The latest Shōgun episode highlights how the courtesans negotiate in laying down their services for the hatamoto. In this case, fans get to see how the courtesan's price is settled over the teacup scene in Shōgun episode 6. Here's what makes this a powerful move between the ladies.
CONTENT SPOILERS: This article contains spoilers for Shōgun, so proceed with caution.
Lady Mariko Negotiates For Lady Kiku's Services
Halfway through episode 6 titled Ladies of the Willow World, Lady Mariko is sent to a brothel to inquire about Lady Kiku's availability for her services.
Unfortunately, due to Lady Kiku's high demand and how much the earthquake destroyed their belongings, Madame Gin seeks that 500 monme must be provided as payment.
To Lady Mariko, however, the price is much too high to agree to, considering that it weighed similarly to "buying all Tea Houses in Izu."
Lady Mariko lowballs the offer to 100 monme, despite what the Tea House offers. Madame Gin tries to bring the price up to 400, at least, because of her initial impression that Lady Kiku would be offered to Lord Toranaga.
However, once Lady Mariko mentions it is for the Anjin now-turned-Hatamoto John Blackthorne, the tables have turned. Madame Gin decides to play the cards in her favor.
READ MORE: Shōgun: Meet Lord Toranaga's Replacement in the Council of Regents, Lord Ito
Shōgun Fans Explore the Powerful Courtesan Teacup Scene
In a fan discussion on Reddit, fans couldn't help but notice how the episode heavily focuses on when Lady Mariko and Madame Gin put down their teacups on the floor.
Fans surmised that putting down their cups is equivalent to standing their ground on the matter at hand.
In this case, Madame Gin insists that the lowest price she can offer for Lady Kiku's services is 400 monme. On the other hand, Lady Mariko lays down that Lady Kiku is merely worth 200 despite the spiritual offering their courtesans can inflict on their customers.
After both sides have made their statement, the camera usually pans on placing their teacups down on the floor.
That is until Madame Gin picked up on the situation and realized that Lady Mariko and John Blackthorne may have been having a secret affair.
This leads Lady Mariko to settle on offering 300 for Lady Kiku to keep their relationship out of sight and to seal the deal between them.
Shōgun episode 7 titled A Stick of Time premieres on Hulu on April 2.
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