Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Episode 8 of Netflix’s House of Ninjas (2024), including the Fuma clan’s real plan, the poisoned champagne, and the final change in the Bureau of Ninja Management’s leadership.
The Tawara family believes it has stopped a national catastrophe.
The Fuma clan’s poison distribution operation has been disrupted. Its leader, Yosuke Tsujioka, is dead. Japan appears to have escaped a devastating attack.
Then a telephone rings.
Inside the Bureau of Ninja Management, Hamashima answers the old-fashioned red phone used to receive orders from his superiors.
The caller is Ayame.
She calmly announces that the chain of command has changed.
From now on, she will be giving the orders.
And Hamashima accepts.
No fight. No arrest. No visible resistance.
For viewers who have spent eight episodes watching the BNM pursue the Fuma clan, this is an extraordinary reversal.
Why is a Fuma operative suddenly giving orders to the organization supposedly fighting her clan?
And why does Hamashima obey?
The answer is hidden in the finale’s second conspiracy.
The Tawaras stopped one part of the Solar Eclipse plan.
But the Fuma clan successfully carried out another.
The red phone reveals that the Fuma did not merely survive. They gained power over the very institution responsible for controlling Japan’s shinobi.
Who Was Calling Hamashima on the Red Phone?
The caller in the Season 1 finale is Ayame, a senior operative of the Fuma clan.
Throughout the series, Ayame works closely with the Fuma leadership.
She is involved in the clan’s operations and remains central to its plans after the death of Yosuke Tsujioka, the nineteenth Fuma Kotaro.
In the finale, she calls Hamashima through the BNM’s established communication channel.
She announces a change in the chain of command and tells him that she will now issue instructions.
Hamashima acknowledges the order.
The identity of the caller is therefore not an unresolved mystery.
The show makes clear that it is Ayame.
What remains more interesting is the authority behind her call.
How did someone from the BNM’s enemy organization become its new superior?
To answer that, we need to examine the events at the political gathering during the solar eclipse.
What Is the Bureau of Ninja Management?
The Bureau of Ninja Management, commonly called the BNM, is the secret organization responsible for supervising Japan’s shinobi.
It monitors the Tawara family and directs their involvement in covert operations.
The Tawaras are descendants of the Hattori ninja lineage.
Although they try to maintain ordinary lives, their history and abilities make them valuable to the authorities.
The BNM expects the family to follow its rules.
It also demands secrecy.
The agency’s power extends beyond assigning missions.
It can pressure the family, monitor its movements, and threaten outsiders who learn too much.
Karen Ito becomes an example of that power when her investigation exposes her to the shinobi world.
Hamashima serves as the BNM official most closely involved with the Tawaras.
He gives orders, supervises operations, and acts as the visible representative of the institution.
But Hamashima is not necessarily the person at the top.
The series establishes that he receives instructions from superiors through a dedicated telephone.
That detail becomes crucial in Episode 8.
Why Is the Red Phone Important?
The red phone represents authority within the BNM.
It is not merely an office decoration.
When it rings, Hamashima receives instructions from someone above him in the organization’s hierarchy.
The series establishes this arrangement before the finale.
In Episode 2, the telephone is already associated with the BNM’s higher command.
The audience understands that Hamashima answers to an authority that remains largely unseen.
That makes the final call especially effective.
The phone itself has not changed.
The office has not changed.
Hamashima is still standing in the same institution.
But the person giving orders has changed.
The familiar communication channel is now being used by Ayame.
The visual message is simple: the BNM’s structure remains in place, but its leadership has been captured.
This is why the scene is more disturbing than a straightforward attack on the agency.
The Fuma do not need to destroy the BNM.
They can use it.
How Did the Fuma Clan Take Control of the BNM?
The key is the Solar Eclipse plan.
For much of the series, the Tawara family believes the Fuma intend to carry out a large-scale poisoning operation.
The clan has developed a dangerous toxin and arranged for its distribution.
The Tawaras move to stop that threat.
Their intervention prevents the planned distribution from proceeding as intended.
But the finale reveals that the Solar Eclipse operation has another objective.
The Fuma also plan to eliminate influential political and military figures at a major gathering.
The event takes place during the solar eclipse.
Important members of Japan’s political establishment assemble at a hotel.
Ayame and Gaku are involved in preparing the poisoned champagne served to the attendees.
The guests drink.
Many collapse and die.
The attack removes powerful figures from the existing political order.
It also clears a path for Toko Mukai, who survives.
Mukai is not an innocent survivor who simply happens to escape.
The finale reveals that she is connected to the Fuma’s larger plan.
With political leadership changing in the clan’s favor, the Fuma gain influence over institutions that previously opposed them.
The BNM is one of those institutions.
Ayame’s phone call announces the consequence.
The people above Hamashima have changed.
And the new leadership now speaks through her.
Why Did Hamashima Obey Ayame Instead of Arresting Her?
This is the question that makes the scene so unsettling.
Hamashima knows the Fuma clan is dangerous.
He has directed operations against them.
He knows the Tawara family has fought to stop their conspiracy.
Yet when Ayame calls, he does not challenge her.
The most direct explanation is that Hamashima operates within a hierarchy that requires him to obey orders from above.
Ayame is not calling as an ordinary Fuma operative asking for a favor.
She is announcing that she now occupies a position of authority within the command structure.
The BNM’s leadership has changed as a consequence of the Fuma’s political operation.
Hamashima’s response suggests that he recognizes—or at least accepts—the new chain of command.
But the series does not explicitly reveal his private thoughts.
We do not know whether he is frightened, calculating, secretly sympathetic, or simply unwilling to defy his superiors.
Those possibilities should not be treated as established facts.
What the scene shows is his compliance.
And that compliance exposes a weakness in the organization.
The BNM has built a system in which orders are followed because of their source.
When the source of authority changes, the organization can be redirected without its personnel necessarily changing.
That is the real danger of the red phone.
Was Hamashima Secretly Working for the Fuma All Along?
There is no conclusive evidence that Hamashima was secretly a Fuma agent throughout the series.
This is an important distinction.
His acceptance of Ayame’s call is suspicious.
But it does not prove he participated in the conspiracy from the beginning.
Earlier in the story, Hamashima directs the Tawara family against Fuma operations.
He appears concerned about the threat posed by the clan.
His actions are consistent with someone working for an organization that opposes the Fuma.
The finale then places him in a changed political environment.
The Fuma have gained influence over the authorities above him.
He receives a new order.
He complies.
That sequence can be explained without assuming he was always a double agent.
Of course, the show leaves room for further revelations about the BNM.
Its higher leadership remains mysterious.
And the ease with which Ayame takes control raises questions about how the agency was governed before the finale.
But there is a difference between a suspicious institution and a confirmed secret conspiracy.
The series confirms that Ayame gains command authority. It does not confirm that Hamashima was a Fuma spy from the start.
Did the BNM Always Work for the Fuma Clan?
The finale does not establish that either.
Before the Solar Eclipse operation, the BNM appears to function as a government-linked institution supervising the shinobi families.
It treats the Fuma as a threat.
The Tawaras carry out missions intended to stop Fuma activities.
The final call indicates a change in leadership.
That wording matters.
If the BNM had always been controlled by the Fuma, the announcement of a new chain of command would carry a different meaning.
Instead, the scene suggests a takeover or transfer of authority.
The precise legal and bureaucratic process is not explained.
We do not see an official document appointing Ayame.
We do not receive a complete organizational chart.
And we do not learn the identities of every person who previously controlled the BNM.
The important development is that the Fuma’s political success allows Ayame to issue orders through the agency’s established system.
That is enough to transform the balance of power.
The BNM may still have the same personnel.
But those personnel can now be directed toward different objectives.
Why Did the Fuma Poison the Political Gathering?
The poisoned champagne is the key to understanding the phone call.
The Fuma’s larger objective is not simply to kill civilians.
They want to reshape Japan’s political order.
Their ideology is tied to restoring what they consider the nation’s former strength and glory.
To achieve that objective, they need influence over the government and its institutions.
The political gathering gives them an opportunity.
By poisoning influential officials and leadership contenders, they eliminate obstacles to their preferred political arrangement.
Mukai survives and emerges in a much stronger position.
Other powerful figures are removed.
The resulting changes extend into the military leadership.
This creates the conditions for the Fuma to exercise control beyond their own secret organization.
The red phone scene demonstrates that their influence has reached the BNM.
The poisoned champagne and the telephone call are therefore not separate mysteries.
They are connected parts of the same plan.
The hotel attack changes who holds power. The phone call reveals what that change means for the shinobi.
Why Did Toko Mukai Survive the Poisoned Champagne?
Mukai’s survival is another essential clue.
At first, Karen believes Mukai is in danger.
She recognizes signs of a Fuma operation at the hotel and attempts to warn the attendees.
But the warning is dismissed.
The poisoned champagne is served.
Important figures die.
Mukai survives.
The finale subsequently reveals that Mukai is connected to the Fuma and their political ambitions.
She is descended from the Hojo lineage, which has historical ties to the Fuma clan.
Her survival therefore serves the conspiracy.
She is the political figure the Fuma intend to use.
This explains why the attack eliminates other powerful people while leaving Mukai alive.
However, the series does not clearly demonstrate the exact physical mechanism that protects her from the poisoned drink.
Did she avoid consuming the toxin?
Was her glass prepared differently?
Was there another method?
The episode does not establish a definitive answer.
The distinction matters.
Mukai’s political role explains why the Fuma wanted her to survive. It does not conclusively explain how she survived the poisoning.
That smaller mystery deserves its own analysis.
What Does the Hojo Family Have to Do With the Fuma?
The Fuma clan’s connection to the Hojo lineage provides historical context for the political conspiracy.
In Japanese history, the Fuma ninja are traditionally associated with the Hojo clan.
House of Ninjas uses that association as part of its fictional conflict.
The Tawara family descends from the Hattori ninja tradition.
The Fuma represent an opposing lineage.
Mukai’s ancestry connects the modern political plot to the Fuma’s historical loyalties.
She is not simply a convenient politician.
Her bloodline gives her a symbolic role in the clan’s ambitions.
That is why her identity matters in the finale.
The Fuma are attempting to restore influence associated with their past.
Mukai provides a route into the modern political system.
Her position allows the clan to pursue its goals through government institutions rather than through clandestine attacks alone.
And once the political structure changes, the BNM becomes vulnerable.
The red phone is the modern expression of that old rivalry.
A conflict rooted in ninja lineages now extends into the machinery of the state.
What Role Does Gaku Play in the Takeover?
Gaku Tawara’s transformation is one of the finale’s biggest revelations.
He was born into the Tawara family, descendants of the Hattori lineage.
After disappearing years earlier, he became deeply involved with the Fuma.
During the final confrontation, Gaku kills Yosuke Tsujioka, the nineteenth Fuma Kotaro.
The ending then reveals that Gaku has become the twentieth Fuma Kotaro.
This is a remarkable reversal.
A member of the Tawara family now leads its historic enemy.
Gaku’s position also changes the meaning of Ayame’s authority.
She is not operating independently of the Fuma leadership.
She is part of the organization that Gaku now heads.
The political takeover therefore strengthens the faction led by Haru’s own brother.
The Tawara family believes it has defeated the immediate Fuma threat.
But the person now positioned at the top of that threat is one of their own.
This creates an extraordinary conflict for the future.
Haru must confront not only a powerful enemy organization but also his brother’s role within it.
And the agency that previously directed the Tawaras may now answer to that same enemy.
Did the Tawara Family Actually Win?
The answer depends on which part of the conflict we examine.
The Tawaras successfully intervene against the poison distribution operation.
They confront the Fuma’s forces.
Haru defeats Yosuke Tsujioka in combat, and Gaku kills him.
Those are meaningful victories.
But they do not stop the political operation at the hotel.
The poisoned champagne kills important figures.
Mukai survives and benefits politically.
Gaku assumes leadership of the Fuma.
Ayame gains command authority over the BNM.
The larger conspiracy therefore succeeds in ways the Tawaras do not immediately understand.
That is the central reversal of Episode 8.
The family wins the battle it can see.
The Fuma win the struggle for institutional power.
The red phone makes that difference unmistakable.
Why Does Ayame Say the Chain of Command Has Changed?
Her wording is central to the scene.
Ayame does not merely ask Hamashima to cooperate with the Fuma.
She tells him that the command structure has changed.
This is a declaration of authority.
It means she is not negotiating as an enemy representative.
She is presenting herself as someone whose orders Hamashima is now expected to follow.
The distinction changes the entire meaning of the scene.
If Ayame had called to threaten Hamashima, the BNM would still appear to be an independent organization under attack.
But by announcing a change in command, she reveals that the institution has already been compromised at the leadership level.
The takeover is not something Hamashima must prevent in the future.
It has already happened.
That is why his acceptance is so chilling.
The audience witnesses the moment when an agency supposedly protecting Japan begins receiving orders from the very people it was fighting.
What Does the Red Phone Symbolize?
The red phone works as a symbol of invisible authority.
For most of the series, Hamashima appears powerful.
He controls information.
He assigns missions.
He monitors the Tawaras.
He makes decisions that affect whether Karen can live safely.
But the telephone reminds viewers that Hamashima is also subordinate to someone else.
His power is delegated.
He is an administrator within a larger structure.
The finale exposes the vulnerability of that structure.
The Fuma do not need to defeat every BNM employee.
They need to control the people who issue orders.
Once that happens, the same organization can be used for a different purpose.
The symbolism extends beyond the fictional ninja world.
An institution can preserve its name, offices, procedures, and employees while undergoing a fundamental change in whose interests it serves.
That is the unsettling idea behind the phone call.
Nothing about the physical appearance of the BNM needs to change.
Its loyalty has changed.
Did Ayame Become the New Head of the BNM?
Ayame becomes the person issuing instructions to Hamashima.
That much is clear.
But the series does not establish her exact formal job title.
It does not show an official appointment ceremony.
Nor does it explain whether she personally occupies the highest bureaucratic position in the organization.
Her statement concerns the chain of command.
She now has authority to direct Hamashima.
That is sufficient to demonstrate the Fuma’s influence.
But it would be more precise to say Ayame gains command authority over the BNM than to claim the series explicitly appoints her as its official director.
This distinction may seem minor.
It matters because the finale leaves the institutional details deliberately unresolved.
The audience knows the balance of power has changed.
We do not yet know the full structure of the new regime.
What Does This Mean for Haru and Karen?
The red phone also has implications for Haru’s personal life.
Earlier, Haru promises the BNM that he will stay away from Karen in exchange for her safety.
The agreement is enforced through the agency’s authority.
By the finale, the same agency is receiving orders from Ayame.
That makes Haru’s situation potentially more dangerous.
He is bound by an agreement with an institution whose leadership has been compromised.
If the Fuma now influence the BNM, the organization could use its knowledge of Haru and Karen against them.
The show does not confirm that Ayame intends to target Karen specifically.
Nor does it show the new leadership immediately enforcing the agreement.
But the risk is clear.
The agency controlling Haru’s relationship is no longer reliably separate from the enemy.
That gives the final restaurant scene an additional layer of tension.
Haru cannot simply assume the threat to Karen has disappeared.
For a closer examination of their separation, read:
Why Did Haru Walk Away From Karen in House of Ninjas? The Hidden Meaning of Her Final Gyudon Order
Why Did Reddit Viewers Ask About the Red Phone?
The scene prompted direct questions in the House of Ninjas fan community.
In the Reddit discussion for Episode 8, one viewer asked what the red phone meant and whether Ayame’s call revealed who truly controlled the shinobi.
Another commenter explained that the Fuma had gained control over the country’s leadership, meaning the BNM now reported to a new authority.
The question is understandable.
The finale moves quickly between several revelations.
The hotel poisoning.
Mukai’s survival.
Gaku’s new position.
The Hojo connection.
The BNM phone call.
Haru and Karen’s separation.
Viewers are asked to connect political events with the secret organization introduced earlier in the series.
The show does not stop to explain every institutional consequence.
Instead, it uses a brief conversation to communicate the takeover.
That economy makes the scene effective.
It also makes it easy to miss.
A viewer concentrating on Gaku’s betrayal or the poisoned champagne may not immediately recognize the importance of Hamashima’s response.
But the red phone may be one of the most consequential details in the entire finale.
What Does the Red Phone Set Up for the Future?
The finale leaves the Tawara family in a precarious position.
Gaku now leads the Fuma.
Mukai has emerged as a powerful political figure connected to the clan.
Ayame can issue orders through the BNM’s command structure.
The Tawaras remain subject to that organization.
This creates a dangerous possibility.
The family could be ordered to carry out missions that indirectly serve the Fuma.
They might be pressured to act against their own interests.
They could be forced to choose between obedience to the BNM and loyalty to one another.
Haru’s conflict with Gaku may become even more complicated because the agency that supervises Haru is now connected to the faction Gaku leads.
These are possibilities suggested by the ending, not confirmed events.
The series does not show the full consequences of Ayame’s new authority.
It leaves the audience with a changed balance of power and several unresolved questions.
The red phone is the signal that the next conflict, if the story continues, will be larger than a confrontation between two ninja families.
It will involve the institutions governing them.
Final Verdict: Who Was on the Red Phone?
Ayame, a senior Fuma operative, was the person calling Hamashima on the red phone in the Season 1 finale of House of Ninjas.
She informed him that the chain of command had changed and that she would now give the orders.
Hamashima accepted.
The call revealed the consequences of the Fuma’s successful political operation.
While the Tawara family stopped the poison distribution plot, the Fuma poisoned influential officials at a hotel gathering.
Toko Mukai survived and emerged in a stronger political position.
Gaku became the twentieth Fuma Kotaro.
And Ayame gained authority over the Bureau of Ninja Management.
The series does not prove that Hamashima was secretly working for the Fuma all along.
Nor does it explain every detail of the agency’s new leadership structure.
But it makes one thing clear.
The organization that controlled the Tawara family is now taking orders from its enemy.
That is the true significance of the red phone.
The Tawaras believed they had defeated the Fuma.
The phone call reveals that the Fuma have gained something far more powerful than victory in a single battle.
They have gained the ability to give orders.
And Hamashima is already listening.
Related Analysis on True Taste Korea
Why Did Haru Walk Away From Karen in House of Ninjas? The Hidden Meaning of Her Final Gyudon Order
Explore Haru’s agreement with the BNM, the restaurant scene, and the small food detail that inspired a Reddit fan theory about the couple’s separation.
Explore more Japanese movie and television mysteries in the True Taste Korea JAPAN category.
Sources and Further Reading
- Netflix — House of Ninjas Official Series Page
- Reddit — House of Ninjas Episode 8: The Eclipse Discussion
- Word Street Journal — House of Ninjas Season 1 Ending Explained
- High On Films — House of Ninjas Season 1 Ending Explained
- The Cinemaholic — House of Ninjas Season 1 Ending Explained
TTK Original — Beyond the Headlines
Editorial note: Ayame’s call, Hamashima’s acceptance, the hotel poisoning, Mukai’s survival, and Gaku’s new position are events depicted in the series. The precise bureaucratic mechanism of the BNM takeover, Hamashima’s private motives, and the future consequences for the Tawaras remain unconfirmed. Interpretations of those elements are identified as such.