Mariko
A Jesuit-educated Catholic translator loyal to Toranaga.
Lady Toda Mariko is a Jesuit-educated Catholic loyal to Toranaga, not her church. She faithfully translates to Toranaga Blackthorne's account of the Pope granting Portugal colonial rights to Japan and East Asia in return for replacement of all non-Catholic lords, including Toranaga, with those loyal to Portugal and Rome. A key member of Toranaga's inner circle, she secretly has an affair with Blackthorne. She wills money to Blackthorne to build a seaworthy ship for Toranaga's navy.
Lore & Background
Mariko is based on Hosokawa Gracia (1563–1600). She also relates the Franciscan's report of Catholic rōnin from Macau invading Japan. To deflect suspicions, Toranaga feigns to all except Mariko acquiescence towards Ishido. When, as planned, Mariko tries to exit Osaka, Ishido's men violently block her party until an intentionally unharmed Mariko gives up on leaving. Saying she has been dishonored, Mariko vows to kill herself the next day. She almost ends her life, but in a delaying gambit, Ishido grants her leave at the last minute. That night Toranaga's duplicitous vassal Yabu lets Ishido's ninjas into Toranaga's compound to kidnap Mariko. Having retreated to a storeroom, Mariko willfully stands in front of a door set to explode and is killed. Her death, which Ishido sought to prevent, forces him to free his noble hostages, thus weakening military alliances. Mariko wills money to Blackthorne to build a seaworthy ship for Toranaga's navy.
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