Ooku: The Inner Chambers (2023) s01e08 Episode Script

[buzzing]
Mama
Mama
Mama, uh
I'm so cold
I need you to scratch my back
Scratch my back.
Scratch scratch
[menacing music]
[gasps]
[narrator] It was the great famine
of the year of Kanei 19.
ŌOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS
Where is all that smoke coming from,
Den'emon?
It is probably smoke from the dead bodies
that are being burned on a pyre.
[woman panting]
Huh?
[gasping]
She's tearing off the mud wall
to get at the straw inside
so she can boil it and eat it.
[sighs]
Wait, O-Yone!
Slow down, O-Yone!
Uh Huh?
I've heard rumors
that there isn't any food left anywhere!
Please, don't do this!
You belong here! You're one of us!
I'm going to Edo.
I might be able to find
some sort of work there.
O-Yone!
All right
Are you saying that you are willing
to share your food
with all of us here, Lady Sato?
[gasps]
[Yone] Don't give me hollow words
when you know you can't help!
[sobs]
[grunts]
Oh
Now, I believe we should move on,
my liege
Ahem. Lady Chie.
[Iemitsu] Every peasant I met from here
treated us very kindly last year.
I think the change is to be expected.
A great famine of this magnitude has been
rare in recent memory, as far as I know.
Hmm.
Out of our way!
[ceremonial music]
[Iemitsu] Although there are quite a few
beggars coming from farming villages,
the town of Edo Is livelier
than I imagined it would be.
Daikon here! Fresh daikon for sale!
MONEY EXCHANGE
There are even more women
than I saw the last time I was here.
The Edo I remember has
completely changed since I was a child.
I know there is a shortage of men,
but why aren't there
any young men working at all?
Everyone here is afraid
of the red-face smallpox,
and they tend
to keep their men safely indoors.
[Iemitsu] Also, I see that many
of the women here wear their hair up.
[Den'emon] Uh
I believe it's because
it's easier to move around that way.
Den'emon. I want one of those hair
accessory combs those women are wearing.
BRIC-A-BRAC STORE
[woman] How do you like it?
Put your hair up in the popular shimada
style and stick that comb in,
and I'm positive
that you'll look very good.
Den'emon, get the money ready.
Of course.
This one, too.
And this one, and this one. This one, too.
[gasps] My! Oh, terribly, terribly sorry,
my young Princess.
Ah! Please, let me show you the back room.
That is where we keep
our finest merchandise.
Wait here, please, if you don't mind.
[chuckles]
[man] May I come in?
[door closes]
Welcome to our humble store.
I have brought you our merchandise.
My name is Matabei,
the son of this family.
Mmm.
So, what did you think about our stock?
Was there anything back there
that you found to your liking?
Yes. The craftsmanship was meticulous.
The best I've seen. I'll be back.
Give my regards to your son for me, too.
[giggles]
Yes, yes. Of course, of course!
We can't wait for you to return
and see us again.
For you, Princess, our son is available
for eight ryo per session.
And I do not offer this price
to just anyone.
Now I understand.
If I had cleared the room earlier
to be alone with him,
I guess I could have been Intimate
with the son of that merchant back there.
- Lady Chie
- But, for eight ryo, though
Are all of the households
who still have sons
renting them out like prostitutes
like that, at such expensive rates?
How is a poor family supposed
to afford something like that?
Hmm
Oh [gasps]
This is Yoshiwara, Lady Chie.
With the decline in the male population,
this shogunate-licensed red-light district
no longer functions with
the same level of activity as it once did.
Nowadays, there are only a few young men
left who sell themselves to women.
[groans]
- [man] Hey, there!
- [gasps]
Are you gonna buy me, pretty princess?
I come at a fair price.
What about it?
I know my looks aren't that great,
but I'm only one bu for the night.
One bu, and that's all.
[gasps]
Den'emon!
He seems to have suffered from syphilis.
Hey, there! My boy over here is
actually young, unlike them.
And he only costs two bu.
[man mumbles]
[gasps]
- Hmph! We're leaving.
- Yes, milady.
If I were the customer, I wouldn't
buy them no matter how cheap they were!
A deranged lad or an old man?
And I bet this is where wanderers
who were once farmers end up as well.
Why is it like that?
I do not think that women are coming here
simply to buy a night of pleasure, milady.
[Iemitsu] Oh?
I believe that those are the lengths
women are willing to go through
to give birth to a child nowadays.
Hmm.
[narrator] That was a sentiment that,
ever since she became a mother,
Iemitsu was keenly aware of.
[Kasuga] My liege!
I have told you many times before
that you are not to unsafely sneak
outside the walls of Edo Castle like this.
[gasps] What were you planning on
doing if something had happened?
I don't know what you mean.
As you requested, I have not been anywhere
except the first wing in the Ōoku.
Masakatsu! Masakatsu, where are you?
Yes, my liege, I am here.
Gather the Six Representatives.
A peasant riot may break out
if we don't do something soon.
- Please, my liege!
- Yes, Kasuga!
These days, I'm better off walking
the town of Edo incognito as a woman.
A group of men would attract
too much attention, you know that.
- But, my liege
- Don't worry so much.
I've done this many times before.
I'm skilled at walking around unnoticed,
and there is no way people
would know who I really am.
So please don't fret. Okay now?
[gasps]
Uh [sighs]
[grumbles]
To deal with this famine, we should build
a temporary shed in the middle of the town
and feed rice porridge
to the starving people for seven days.
[all gasp]
- [Nobutsuna thinks] How naïve
- Hmm.
Uh, I think that's very kind of you
but, my liege, I do not think that
feeding the people a meal
of rice porridge for a meager seven days
will actually do anything
to save the peasants.
If I may say.
- [Iemitsu] Are you kidding?
- Uh
Of course this isn't going to do
anything to save the peasants.
This is a plan to discourage all
the peasants from organizing an uprising.
This has nothing to do
with saving them at all.
[all gasp]
So?
Is my plan possible or is it not?
Ye yes. I'll get right to it.
Hmm.
[grunts]
Another concern is share-croppers working
for the land-owning farmers
are running away because of the famine
and turning into drifters.
Well
That is most inconvenient.
We need the peasants to be making rice
more vigorously than ever
during times like these.
It's because the powerful
land-owning farmers
are taking on dozens of share-croppers,
but the share-croppers just run away
every time there is a famine.
If small-scale peasants
start selling their rice-fields
and become drifters
because they can't bear with the poverty,
the farmers who buy those rice-fields
will become powerful land-owning farmers,
which could be bad for us.
[Iemitsu] We will have to prohibit
the selling and buying of farmland.
We will only keep the peasants
with small, family-owned farms.
Nothing any bigger than that.
Bind them to the land and force them
to work and toil
for the rest of their natural lives.
[all gasp]
[chuckles softly]
It is I, Gyokuei, and tonight I have been
given the honor of being your concubine.
Hmph.
Why don't we just talk for a little while?
Milady.
[Iemitsu sighs]
How interesting.
Seeing you without your bangs,
you suddenly look
like a real grown-up man or something.
If I may say so, I believe
that I am the exact same age as my liege.
You need to watch your mouth
when you speak to me, O-Tama.
If I am not pleased with you,
you'll be bringing shame to your master.
You do know that!
It does not matter if
you are pleased with me or not.
It does not change the fact
that I will be hurting Master Arikoto.
I know this will break his heart.
[gasps] Hmph.
Then why did you agree
to come here tonight?
Even if it was Arikoto's wish,
you could have decided to decline it.
I considered declining,
because being intimate
with someone that Master Arikoto has
such deep feelings for is very painful.
- [gasps]
- But how I feel doesn't matter!
What matters is how this must feel
for Master Arikoto to ask me to do this!
To have to ask me
to do this with my liege.
I don't want to hurt Master Arikoto,
but more than that,
I don't want him to lose to this man named
O-Natsu.
- That cannot happen!
- Aah!
And that is why my liege is not allowed
to like me more
than you like Master Arikoto.
But I need you to like me more
than you like O-Natsu, do you understand?
Because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to
show my face to Master Arikoto ever again.
You don't get to tell me how to act!
Are you giving me orders now, you fool?
No, I'm not. It's just that
I made up my mind long ago
that Master Arikoto is
the one and only person I serve.
[gasps]
You are the only man in my heart, Arikoto.
No matter how many men I will
have to bear children with,
my heart will ever and always
only belong to you.
Just you, Arikoto.
[wistful music]
[chuckles]
Well, I'll say you are the only one who
has the boldness to talk to me so frankly.
I do not dislike a man who
might resemble you a little.
You and I, O-Tama.
We have similar traits,
now that I look at you. Hmm.
[gentle, wistful music]
[cooing]
[Yajima] Hmm.
Arikoto, O-Tama was a far more
interesting man than I had expected.
I had a feeling you would say that
after meeting with him.
He's mysterious.
His will to live is quite strong.
And he's lucky.
Come to think of it,
when he was younger, an older monk
chased us down and said something strange.
Hey, there! Uh Hey, there! You!
Young child! Yes, you over there!
- [Gyokuei] Hmm?
- [monk panting]
Oh!
What do you want, old man?
Why are you staring at me like that?
Now, now.
Ah! How interesting. Yes.
This child's physiognomy shows
that he will become
the father of a ruler in the future.
[grumbles]
[Gyokuei] Huh, what a weird guy.
I can understand if I were
to become a ruler, but why a father? I
- [monk] Hey, young boy!
- Huh?
The name that I go by is Ryuko.
I'm letting you know
so that you can thank me in the future
when you find out
that I was right about this!
Arikoto, do you think
that it would be better for you
if that monk's words became true?
[Arikoto] Hmm.
[birdsong]
[chirping]
[laughing]
That is a cicada, my sweet little lady.
It is the cicada's croak that lets us
know that summer is nearing its end.
[Chiyo cooing]
[narrator] August 1st.
To celebrate the anniversary of Tokugawa
Ieyasu's entry into the Kanto region,
all of the feudal lords gather
at Edo Castle to express their gratitude.
This day is known as Hassaku.
The celebratory greetings
toward the shogun
are made in the grand hall of the castle.
[man] You may approach!
First, the ometsuke,
or lower superintendent officer,
grants entrance to the audience.
Next, the Senior Councilor, Matsudaira
Governor of Izu,
states the words of gratitude
on behalf of the person.
Matsudaira Terutsuna, Province of Kai,
would like to thank our liege
on this first day of the eighth month.
The shogun's answer is always the same.
Delightful.
Of course, the person sitting there
posing as the shogun
is the shogun's body double,
Inaba Masakatsu.
Normally, Nobutsuna was not
particularly nervous or anxious
about this routine annual event.
However, this year, all he could think
about was that somehow,
the secret that his successor Terutsuna
was actually his daughter
would get exposed.
[thinks] Lord help me.
She really pulls off being a man.
It's been a while,
Governor of Izu, hasn't it?
Well, hello, Governor of Sanuki.
Hmph! It seems Senior Councilors have been
kept at a distance recently,
only invited to the castle on occasions
such as this, don't you think?
No, I don't think that, not at all
[thinks] Bold of him to say it to the face
of the one responsible for that.
Governor of Sanuki,
let me introduce my eldest son, Terutsuna.
Go on. Please say hello, son.
My name is Terutsuna, Governor.
Ah. I see.
And this right here is my son, Tadatomo.
[gasps]
[Terutsuna giggles]
What is it? What is so funny?
The son of the Governor of Sanuki,
I'm positive of it,
that was actually his daughter.
[gasps]
Not to mention,
there were many women dressed like men
accompanying their lords
to the castle today.
[gasps]
At first, I thought this was a great
chance for us to dismantle and restructure
the powerful lords that
interfere with the shogunate.
But what are we supposed to do with
so many lords without a male heir?
There are lords on the brink
of losing their bloodline
even in Tokugawa-related clans as well.
[all] Hmm.
Honored colleagues.
I know that all of you have your hearts
set against this, but why don't we
Why don't we consider allowing a woman
to be the successor to the feudal lords,
if only just for the time being?
[gasps]
Uh Now, wait a second. What on Earth
are you saying, Masamori?
The female shogun would only be
a stopgap until the next generation.
We can search for a son to adopt in
the meantime and make him the successor.
How absurd!
But, nowadays,
all of the peasants and merchants
are handing over their family businesses
to their daughters anyway,
in order to make ends meet.
That may be the case with common
people such as merchants and peasants,
but that simply would not work
with a samurai family,
where being a warrior
and fighting in battle is their duty.
If there are enough women to spare,
men should have
as many concubines as they need
so they can keep the bloodline going.
But, Grandmother,
we're lucky if only one out of five boys
can survive into adulthood.
It's difficult even for a powerful feudal
lord with countless concubines
to have a male successor.
The world is no longer the same world
that you once knew, Grandmother.
The turbulent warring states are
a thing of the past.
Even if there were to be an uprising,
there would not be enough men
to form an army with.
[gasps]
You must see, crushing any more
of our feudal lord allies
who rule the provinces along our outskirts
may very well shake our establishment
to its core.
And haven't you yourself
said to all of us here before,
these are no ordinary times?
We must do what we can
to protect the Tokugawa reign.
[gasps]
[narrator] If the increase in polygamy
and the merger of feudal lords
were to continue,
then the remaining few feudal lords
would own vast territory,
becoming a threat to the Tokugawa clan.
[dramatic music]
Since maintaining
and sustaining the family name
is of paramount importance
in the culture of this country,
regardless of social status,
anything that could lead to the drastic
decline of the number of households,
namely, the polygamy policy,
could not move forward,
because it would result
in destroying too many households.
[gasps]
Oh, uh, good evening, Honored Kasuga.
[gasps]
What are you doing in your formal attire,
Masasuke?
And what's more, it's fancier than usual!
Oh, um
What on Earth
Turn around and let me see.
Mmm! Turmeric embroidery
on a celadon green.
And the kimono you're wearing,
a dark navy blue.
The youthful colors suit you.
But don't you think I need a lot more
embroidery if I want to outdo O-Natsu?
- No, that's just fine.
- [sighs]
Any more, and it would only be tasteless.
[Kasuga] Arikoto-dono!
Where is Arikoto-dono?
[panting]
[solemn music]
A chrysanthemum viewing!
Are you opposed to it?
Today is September the ninth.
It is the annual Choyo Festival.
This is not the Imperial Court.
Samurai who are supposed to be
protecting our honored liege
are out there dressed up in formal attire
with hakama strings with matching colors
and a koshita just for show!
It's as though they're competing
with each other for style!
Shame on you, when we smell the smoke
from the burning dead bodies in town
every single day.
I acknowledge
that I am a servant of the Ōoku.
The new attire that I had freshly made
for everyone at the chrysanthemum viewing
was paid for out of my own personal salary
that I received from our liege.
You shouldn't have a problem
with that, should you?
[Kasuga gasps]
[Arikoto] Besides, for today's party,
our meal is not special
and is the same as any other day,
so there is no extra cost there either.
And the paper-covered lamp stands
we brought from each of our rooms.
I don't think I wasted any money at all,
but what do you think?
[splutters]
Not to mention, none of us have missed
even a day of our swordsmanship classes
or archery training.
I don't understand what problem there is
you could have with this,
the men who are trapped here for life
seeking comfort for one evening
enjoying the chrysanthemums together.
[gasps]
[thinks] Why, you
[narrator] However,
it was this gesture of Arikoto's
that would later turn the Ōoku
into a showy, extravagant
money-guzzling bother to the shogunate.
[breathing shakily]
- Every single one of them
- Oh
No one, not even my son Masakatsu, will
listen to what this old lady has to say.
Now, now, Honored Kasuga.
You shouldn't get so angry,
or it will be bad for your health.
You shut your mouth, Masasuke!
[choking]
Huh?
[groaning]
[gasps]
Honored Kasuga! Are you okay?
THE CHRONICLES OF THE DYING DAY
THE CHRONICLES OF THE DYING DAY