Hyouge Mono is historical fiction, and excellent fiction at that.  In the way of historical fiction, there are certain events which much more of less be observed faithfully – like way stations where the series must check-in.  But the route it takes between stations is where poetic license comes in.  A good writer can use the freedom this provides to make the journey seem more real than the one we read in our history books, and Yamada Yoshihiro is obviously a brilliant writer.

One of those events is the death of Yamanoue Souji.  In a story focused on the intersection of sado and politics in Sengoku Japan, it’s a watershed moment.  Yamanoue comes off in this series as a hotheaded and naive man, someone who let his passion and his arrogance lead him down the garden path.  Whether that lines up with the real Souji or not (evidence suggests it may not be far off), what happens to him should hardly come as a surprise to anyone.  He made enemies of the wrong people and backed the wrong horse, and sooner or later those mistakes were always going to catch up to him.

And yet, Rikyu is quite surprised by what happens.  And that tells us a lot about the man, which – with no disrespect to Yamanoue Souji – is the central theme of this episode.  Rikyu meets with Souji before the end comes for the Houjou, and urges him to throw himself on Hideyoshi’s mercy, promising to entreat the chief advisor to forgive him.  And indeed he does, but it makes no difference – and neither does the affection the dying Hidenaga holds for Yamanoue.  He’s been too bold and too cocksure for his own good, and Ishida has the goods on him.

I think this is the first time in 29 episodes that we’ve seen Rikyu truly rattled, and with good reason.  Not only has he lost a treasured disciple, but he’s seen the limits of his own influence.  By ignoring Rikyu’s pleas Hideyoshi (and Ishida) show him that he’s not untouchable himself.  Rikyu is a towering figure in every sense of the word, larger than the times he lived in, but in the end he serves – and lives – at Hideyoshi’s whim.  Rikyu is no less arrogant than Souji was, even if he was far more elegant about it, and the events of this episode are an extremely rude awakening for him.

For Hideyoshi, things seem to be going well.  The Houjou are slowly being crushed without too much trouble, and Date Masamune agrees to bend the knee.  But the northern wolf has other ideas, and as Hideyoshi’s sphere of control widens the power he wields is stretched thinner and thinner.  Rikyu retreats to his sickbed and Sasuke steps in for him in helping to construct Ishigakiyama Castle, known to history as “One Night” (Ichiya) Castle, for the ruse that it was created in a single night.  In truth it took about 80 days, but by a clever bit of trickery (the castle was hidden behind trees, which were felled overnight to make the castle visible from Odawara Castle, the Houjou’s last refuge) the Houjou believed the ruse, and their will was quickly broken.

At the construction site, Sasuke meets a youngster named Kobori Sakasuke.  The boy would go on to be a disciple of Sasuke in the way of tea, and is known to the world today as Kobori Enshuu.  But as we meet him he’s an aesthete wannabe and a big Sasuke fan.  He timidly shares his idea to cover the castle walls in white shouji paper to make it even more intimidating when revealed – an idea Sasuke takes to immediately.  The boy has caught Sasuke’s eye, and it’s another glimpse at what the world of the aesthetes will look like in the aftermath of the current age.