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大奥 [Ōoku] #7
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 7
Ienobu's heir is still just a child, and with few official functions to perform, the men of the Inner Chamber find themselves with much time on their hands. Some find ways to make the most of their rare trips outside the palace, while others turn their minds to bloody intrigue...
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2011
8 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Fumi Yoshinaga
144 books248 followersJapanese: よしなが ふみ
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 1, 2025
And thus we arrive at the "present day" of the first volume of Ōoku. It's been more than two years since I read the first couple of these, so a lot of the details from then have escaped me, especially since my knowledge of the actual Japanese history this story is based on is thin at best. As usual, it didn't take long for me to catch up with the political situations both inside and outside the palace of the shōgun.
Change is a-brewing in Edo. Yoshimune, now knowing that Japan used to be patriarchal, encourages men to take on roles more strenuous than being court flowers: firefighting, training in the arts of war. A new tax structure is helping prosperity, and is a marked improvement after a money-changers' strike had blocked commerce for quite a while.
Trouble is a-brewing in Edo, too. The last page of this volume shows that it isn't only physical ailments that should be feared in the halls of power. Not knowing how the real events played out, I have no idea what's going to happen next.
But three volumes of Ōoku is enough for now. It's well worth reading, and I strongly recommend it, but it's also rather tiring 600 pages at a go. Back to my usual popcorn reading!
Change is a-brewing in Edo. Yoshimune, now knowing that Japan used to be patriarchal, encourages men to take on roles more strenuous than being court flowers: firefighting, training in the arts of war. A new tax structure is helping prosperity, and is a marked improvement after a money-changers' strike had blocked commerce for quite a while.
Trouble is a-brewing in Edo, too. The last page of this volume shows that it isn't only physical ailments that should be feared in the halls of power. Not knowing how the real events played out, I have no idea what's going to happen next.
But three volumes of Ōoku is enough for now. It's well worth reading, and I strongly recommend it, but it's also rather tiring 600 pages at a go. Back to my usual popcorn reading!
March 30, 2014
My favorite one so far.. Featuring Ejima's deeply sad story, and circling back to Yoshimune's coming into power… the storytelling seems like it is getting better, deeper, in this always very good series, though it's essentially the same inversion/reflection of actual history, political/sexual power struggles, and all the murder/rape/incest that powers history (with openly and acceptedly gay/bi characters throughout)… The Ejima story is maybe what put this one over the top for me, deeply affecting and sad.
June 5, 2025
Vol. 2 ★★★★☆
Vol. 3 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 4 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 5 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 6 ★★★☆☆
More than 20 chapters later, we are back to Yoshimune, the shogun from the beginning of the series. This volume goes into the orchestration behind her rise to power as well as how her reign is doing. Not gonna lie, the end of Vol. 6 got me so hyped up that I'm underwhelmed by how it goes down. It's not as scandalous as it was teasing itself up to be. But then again, that was supposed to be the Chief Scribe recording the general perception of the scandal; he doesn't have access to those characters' thoughts and motivations like us. As this series goes on, I increasingly feel like Fumi Yoshinaga is juggling too many characters and plotlines without fleshing them out. That said, that subplot about Ejima and Shingoro is the most compelling the story has gotten in a while. They are both pawns that are unfortunate enough to get caught up in the mix.
Vol. 3 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 4 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 5 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 6 ★★★☆☆
More than 20 chapters later, we are back to Yoshimune, the shogun from the beginning of the series. This volume goes into the orchestration behind her rise to power as well as how her reign is doing. Not gonna lie, the end of Vol. 6 got me so hyped up that I'm underwhelmed by how it goes down. It's not as scandalous as it was teasing itself up to be. But then again, that was supposed to be the Chief Scribe recording the general perception of the scandal; he doesn't have access to those characters' thoughts and motivations like us. As this series goes on, I increasingly feel like Fumi Yoshinaga is juggling too many characters and plotlines without fleshing them out. That said, that subplot about Ejima and Shingoro is the most compelling the story has gotten in a while. They are both pawns that are unfortunate enough to get caught up in the mix.
March 16, 2021
欲罷不能看到一點四十
說好的早睡永遠達不到呀
說好的早睡永遠達不到呀
February 24, 2016
This is the best one in this manga series so far. The court intrigues continue, political maneuvering, murder, all of the stuff that I now expect from these books. What this one had in addition is the story of Ejima, and it is a sad one indeed. The emotional depth conveyed in his story is wonderful. We also circle back to Yoshimune's rise to power, and she is the powerful woman indeed. Loved it.
September 14, 2018
Loving it. The way this series weaves time is interesting and we end up back in the "present." Art remains great, clean thin lines, expressive miens. I am excited to read on!
October 17, 2021
It's a fictional account but the story is heavily inspired by the actual Shogunate history in the Edo period so you are inundated by quite a massive cast of characters each crucial to the plot.
August 30, 2019
Still great art, and the story has come full circle where it started in the first place. It would be nice to have some sort of timeline graphic at the beginning so you could tell what year this is, and have it relative to all the other timelines. This is kind of like Game of Thones, once you start liking a character they probably are going to die, or be tortured, and then die.
September 12, 2019
It is so complicated, the history in this series, especially since a bunch of characters past and present look so similar. Still an intriguing series, though!
March 25, 2016
The travails of life in the AU Tokugawa period continues. More intrigue, more machination, and this time, sadness and tragedy.
February 18, 2018
Acaba en este número el primer ciclo de "Ooku", esta especie de "Yo Claudio", de Robert Graves, la crónica en forma de folletín de la dinastía Julia en los inicios del Imperio romano, pero en japonés. En este caso se trata de un relato-culebrón sobre el shogunato Togukawa que dominó el Japón durante el período Edo. Pero con un "pequeño" detalle, en este Japón de los siglos XVII y XVIII una epidemia, la viruela roja, ha acabado con dos tercios de la población masculina, así que son las mujeres las que acaban ocupando todos los puestos tradicionalmente masculinos, desde las tareas de gobierno hasta las del campo o el comercio.
Básicamente Yoshinaga adapta los acontecimientos históricos reales de este período Edo pero cambiando el género de los personajes, centrándose en las intrigas políticas y el drama romántico en palacio. Algún detalle sobre como afecta esta epidemia al pueblo llano pero no especialmente trabajado en lo especulativo, es como cuando un país entra en guerra, las mujeres ocupan los roles habitualmente masculinos y no cambia nada en las estructuras político-sociales, ni en el devenir de la historia, ya digo, se presentan los acontecimientos históricos reales pero cambiando el género de los personajes y ya, algo que me ha dejado un poco despistado. Y es que, aparte del "shock value" presentando a los hombres en el rol habitualmente femenino de valiosa mercancía o simples máquinas reproductivas o de placer, me resulta difícil, no siendo japonés, interpretar correctamente las intenciones de Yoshinaga con esta ucronía, lo que me resulta pelín frustrante. Desde mi perspectiva de bárbaro occidental sólo acierto a atisbar una crítica general al papel tradicional del hombre y la mujer en la sociedad japonesa, roles rígidamente definidos en una sociedad estrictamente jerarquizada, dos rasgos sociales que en el relato siempre producen infelicidad y desgracias a los protagonistas. También creo importante señalar que Yoshinaga es una autora conocida sobre todo por sus mangas yaoi, tebeos románticos de temática gay masculina dirigidos a un público femenino que encuentra en ellos relaciones amorosas en plano de igualdad, y, aunque desconozco los códigos del manga yaoi, creo que este tema también se desliza en Ooku, son varias las escenas en que las shogun completamente destruidas en lo personal por el sistema politico y social que ellas mismas encarnan, sólo encuentran alivio y salvación (aún sólo temporal) gracias al amor y la entrega en momentos íntimos en los que la jerarquía y los roles de género desaparecen.
Por lo demás, la narración es impecable, el ascenso de las diferentes shogun permite a la autora renovar personajes (estupendamente construidos, sobre todo las shogun) y temas continuamente, el culebrón fluye muy bien y siempre resulta interesante y entretenido de leer, la pega quizá es el exceso de personajes, a veces cuesta seguir un poco el quien es quién.
Al principio el limpio dibujo de Yoshinaga me resultaba quizá hasta demasiado austero y frío, pero como suele ocurrir en las series de manga, mejora muchísimo a medida que avanza la historia y para el tomo 4 o 5 se ha convertido en una especie de fusión de ukyo-e, línea clara europea y los códigos propios del manga. Incluso en los rostros de los personajes y sus caricaturas en los momentos cómicos me ha recordado muchísimo a Xaime Hernández. El resultado es un grafismo extremadamente elegante que además narra de maravilla, me gusta especialmente como Yoshinaga prefiere resaltar los momentos emotivos mediante la ralentización del tiempo, el diseño de página y de viñetas, sin exagerar la actuación de los personajes como ocurre en muchos tebeos japoneses (sin menoscabar a estos últimos).
Finalmente señalar que la decisión de traducir el japonés del siglo XVII al inglés isabelino me parece desacertada, aparte de que leer el tebeo es un dolor, "suena" rarísimo que todos los personajes, desde las shogun hasta los prostitutos más tiraos hablen como en una obra de Shakespeare. No sé si el japonés antiguo es muy diferente al moderno si se podría haber adaptado de un modo más "suave", pero esta traducción creo que perjudica la lectura. Pero como será de bueno este tebeo que a pesar de los innumerables "thy", "thee", "prithee", "´tis", etc, se lee con avidez y cuesta dejar a un lado.
Básicamente Yoshinaga adapta los acontecimientos históricos reales de este período Edo pero cambiando el género de los personajes, centrándose en las intrigas políticas y el drama romántico en palacio. Algún detalle sobre como afecta esta epidemia al pueblo llano pero no especialmente trabajado en lo especulativo, es como cuando un país entra en guerra, las mujeres ocupan los roles habitualmente masculinos y no cambia nada en las estructuras político-sociales, ni en el devenir de la historia, ya digo, se presentan los acontecimientos históricos reales pero cambiando el género de los personajes y ya, algo que me ha dejado un poco despistado. Y es que, aparte del "shock value" presentando a los hombres en el rol habitualmente femenino de valiosa mercancía o simples máquinas reproductivas o de placer, me resulta difícil, no siendo japonés, interpretar correctamente las intenciones de Yoshinaga con esta ucronía, lo que me resulta pelín frustrante. Desde mi perspectiva de bárbaro occidental sólo acierto a atisbar una crítica general al papel tradicional del hombre y la mujer en la sociedad japonesa, roles rígidamente definidos en una sociedad estrictamente jerarquizada, dos rasgos sociales que en el relato siempre producen infelicidad y desgracias a los protagonistas. También creo importante señalar que Yoshinaga es una autora conocida sobre todo por sus mangas yaoi, tebeos románticos de temática gay masculina dirigidos a un público femenino que encuentra en ellos relaciones amorosas en plano de igualdad, y, aunque desconozco los códigos del manga yaoi, creo que este tema también se desliza en Ooku, son varias las escenas en que las shogun completamente destruidas en lo personal por el sistema politico y social que ellas mismas encarnan, sólo encuentran alivio y salvación (aún sólo temporal) gracias al amor y la entrega en momentos íntimos en los que la jerarquía y los roles de género desaparecen.
Por lo demás, la narración es impecable, el ascenso de las diferentes shogun permite a la autora renovar personajes (estupendamente construidos, sobre todo las shogun) y temas continuamente, el culebrón fluye muy bien y siempre resulta interesante y entretenido de leer, la pega quizá es el exceso de personajes, a veces cuesta seguir un poco el quien es quién.
Al principio el limpio dibujo de Yoshinaga me resultaba quizá hasta demasiado austero y frío, pero como suele ocurrir en las series de manga, mejora muchísimo a medida que avanza la historia y para el tomo 4 o 5 se ha convertido en una especie de fusión de ukyo-e, línea clara europea y los códigos propios del manga. Incluso en los rostros de los personajes y sus caricaturas en los momentos cómicos me ha recordado muchísimo a Xaime Hernández. El resultado es un grafismo extremadamente elegante que además narra de maravilla, me gusta especialmente como Yoshinaga prefiere resaltar los momentos emotivos mediante la ralentización del tiempo, el diseño de página y de viñetas, sin exagerar la actuación de los personajes como ocurre en muchos tebeos japoneses (sin menoscabar a estos últimos).
Finalmente señalar que la decisión de traducir el japonés del siglo XVII al inglés isabelino me parece desacertada, aparte de que leer el tebeo es un dolor, "suena" rarísimo que todos los personajes, desde las shogun hasta los prostitutos más tiraos hablen como en una obra de Shakespeare. No sé si el japonés antiguo es muy diferente al moderno si se podría haber adaptado de un modo más "suave", pero esta traducción creo que perjudica la lectura. Pero como será de bueno este tebeo que a pesar de los innumerables "thy", "thee", "prithee", "´tis", etc, se lee con avidez y cuesta dejar a un lado.
January 7, 2020
L'espacement de lecture entre les tomes (ça fait 6 mois que j'ai lu le tome 6, presque 2 ans le tome 1) complexifie un peu la lecture de la série et nous fait un peu oublier les différents protagonistes. Il est probable que je prenne un journée complète un jour à relire tous les volumes d'une traite (quand j'aurais fini la série). Je perdrais peut-être en analyse poétique du récit, mais gagnerait en compréhension générale du déroulement de l'histoire et des personnes. Il faudrait que je lise un livre d'histoire juste avant aussi.
À ce propos, je crois qu'un appareil critique, un prologue ou un épilogue qui accompagne le manga aiderait vraiment à comprendre les parallèles de l'histoire d'Edo et les intrigues du volume: wikipédia et les commentaires goodreads sont certainement éclairant à plusieurs égards, mais en introduction de volume, cela pourrait certainement rehausser la qualité de la lecture.
Cela dit, j'ai bien apprécier le tome 7, au niveau thématique: on explore la question de la beauté de la pilosité, des femmes qui seules peuvent être actrices (un renversement, mais à la fois aussi une réflexion sur le rôle de prostituée/actrice de nombreuses femmes aussi), les conflits au sein du pavillon se recentrent aussi beaucoup plus sur les hommes et le pavillon en délaissant, un peu, la politique plus large pour les jeux de pouvoir interne et royaux. On interroge aussi les questions de descendance avec un petit monologue de la reine qui questionne comment un homme pourrait vraiment prouver la légitimité de sa descendance tandis que pour une femme elle ne se pose pas.
On sent bien le discours de la Shogun qui tend à essayer de rétablir l'équilibre entre les métiers, mais il paraît un peu essentialiste par moment. J'ai trouvé fascinant toutefois la création de corps de métier de pompier qui détruise les maisons pour empêcher le feu de se propager.
Un bon tome dans l'ensemble, de plus en plus difficile à suivre avec une lecture espacée, mais les traits de certains personnages sont définitivement uniques et rappelle tout de suite les autres volumes en tête.
À ce propos, je crois qu'un appareil critique, un prologue ou un épilogue qui accompagne le manga aiderait vraiment à comprendre les parallèles de l'histoire d'Edo et les intrigues du volume: wikipédia et les commentaires goodreads sont certainement éclairant à plusieurs égards, mais en introduction de volume, cela pourrait certainement rehausser la qualité de la lecture.
Cela dit, j'ai bien apprécier le tome 7, au niveau thématique: on explore la question de la beauté de la pilosité, des femmes qui seules peuvent être actrices (un renversement, mais à la fois aussi une réflexion sur le rôle de prostituée/actrice de nombreuses femmes aussi), les conflits au sein du pavillon se recentrent aussi beaucoup plus sur les hommes et le pavillon en délaissant, un peu, la politique plus large pour les jeux de pouvoir interne et royaux. On interroge aussi les questions de descendance avec un petit monologue de la reine qui questionne comment un homme pourrait vraiment prouver la légitimité de sa descendance tandis que pour une femme elle ne se pose pas.
On sent bien le discours de la Shogun qui tend à essayer de rétablir l'équilibre entre les métiers, mais il paraît un peu essentialiste par moment. J'ai trouvé fascinant toutefois la création de corps de métier de pompier qui détruise les maisons pour empêcher le feu de se propager.
Un bon tome dans l'ensemble, de plus en plus difficile à suivre avec une lecture espacée, mais les traits de certains personnages sont définitivement uniques et rappelle tout de suite les autres volumes en tête.
August 4, 2022
Brief review follows - full review to follow later
And enjoyable volume but expectations sunk it a little so I ended up between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one.
I was anticipating this to be one of the most moving volumes since it covered a major scandal in history. Perhaps because I was expecting tragedy the Ejima scandal was sad but didn’t engage me as much as I expect.
The volume showed Yoshimine’s political acumen and iron grit but the scandal itself wasn’t as shocking. I blame expectations for this. I didn’t fret even once in this volume which is pretty unusual for me and the series. It could have been because Ejima seemed to accept his date with equanimity.
Still a strong volume - just more political for me than emotionally.
And enjoyable volume but expectations sunk it a little so I ended up between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one.
I was anticipating this to be one of the most moving volumes since it covered a major scandal in history. Perhaps because I was expecting tragedy the Ejima scandal was sad but didn’t engage me as much as I expect.
The volume showed Yoshimine’s political acumen and iron grit but the scandal itself wasn’t as shocking. I blame expectations for this. I didn’t fret even once in this volume which is pretty unusual for me and the series. It could have been because Ejima seemed to accept his date with equanimity.
Still a strong volume - just more political for me than emotionally.
September 12, 2019
What can I say? This series is still terribly interesting! I really need to buy the whole series, because the huge cast and time skips are throwing me off at this point. There is so much intrigue and so many characters that I almost forget who is doing what and why - it's possible to figure it out, but right now there are callbacks to stuff that happened in volume 1 and 2, sooo...
Yeah, still reccing this, still very good, I'm just old and forgetful. Need to buy this series, 100% (currently borrowing them from a library out of town, so that's why I can't read them more rapidly or go back to reread earlier volumes).
Yeah, still reccing this, still very good, I'm just old and forgetful. Need to buy this series, 100% (currently borrowing them from a library out of town, so that's why I can't read them more rapidly or go back to reread earlier volumes).
October 16, 2019
Enjoyed this volume a lot more than I did the last couple. We're actually back to where the story started, but this time with the knowledge of all that has happened to bring us to this point. It was definitely an interesting framing device, to see the characters from the first volume with new eyes after understanding the context of certain things. And I don't know if I'm just imagining things, but I feel like the author is spending more of an effort at making the characters distinct from each other. They're still similar-looking but an improvement's an improvement.
Read
June 28, 2022So far very impressed with what Yoshinaga pulls off in getting something new and interesting into each volume. The handling of feudal era disability was really interesting here-- not good or bad necessarily, just interesting-- and I found it resolved quite nicely without simplification. Again, the wide cast is admirably distinguished... though I admit it had been a while since I'd read one of these and I had some trouble remembering who was who. Seconding the request for a character guide and/or family tree!
January 5, 2023
巡り巡って、やっと冒頭部分の八代目将軍が「没日録」を読んでるシーンに戻ってきた。
(最終話の扉絵は3-7代将軍の絵)
が、背景を知った今では、1巻で上様のお付き(？間部という人)が罷免されたシーンに感じたスッキリ感は感じない。
歴史は、誰の目線で語るかで180°変わってしまうという事がよく分かる。
ただただカッコいいと感じる八代目将軍だって、江島の犠牲の上に権力を手に入れてると思うと、複雑。
(それと、一番初めの主役水野の後日談が見られる(火消しに応募してた)のは面白い。「お信」で気づいた人のコメント見ないと気づかなかったけど)
....それにしても、やはり歴史上の出来事をちゃんと入れつつ、男女逆転も維持するとは...凄い。
吉宗の「女系ならばその当主が産むのだからその子は間違いなく当主に子だ。疑いようはは無い。しかし当主が男だとしたら[...]常にその家の血統には疑念がつきまとうことになりませぬか？[...]家の当主は女である方が道理が通っているように思われる」には納得。
(あと杉下さんが好き。同じ作者のせいもあるだろうが、「昨日なに食べた？」のシロさんっぽい。漫画は読んだことないけど。)
(最終話の扉絵は3-7代将軍の絵)
が、背景を知った今では、1巻で上様のお付き(？間部という人)が罷免されたシーンに感じたスッキリ感は感じない。
歴史は、誰の目線で語るかで180°変わってしまうという事がよく分かる。
ただただカッコいいと感じる八代目将軍だって、江島の犠牲の上に権力を手に入れてると思うと、複雑。
(それと、一番初めの主役水野の後日談が見られる(火消しに応募してた)のは面白い。「お信」で気づいた人のコメント見ないと気づかなかったけど)
....それにしても、やはり歴史上の出来事をちゃんと入れつつ、男女逆転も維持するとは...凄い。
吉宗の「女系ならばその当主が産むのだからその子は間違いなく当主に子だ。疑いようはは無い。しかし当主が男だとしたら[...]常にその家の血統には疑念がつきまとうことになりませぬか？[...]家の当主は女である方が道理が通っているように思われる」には納得。
(あと杉下さんが好き。同じ作者のせいもあるだろうが、「昨日なに食べた？」のシロさんっぽい。漫画は読んだことないけど。)
September 10, 2019
This sees the end of our last crew of characters, with much tragedy. It was really pretty sad, but plays up the intrigue of the Inner Chambers. I'm intrigued however by our new Lord Yoshimune who seems for once a relatively competent leader.
Read
August 26, 2021看完難道不該回頭重看第一集嗎？
September 26, 2021
Still loving it!
Read
April 2, 2022第七集接上了第一集，江島大人啊！！
May 19, 2022
2.5/5 it’s becoming harder and harder to keep following. The story is complicated and there are too many characters that look very similar.
July 16, 2023
My heart ;-;
April 30, 2024
eijima deserved better 💔
i'm glad that we are back in the present day with yoshimune 😬
i'm glad that we are back in the present day with yoshimune 😬
June 13, 2024
Continues to interest. This one is more violent though.
November 24, 2025
~3.5~RIP Ejima: hirsute and cute, yet slyly given the boot :( at least his sentence received commute
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2015
The political intrigue and machinations continue. The men of the inner chamber are allowed to visit the theater with Senior Chamberlain Gekko-in’s permission. However, this is later used against them and against him in order to overthrow Lady Manabe and the child Shogun. In order to spare the life of his trusted man, Ejima, Gekko-in promises to throw his support to Yoshimune from Kii province, rather than support his daughter’s claim to the Shogunate. Yoshimune’s reform policies bring many welcome changes, but also some resistance from the populace. The story continues… The cruelty of the court players seems unnecessary – torturing innocents in order to place pressure on Gekko-in and Manabe and cast aspersions on their characters. I guess succession follows a certain process and no one questions it or assumes that a discussion could be had about stepping down or stepping aside. Perplexing. I ached for Ejima and the actress whom he admired. This volume ends with a glimpse of Yoshimune’s daughter who is now a woman, but is of no great beauty. She may also have something like Down’s Syndrome or be developmentally delayed in some way – her speech is limited and she appears to be drooling. Will she be Yoshimune’s successor? Is there some way to supercede her?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2016
I'm trying to catch up on these. In this series, the world has been turned upside down by the "red pox," which have killed off more than 50% of the men in Tokugawa Japan. The effect of this is that gradually women have come to rule Japan, taking the name and titles of the males rulers and families that have died off. This is why Japan sealed itself off from the world--to protect this secret. In this world, the Shogun and the Barons are all women, and the members of the inner chambers (a kind of male harem) are a snake pit of political maneuvering and conniving. But such is true of life among the rulers. It's part soap opera and part history, as the major political events (assassinations, scandals, battles for power, etc.) covered in the series are true. The difference is that they are happening to Japan's female rulers. Fun stuff, really, and beautifully drawn.
October 16, 2012
Yoshimune is boss! Who else just randomly picks a guy to name as the father of her unborn child? But does so deliberately so that it's someone who isn't a political threat or liability! Also, who else keeps trying to negotiate the merchant strike while in labor! So so boss!
But alas, I see that the manga will present a hard truth in the next volume: while the parent may be boss, the child not so much. Admittedly, Yoshimune is a tough act to follow. If I remember my history correctly, we may see some sisters fighting for the title of shogun. I guess we'll find out in a year. (A year! UGH.)
(Also, female kabuki actors are boss!)
But alas, I see that the manga will present a hard truth in the next volume: while the parent may be boss, the child not so much. Admittedly, Yoshimune is a tough act to follow. If I remember my history correctly, we may see some sisters fighting for the title of shogun. I guess we'll find out in a year. (A year! UGH.)
(Also, female kabuki actors are boss!)
July 5, 2011
OUT AT LAST!!
edit: GAH SO GOOD. this one focuses mostly on 江島生島事件 and the political machinations that lead to yoshimune becoming the next shogun. so much gender bending but it works so well. *_____* also, female kabuki actors as reverse onnagata (so i guess otokogata??) = so hot! also, kawaraban jokes = so funny! also, coming back full circle to yoshimune from volume 1 = so awesome! yoshinaga fumi, i love you.
edit 2: i just realized that i probably should have paced myself in reading this. will probably have to wait another year for the next volume. ahhhhhh :(
edit: GAH SO GOOD. this one focuses mostly on 江島生島事件 and the political machinations that lead to yoshimune becoming the next shogun. so much gender bending but it works so well. *_____* also, female kabuki actors as reverse onnagata (so i guess otokogata??) = so hot! also, kawaraban jokes = so funny! also, coming back full circle to yoshimune from volume 1 = so awesome! yoshinaga fumi, i love you.
edit 2: i just realized that i probably should have paced myself in reading this. will probably have to wait another year for the next volume. ahhhhhh :(
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