How the women of 'Shōgun' triumphed in feudal-era Japan

This article contains spoilers for the FX series “Shōgun.”

In the sixth episode of “Shōgun,” Lord Toranaga asks Mariko about her childhood.

The warlord (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) is curious to know what his vassal (Anna Sawai) thinks turned his childhood friend, Ochiba-no-kata (Fumi Nikaido), into his fierce adversary. The mother of the young heir Yaechiyo wants Toranaga dead.

After suggesting that fate and hardship are what shaped Lady Ochiba into the woman she has become, Mariko also offers her lord insight into the different motivations that drive men and women to fight.

“A man can go to war for many reasons,” Mariko says in Japanese. “Conquest, pride, power. But a woman is simply at war.”

Co-created by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, the 10-episode FX limited series focuses on Toranaga's political war and his fate in feudal Japan. But the ending of “Shōgun,” now available on Hulu, shows that the keys to Toranaga's victory lay in understanding the individual wars that the women in her orbit had been fighting all along.

In the final moments of the episode, Toranaga reveals that he secured victory before even going to the battlefield. Thanks to Mariko's sacrifice, Lady Ochiba gave her word that her son's bannermen would stay out of the future battle between Toranaga and the Council of Regents, meaning that Toranaga's main enemy, Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira) , it would be left to try to fight without advantage (or allies).

Ochiba's change of heart comes after Mariko was killed by Ishido's scheming. Tired of Ishido being outmaneuvered, and out of deference to her childhood friend, Ochiba puts aside her grudge against Toranaga to ensure the survival of her son.

“Shōgun” has been promoted for its commitment to the authenticity of Japanese history and culture. Based on the best-selling novel by James Clavell, the series expanded the story to include the perspectives of the Japanese characters so that they are not secondary to the adventure of a white European protagonist in a foreign land.

And in doing so, one of the most notable achievements of “Shōgun” is how it portrays Japanese women. Hollywood has a history of misrepresenting, tokenizing, and perpetuating lazy tropes when it comes to Asian women. “Shōgun” does not ignore the limitations that women faced in feudal Japan and remains historically accurate in that regard. Marriages were often arranged for political purposes and a woman's life was subservient to her father or husband. But the series shows that characters like Mariko, Ochiba, and others discover how to live (or die) on their own terms, that is, through patience.

Throughout the series, Mariko struggled with her sense of purpose. The sole survivor of a disgraced noble family, Mariko's past looms large over her commitment to her duties as Toranaga's vassal, wife, and devout Catholic.

And although she diligently fulfilled her role as translator, it is in the penultimate episode of “Shōgun” where Mariko comes to understand and accept her destiny. Under Toranaga's orders, she heads to the domain of the Council of Regents to force Ishido and it is thanks to her actions and her death that her captives were freed and many other lives were saved. In her final mission, Mariko finds the purpose of her life and her death and she is able to deliver to her Lord a victory that no man or army could achieve.

“The women in our story have limited agency, restrictions, limitations in life that can limit the way they express their lives,” Kondo previously told The Times. But “at its basic and fundamental level, [this] It is a story about female friendship, childhood friendship… two women who have deep feelings that end up dictating what the tide of a war will be like.”

Lady Fuji (Moeka Hoshi), left, and Mariko (Anna Sawai) serve Lord Toranaga.

(Katie Yu/FX)

Even Ochiba, the most powerful woman in the country, had to plan her moves within the social constraints of her time. After a privileged childhood, she had to suffer her own share of hardships after the death of her father. According to her, she forced herself into her position by enduring everything she needed to bear the previous ruler's heir and is committed to protecting her child.

Mariko and Ochiba aren't the only ones who had to wait and hold on until the right moment. Fuji, a young mother grieving her husband and only son, followed Toranaga's directives until she was given permission to become a nun. Gin, a former courtesan who runs a local brothel, bides her time until she can negotiate with Toranaga for an expansion of her business that would evolve the profession.

Women's stories can often be left out for the sake of historical accuracy. Or worse still, they may simply highlight the cruelty and ignorance of that time. The women of “Shōgun” don't have it easy, but they display a different type of strength than that usually celebrated in Hollywood epics and are shown with the dignity they deserve.