R to L (Japanese Style). In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber...
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The Edo period of an alternate Japan is ruled entirely by women in this manga. A mysterious plague has killed three out of four boys for generations, so men are carefully guarded and sheltered, while women go about the business of daily life. The Ooku was an area of Edo Castle reserved for the shogun's concubines and female relatives; here the shogun is a woman and the Ooku is entirely male. One of the few serious works of alternate history in contemporary manga, Ooku explores the relationship between gender and culture in subtle and unexpected ways. It begins tightly focused on a single heroic character and slowly pans out from there, embracing first the court intrigue of the Ooku, then the new Shogun and Japan as a whole and finally the outside world, unaware and free of the plague. Yoshinaga is the acclaimed creator of Antique Bakery, which has been made into both a Japanese television series and a smash hit Korean movie. Not as visually busy as many historical works, Ooku's art has a spare, elegant aesthetic that shines with carefully chosen detail. Yoshinaga's work is wry and stately by turns, doing full justice to the book's rich tapestry of stories. (Aug.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Drawing on themes found in such diverse works as Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man comic-book series, and James Clavell’s Shogun (1975), Ôoku envisions an alternate history in which a plague decimates the male population of eighteenth-century Japan. Mizuno is a healthy young man who grants his seed to the poor women of his village, who would never be able to afford the courtesans that provide such a favor. But he must leave his good deeds and his true love behind when he is inducted into the Inner Chamber, the female shogun’s private “stash” of healthy men. Fending off the aggressive advances of the other concubines and proving his intelligence and fencing skills, Mizuno is maneuvered into the position of the secret swain, whose duty to the new and contemptuous shogun is both a sacred and deadly one. Opting for slow-building intrigue and character development, Ôoku explores themes of commoditization and gender with intelligence, and the graceful, uncluttered art creates an elegant world of privilege and duty. An exceptionally strong beginning to a very intriguing manga series. --Jesse Karp
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing! One of the most thouhgt-provoking mangas I ever read...,
By Brooklyner (NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
I came to like Fumi Yoshinaga's stories due to her excellent story-telling abilities and yaoi content. But her art is typically considered so-so by many readers. However, the art in this book came as an unexpected delight. Her artwork in this book REALLY improved as compared to all her earlier works I'm aware of (The Moon and the Sandals, Antique Bakery, Truly Kindly, Gerard and Jacques, etc). It is more refined, less "stylized", not sketchy at all, and most of her men look genuinely pretty and pleasing to an eye. Yet, it's still a distinct "Fumi Yoshinaga", just more carefully drawn and aesthetic. The quality of this English localization is absolutely gorgeous too. This is the first VIZ Signature manga I bought, and three (!) color inserts, well-designed cover with "semi-dust jacket", thick paper, careful lettering and inking... well, that was all very surprising, so much unlike DMP, Kitty, Go! Comi or Tokyopop, or any other US manga publisher I know of, and at a such reasonable price! Archaic English used throughout the book is somewhat annoying, at least at first. But give it a try, after the first 20 pages or so, I got used to it, and it didn't bother me that much.
This is NOT YAOI, and really not even a BL/shounen-ai, though there are some mild BL scenes (e.g., one of the main male characters is kissing another young man, there's an attempted man/man rape scene, and implied male same-sex relationship between some of the Inner Chambers' inhabitants (though nothing is shown on that)). Surprisingly, no lesbian pairings are shown or even implied, which I find somewhat unrealistic: with the population being 75% female, I think such relationships are to be expected. I hope it might be shown in further volumes. There are also a few very non-explicit heterosexual implied-sex scenes between a female shogun and her harem men. The book got its mature / 18+ ratings not because of "sexual situations" as the publisher claims, but probably because of its mature themes that would appeal to more grown-up audiences. It's NOT a sword-battling fantasy / adventure full of dragons, angels or world saviors (though there are some interesting sword fights between samurai shown), but a thought-provoking, groundbreaking and possibly quite philosophical work. All traditional Japanese shogunate era (or just traditional overall) female/male roles are reversed in the story. Because males are so rare (see product description above, most died off because of a mysterious epidemic), they are treated as frail and beautiful "flowers", to be guarded and protected by strong and stern women. However, women are still truly feminine in the book, just a lot of societal stereotypes of how women *should* behave were removed: women are often warriors, or skillful and wise politicians in that alternative-history Edo Japan, but still loving and respectful towards their husbands, eager to bear and have children. While reading this book, I was amazed how realistic it all felt: that's how Edo Japan could have possibly been if such male/female imbalance had indeed happened. The character of the female shogun is interesting and intriguing. Just as a wise male shogun with samurai spirit and principles would behave, she doesn't like any excesses, doesn't care about appearances, yet quite "lustful" and eager to have "surprise" and rough sex with her male concubines. As any wise and highly principled ruler (i.e., unattainable ideal of that era), she does not go for young and good-looking (they are too expensive to up-keep, male concubines just love dressing up in all those bright "peacock" colors and expensive silks...and our shogun cares a lot about saving state money), besides, she's "virile" and "potent" enough to have a "quickie" with not-so-good-looking and older males ("a man is a man" philosophy, just the reverse of "any female would do" stereotype common for the image of a truly "virile" man...) Of course, when men are doing that type of thing in this book, it's often done for money or connections, and they're often viewed as "shameful" or "whores" by others / themselves...do you see any similarities? Yep, the true history, just with gender roles reversed... I'm very looking forward to Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 2, scheduled to appear in December this year. Four volumes have been already published in Japan, and it seems that the series is still on-going. This is the book that could have been written and fully appreciated / understood only in the 21st century, after all the gender equality achievements and reconsideration of women's role in society. The story is most likely to appeal to mature female readers, though my hope is that some male readers read and like it too. It's unique and so beyond regular manga fare. Probably, a book of the year for me, and highly recommended!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece,
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This review is from: Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
I love Fumi Yoshinaga's work and she always suprises me. I did not like the first manga of her that I read, Gerard & Jacques, for that reason I stayed a long time away from her works. Antique Bakery was so praised that I forced myself to read it and fell in love. After I got Flower of Life and I was fully convinced that she was one of the top manga-kas of her generation. I was very eager to read Ooku, and every nomination this work received increased my curiosity. I was very happy when VIZ announced this title.
Ooku impressed me with the mature, beautiful and neat art style. The story was really interesting, mixing history and gender discussions, the main character, Mizuno, is kind and ambitious, although a little naïve, and I felt very interest to know if he would succeed in his career at the inner chamber. For that who do not know, the inner chamber is the shogun seraglio, in a Japan where most of the man, specially the young, died in reason of a strange disease, the red pox. Women took the power and men are an expensive delicacy and necessary source of seed. Mizuno used to bed with women who wanted child for free. Only the most powerful and rich families can afford a husband, and only the shogun can have so many. I don't know if Yoshinaga will mix real Japanese history in her series, like the contact with other countries. Does the disease affected other places or is a Japanese plague? I can hardly wait for the next volume. Ah, one problem for me, VIZ was very careful and the text is almost in archaic English. It's difficult for a foreigner - I'm Brazilian - to read it as fast as if it was in current English, but this choice give to Ooku a more elegant face. Really nice peace of work.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious and Eternal,
By
This review is from: Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Ooku tells a brilliant story set to the backdrop of a diseased Feudal Japan. It has beautiful artwork and lifelike characters and my favorite has to be Yoshimune, the strong female shogunate. She is a true feminist, and it shows by how she believes that women are just as capable as men. She has a fierce look to her eye, and it appeals to many fans of Ooku.
My only negative comment is that the translators decided to stick with the old Shakespearean way of talking. So, rather than hearing (or reading) a normal manga, you are reading something as though it was taking words from Romeo and Juliet (forsooth, thou, e'er...). It starts out very tiresome, but it starts to flow beautifully, adding more character as the manga unfolds. I'm no expert on manga, but this really is a great series, even if you're not up for a historical tale. It's like a manga never before read. Absolutely astounding...
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