10 Best ‘Shōgun’ Quotes, Ranked

FX’s Shōgun is one of the best shows of the year so far, earning critical acclaim and pulling in solid streaming numbers. It boasts high production value, alongside gorgeous cinematography and a cast who deliver everything that’s expected from them and then some. As a result, Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojimaembraced the show, calling it “Game of Thrones set in 17th century Japan”. This is in contrast to the 1980 screen adaptation’s more muted response in Japan.

Shōgun‘s greatest strength might be the writing. The script is smart, going for character development and slow-burn tension over action or spectacle. It’s often lyrical (poetry is a big part of the story), giving several characters memorable, resonant lines. This is somewhat unsurprising, given that the show was adapted from James Clavell‘s beloved novel. Still, it’s refreshing to see a series that clearly respects its source material as well as the time period it’s meant to be recreating. Here are the best quotes from the series, ranked.

This article contains spoilers for the episodes discussed.

10 “Fear is her enemy.” -Mariko

“Chapter Eight: The Abyss of Life”

Mariko (Anna Sawai) delivers this line while talking with Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) about Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido), who is currently allied with Toranaga’s rival Ishido (Takehiro Hira). Mariko suggests that Ochiba could be won over, arguing that Toranaga is not her real enemy. Rather, fear itself is. Mariko’s assessment turns out to be accurate, as Ochiba does later withdraw her support for Ishido, greatly strengthening Toranaga’s hand.

The line is also bittersweet and prophetic in that it ends up being Mariko’s sacrifice in Episode 9 that prompts Ochiba to make this switch. Her death is beyond what the Lady can stomach. Moreover, Mariko’s line is significant in that it highlights a key difference between Mariko and Ochiba, as well as most of the characters: Mariko cannot be stopped by fear. Whereas most of the characters will do anything to stay alive and safe, Mariko willingly goes to die out of loyalty to her lord.

9 “If you look and see nothing, you must simply look harder.” – Kiku

“Chapter Eight: The Abyss of Life”

Kiku (Yuka Kouri) is the crafty courtesan and friend of Mariko who, among other sneaky acts, helps in Nagakado’s (Yuki Kura) attempt to kill Saeki (Eita Okuno) in Episode 7. Her most memorable quote comes in Episode 8, where she stresses that, if a situation appears unfathomable, then one must change the way one perceives it. It’s a great thesis statement for the entire show, where characters are constantly deceiving one another and hiding their true feelings, whether it’s Mariko and Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) hesitating to express their love or Toranaga concealing his desire to be shōgun.

Toranaga’s actions, in particular, appear contradictory unless one imagines that his expressed goals do not tell the full story of his ambitions. Indeed, this concept is expressed in the idea of the “Eightfold Fence”, by which people are taught to compartmentalize their personalities and make their deepest thoughts impenetrable. All the characters possess hidden depths, but only a few of them, like Mariko and Toranaga, are able to see it in others.

8 “You will know what it is to be denied.” – Hiromatsu

“Chapter Eight: The Abyss of Life”

Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka) is the father of Mariko’s abusive husband, Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe). For years, Mariko has longed to commit seppuku to escape her tormented life, but Buntaro has always forbidden her to do so and thwarted her efforts. In this episode, an ashamed Buntaro himself asks his father to be given permission to take his own life, but Hiromatsu refuses. Hiromatsu insists that Buntaro must live and serve his lord, rather than take what he sees as the easy way out.

It’s a strange, complex scene, where the father is punishing the son by forcing him to live. In particular, Hiromatsu wants Buntaro to feel what Mariko did when she was denied the option of taking her own life, even as living had become unbearable. Hiromatsu knows Buntaro well enough to understand how unpleasant this will be for him, but also that it might help to change his perspective. In addition, the line is simply a stone-cold piece of dialogue, especially when delivered by a veteran samurai.

7 “You’d walk into a sword just to prove the blade is sharp?” – Blackthorne

“Chapter Nine: Crimson Sky”

Shōgun has a brilliant way of summing things up in a single artful phrase. Here, it’s Blackthorne who does so, showing that his time around the poetic characters of Toranaga’s court has rubbed off on him in more ways than one. Here, he’s questioning Mariko’s plan to sacrifice herself in order to show that Ishido is violent and brutal, thus undermining his support. This is Crimson Sky: the plan to back Ishido into a corner so that he proves that he, not Toranaga, is the real aggressor.

The line is lyrical, sounding almost like a proverb. Jarvis also delivers it well; his horror at Mariko’s proposed course of action is plain to see. He loves her and will be devastated if any harm comes to her. However, the viewer can tell that he’s also impressed by her steely resolve and the depth of her devotion to Toranaga. Many other characters wrestle with their duty; Mariko accepts hers with calm.

6 “Why tell a dead man the future?” – Toranaga

“Chapter Ten: A Dream of a Dream”

The final scene between Toranaga and his close ally Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) is crucial in many ways. It reveals the true nature of Toranaga’s plans as well as his goal of becoming shōgun to bring peace to the kingdom. Yabushige then asks him if he had always dreamed of being shōgun, despite claiming for years that he didn’t want the title. Rather than answering, the lord delivers this unbelievably icy line, before beheading his servant as Yabushige commits seppuku.

This is Toranaga at his most metal. The man is on another level, capable of doing whatever is necessary to advance his objectives. A flashback earlier in the season shows how this part of his personality was forged in childhood. Toranaga was a ‘boy warlord’, leading armies and killing foes from a young age. He’s had a difficult, traumatic life, beset by challenges and threats, and it has molded him into the lord he is. It means he’ll either be a great shōgun or a harsh despot.

5 “Once loyalty begins, it does not have an end. Otherwise, it would not be loyalty.” – Mariko

“Chapter Eight: The Abyss of Life”

Another gem from Mariko, which shines more light on her profound sense of duty and the reasoning behind her sacrifice in Episode 9. Most of the other characters are disloyal in various ways, or at least only partly loyal: Saeki betrays his brother, Nagakado disobeys his father’s orders, Yabushige turns on his lord. But Mariko follows Toranaga’s orders even into death, proving that this quote is not mere posturing. Her loyalty really knows no limitations.

Indeed, Mariko embodies the ideals that her culture expects. Perhaps this was a result of her father’s experiences. Mariko’s dad was a turncoat general believed to have assassinated one of his supposed allies. This brought shame to Mariko’s house. Mariko seems dedicated to proving that she is not like that. She intends to show the world that she remains a noble, more capable than her enemies and critics of living out the principles to which they pay lip service.

4 “I would sooner live a thousand years than die with you like this.” – Mariko

“Chapter Eight: The Abyss of Life”

For years, Mariko has begged Buntaro to let her commit seppuku, a request he has always refused. However, in this episode, Buntaro’s position changes. During a twisted tea ceremony, Buntaro proposes that they take their own lives to protest Toranaga’s surrender. Mariko defies him, insisting that she does not want to end her life on his terms. What she doesn’t say, but which the viewer later learns, is that she still has work to do for Toranaga before she can die in peace.

The scene is intriguing, because of the complete inversion of both characters’ earlier positions. Whereas Mariko previously longed for death to escape her husband’s abuse, she now has a purpose, and means to see it through. This gave her the boldness to stand up to her husband, no longer fearing his response. The line shows that, in her own way, Mariko is just as staunch and strong as Toranaga.

3 “Why is it always that the people who are so eager to go into battle are the ones who have never been in it?” – Toranaga

“Chapter Seven: A Stick of Time”

Angered by the regents’ treatment of Toranaga, the lord’s son Nagakado insists that they take revenge. His father refuses, so the young man takes matters into his own hands, launching a surprise cannon attack on Jozen (Nobuya Shimamoto) and his men. Toranaga is furious and disappointed, though some of the samurai express admiration for Nagakado and his inability to take any insults to his lord lying down.

This line is a resonant one, as it is so often the people with the least experience of conflict who seem the most willing to start wars. Nagakado longs for martial glory, but Toranaga insists one does not need to win a battle to have honor. This is an idea that crops up frequently in Japanese movies and literature, especially in the aftermath of World War II. For example, it’s a key theme in Takashi Yamazaki‘s Godzilla Minus One. Shōgun appears to look dimply on Nagakado’s attitude, as the young man’s actions lead directly to his tragic and unceremonious death.

2 “If you seek individual freedom, you’ll never be free from yourself.” – Mariko

“Chapter Five: Broken to the Fist”

This line stems from a fascinating conversation between Blackthorne and Mariko. The Englishman claims that she is trapped by tradition and should pursue her own freedom for a change. Mariko snaps back that it is he who is caged, that his pursuit of individual freedom actually leaves him more rudderless, more lacking in meaning, and, ultimately, less free.

In other words, both characters are speaking for their cultures in this scene. Blackthorne represents a focus on individualism, while Mariko represents duty and obligation. Rather than clearly stating that one view is better than the other, the show makes the case for both and critiques both. After all, Blackthorne’s seafaring had taken him all over the world, but appears to have brought him little happiness. Similarly, Mariko’s sense of duty gives her purpose, but one could also view it as a kind of Stockholm syndrome, keeping her tethered to a bleak existence.

1 “I don’t control the wind. I just study it.” – Toranaga

“Chapter Ten: A Dream of a Dream”

This is yet another beautiful and hardcore line spoken by Toranaga during his clifftop conversation with Yabushige. The series places an emphasis on poetry, and the characters reflect it in their speech. They use metaphors and allusions to express themselves, rather than speaking directly. Here, Toranaga is responding to Yabushige’s claim that the lord can control events, manipulating his opponents like pieces on a chessboard. In other words, he’s attributing almost godlike powers to Toranaga.

Toranaga rejects this characterization, insisting that he’s just a mortal who knows how to observe situations closely, harking back to Kiku’s quote from earlier in the season. The lord’s success comes not from dictating events but from analyzing them accurately and planning accordingly. In a world where most people just see what they want to see, this is indeed a powerful skill. It’s what allows Toranaga to outwit his foes at almost every turn, and the defining factor in why he will eventually become shōgun.

Shōgun can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

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