Newly-married Naochika plays the flute and his wife Shino taps a tsuzumi in the residence of the Iis. Jiro Hoshi who goes begging for alms hears the sound from somewhere and remembers her tsuzumi given by Naomitsu, father of Naochika in her childhood.
NIINO Samanosuke and ONO Tajimanokami Masatsugu visit IMAGAWA Yoshimoto to ask permisson of the return of Naochika and his succession to the IIs. Then Yoshimoto orders the land survey of Ii-no-ya instead. II Naohira is pleased that the orders of Yoshimoto is not serious as he anticipated but when he learns the land survey, he goes up in the air for he has a hidden village in his fief Kawana, one of the area in Ii-no-ya. Naochika goes there to see it and finds there are many terraced rice fields and peaceful. Naohira says it's a place for shelter the people in Ii-no-ya when the Imagawas attack there, not for tax dodge.
Niino Samanosuke (Shunsuke Kariya, centre) and Ono Masatsugu (Issei Takahashi, left) at the residence of the Imagawas.
Naochika is busy with trying cover-up the village and planning how to entertain the survey team. So he is away from home most of the time including asking help for
Jiro in Ryotanji Temple. His behaviour worries Shino but he is
insensible of her feeling. Meanwhile Masatsugu and his younger brother Genba begin checking the documents on the yield of the areas in Ii-no-ya. One night he shows Masatsugu two documents one of which is regular but the other is a secret one that contains the information of the hidden village. He believes Masatsugu completely and pushes everything on the matter of the village onto him but such behaviour of Naochika makes Masatsugu get angry. Naochika cannot read his mind as well as his wife's mind.
Masatsugu decides to make the matter on the hidden village secret but still has the document on it. On the first day of the land survey, Jiro finds Masatsugu prays something near the well of Ryugu-kozo. He tells her that he hopes everything will go well as he wishes. The team comes to Ii-no-ya and accurately measures the rice fields. It seems to be impossible to disguise Naohira's village from them perfectly. Meanwhile Jiro and Naochika are looking forward to Sena's response for her letter in which she asks about the information of the survey team. Jiro is concerned about "everything will go well as he wishes", words of Masatsugu and afraid of his betrayal but Naochika tells her that he and Masatsugu share the same idea.
Jiro (Ko Shibasaki) tells Naochika (Haruma Miura) about the words of Masatsugu
That night Jiro visits Masatsugu and asks him to help Naochika on this matter. She decides it based on her own thinking but Masatsugu, who knows she didn't visit him on behalf of Naochika treats her coldly. He tells her to return to the temple however she keeps sitting there consistently. But on the following morning, she comes to her senses and realises that Masatsugu has departed to Kawana with Naochika, Naohira and the survey team. Jiro goes to her parents' residence and receives a letter of Sena from Nankei there. She makes a horse run to Kawana to help Naochika but it makes Shino feel sad. Land Survey is over in Kawana but a certain Iwamatsu, head of the team feels something suspicious and goes forward to the hidden village strongly.
He asks Naochika whether the village belongs to the Iis or not. Naochika answers it is not the fief of the Iis but is driven to a wall. He signals Masatsugu with his eye and Masatsugu, who is at loss for words but explains the team that a prince of the South Court (*) lived here so it doesn't belong to the Iis. Then Jiro appears and chants a sutra for the deceased wife of Iwamatsu. She learns he loves number, mathematics and his wife from Sena's letter and the day is a monthly anniversary of her death.
Naochika (right) makes Masatsugu explain about the village to Iwamatsu.
After the survey, Naochika requests Masatsugu to support the Iis for O-Towa (Jiro), but Masatsugu tells him that he dislikes that kind of things about him. Masatsugu is displeased that he constantly speaks of O-Towa (Jiro) whenever he opens his mouth. On the other hand, Naomori and Chika offers Naochika to move to Hoda mura, a village in the opposite side of the mountain for his frequent visit to Jiro makes Shino uncomfortable. Naomori says that there is a strong bond between him and Jiro but he needs to have another bond with Shino also and it will be strengthen by having their own child.
And Genba marries Natsu, younger sister of Shino for Naomori thinks that the Iis should have relationship with the Onos. And in Sunpu. Takechiyo, who celebrates coming-of-age ceremony and names himself Motonobu marries Sena.
(*)In Nanbokucho-jidai, the period of South and North courts period in the 14th century, the Iis took the side of the South court and sheltered Prince Muneyoshi (Munenaga) one of the sons of the Emperor Godaigo in Ii-no-ya.
The images are from the official website of "Onna Joshu Naotora".