to "blood red sky".

Anna Sawai really redeemed herself with her portrayal of Mariko. I saw her in "Monarch" on Apple TV and I did not like her Charakter at all. Seeing her in "Shogun" shows that she is a formidable actress who was working with weak material in "Monarch", one of the more or less uninspired wishy-washy shows shows you were talking about.

1 koku (180 liters of rice) = 4000 mon

The conversation thay was had about how Shogun shining a light on other comparable media having lower quality was so topical for me. I let myself be dragged to kong x godzilla, which felt so mediocre in large part because Minus One had just recently reminded me how good Godzilla can be.

All I see is Power Girl

👀

I am also a reactor with this video

Ummmmmmmmm… 👀👀👀👀😅😅😅

kiku and omi are in fact in a romantic relationship

she's using him - info rich 😋

Clarus ❤

Just imagine… 1 monme = 3.75g of silver. So, do the maths!. 🙌🏾😉

300 mon is rougly around like 5000 dollars give or take now

Why do you laugh at everything?

Really nice tataaaassss

It surprises me the amount of people who don’t get Ito is a lord and think an actor could be make a Regent. Not a criticism by the way just an observation as I’ve seen a number of people make the same mistake.

right one is bigger

what a outfit ❤😂

Toranaga has made his first move..This will be bad

😎👍❕️ #ItIsWhatItIs #KatansdAndKimonosRock

I've seen the reckoning placed as 300 monme = US$900 in 2024 currency. But given that most people received a very low stipend in addition to housing and food through their lord (feudalism!) it's not a direct equivalent. Kiku is pure luxury goods. Her services are an extravagance to begin with, and only the rather wealthy would even consider spending ANY money for her services in the first place.

Damn look at them milk puppies

Is there a reason why she's always dressed like she's at the Adult Video Awards, and he's always dressed like he's buying a sandwich at a gas station in New Jersey?

I liked for the outfit 😂

Love Clarus' outfit. And is that a Warhammer 40k ball cap you're wearing?

I think Nerdy was right that Toranaga in a way was trying to punish Omi. Before the earthquake, blowing Josen up might be a good idea. After that, it looked like a bad idea. Without going back on his words, it became an underhanded way to penalize Omi for whispering at Toranaga's son's ears by giving his canon regiment and woman away to Blackthorne. Of course, Toranaga's decisions are always complicated and many-folded: it's also to award Blackthorne and to test the resolves of Mariko.

I'll just up and say it: Young Mariko was a delusional Disney Princess who wishes to be married into a family of a much higher station than what she got. She held contempt for Hidekatsu Toda-sama even then, and i didn't know this until this episode, she views him as beneath her station, or beneath her in ranking, as evidenced by her comment in the flashback about how her father is discarding him; also telling Ruri-hime (Ochiba sama) what a joke and worth less alliance it was to marry her off to the Toda family;and also by his comment to Toranaga about how his father should have married her better. This puts Hidekatsu Toda-sama in a more sympathetic light, though of course, we still disapprove of the Domestic violence. Put yourself in the man's shoes. Mariko looked down on her and that marriage even before they were married; Hated him for sparing her life, which, it turns out, is apparently her father's plan for marrying her off to him in the first place; and have been ice cold towards here for the length of their marriage, he probably only ever got the occasional pillowing because of obligation. That would drive any man bitter and resentful. which brings into question whether or not the physical abuse is a more recent occurrence or not (still not a good look and not something to be condoned either way); and if he had always acted harshly towards her in turn from the start or not, or if that was his defence mechanism towards mariko's cold treatment towards her. And so, when Toranaga revealed truth bombs to her, clearing up her misunderstanding, i was literally shouting at the screan “YES! THANK YOU!” So much so that the next door neighbour knocked on my door to check if i was OK. Lol Afterthought: though her words were subtitled “i have failed my father”, it could have also been translated as “I have betrayed my father’s trust” as in she betrayed him for wishing for death instead of noticing the great plans and hopes she placed on her when he married her off to a lesser house.

3 body problem react when :P ?

Clarus is so fkn hot I can barely pay attention to the episode 😂

🥵😍