Shogun has been a powder keg since its premiere episode. It opens with five daimyos fighting for control of Japan. Four of them selected Lord Yoshii Toranaga as a target, placing him in seemingly inescapable danger. His cunning political moves kept him alive, but the risk of a public execution has rapidly been supplanted by the potential for all-out war. "The Eightfold Fence" represents the beginning of the promised conflict.