MARIKO is an important character in the drama “Shōgun”.
She is portrayed as the very symbol of a woman living in the age of the samurai spirit.
Mariko in “Shōgun” was based on real story about some woman have the strong SAMURAI SPIRIT.
First, MARIKO’s story is likely based on the real Garasha Hosokawa. Garasha Hosokawa is the same person as Mitsuhide-Akechi’s daughter (Tama), famous for her rebellion during the heyday of NOBUNAGA ODA, the center of the Japanese Warring States period.
It is said that Garasha Hosokawa (Tama) was so beautiful that her husband kept her isolated from the public eye.
She was also known for her deep faith in Christianity, which was just starting to spread at the time.
However, the Akechi family line was eradicated by her father, who had rebelled against the government.
Garasha Hosokawa, who had already married into the Hosokawa family, was considered to be distancing herself from the Akechi family, and she was not particularly blamed for this, and it seems that she was also cherished by Ieyasu, who had a deep samurai spirit.
However, it is thought that Garasha Hosokawa’s sense of loneliness and heartache at losing her family must have been great.
In the drama “Shōgun”,her husband acts like a loner with a simple appearance, but in the story based on real events, her husband Tadaoki Hosokawa was a wealthy lord of a large castle from the Hosokawa family, a very famous family with the most refined culture in Japan.
The Hosokawa family was held in high esteem by the Emperor and Ieyasu due to their high cultural level, and they were always protected and never turned against by their enemies. The princess and prince of this samurai family were Garasha Hosokawa and Tadaoki!!
On the other hand, there is a famous story about Tadaoki, the husband, who hid his wife Garasha Hosokawa from the eyes of those around them, who saw her as the daughter of a traitor, but there was also an excessive amount of love there.
I don’t know whether there was domestic violence on a daily basis, but there are also stories like this that remain.
(is Mariko in the “Shōgun” based on true story and real people?)
One day, a gardener happened to see Garasha Hosokawa, who had been sequestered by her husband due to his jealousy of her beauty.
Her husband, Tadaoki, killed the gardener with a sword on the spot out of jealousy for his wife.
The story continues that, as he wiped the blood-stained sword on Garasha Hosokawa’s kimono, he is said to have coldly remarked, “As I thought, she is the daughter of a traitor,” at Garasha Hosokawa’s resolute appearance, which did not change a single expression.
However, at the time, there were many gardeners who were spies, so it is possible that Tadaoki, the husband, killed the gardener based on a cool-headed judgment, and not out of jealousy towards his wife.
In addition, the couple’s appearance, with their good looks and good family background, but also with such conflicts, was the focus of attention in the world, and because there was no end to the gossip, it is also said to be just gossip.
However, the pain of being the daughter of a traitor, the loneliness of losing her family, and the excessive love of her husband may have led Garasha Hosokawa to a deep faith in Christianity.
Despite this, Garasha Hosokawa shows the world her dignity as the wife of a samurai by committing suicide in a spectacular fashion to avoid being taken as a hostage by the enemy Mitsunari-Ishisda.
She truly showed the SAMURAI SPIRIT.
And that SAMURAI SPIRIT spread to the wives of other lords (daimyo), and Mitsunari-Ishisda’s plan ended in failure.
In reality, it is said that she was not killed by her own hand as in the drama “Shōgun”, but was killed by her attendant retainer with a sword.
It is said that Garasha Hosokawa set fire to the house while being surrounded by Mitsunari-Ishisda.
This retainer seems to have strongly refused to kill Garasha Hosokawa, but in the end, he killed Garasha Hosokawa and then killed himself (seppuku) at the hands of the Samurai Spirit.
No matter how she died, Garasha Hosokawa’s “controlling power through her own death” is the very essence of the “Samurai Spirit”, and seems to be a symbol of a wife of a samurai living in the era of the samurai.
Finally, I have summarized the true story and events of Mariko (Garasha Hosokawa) from the drama “Shōgun” as follows.
(is Mariko in the "Shōgun" based on true story and real people?)
[Points that are close to historical fact]
- The anguish and loneliness of being the daughter of Mitsuhide Akechi, a traitor
- The fact that she suffered from her husband’s doting
- The fact that she had a deep faith in Christianity
The fact that she was cherished by Ieyasu
She was a strong Samurai Spirit.
- The fact that when she was about to be taken as a hostage, she killed herself to show off her dignity as the wife of a samurai, shocking and upsetting those around her
[Points that differ from historical fact]
- The Hosokawa family was a much larger family, so they would not have always acted independently. (As they were the lord and princess of a large castle, it is thought that they would always have had retainers by their side.)
Hosokawa Grasha herself was not particularly skilled in martial arts.
She did not die in a bomb blast at the end, but rather died after asking her retainers to kill her.
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