Broken to the Fist

As Yabushige's army cleans up the aftermath of the chain shots, they are surprised by the arrival of Toranaga's army. One of the soldiers is Buntaro, who managed to survive the ambush. Toranaga is upset at Nagakado's actions, so he decides to give Omi his command of the cannon regiment.

With Buntaro's return, Mariko is still instructed to serve her duties to both her husband and Blackthorne. Buntaro moves in with them, and his presence soon causes friction within them. During this, Blackthorne puts a pheasant in front of the house, instructing Fuji not to remove it despite its smell, as Toranaga gave it to him as a gift. Due to his limited Japanese, he jokingly tells his servants that they'll die if they touch it. During dinner, Blackthorne and Buntaro engage in a sake drinking binge, although Blackthorne's attempts at friendliness eventually anger Buntaro into firing two arrows in front of Mariko’s face; despite Blackthorne's protests and Mariko's reluctance, he forces Mariko to tell Blackthorne about her father, Akechi Jinsai, who murdered the corrupt and murderous predecessor of the Taikō, Kuroda-sama. For this, Jinsai was forced to execute his entire family, including his wife and children, before committing seppuku; Mariko married Buntaro as atonement for his betrayal. Mariko then leaves without Buntaro's permission, enraging him further.

After hearing Buntaro beat Mariko in a fit of rage, Blackthorne confronts Buntaro outside the house with his gun, seemingly looking for a fight. Instead of fighting back, Buntaro apologizes for ruining the harmony of his household, blaming the sake for his anger; confused, Blackthorne leaves. The following day, Blackthorne tries to convince Mariko to leave her husband, but she refuses, also deciding that she will not speak with him unless Toranaga orders a translation; she also reveals that his swords, which Fuji believes were owned by her late father, were actually bought by her grandfather off a drunk samurai to placate her feelings, and she has Blackthorne swear to remain silent about it. At his house, Blackthorne's friendly gardener Uejiro is confused by Blackthorne's orders and removes the pheasant to dispose of it; he is later reported to have been executed, which devastates Blackthorne. However, Muraji manages to convince Yabushige and Omi that Uejiro was the spy they were searching for.

After Uejiro's death, Blackthorne meets with Toranaga, asking to leave Japan. During their meeting, an earthquake hits the village and causes a landslide. Toranaga is buried, but Blackthorne manages to save him, although Toranaga loses his swords in the process and his army suffers heavy losses; to compensate for his lost swords, Blackthorne offers him his own. In Osaka, the remaining regents attempt to decide who will take Toranaga's place on the council, but are unable to agree on a replacement. However. Ochiba no Kata, the consort of the late Taiko, soon arrives and reunites with her son Yaechiyo before frightening Ishido into submission by stating that the Regents will now listen to her.

In February 2024, Hulu confirmed that the fifth episode of the series would be titled "Broken to the Fist", and was to be written by consulting producer Matt Lambert, and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye.^[1] It was Lambert's first writing credit, and Toye's second directing credit.^[2]

Justin Marks explained that the series wanted to explore more of Mariko, especially "what baggage is Mariko carrying with her." For this, it was important to show more about her father, as well as her marriage to Buntaro. Marks considered that Buntaro "keeps her in an invisible cage", but to protect her life as he fears losing her.^{[3]: 1:40–3:50}

For the earthquake scene, producer Eriko Miyagawa said that the crew managed to depict the sequence through "really rigorous planning" and a combination of visual effects and stunts. She said, "It has to be an earthquake. Not, you know, another natural disaster. It has to look and feel like [an] earthquake."^[4]