🔴Shogun’s Ochiba-no-kata Explained: Real Inspiration, Taiko History & Osaka Power🔴
0Shogun’s Ochiba-no-kata Explained: Real Inspiration, Taiko History & Osaka Power
A new key character has emerged in Shōgun by the name of Ochiba-no-kata. With the critically acclaimed series more than halfway done, the intensity of Shōgun is picking up as Lord Toranaga reluctantly plans for Crimson Sky and an all-out war against Ishido Kazunari. Toranaga promotes his Hatatmoto Blackthorne to the esteemed rank of general in his army, once again stripping the untrustworthy Yabushige of his power. In Osaka, Ishido leads an effort to elect a new member of the Council of Regents for the sole purpose of impeaching Toranaga and sentencing him to death.
Shōgun episode 6 "Ladies of the Willow World" offers more insight into the backstory of Lady Mariko and her father's betrayal of a former ruler of Japan before the Taiko. The episode reveals that Mariko and Ochiba-no-kata, whose original name was Ruri, were close friends and allies growing up and also gives background on how the marriage between Mariko and Toda Buntaro came to be. While Shōgun continues to explore the ongoing secret romance between Mariko and Blackthorne in some of its softer moments, the series is set to ascend to a violent confrontation between Toranaga and Ishido's forces.
Ochiba-no-kata, or simply Lady Ochiba, is based on the Sengoku princess Yodo-no-kata. "Among the samurai princesses who lived during the Sengoku period, perhaps none led a more dramatic life than Yodo-no-kata. She was born Azai Chacha. Her father was the warlord Azai Nagamasa and her mother was Oichi-no-kata, the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga (Kuroda Nobuhisa in Shōgun)" (via FX). Yodo-no-kata was the concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (The Taikō in Shōgun) and was the mother and guardian of their only son, Toyotomi Hideyori (Yaechiyo Nakamura in Shōgun).
The background information on Shōgun's Lady Ochiba is incredibly consistent with that of Yodo-no-kata. "The highest-ranking woman in Japan, Ochiba-no-kata is the feared and admired mother of the Heir. As a consort to the late Taikō and the only one to bear him a child, she wields significant political influence in Osaka" (via FX). As history would have it, Yodo-no-kata would spearhead the final attempt to thwart the rising shogunate of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Lord Yoshii Toranaga in Shōgun) before the perilous Siege of Osaka, which is where the plot of Shōgun's final season 1 episodes appear to be heading.
Lady Ochiba's original name was Ruri, which translates to "lapis lazuli" in Japanese, a popular ancient gemstone that is one of the oldest naturally occurring stones known in existence. According to Nameberry, it was a common Japanese tradition to name children after gemstones with the intention of protecting them from evil spirits. Lady Ochiba went by Ruri throughout her childhood until her father was murdered by Mariko's father and her life would be forever changed. While Ruri is the daughter of the murdered Lord Kuroda in Shōgun, the real-life Yodo-no-kata was not the daughter of Oda Nobunaga.
Ruri's young life as a princess was effectively destroyed after Mariko's father killed her father but she was still determined to climb back up the social ladder into a powerful and advantageous position. She was selected to be one of the Taikō's many consorts and was miraculously the only one who was able to bear him a son. Once she successfully gave birth to Yaechiyo Nakamura, her authoritative status became undeniable and she was instantly one of the most influential figures in all of Japan. As the Mother of the Heir, Ruri was no longer the princess daughter of a fallen ruler and was now Ochiba-no-kata.