Lady Fuji has proven herself to be quite a loyal and resourceful consort to John Blackthorne, however, in the latest episode of Shōgun, why did Lady Fuji kill Uejirou? Here's what happened.
CONTENT SPOILERS: This article contains spoilers for Shōgun, so proceed with caution.
Why Did Lady Fuji Kill the Gardener Uejirou in Shōgun?
John Blackthorne had to deal with Lord Toranaga's conflict and Lady Mariko's marital problems in Shōgun episode 5 titled Broken to the Fist. Upon returning to his house, Lady Fuji brings him grave news.
Lady Fuji informs him that the poached pheasant has been taken down without his permission.
Blackthorne merely brushes this off, but that is until Lady Fuji tells him it was the gardener Uejirou who had taken it down.
Though this doesn't mean anything special to Blackthorne, Lady Fuji adds that they had him killed. But why is that? What did Uejirou do to lose his life?
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Blackthorne's Words Bear Grave Weight on His Consort
Lord Toranaga gifted the poached pheasant to Blackthorne, which is why the white samurai treasures and values it with his life. This also happens to be why he wanted it to be in its best condition before it gets cooked.
Blackthorne's words, however, were never meant to be taken literally: "No one is to touch this bird. Forbidden, yes? If touch — die!"
Keep in mind that Blackthorne is not well-informed about the Japanese culture and language, which makes the impact of his words all much worse for the life of Uejirou.
Blackthorne was raised and taught to believe that a pheasant would only be scrumptious after hanging it upside down outside his house.
This brings Lady Fuji to remind him that the poached bird would rot and therefore, spread its stench. Still, Blackthorne insists they keep the bird in the same place until he tells them to remove it.
Unfortunately, the pheasant has grown its foul smell along with the swarming of flies around its body. Though Lady Fuji is tempted to have it taken down, they comply with Blackthorne's order.
Until Uejirou made the "mistake" of taking it down himself, leading to his death.
However, it is worth mentioning that the gardener potentially has a bigger role in the series, as he was initially thought to be the mole within Lord Toranaga's clan.
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Shōgun episode 6 titled Ladies of the Willow World streams on Hulu on March 26.
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