Original subtitles

August 2, 1595...

Under Hideyoshi's orders,

Hidetsugu's family and ladies in waiting, 39 in all

were executed on the Sanjo riverbank in Kyoto.

They were implicated in treason, of which Hidetsugu had been accused.

Among them was Mogami Yoshiaki's daughter, Koma.

Known as the fairest maiden in Togoku, Toma was 15.

Grieveing for his daughter,

Yoshiaki made Sensho-ji the Mogami family temple,

and transferred it from tendo to Yamagata.

Koma's room in Yamagata Castle was later moved here.

In Momoyama Period surroundings,

one can envision the hapless beauty's daily life.

The Hidetsugu's incident which took Koma's life...

also threatened Masamune.

Masamune was named as an accomplice to treason.

Dokuganryu Masamune (One-eyed Dragon Masamune)

Episode 33: False Charges

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

Sadatsuna Ouchi: MINORI TERADA

Tsunamoto Oniniwa: TAKEHIRO MURATA Masakage Rusu: KYOZO NAGATSUKA

Munezane Shiroishi: SHUNICHI KADOTA Akimitsu Ishikawa: GORO MUYSUMI

Hyogoro: MANABU FUKUHARA Seibei Yanbe: RYOTA NAKANISHI

Yoshiaki Mogami: YOSHKD HARADA

Lady Yodo: KANAKO HIGUCHI

Toshi-ie Maeda: MINORU OKI

Lady Neko: KUMIKO AKIYOSHI

Ieyasu Tokugawa: MASAHIK TSUGAWA

Hideyoshi Toyotomi: SHINTARO KATSU

Seyakuin Mansion, Osaka

Suspected of abetting Hidetsugu's treason

and fearing for his life,

Masamune decided not to go to Kyoto

and took shelter in Zenso Seyakuin's mansion in Osaka.

Hideyoshi immediately sent envoys to cross-examine him.

They are here.

Sir Hidetsugu was my contemporary,

our mansions were close by so we visited each other often.

However, I never expected

to be suspected of complicity in treason.

When you returned to Iwadeyama,

I hear Sir Hidetsugu showered you with parting gifts.

That's right.

Why did you hide that from the taiko?

I did not. I just forgot.

Forgot? That's hard to believe.

A man so careful, he doctors his missives...

I ask you again.

Isn't it a fact that

you had numerous secret meetings with Sir Hidetsugu,

using a falcon hunt as an excuse.

They weren't secret meetings.

Our talks were about trivial things...

scholarship and culture,

even what we liked in women.

I hope your explanation is accepted.

Please present me in a favorable light.

But the taiko believes you are the instigator of the treason.

Sir Kimura.

You of all people must know these are false charges.

However, Sir Mitsunari...

So it IS Sir Mitsunari.

Do you know Goemon Ishikawa?

You mean the bandit that was boiled to death.

Rumor is that you ordered him to sneak into Fushimi Castle.

That's ridiculous.

There are too many bad rumors about you.

They are all false.

Your big mistake was to be friendly with Sir Hidetsugu.

How can you say that?

It's only natural we try to be in good standing

with the reigning kanpaku.

Well, that's as you say.

But you also misjudged him.

It was the taiko who misjudged him.

What did you say?

Even the wise and discerning taiko misjudged Sir Hidetsugu.

Isn't it natural that I, with only one eye would?

If you think that is also a crime,

please tell him to behead me immediately.

Mogami Mansion, Kyoto

Father.

Sir Date's wife needs to see you urgently.

I am under confinement.

I need to know. If you and my husband

were complicit in Sir Hidetsugu's treason.

Please forgive the intrusion.

I am heartbroken by Princess Koma's tragic death.

Come in.

Thank you.

Mother!

Father! What...?

She just killed herself.

Mother.

Mother!

She died to be with Okoma.

Damn Hideyoshi.

Tsuda Hamlet

Your Highness.

I must speak to the taiko.

Get back.

Who are you?

I am Date retainer Munemoto of Ise Nakajima.

Kageyasu of Yunobe Minbu, also a Date retainer.

Please take a look at this document.

Personal petitions are against the law.

- Take them away. - Wait.

Your Highness.

Bring it. Bring it here.

Interrogate them, then kill them.

Several days later, Hideyoshi's envoys visited

Zenso Seyakuin's mansion in Osaka again.

Direct order.

Masamune Date is ordered exiled.

Appoint Hyogoro as Date's head

and have him inherit the Date clan.

- Please wait. - Be quiet.

Have all the retainers in the fief come to Kyoto,

and have them sign an oath saying they will obey.

They will have no objection to the directive

and they will serve Hyogoro.

Also, no one is to communicate

with Masamune while he is exiled.

Until notice of the place of exile,

Masamune will confine himself to his mansion in Jurakudai.

Rejoice, Sir Date.

This is the best of outcomes.

How can I rejoice?

In any case, the clan is secure.

Weren't you prepared to die?

It's not that I don't want to die.

I am saying I'm innocent.

You're asking too much.

You have no idea how hard we worked on the taiko.

That's right.

We saved the lives

of your retainers who brought the petition.

Sir Hyogoro is only four.

He is too young to inherit. The vassals will be in disarray.

If you say that, Date will be disbanded.

Is it right to convict an innocent man

of treason and exile him?

- Silence! - Know your place.

How dare a retainer question the government's doing.

I apologize profusely.

My Lord!

I've brought this on myself.

I appreciate the work you've done on my behalf.

Then resign yourself to it.

At this juncture, you must be satisfied

with the continuation of the clan.

I accept the taiko's order.

That's good.

If you expressed dissatisfaction,

your whole family would have been killed,

just like Sir Hidetsugu's.

Don't be discouraged.

We will look after your son's future.

Masamune reluctantly traveled to Kyoto

and took up residence in Date mansion in Jurakudai.

I am glad you have returned safely.

I feel your pain.

I hear the clan is secure.

Hyogoro.

Come here.

Your father must retire and go far away.

You are Date's heir.

Got that?

Obey my instructions, be an example to the vassals.

Yes, sir.

My Lord. It's Munezane.

Come in.

The neighborhood citizens are up in arms.

What's going on?

They think you will set fire to Kyoto and die fighting.

That's ridiculous.

Some have packed their belongings,

getting ready to flee.

Keep the front gate open.

That way they can see inside and see that nothing's going on.

Get on with it.

It won't be good if the rumor spreads.

All right.

What do you think, Mego?

Is it a samurai's honor to die fighting?

Is it a samurai's shame to be exiled by direct order?

At present, it is best to think of the people and vassals

and do as ordered.

I'm only twenty-nine.

A dragon hides underground and waits.

The time will come when you summon the clouds

and rise high into the heavens riding the winds.

Please let me go with you.

If I am with you, the ends of the earth

or across the sea will be heaven for me.

Date has a fine horse. A beautiful chestnut.

Tell Sir Masamune I appreciate the gift.

Thanks for coming.

Sir Tokugawa.

I beg you to intercede with the taiko.

What for?

The suspicion of our lord being complicit in treason

is based on false accusations and has no basis in fact.

That's a closed book.

That... That may be...

But if you speak on his behalf,

perhaps the taiko will issue a pardon.

You want to put me to work for one horse?

Of course not.

Since you have always been kind to us,

we're grasping at straws.

I am not a straw.

I apologize.

Masamune is unmanly.

Excuse me?

He's still hoping for a pardon after all this?

No. He doesn't know we're asking.

What did you say?

You dare come to me without consulting your lord?

Our lord is confined.

Please forgive us.

Sir Hidetsugu was ordered to commit seppuku.

Yoshiaki lost his daughter.

So Masamune can't escape unscathed.

But exile to an island is too harsh a punishment.

Whether you think it harsh or not...

depends on your character.

Is that your answer?

Sir Shigezane.

Whether you end as a loser

or cause a revolt in Kyoto and die gloriously...

How's the Date clan?

There are signs of revolt.

However, Masamune came secretly to my mansion.

He considers the parting gifts he received from Sir Hidetsugu

were all gifts from you.

To repay you, it was a retainer's etiquette

to guarantee that his descendants

will be forever loyal to the Toyotomi.

He said that was his intention.

Also about his exile...

he sees it as your generous lesson

and is prepared to obey.

He is very humble.

So his decision is not embraced by his vassals?

That seems to be so.

No matter if they gather an army and revolt,

it would be easy to crush it.

I could take care of it without bothering you.

But... if you can prevent it...

The tea was delicious.

Do you like the tea cup?

It's Ima pottery?

Rikyu wants that cup. I'll give it to you.

Don't tell Rikyu.

What an interesting fellow.

The leading Date vassals in Iwadeyama

came to Kyoto, hearing of the clan's crisis.

Lady Neko was one of the first to arrive.

My Lord.

Thanks for coming.

I am so happy you are still alive.

What?

I heard you would be ordered to commit seppuku

and I was so upset

I came prepared to follow you in death.

Don't be so hasty. I wasn't ordered to die.

Then... crucifixion?

It's exile.

Exile?

Hyogoro will succeed me.

- You're joking. - I'm not.

Hyogoro is the Date head.

As his birth mother, you must raise the young lord.

Your prophesy was wrong.

I'm not going to rule Japan. My fate is sealed.

What's the matter, Hyogoro?

Hyogoro? I'm your mother.

Have you forgotten me?

Come closer.

Come to mother.

Hyogoro?

Hyogoro!

Hyogoro?

They say a bird leaves behind a clean nest.

From now on, think of Hyogoro as Masamune

and swear loyalty to him.

Make the continuation of the clan your first priority,

obey the order of the ruler

and do not begrudge this decision.

While Hyogoro is young,

head vassal Akimitsu Ishikawa will be his guardian.

I accept, sir.

Seibei Kuniyori Yanbe.

You will be his protector.

Like your father Kuniyori, I expect your eternal loyalty.

I thank you for this generous position.

Shigezane and Kojuro will remain in Kyoto and support Akimitsu.

Shigemoto Suzuki will continue to manage the fief.

Mego will take Iroha and return to Iwadeyama.

Kageyasu Yunome. Munemoto Nakajima.

You put your lives on the line with the direct petition.

I applaud you.

Thank you, My Lord.

Kageyasu.

You presented the petition in Tsuda hamlet?

That's right.

From now on, call yourself Kageyasu Tsuda.

Your glory will be handed down for generations.

Thank you, sir.

Everyone.

Thank you for serving me well.

I'm sorry it had to come to this.

Forgive me.

I will not go to Iwadeyama.

I want to go with you.

There will be no servants or retainers on the island...

no doctor if you get ill.

You're not thinking of killing yourself?

I am a one-eyed dragon.

Do you think I'll perish that way?

If the taiko dies, things will change.

You must wait.

I will return, if I have to row myself in a boat.

I will come back to you.

Lady Neko.

Yes?

I hope you understand your position.

Yes, vaguely.

That's not good enough.

You are Hyogoro's birth mother.

Now I understand.

My father often said to me before he passed away...

you are in the same position as Lady Yodo.

Lady Yodo?

Although just a mistress,

she had the complete affection of the taiko

and gave birth to his only heir.

Is that what you mean?

How presumptuous.

I don't have an ulterior motive.

That's what my father said.

Lady Neko.

Do not call me Neko from now on.

What then?

Shall I call you Lady Meow?

For instance, Lady Iizaka...

or Lady Shiragiku (white chrysanthemum).

My!

It doesn't matter what you're called.

You will remain in Kyoto as Hyogoro's mother.

Please take care how you speak and act.

You must raise Hyogoro to be a fine lord just like his father.

Obey what Tsuta and Kojuro say as gospel from our lord.

Yes, My Lady.

You too, Seibei.

Yes, My Lady. I will.

One night during the August Masamune decided to retire,

a bizarre notice went up in front of Tokugawa mansion.

It charged that the central figures in Hidetsugu's treason

were Masamune Date and Yoshiaki Mogami.

...Divide Japan into two,

the east going to Sir Date, lord of Echizen

and the west to Sir Mogami, lord of Dewa.

How audacious to put it in front of my house.

Who...?

This is nonsense.

I thought Masamune was well liked,

but it seems there are those who hate him as well.

What do you think?

Dividing Japan in two

with the east to Masamune

and the west to Yoshiaki...

The man who writes such fabrication

must be a complete fool or a great man.

I'm confused.

To tell you the truth,

I thought...

this was your doing.

But, Ieyasu...

it's hard to judge a person's character.

In fish terms,

who I think it a great snapper turns out to be a carp.

Masamune's a carp. A sashimi chilled in water.

A carp filet chilled in water?

If you swallow it without chewing,

the fine bones get stuck in your throat.

If you chew it well, it tastes delicious.

Masamune is really resigned.

If you offer your hand now unexpectedly,

he would prostrate himself

and swear eternal loyalty to you.

Blowfish.

- Pardon? - Blowfish.

It's good...

Blowfish is good.

Depending on how you eat it. you could lose your life.

Forgive his crime, make him beholden to you,

and have him swear his loyalty to Sir Hiroimaru?

I see...

With Ieyasu's intercession everything changed.

The suspicion of treason vanished

and his exile was rescinded.

He's no longer angry at me?

That's right.

Tomorrow morning at 10,

Gen-i Maeda will come as the taiko's envoy

to tell you there will be no punishment

and you need not retire.

No retirement...

This is wonderful.

Long live our lord.

Congratulations.

The taiko was not blind after all.

However, because the taiko was made aware

of your disobedience to him thrice in past years,

you are ordered to submit a written vow,

signed by all of your important vassals.

A written vow?

He wants our loyalty oath in writing.

It can't be helped for the security of the clan.

We'll swear our blood oath to prove our lord's innocence.

I will sign the oath document.

Excuse me?

I understand the vow of the vassals is enough.

A written vow of vassals means

they are in charge of their master's fate.

That is an insult to my dignity.

No, that's not so.

I can see how you feel.

But please try to bear it this time.

If you displease the taiko, everything will be lost.

Damn it.

- In any case... - Sake. Bring some sake.

- It is auspicious. - A celebratory drink!

Mego.

Mego.

I won.

Neko's prophesy wasn't wrong.

The taiko forgave me.

Hyogoro.

I can't let you inherit just yet.

I will be able to live with you in Kyoto.

Everyone will be together.

All right?

Yes.

Good.

All things considered, it turned out well.

You are invincible, Sir Date.

It is all due to you all.

Are you Kojuro Katakura?

Yes.

I am Masanori Fukushima from Shizugadake.

Remember me.

I am happy to make your acquaintance.

I hear you were given Tamura fief by the taiko

yet you refused to accept.

Yes, I've heard about that too.

Why did you refuse?

Begging your pardon, I am a Date vassal.

That is so insolent.

The taiko is the ruler of Japan.

Masamune is just a henpuku muchori.

What? Henpuku muchori?

What's that?

Henpuku Muchori.

Muchori means a hamlet without birds.

Henpuku is a bat.

What? Muchori is a hamlet without birds?

Henpuku is... oh, a bat?

You're well educated.

And what does it mean?

Since Ou is a hamlet without birds,

meaning there are no notable warriors,

a bat such as Masamune can act like he's important.

Isn't that what you mean?

Do you want to make something of that, Masamune Date?

You, Sir Fukushima, am a chinchikurin, rin rin.

Chinchikurin, rin rin?

What does that mean?

Please take a guess.

Well now... are those old Japanese words?

Reporting sir.

The grand hall is ready.

Please move into the room.

Let's go, everyone.

Date.

I am happy to see...

I commend you for your intention of

letting your son inherit and go into exile for his sake.

Thank you, sir.

I will let your son use a character from my name.

He may call himself Hidemune Date.

I appreciate that, Your Highness.

When he comes of age.

he will be introduced to the imperial court

and will be given the rank of under-chamberlain

of the fifth order.

Listen.

All future generations of Date

must serve the Toyotomi with utter loyalty.

You must tell your descendants that you owe me.

I will.

Toshiie Maeda, chief councilor of state

and lord keeper of the privy seal, Ieyasu Tokugawa

both have sworn loyalty to Hiroimaru.

You do so, too. Along with your son...

will you serve and protect Hiroimaru?

Sir Masamune.

I'm counting on you.

I swear it on the gods.

I understand how you feel.

I'm the same.

I'm concerned about Ohiroi's future.

I'm counting on you.

Chinchikurin, rin rin.

There's nothing in any book.

We must find it.

My honor depends on it.

The Date vassals are well versed in

Japanese and Chinese classics.

Chikurin is a bamboo forest.

Would chin mean rare?

A rare bamboo forest...

would rin rin, arouse courage.

I'm saying, for instance.

Damn it.

That impertinent youngster!

Chinchikurin means a certain person.

A certain person?

Do you mean a personage resembling a monkey?

A performing monkey has bells around his neck.

And the bell makes a rin rin sound.

I see.

So Masanori Fukushima is the bell around the taiko's neck?

That's extremely satisfying.

Chinchikurin, rin rin.

Taiko's obsequious follower is not Masanori Fukushima.

Pardon?

Hideyoshi's sycophant

attempting to inveigle Lady Yodo and Hiroimaru

is Mitsunari Ishida.

He got the kanpaku killed by false accusations,

and he also attempted to have me exiled.

Eventually, I must make him pay.