Original subtitles

After conquering Japan, Hideyoshi's next target was Asia.

He would take China, India and the Philippines...

and make Peking his new capital.

The first step of Hideyosgi's wild plan was to attack Korea.

For seven years, as many as 160,000 Japanese troops...

ravaged northern Korea.

It was a war to exceed our wildest dreams.

Its tragedy is still vivid...

in the hearts of the Korean people.

April, 1592...

300,000 men from all over Japan met at Hizen, Nagoya.

The Saigoku forces were first to cross the ocean.

The Japanese captured Seoul and Pyongyang.

By August, they appeared to control most of Korea.

But in Decemver, China sent 100,000 troops to aid Korea.

And the Japanese were forced to retreat.

Moreover, the Korean navy gained control of the seas,

and attacked ships bound for Nagoya.

When would the second army be summoned?

Caught in the whirpool of fate, Masamune could only wait.

Dokuganryu Masamune (One-eyed Dragon Masamune)

Episode 31: Blessed with Children

Screenplay by James Miki

Based on the novel "Date Masamune" by Sohachi Yamaoka

Music by Shinichiro Ikebe

Theme music performed by NHK Symphony Orchestra

CAST

Masamune Date: KEN WATANABE

Shigezane Date: TOMOKAZU MIURA

Kojuro Katakura: TERUHIKO SAIGO

Princess Mego: JUNKO SAKURADA

Tsuta: MIKIKO OTONASHI

Mitsunari Ishida: EIJI OKUDA

Hidetsugu Hashiba: TAKANORI JINNAI

Lady Yodo: KANAKO HIGUCHI

Nagamasa Asano: YOICHI HAYASHI

Toshi-ie Maeda: MINORU OKI

Kita no Mandokoro: KAORU YACHIGUSA

Yoshiaki Mogami: YOSHIO HARADA

Hoshun-in: SHIMA IWASHITA

Hideyoshi Toyotomi: SHINTARO KATSU

When do we get to cross the sea?

Date Camp, Nagoya Castle

It's better if we didn't have to.

Are you kidding?

After coming all the way to Nagoya,

I don't like being stuck here.

The soldiers are homesick and dispirited

and we're paying their salaries for nothing.

Hideyoshi is so relaxed.

He had his golden tea room transported from Osaka

and conducts tea parties every night.

Does he think he's on a leisure trip?

I can see him bringing his tea room to Korea.

Are you okay with this?

How long are you going to obey Hideyoshi's orders

and give him unfelt praise?

I'm not.

Reporting.

What is it?

It seems Sir Bunshichiro Endo

has left the camp and deserted.

What?

I can't bear to be without you.

I want to go far away with you.

We can't do that.

Hatsu.

You have a wife at home.

I won't go back.

I want to live with you.

I am a farmer's daughter. We're from different classes.

I'll renounce my samurai status.

You'll regret it.

Trust me.

Sir Bunshichiro...

I've had enough of war.

No more.

Bunshichiro. Come quietly.

How dare you leave your post at this important time and elope.

Do you call yourself a samurai?

No! Kill us both.

- Get out of the way. - No.

You desert for a woman?

Endo is one of the oldest Date vassal.

Sir Motonobu, who followed our previous lord in death,

will be lamenting in his grave.

Do you know that desertion is a serious crime?

I do.

You will be beheaded.

Do you have anything to say before judgment?

Speak truthfully.

Bunshichiro.

A samurai must kill.

I am fearful of killing one another.

How pathetic.

The men I kill will have a family...

a beloved wife...

You can't think of that when you're at war.

If you don't kill the enemy, they will kill you.

Bunshichiro, back home

the caretakers and farmers go without

to send us supplies.

You must be thankful.

He's right. If we win, we will be rewarded.

and our people will prosper.

The battlefield and homeland must be united

under our lord's command.

Bunshichiro.

Everyone has temptations.

In regard to Bunshichiro's desertion,

he will not be faulted in deference to his father.

Rejoin your camp and put things in order.

The following year, in April 1593,

the Date forces landed in Busan.

But the Japanese forces had already dwindled to half,

they were short on food and in a perilous situation.

That Hidetsugu is a fool.

During the mourning of retired emperor Oogimachi,

we must be clean and refrain from eating animals.

He ate a crane.

Crane?

He doesn't know what it means to be a kanpaku.

Here I am at the ends of the earth

having a difficult war, and that fool...

Is Sir Higetsugu suited to be a kanpaku?

You misjudged him.

But I don't have an heir.

There's no one else I can leave my fortune to.

Yes, there is.

Where?

Tell me.

My prayers have been answered.

I don't know if it's a boy or a girl...

Chacha.

Is it...

Chacha.

Is it true?

Yes.

Really? A child? Is it true?

Yes.

Heaven be praised.

It must be Tsurumatsu reincarnated.

I commend you.

Jurakudai

Reporting.

What is it?

Please clear the room.

It's all right. Talk.

Yes. An urgent message from the taiko.

Lady Yodo is returning from Hizen Nagoya.

He orders you to send a welcoming party to Hiroshima.

That's excessive.

She's just a mistress.

Lady Yodo is pregnant.

Pregnant?

She's with child?

Yes.

May 1593.

Yamagata Castle

Masamune had sent a letter to Hoshu-in from Korea.

Peace with China is not to be.

Our army has been pushed back south,

and we have reluctantly built a castle by the sea.

A siege is inevitable.

How sad.

Or perhaps, I may die clutching the prayer beads

that you, Mother, gave me

and be buried in a foreign land.

This may be my final moments on earth.

So I take up the brush to let you know.

I pray that you will lead a long and healthy life.

He calls you "Mother."

It must be a sign he has forgiven you.

- Ochako. - Yes?

Gather as much money as you can

and deliver it to Korea.

Can a messenger cross the sea?

Masamune must not die.

Jinju

At that moment, Date forces were engaged

in a fierce battle for Jinju Castle, west of Busan.

What's the matter?

An endemic disease.

Samanosuke.

I'm sorry.

Samanosuke Munetoki Harada was twenty-nine.

Kai Harada, who would play a major role in the Date feud

later on, was Samanosuke's grandson.

Nasarai... Bring some tea.

Nachurai... Bring some sake.

Kunryu... Oh, I want to sleep.

Is that Chinese?

Nahanrai, know what that is?

Not at all.

It means bring some food.

It will be hard to memorize all this.

But it'll help when we're in China.

Your Highness,

because the large Chinese army has descended south,

Kiyomasa is having a hard time.

What shall we do?

When the time comes, we will win.

Ujisato, reporting.

It is good news.

Which castle fell?

August 3rd, Lady Yodo gave birth to an heir in Osaka Castle.

What?

How auspicious. An heir!

Is it true. She gave birth?

I congratulate you, My Lord.

Chacha did it.

Chacha gave birth.

Nachurai. Nachurai. Nachurai.

Good job, Chacha. She's to be commended.

Osaka Castle

Elated, Hideyoshi returned to Osaka Castle

abandoning his command of the army.

Lady Yodo did well.

You must ask for a big reward.

Yes, Yodo did well.

And me, too.

It's not any man

who can have two children at my age.

Just as you say.

This time,

we must bring him up to be strong and healthy.

Chacha. No moxibustion. It's hot.

We made poor Tsurumatsu suffer.

We won't give you moxibustion.

And what will you name him?

Ohiroi.

What?

Ohiroi.

Ohiroi?

There is no better hiroi (windfall) for me.

It's an even bigger windfall

than my getting hold of India. Don't you think?

Yes, he is a big Ohiroi.

See. Now you are Ohiroi.

You're Ohiroi.

He's saying something.

What is it?

Oh. He wants some milk.

Chacha. Give him some milk.

- Here you go. - Ohiroi.

Good boy.

Oh, good. He's sucking.

Well done.

Ochako. Masamune has returned from Korea.

He thanks me for the letter and money.

Congratulations.

It must have been a difficult war.

I hope he's not injured.

Lady Hoshu-in?

If you keep in good health,

I'm sure you will be able to see him some day.

There will come a time when you can talk

as mother and son, forgetting the horrible past.

I can't hope for that.

Why not?

If I see him, he will only feel miserable.

It will revive the hate he has for me.

I did something unbecoming a mother.

Oh, no. My lord loves you.

He must has written to pass the time in war.

He must have been lonely in a foreign land.

Our lord has a son and is now a parent.

He must now understand a mother's mercy.

Ochako, you are so kind.

How do you like this bowl?

It is wonderful.

I wanted Sir Rikyu to see this.

There are many great potteries in Korea

and countless great pieces.

We shouldn't underestimate foreign countries.

A race that produces such skilled objects

would not hand over their country so easily.

Did we lose the war?

Not me particularly,

but the Kyushu and western forces were beaten badly.

Mego, another please.

Although the taiko's putting on a brave front,

he can't hide the fact that a 300,000-man army

retreated with their tails between their legs.

The Korea expedition was a failure.

I'm glad.

Every time a war ends, I feel relieved.

In Korea, I hear unarmed commoners were killed,

their ears and noses chopped off

and sent to the taiko.

I don't understand why such cruelty is necessary.

Let's not talk about the war.

By the way, Mego.

The taiko has ordered that

the warrior lords and their families live in Kyoto,

and will need to get permission

to go to their homelands.

We can't return to Iwadeyama for some time.

So I wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

I want Hyogoro here in Kyoto. What do you think?

Why do you think I would object?

Hyogoro is the Date heir. He's your son.

Are you sure?

Please do as you please.

Good. I'm relieved.

Lady Neko...

Will Lady Neko come to Kyoto with Hyogoro?

Well that's... I haven't decided.

Sagano

How dare they call me cruel kanpaku.

Why can't I hunt on Mt. Hiei?

Mt. Hiei is sacred to Buddhists.

That's not my concern.

The taiko is particularly displeased.

I believe an apology would be politic.

It won't help.

My uncle hates me as much as he loves Hiroi.

That's not so.

Why would he hate his blood relation?

Don't try to make me feel better.

You and your nephew Masamune don't get along.

Not at all. We are close.

Don't lie.

Who is greater? Kanpaku or taiko?

Ujisato. Answer me.

The kanpaku is the highest rank under the emperor,

who is responsible for politics.

Taiko is the honorific for previous kanpakus.

Then the kanpaku outranks him.

- That is correct in principle. - Then I ask you.

If the taiko wanted to seize the kanpaku position,

would that be treason? Well?

What do you think?

That scenario would never happen.

I dream sometimes.

I'm chased out of Jurakudai and wander the land.

I can't believe those are the words of a kanpaku.

Have a drink.

- Masamune. - Yes?

Ujisato, Yoshiaki, you listen, too.

If things come to a head,

I will hole up in Oshu and ask for your help.

What are you saying?

Ieyasu Tokugawa, Toshi-ie Maeda,

Nagamasa Asano and Mitsunari Ishida

all kowtow to the taiko and don't take me seriously.

- That's not... - No.

My only supporters are you three from Ou.

Ujisato and Yoshiaki,

you must get along with Masamune.

Let today's falcon hunt be the occasion

where you declare one for all all for one.

Then I will feel secure.

If you three protect me, I will reward you handsomely.

I will give you more territory.

Well? Well?

I consent.

However, you must not be impatient.

You may be dissatisfied,

but make sure you treat the taiko respectfully

and not say anything that would be construed

as a threat.

I know that.

It's a joke. I'm not that stupid.

Everything I just said is nonsense.

I was testing your loyalty.

I protest.

At least I, Yoshiaki, am prepared

to come to your aid when the need arises.

Is that true?

I swear to the gods.

Then bring Princess Koma to me now.

It's been two years since then.

But, Okoma is only thirteen.

Please try to bear it.

Since he adores her, she will have a life of luxury.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Mother. I will gladly go to Kyoto.

No matter what happens to me,

I will do it for Father and the Mogami.

Okoma.

Words befitting the daughter of Yoshiaki Mogami.

It is commendable.

Thank you.

If you face unexpected difficulties in Kyoto,

visit Princess Mego at the Date mansion.

Mego is merciful and kind.

Shortly thereafter, Princess Koma went to Kyoto

to be presented to Hidetsugu as his mistress.

Yoshiaki. Good of you to come.

I'll give you a prize to express my satisfaction.

Thank you.

Tell me what you want.

I have nothing in particular.

Okoma is our youngest daughter.

She has been the apple of our eye.

You're reluctant to let her go?

No, I'm satisfied if you like her.

Of course I do.

Since she's the youngest,

I will be particularly attentive and affectionate

so put your mind at ease.

Thank you, sir.

Come closer. Closer.

Yoshiaki. You may leave.

Mogami.

You must be devastated.

Hyogoro.

I am your father. Call me father.

The following year, February, 1594,

Hyogoro, Masamune's first son,

arrived at the Date Mansion in Jurakudai.

According to custom,

Lady Neko remained in Iwadeyama.

Mego.

This is Hyogoro.

Does he look like me?

Yes.

Talk to him. Anything will do.

Hyogoro. It was good of you to come.

Where's Mother?

Your mother is there.

As I told you during our trip,

Princess Mego is your mother from now on.

He'll understand over time.

As you say.

Thank you for bringing him.

Not at all.

- I'm glad to see you... - Kojuro.

A celebratory meal is ready in the hall.

Everyone must be waiting.

Oh, and dress Hyogoro in official dress.

Yes, sir.

What's the matter, Mego?

It's difficult for me to say...

- Do you have a complaint? - Oh no.

- Do you dislike Hyogoro? - Of course not.

Look Mego. I want a straight answer.

Please sit down.

What is it?

- Actually... - Come to the point.

- A baby... - Who's baby?

- Mine. - What do you mean?

I'm pregnant.

I'm sorry this happened when you're so busy.

Fool, why do you apologize?

Just when Hyogoro...

That's different.

Kojuro. Kojuro. Great news!

Are you sure?

Fifteen years...

After fifteen years...

Mego!

Mego!

Take care of yourself from now on.

And give me a healthy baby.

Yoshinoyama

At the end of February the same year

Taiko Hideyoshi invited the Hidetsugu family

and the lords for a flower viewing fete.

It's so elegant.

Yes. I'm drunk from the blossoms in full bloom.

Have a squash.

- Squash. - Tasty squash.

One, please.

- She wants a squash. - Thank you.

Sir Date.

Oh, is that you, Sir Hidetsugu?

Not so.

- Excuse me. - Hold on.

I want to give you a warning.

Warning?

I hear that you're presenting your son

as page to the kanpaku, is that true?

What a bothersome allegation.

My son is still small,

so I haven't thought that much into the future.

I'm relieved.

Why do you say "relieved"?

Recently bad rumors about the kanpaku are circulating.

If you associate with him,

you will incur the ire of the taiko

and make him think that you are the cause.

Thank you for your warning. I will take it to heart.

If you are going to present your son,

I recommend Sir Ohiroi.

If you like, I, Mitsunari, can make introductions.

That is unnecessary.

I will decide my son's future.

This is your change.

One, two, three...

Uoyknaht. Uoyknaht.

Where do you hurt?

No, no, he's saying. "Thank you."

Masamune demonstrated his exceptional poetry

during the flower fete.

These waka poetry touched Hideyoshi's heartstrings,

demonstrating Masamune's concern for his position.

Oh, a guest from the south seas. Welcome.

Munemasa, ukochu, ukochu.

Munemasa.

Em yojne.

He's saying he's having a good time.

Oh, backwards words, is it?

Nemumasa...?

I'm yojne.

Tae, tae.

Hidetsugu isn't here?

I'm not sure...

So the rumors about his misconduct must be true.

He doesn't dare show his face,

that Hidetsugu... loof.

Lla. Lla.

Yojne. Yojne.

I gave you four admonitions.

Do you remember?

Yes, by heart.

Tell me.

First, do not neglect the teachings of the martial arts.

Second, do not be arbitrary in applying the laws.

Third, respect the Emperor,

be courteous to him.

Fourth, refrain from outrageous habits.

What do you think?

Have you been obeying them?

I can accept the art of tea.

I condone holding tea parties and inviting people.

Since you're young, 5 or 10 mistresses are fine.

But not other women.

Look Hidetsugu.

I pray to the gods every day

that you will be a good kanpaku.

- Thank you. - For instance,

if we should divide Japan into five,

I'll give you four,

one is enough for Ohiroi.

I've been thinking that far ahead.

You disobeyed my orders.

People call you cruel kanpaku behind your back.

If you kill people, Hidetsugu, you will die, too.

Don't make me angry.

Got that?

Do not make me angry. All right?

Excuse me.

Do you like this scent?

My Lord?

I think it's time you returned to the fief

and brush up on your martial arts.

If you stay and be absorbed in culture and arts,

you will be a spineless warrior.

Are you giving me orders?

Take a good look at our young men.

They emulate you with waka poetry and Noh plays,

practicing the art of tea and incense.

They're warriors for god's sake.

Warriors from now on need culture as well.

What use is that in war?

You're old-fashioned, Shigezane.

The lords form relationships through cultural events

and try to make peace by sussing each other out.

That's how the world works now.

You've changed.

I have not.

Reporting.

- Is it here? - Yes.

Everyone is fine.

Which is it?

Don't tell me it's a girl.

It is.

It's a cause for celebration. Congratulations.

I don't think so.

It can't be helped.

It's your punishment for ignoring martial arts.

What?

Oh, excuse me.

June 16th, 1594.

Mego gave birth to a girl

in the Date mansion at Jurakudai in Kyoto.

Mego.

I'm sorry.

Good job.

I'm so disappointed.

Don't be.

This is fine.

It's good to have a girl first.