Ishido Kazunari (石堂 和成) is a character in the FX limited series, Shōgun, who is portrayed by Takehiro Hira.
A former peasant, Ishido has raised himself to all-powerful bushō, a member of the Council of Regents and the protector of Osaka Castle. He hates his low birth but despises those highborn even more. Ishido will stop at nothing to remove Toranaga from the council and neutralize him as a threat to Ishido’s own power.
Biography[]
Confronting Lord Toranaga[]
Lord Ishido invites Lord Toranaga to come meet him and the Council of Regents in Osaka. He accuses Lord Toranaga of aligning power against them. He also demands the return of Lady Ochiba, the heir’s mother, who he claims Toranaga is holding as a hostage. Lord Toranaga insists that he is innocent and only wants peace but Ishido doesn’t believe him.
Voting Against Toranaga[]
Lord Ishido speaks to the members of the Council hoping for a unified vote for Toranaga’s impeachment. When the Christian lords express their strong desire for Blackthorne to be executed, Ishido ultimately agrees to their request in an effort to persuade them to side with him in the vote.
Blocking Toranaga's Exit to Ajiro[]
Yabushige, Yoshii Nagakado, and a group gather to set off to Ajiro with John, Kiri no Kata, Mariko, and others - without Toranaga. However, Ishido shows up upset that Toranaga did not give a day’s notice before Kiri’s departure so that he could pay his respects. Ishido speaks to Kiri and she informs him there are too many assassins in Osaka and this is why she plans to leave. Still suspicious of the group's decision to suddenly pick up and leave, he insists his men escort them to the Osaka castle gates. After that, he has his men do another search of everyone who is leaving.
Later, Ishido finds out that Toranaga snuck out with the convoy. Lord Kiyama speaks with Ishido about Yabushige’s betrayal. They watch while a group of Kiyama’s men in boats block the pathway of Toranaga and the others. However, their boats pass Kiyama's men to Ishido's disappointment.
Ishido confronts Kiyama, emphasizing his disappointment at his plan to get rid of both the barbarian and Toranaga has failed thus far. Hiromatsu arrives to deliver the news of Toranaga's resignation as a Regent. Ishido threatens Toranaga with impeachment, insisting the piece of paper changes nothing. Hiromatsu informs him that Taiko required five regents for any vote and that he is afraid to inform Ishido he only has four now.
Receiving News About Jozen[]
The Council of Regents meets and discusses impeaching Toranaga, however Ishido reminds them this isn’t possible since the Council is now incomplete after his resignation. Later, Ishido receives a wrapped package with Jozen’s head inside.
Later, Lady Ochiba returns to Osaka. She thanks Lord Ishido for helping her release from Edo. She mentions hearing that the Council was outmaneuvered but Ishido insists it will all be restored. Lady Ochiba insists the Council answer to her now.
Forcing a Vote[]
Ishido has taken the regents hostage, including their families, in the castle to force a vote against Toranaga. He wants to vote in Lord Ito as the fifth regent. The Council of Regents take a vote to let Lord Ito in as the fifth regent. Lord Sugiyama votes no, insistent that there is no real threat to the heir. Sugiyama tells Ishido he is a disgrace to the memory of Taiko and that he should let them as hostages go. Lord Ishido doesn’t take kindly to this. Later, Lord Ishido requests patience from Ochiba no Kata. Ochiba no Kata tells Ishido that Toranaga planned the death of her father -even if Mariko’s father was the one who killed him.
Lord Ishido later confronts Lord Sugiyama and kills everyone with him. He claims that they were killed by bandits. Ishido takes his opportunity to reach out to Toranaga's brother, Saeki, to appoint him to the Council of Regents. He tells Saeki to force Lord Toranaga to surrender to him in Osaka.
Proposal to Ochiba no Kata[]
Ishido informs Ochiba no Kata that her plan to force the surrender of Toranaga was a great success. He then suggests they strengthen their partnership with marriage and leaves her to think on it. She later accepts.
Welcoming Yabushige's Surrender[]
Ishido welcomes Yabushige and John, along with the Council of Regents, as they surrender and offer condolences for Daoyoin’s death. Yabushige claims he was deceived into leading Toranaga out of Osaka but Ishido isn’t buying Yabushige’s story believing him to be a traitor. Yabushige delivers the Anjin as a gift to apologize but Ishido says the heir isn’t interested in barbarians.
Mariko arrives after and congratulates Ishido and Ochiba no Kata on their engagement. Ochiba no kata welcomes Mariko herself. They invite her to enter a poetry contest but Mariko informs Ishido that she won’t be around for the contest because she needs to escort Kiri no Kata and Lady Shizu back to Edo to reunite with Toranaga. Ishido denies her request and is shocked by her impolite requests. Mariko tells him her loyalty is to her lord and that she must leave. After Mariko is forbidden to leave the gates on Ishido's orders, she declares she will commit suicide as not leaving Osaka is an offense to her lord.
Ochiba no Kata clarifies the situation to Ishido and the Council of Regents- if Mariko dies, every noble family will revolt in protest. If they let her leave, the hostages will demand to leave as well. Ishido has to decide what to do but at the last minute grants Mariko a permit to leave. Immediately, others ask to leave too and Ishido tells them to apply for a permit because they aren't hostages.
Secretly, Ishido sends one of his men to make a deal with Yabushige. Ishido will pardon him from death but in exchange for a favor, which is later revealed to be letting Shinobi into the castle to try and kill Mariko, John, and the others.
Consequences of Mariko's Death[]
Ishido speaks to Yabushige about the attack. Yabushige claims he only believed Mariko would be captured. Ishido tells him he will have a seat on the Council of Regents for his help. Ishido tells him to go to Izu to gather his army and wait for his command.
It's later revealed that Ochiba no Kata turns on Ishido in support of Lord Toranaga, signaling that Ishido will lose power and control of the Council of Regents.
Personality[]
Ishido is ruthless, cunning, and power-hungry.
Appearances[]
Historical Background[]
Ishido Kazunari is based on Ishida Mitsunari (石田 三成, 1559-1600), the former bugyo (administrator) who directly served Taiko's historical counterpart Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and perhaps best-remembered as the eventual commander of the Western Army coalition that opposed Yoshii Toranaga's historical counterpart Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was born in the north of a province that is today part of Nagahama city.
MItsunari first met Hideyoshi in 1577, when the latter was still only the ruler of Nagahama, and participated in numerous battles under the Hidoyoshi's command until 1585, when Mitsunari was finally appointed as the top Civil Administrator (治部少輔, Jibu-no-shō). In the final years of the Taiko's life, Mitsunari kept serving as the top administrator but his attitude put him on bad terms with a few other daimyo and even the former's nephew Kobayakawa Hideaki, forming a grudge that would later determine the eventual outcome of the war. Tension was particularly bad between Mitsunari and Ieyasu, who had become too powerful for Mitsunari. After the death of Maeda Toshiie, the only lord influential enough to counter Ieyasu in 1599, the conflict came to arms, with Mitsunari forming an anti-Tokugawa alliance of Toyotomi loyalists, particularly three of Hideyoshi's regents Ukita Hideie, Mōri Terumoto, and Uesugi Kagekatsu. The titular head of the Western alliance was Terumoto, but he stayed entrenched in Osaka castle, so the leadership in the field fell to Mitsunari.
In mid-1600, Mitsunari besieged Fushimi Castle, which was controlled by Ieyasu's vassal Torii Mototada, but the castle defied Mitusnari for 11 days despite being outnumbered 20-to-1. This bought enough time for Ieyasu, who was marching north to attack the Uesugi clan when the news of the fall of Fushima arrived, so he redirected all his troops westwards to confront Mitsunari. At the Battle of Sekigahara on October 21, 1600, a number of lords that were supposed to help Mitsunari instead stayed neutral, watching the battle from afar as they did not wish to join in the losing side. Tokugawa forces then gained the edge in the battle with the defection of Kobayakawa Hideaki, and won the battle decisively. The defeated Mitsunari sought to escape but was caught by villagers. He was beheaded in Kyoto and his severed head was placed on a stand for all the people in Kyoto to see.
Gallery[]
