Buntaro

Buntaro is Toda Mariko’s husband and a formidable samurai whose suspicion of John Blackthorne makes marital honor a personal and political grievance. His anger leads him to ask Toranaga to have Blackthorne killed; later, after learning that Blackthorne protected Mariko’s honor, he apologizes and thanks him. Their confrontation thus ends not in vengeance but in a formal acknowledgment of the very honor Buntaro had feared was lost.

Identity and Introduction

Buntaro enters the scene on horseback, carrying a great bow and two full quivers, with half a dozen samurai behind him. On reaching the plateau, he immediately sees Blackthorne, and his face grows sterner. He reins in and surveys the reviewing stand and the people assembled there before allowing the main party to advance. The caution and armed escort make his presence a guarded one, while his attention to Blackthorne signals the personal hostility beneath the military ceremony.

Shame and the Demand for Vengeance

Buntaro tells Toranaga that Blackthorne insulted him at Anjiro and that he remains shamed. Toranaga orders him to dismiss that shame, and Buntaro says he will—but distinguishes the insult from what he regards as an unforgivable betrayal. He accuses Mariko of betraying him with Blackthorne, claims to have proof, and asks Toranaga for Blackthorne’s death as a lifetime favor. His appeal is sharpened by the fact that Blackthorne’s ship is gone: Buntaro argues that Toranaga no longer has use for him. The request reveals how completely Buntaro has made his grievance a matter of honor, even as he couches vengeance in the language of service and political usefulness.

Toranaga’s Disclosure

Toranaga rejects Buntaro’s accusation and tells him that Blackthorne did not shame him with Mariko. He explains that he ordered Mariko to become Blackthorne’s friend, and that the two were friends, but says they did not dishonor Buntaro. Toranaga also discloses that, on the day Mariko proposed going to Osaka to free the hostages by publicly challenging Ishido and forcing a crisis through the threat of seppuku, he ordered her divorced from Buntaro. Buntaro’s question about whether the plan had been laid then prompts Toranaga’s blunt confirmation. The disclosure reframes the conflict: Mariko’s relationship with Blackthorne and her departure from her marriage were entangled with Toranaga’s political orders, not simply the private betrayal Buntaro had imagined.

Apology and Aftermath

After Mariko’s death, Blackthorne recalls meeting Buntaro with Tsukku-san beside him. Buntaro has his great bow in hand; Blackthorne has his sword. Speaking stiffly through Tsukku-san, Buntaro says that Kiri and Lady Sazuko told him how Blackthorne protected his wife’s honor and saved her from shame. He thanks Blackthorne, excuses his earlier vile temper, and bows before leaving. Blackthorne remembers how much he wanted Mariko to witness the exchange, and how the apology meant that her honor was protected and the matter would remain private. Buntaro’s change is expressed through formal conduct rather than intimacy: the man who had demanded Blackthorne’s death gives him thanks and a bow, bringing their conflict to a restrained close.