‘Shōgun’ Ending Explained — Does Toranaga Claim Victory?

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the Shōgun finale.

Shōgun‘s ride has been brief, but also beautiful, and, now, it’s done. Episode 10, “A Dream of a Dream,” closes out the FX miniseries in a rather surprising way, skipping a big battle altogether and going straight to Lord Yoshii Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) endgame: becoming shōgun. Even if most viewers were expecting a big climactic battle, Shōgun ties everything up so neatly that people will hardly be disappointed. The finale begins where the previous episode, “Crimson Sky,” left off, and twists expectations on many other fronts — not just the military one.

Shogun (2024)

When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.

Release Date

February 27, 2024

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Mariko’s Death Turns Everyone Against Ishido in the ‘Shōgun’ Finale

At the end of Episode 9, Mariko (Anna Sawai) dies holding off an attack from a group of shinobi that have been let in by Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) on Ishido’s (Takehiro Hira) orders. Her death shocks everyone: Yabushige swears the shinobi were never meant to kill her, only to capture her, and Toranaga’s consorts, who were also being kept hostage in Osaka, revolt against Ishido and are finally allowed to leave. Even though Ishido wants to strike against Toranaga as soon as possible, the Council of Regents demands that Mariko be properly buried and honored, and so does Ochiba no Kata (Fumi Nikaido).

As Toranaga explains to Yabushige later on, the Crimson Sky strategy was about Mariko all along, and it plays out perfectly. By faking his surrender and sending Mariko ahead to Osaka, Toranaga expected to destabilize Ishido’s alliance with the other Regents as well as with Ochiba. With two Christian lords on the Council, Mariko is sure to have some leverage over them given that she was herself Catholic. With Ochiba, however, the matter goes deeper. Mariko’s presence and the challenge she presents via her poem make Ochiba reevaluate her position, especially after Ishido’s conspiracy to kidnap Mariko ultimately results in her death. They may have grown apart over the years, but Ochiba still holds a respect for Mariko, which is why she completes the poem they started in Episode 9 and, in a secret letter to Toranaga, promises that she will withhold the Heir’s army from the battlefield when the time comes. With this, Crimson Sky is successful without there ever having to be a battle.

Toranaga didn’t necessarily expect that Mariko would die in Osaka, but that was probably the translator’s own plan all along, given how she expressed her intentions throughout the whole season. She and Toranaga even strike a deal with the Church to protect Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and have him sent back to Ajiro with the rest of Toranaga’s entourage, as Father Martin (Tommy Bastow) explains in the woods. The Church itself, despite having its own interests, couldn’t interfere or take sides, but as a Protestant, Blackthorne posed a threat to the Catholics. It turns out that the Anjin may still have a role to play in Japan, after all.

Blackthorne Chooses His Own Path in the ‘Shōgun’ Finale

Blackthorne has his own arc in the Shōgun finale. The episode begins with what at first seems like a flashforward of his old and frail self dying on a bed in England and holding on to Mariko’s cross, as his grandchildren look at his katana and ask him if it’s true he fought “savages.” This happens throughout the episode, but it’s not a flashforward. Instead, it’s a vision of the future Blackthorne imagines for himself, and his actions during the episode make it gradually fade away as he realizes that’s not the future he wants.

Once back in Ajiro, Blackthorne sees that his ship, the Erasmus, has been burnt and left to sink in the harbor, and that Toranaga is now pillaging the village in search of the Christian saboteurs that destroyed it. However, Blackthorne realizes that this is a part of Mariko’s deal with the Church for his survival, and begs Toranaga to stop the pillaging, willing to trade his own life for the village’s. At this moment, he breaks completely from the vision he has of his future life, and just as he’s about to commit seppuku in protest about how the village is being punished, he is stopped by Toranaga. Later on, in conversation with Yabushige, Toranaga reveals he is the one who had Blackthorne’s ship burnt — not only to prevent the pilot from leaving, but also as a test, to see what he would do afterward. Now certain of what Blackthorne wants from life, Toranaga then orders Blackthorne to rebuild the Erasmus and also construct a new fleet of ships.

The other loose end Blackthorne needs to tie up is his former consort, Usami Fuji (Moeka Hoshi). While she had been made his consort by Toranaga after losing her husband and infant son at the beginning of the series, now, her service is done. Blackthorne tries to convince her to stay, but she is adamant about leaving to take her vows at a convent, to which he warmly answers that she will be the “best nun.” As a parting gift, Blackthorne rows her out onto the water to spread the ashes of her husband and son. According to him, this way they will be “together forever” with the sea. In turn, Fuji then helps him part with Mariko’s cross the same way, stating that his arms will be the last thing to hold her, completing his embrace of a new life. Later, Blackthorne leads the efforts to haul his ship back to shore and start building a fleet, even getting help from Mariko’s husband, Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe). As everyone takes a breath from dragging the Erasmus ashore, Blackthorne smiles when he locks eyes with Toranaga from a distance. Even though there may be a battle ahead, the war is already won.

Toranaga Wins the War Without Even Fighting a Battle in the ‘Shōgun’ Finale

One of Yabushige’s greatest regrets is never understanding what Lord Toranaga’s plan really is. This leads him to betray his lord and act as a double agent for Ishido, and, now, Toranaga can’t allow Yabushige to keep on living. In a touching scene, the two old friends have a conversation before Yabushige commits seppuku, in which Toranaga reveals that he doesn’t “control the wind,” as Yabushige asks; he only studies it.

To fulfill Yabushige’s constant desire to know what the endgame is, Toranaga explains that his Crimson Sky strategy consisted of sending Mariko to Osaka to lead the Council of Regents to turn on Ishido. Toranaga knows that, whatever happened with Mariko in Osaka, facing Ishido on the battlefield at Sekigahara is inevitable. He may not have expected Mariko to die in Osaka, but she successfully carries out her mission, and this gives him the confidence that he will win — especially since Ochiba has pledged not to send the Heir’s army into battle. With Ishido standing on his own, the Council will turn on him as a threat to peace.

Thus, Toranaga’s dream of ending the wars that fractured Japan for years will finally be realized. Instead of Osaka, he will keep the peace from his seat in Edo. When Yabushige realizes this means Toranaga will rule as shōgun — a role that essentially consists of keeping the realm together by force — Toranaga declines to explain it further, as he decides the time has come for Yabushige to die. After all, Toranaga is already shōgun all but officially thanks to everyone’s sacrifices, including Yabushige’s.

Shōgun is streaming in its entirety on Hulu in the U.S.

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