Shogun’s Seppuku Explained: What Happens To The Baby

What happens to the baby in Shōgun as part of Tadayoshi’s seppuku is by far the darkest moment in FX’s historic epic. While Shōgun featured a lot of heavy and violent scenes, including a man being burnt alive and decapitations, the show’s darkest sequence happened offscreen toward the beginning of episode 1. John Blackthorne’s arrival in Japan set the events Shōgun in motion, but delicate power struggles were already happening in the islands.

Shōgun’s cast of characters highlights how complex the inner conflicts in the show are, particularly regarding Lord Toranaga’s rising power compared to the other members of the Council of Regents. Not only was Toranaga growing more powerful and influential by the day, but he was now keeping the late Taikō’s heir and the boy’s mother in his castle. This led to a meeting between Toranaga and Ishido, during which a young samurai named Tadayoshi ended up asking permission to commit seppuku.

Shogun Episode 1’s Baby Is Killed As Part Of His Father’s Seppuku

Tadayosh Disgraced Himself During Toranaga’s Meeting With The Other Regents

Usami Fuji, the granddaughter of Lord Toranaga’s closest friend, had her infant child sentenced to death as part of her husband’s seppuku. Toda Mariko entered Usami’s room to find Hiromatsu’s granddaughter holding the baby with a knife, threatening to kill herself as well if her son were to die. Mariko was able to talk the desperate mother out of her plan, but the seppuku ritual continued, and the baby was killed offscreen. Tadayoshi, a now-disgraced samurai, had vowed to end not only his life but also his entire family line.

During Toranaga’s audience with the rest of the Council of Regents, he is questioned by Ishido about the status of the heir’s mother, and whether she is being kept as a captive. Lord Toranaga and Ishido were playing a political game in which every word had to be chosen carefully when one of the samurai spoke without being granted permission first and accused Ishido of insulting Toranaga. Tadayoshi’s actions caused tension among all the lords and samurais involved, leading him to announce he was sorry, and that he was going to commit seppuku.

Why Tadayoshi’s Family Line Had To End In Shogun Episode 1

Tadayoshi’s Name Was Now Dishonored

Seppuku was a samurai ritual in which a person who had lost their honor would die by suicide by stabbing themselves with a short sword in the belly. Death by seppuku was supposed to be painful and slow, and it was meant to be perceived as an honorable way to die after losing a battle or doing something shameful. It was also a symbol of a samurai’s loyalty to their lord, showing that they would follow their superior to death if defeat were to come. By insulting Ishido, Tadayoshi was bound to ask for seppuku.

Extremely ashamed of his actions, Tadayoshi asked permission not only to commit seppuku but also to end his family line, all because his name was now dishonored. This is why, by his code, the baby also had to die. While Toranaga was obviously not happy about it, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Likewise, even though the baby was the grandchild of one of Toranaga’s generals, Tadayoshi would have to end the family line regardless. The way Mariko handled the situation quickly established her character and set the stage for Shōgun’s violent, high-stakes tone.

How The Shogun Baby Scene Affected Viewers

Many Were, Understandably, Distressed By The Death Of The Infant

There is no shortage of violence and bloodshed in Shōgun. As a historical drama, Shōgun is surprisingly accurate to 1600s Japan with its potrayal, even going so far as to rectify many of the errors in the 1975 novel by James Clavell that it’s based on. This dedication to historical truth (even though many of the characters are fictional and only based on real figures) is largely why Shōgun is so violent.

While death at the hands of another was commonplace in every culture across the globe during the 17th century, life in feudal Japan was especially brutal in this regard. Japan during the era of the restoration of the Shogunate was a militaristic culture, with death being a secondary worry compared to, as seen with the death of the baby in Shōgun, loss of family honor. There were a variety of circumstances in which dying was seen as a noble act, which is why seppuku existed in the first place.

However, this doesn’t change the fact that, by the standards of modern audiences, the idea of a baby being murdered in any context is horrific. The fate of the baby in Shōgun was incredibly distressing for many viewers, despite the more direct and visceral acts seen on-screen as the show progressed, with the response not being too dissimilar from the death of Shireen Baratheon in Game of Thrones.

However, unlike with Shireen Baratheon, Shōgun did handle the death of the baby somewhat tastefully. Focusing on the emotional response of Tadoyashi and his attempts to maintain a calm demeanor while watching his child being killed was a skillful way to depict the tragic moment. Still, even the implication that an infant had been murdered as part of his seppuku was more than enough to be upsetting for many audience members, and it remains one of the most shocking moments in Shōgun season 1.