Why Mariko Sacrificed Herself & Died In Shogun, Explained

Shogun's Mariko may have died in the series' penultimate episode, but her sacrifice carried with it plenty of meaning heading into the finale. 

Airing on FX (and streaming on Hulu), the sword-swinging TV epic, just rounded out its ten-episode run, telling a gripping tale of a country in flux and one man's labyrinthine plan for power. 

Lady Mariko (played by Anna Sawai) led the historical drama as a key cog in the political machine, serving the venerable Lord Toranaga as coconspirator and interpreter to Toranaga's new ally, the Englishman John Blackthorne.

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The Meaning Behind Mariko's Shogun Death

Anna Sawai's Lady Mariko shocked fans to close Episode 9 of Shogun, as she died at the hands of some shinobi invaders in Lord Toranaga's Osaka compound. 

This came following Mariko's planting her political flag and spitting in the face of Japan's lord regent council, vowing to commit seppuku (taking one's own life in an honorable form of suicide) if the lords did not release the noble families they were holding within the city (including her). 

The lords finally do grant Mariko her wish, allowing Toranaga's allies along with the other noble families to but it is not in time for her to see it come to fruition. 

Instead, one of the lord regents - and political opponent to Lord Toranaga - Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira) orders Mariko to be kidnapped so she cannot disrupt the public discourse any further. 

However, things do not go as planned, as she is killed by a blast caused by her 'kidnappers,' giving Sawai's character the martyr stratus she had been seeking (read more about Mariko's death here). 

Her death - and ultimate sacrifice - carries with it some pretty heady meaning.

While it may not have always been the plan for Mariko to die, both she and her collaborator Lord Toranaga knew it may come to that as they continued to try and throw the balance of power in Japan. 

Throughout the series, the idea of a full-scale military assault on Osaka called 'Crimson Sky' is discussed by Toranaga. Many thought this would eventually take the form of a massive battle taking place in the city streets. However, it never came to be. 

As revealed in the series' finale though, 'Crimson Sky' actually came to fruition in Mariko's political protest and eventual death. 

It is her death that tipped the societal scales in Toranaga's favor as he gained the political leverage needed to finally go to war.

With Mariko dead, the public and (more importantly) the heir's military might side with Toranaga in his conquest against the lord regent council. 

Her death also was the piece in solidifying what would be a valuable political ally going forward in Cosmo Jarvis' John Balckthorne. 

Mariko had served as an interpreter to Jarvis' Englishman, teaching him the customs of feudal Japan, and sparking a romance between the pair. 

Before her sacrifice, Mariko struck a deal with the Portuguese missionaries who had been feuding with Blackthorne, asking that they spare his life in exchange for the sinking of his boat (a vessel that has served as his hope for eventually getting back to Europe). 

Then, when she dies, Blackthorne goes to Toranaga distraught and ready to commit seppuku himself. It is this level of commitment to Lady Mariko (along with Mariko's fondness for the Anjin) that serves as a final reassurance for Toranaga in fully bringing Blackthorne under his wing. 

Toranaga then grants Blackthorne command of his navy, knocking over the final domino in the Japanese lord's path to war, a conflict that would eventually usher him in as Shogun and ruler of Japan. 

So yes, it was sad to see Mariko bite the dust as Shogun came to a close, but as she echoed so many times to John Blackthrone throughout the series, "We live and we die." And she finally got the meaning she had been looking for, it just came in death.

Shogun is now streaming on Hulu. 

Read more about FX's Shogun series:

Shogun: What Are Goshawks? Meaning In the Show, Explained

Shogun Season 2: Will More Episodes Ever Release?

Here's Why Ochiba Hates Toranaga In Shogun

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