Toranaga notes Blackthorne’s respectful conduct as Yodoko, the Taikō’s widow turned nun, arrives uninvited. She greets the Heir, Yaemon, who chatters about Blackthorne’s world map. Yodoko fetches Yaemon for lessons—at Ishido’s prompting—while Toranaga has deliberately shown the boy the foreign pilot to preempt Ishido’s influence.

Amid polite talk, Yodoko asks after Lady Ochiba and Lady Genjiko. Toranaga reflects on arranging Genjiko’s marriage to his son Sudara to counter Ochiba’s power, and on his pregnant consort Sazuko. Yodoko offers prayers for a grandson and laments the burden of safeguarding Yaemon.

Walking apart, Yodoko implores Toranaga to take sole power: become Shōgun, adopt Yaemon as heir, and thus prevent factional war. She warns that conflict would devour the boy, pledging that neither Ochiba nor Yaemon will oppose Toranaga while she lives. Toranaga refuses, invoking the Taikō’s testament and his vow as Regent.

Yodoko then suggests a political marriage to Ochiba to settle the succession. Toranaga inwardly rejects the idea, recalling Ochiba’s ruthlessness and even questioning Yaemon’s paternity, yet outwardly he remains courteous, saying he would like to know privately if Ochiba would consider it. Yodoko observes many believe Toranaga stands between Yaemon and his inheritance; Toranaga denies it, leaving the tension unresolved.