Toranaga places Joseph in the custody of a Japanese lord

Toranaga’s decision to place Brother Joseph in the custody of Japanese lords turns an apostasy dispute into a question of political and household jurisdiction. Rather than leave the young renegade under the Jesuits’ discipline, Toranaga orders him brought to him, then arranges a guarded transfer toward Mishima and Lord Hiro-matsu. The destination and final judgment remain unsettled, but the terms of custody are clear: Joseph is to be kept apart from Christians until Lord Harima, his uncle and the head of his house, decides his fate.

Background and Order

Father Alvito asks where Joseph is, and Toranaga answers by summoning a guard with instructions to find the renegade Christian and bring him to Toranaga at noon the following day. Alvito immediately begs for mercy, sincerely wishing to protect him, but recognizes that his appeal is unlikely to alter a decision Toranaga has already made. The exchange establishes the imbalance between the two men’s powers: Alvito can plead for Joseph, while Toranaga can command his arrest and determine who will hold him.

Alvito’s response also reveals a limit within the Jesuit institution. He wishes the Society had its own secular force authorized to arrest and punish apostates, as it did elsewhere, and recalls that his proposals for such an authority had been rejected both in Japan and in Rome. His frustration makes Joseph’s transfer more than a personal crisis: the Society’s inability to enforce discipline leaves the young man subject to Toranaga’s orders and Japanese authority. Toranaga’s choice thus exposes the distance between the Jesuits’ spiritual claim over a former member and their lack of an independent means to compel him.

The Guarded Transfer

Captain Yoshinaka explains that Toranaga has ordered him to take Joseph to Mishima and deliver him to Lord Hiro-matsu. Joseph is already travelling among the guards in a military kimono, carrying swords that are only hilts: Toranaga has forbidden real blades. Yoshinaka explains the compromise through Joseph’s divided status. Joseph entered the religious Order as a child and has been a priest for twenty years, yet he is also entitled to samurai standing and wants swords. Toranaga allows him the visible form of that status without giving him usable weapons.

The arrangement is neither simple release nor a settled punishment. Yoshinaka says Joseph might be sent back to his uncle for judgment or might remain with Toranaga’s side; Yoshinaka himself only obeys the orders he has received. The journey to Mishima therefore marks a transfer of control, not a disclosed verdict. Joseph’s future remains open, while his present movement is managed by armed attendants and rules set by Toranaga.

Isolation and Jurisdiction

Toranaga’s instructions also require Joseph to be kept by himself, away from everyone and particularly from Christians, until Lord Harima gives judgment. When Father Alvito tries to approach him, Yoshinaka politely blocks the meeting. The restriction prevents the Jesuit from intervening privately and ensures that Joseph is not returned, even temporarily, to the religious community whose authority he has rejected.

The choice of Lord Harima gives the pending judgment a specifically familial and political frame. Yoshinaka identifies him as Joseph’s uncle, the leader of his house, and a Christian daimyo; Harima had originally ordered Joseph into the Order. Toranaga’s stated reasoning is that a Christian lord should deal with a Christian renegade, especially when that lord is both his relative and the authority who first placed him in Jesuit keeping. The decision therefore redirects the case without erasing its religious dimension: it assigns the judgment to a Japanese lord whose household ties and Christian identity converge in the same person.

Alvito’s Failed Appeal

Alvito does not accept the separation quietly. Though private contact is forbidden, he tries again that night to speak with Joseph and urge him to withdraw his sacrilege and kneel in penance before the Father-Visitor. Joseph walks away without listening. Afterward, he is sent far ahead, further frustrating Alvito’s effort to reach him. The episode makes the custody order effective in practical terms: it does not merely name a future custodian but also limits the immediate access of the person most intent on reversing Joseph’s decision.

Alvito’s anguish persists as he wonders whether the Father-Visitor can bring Joseph back to the mercy of God. Yet the transfer has already placed the matter beyond Alvito’s direct control. Toranaga has summoned Joseph, sent him under guard toward Lord Hiro-matsu, and withheld contact pending Lord Harima’s judgment. The action leaves the outcome unresolved while making the shift in authority unmistakable: the Society can still petition and hope, but Japanese command determines where Joseph goes and who may decide what happens next.