Chapter 2

Summary

• Daimyo Kasigi Yabu of Izu is questioning John Blackthorne, demanding to know his identity, origins, details of his voyage, and if he has committed piracy.
• Blackthorne, kneeling in front of Yabu's platform, insists they are not pirates and attempts to explain the political context between England, the Netherlands, and the Spanish-Portuguese empire.
• Father Sebastio, the Jesuit priest, acts as the interpreter but is openly hostile to Blackthorne and mistrustful of his intentions.
• Yabu, surrounded by his lieutenants and fifty samurai, appears powerful and potentially cruel from Blackthorne's perspective.
• The situation is tense as Blackthorne's crew kneels submissively, with the injured Captain-General lying on the ground.
• Blackthorne challenges Father Sebastio's translations and Portuguese allegiance, causing a scene and deepening the animosity.
• Father Sebastio internally battles his emotions after encountering the heretic ship and its crew, a rarity in the Pacific and Asia.
• Blackthorne reveals to Yabu, through Father Sebastio's reluctant interpretation, that a Portuguese traitor sold them a rutter, allowing English and Dutch ships to navigate to the Pacific.
• He further claims that an English fleet is attacking Manila, intending to disrupt Spanish-Portuguese power, and that another Dutch fleet will be arriving soon.
• Yabu tires of the trial and muses over the captured ship's potential as a godsent gift, amid anxious thoughts about the cargo and implications for his power.
• Yabu sternly interrogates Father Sebastio about Blackthorne's claims of other pirate ships, questioning their proximity to Japanese shores.
• Omi, Yabu's nephew, suggests that the exotic, Christian-despising crew might offer some leverage against Christian daimyos and even against the powerful regent, Lord Toranaga.
• Yabu's internal debate ultimately leads to a decision to keep the crew alive but to break their will and teach them manners.
• The crew is locked in a stinking, tight cellar, struggling with fear, thirst, and the cramped quarters.
• Blackthorne recalls a more pleasant memory of bathing, being cared for, and intimacy with a Japanese woman after his capture.
• Tensions and desperation rise among the crew as they lament their current situation and question Blackthorne's aggressive act toward Father Sebastio.
• Omi and Father Sebastio confront the cellar prisoners, pouring in unpleasant contents of a barrel to quell their noise and inform them that one must be chosen to die by dusk, but Blackthorne cannot be selected.