Chapter 24

Summary

• Toranaga and his party are attempting to escape secretly through the back streets of the city to reach the wharf and a waiting galley.
• Mariko and the English pilot, Blackthorne, have been included in Toranaga's group following a violent incident which resulted in casualties among their escort.
• Toranaga reflects on the plan for a covert escape which was endangered by the unexpected presence of Ishido, an adversary.
• Despite the complications, Toranaga resigns from his position as a Regent, giving him flexibility against his political enemies and avoiding constraints of his oath.
• While escaping, Toranaga internally questions who was behind the ambush and who is likely the target; suspecting different factions including Portuguese and Christian priests.
• Toranaga recruits ronin, who are part of his secret elite troops, to protect his group as they approach the galley.
• As Toranaga's group reaches the wharf, there is tension over whether the galley is controlled by friend or foe.
• A plan is hatched to deceive the guards at the galley into believing there has been an ambush requiring their assistance.
• Mariko is tasked to go aboard the galley with Blackthorne and others, and to pretend to faint as a signal if the ship is secure.
• Mariko and Blackthorne are successful in drawing the guards away from the galley, allowing Toranaga's samurai to approach.
• In the confusion, Mariko executes her signal by pretending to faint, and a battle ensues between Toranaga's ronin and the guards.
• During the fight, Blackthorne is forced to defend both Mariko and himself using his concealed knives.
• The chapter concludes with Toranaga's forces gaining control of the wharf and the galley, with Mariko and Blackthorne narrowly surviving the conflict.