Why did they kill the baby in Shogun?

In the Shogun series, Lord Toranaga’s trusted soldier Tadayoshi announces seppuku for himself and his newly born child for his behavior at the regent meeting.

Shogun takes us back to the golden ages of Lords and Samurais in the Lands of Japan. The series' focus has been highly accurate, namely on the aspect of culture and discipline that all the soldiers or samurai practiced in that era. Shogun, created by FX has won millions of fans for its 10-episode-1st season.

The story of Shogun revolves around a shipwrecked English pilot John Blackthorne who has been taken prisoner on the shores of Japan and brought in front of Lord Toranaga, the Lord of the region of Kanto. The series shows John's relationship with Lord Toranaga and his subordinates, helping them develop strength in exchange for him to find his way back home.

How did the baby die in Shogun?

In the first episode of Shogun, there is a scene where Lord Toranaga is in a meeting of the regents after Taiko (the ruler of Japan at the time) passes away. During this meeting, we see a heated conversation between the regent members and Toranaga, claiming that the latter had kidnapped Taiko’s wife Lady Ochiba to expand his lands and gain more power.

While Toranaga calmly refused the claimed accusations upon him, one of his soldiers and young vassals, Tadayoshi, stood up for his Lord in rage drawing his sword and stepping into the hallowed Ceremonial Meeting Hall. Tadayoshi’s act showcased an act of war from Toranaga or a huge sign of disrespect towards the Lords of the regent. The only way that this wrong could be righted was for Tadayoshi to offer to commit seppuku or ritual suicide. During this offering, Tadayoshi also pledged that he would end his lineage (his newborn baby) with him as he was deeply embarrassed by his actions during the meeting.

Who opposed the death of the baby in Shogun?

After Tadayoshi announced the end for himself and his lineage, which included his newborn baby, we saw Tadayoshi entering his house where his wife, Lady Fuji (daughter of General Hiromatsu) was standing with a blade in her hand, insisting on killing herself if anyone tried to take the baby from her. While her husband and others were stunned to see the opposition by Lady Fuji, it was Lady Mariko who entered the room and made her give up her blade and her baby for seppuku. The episode ended showing Tadayoshi sitting in the room with a white robe ready to do his ritual. While the makers showed Tadayoshi’s end on screen, the baby’s death was not displayed and was later revealed in the 2nd episode of the series.