Manga Review: Ōoku The Inner Chambers

History teaches us that during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu  and extending until 1853, Japan was an isolated country.  Contrary to popular belief though, the country wasn't entirely closed off - it continued to conduct trade with a Dutch factory as well as with its neighbors China and Korea. Little is known about what occurred within the country during these years and taking this historical event into account, author Fumi Yoshinaga depicts an alternative history of Japan - one where women, not men, rule the country.

Ōoku the hidden chambers begins during the reign of the shogun Yoshimune and follows a young man named Mizuno Yunoshin. Mizuno joins the Inner Chambers - a harem of men at the disposal of the shogun - after realizing that he will not be able to marry the woman he loves. However, anyone who enters the chambers can never leave and must live their life out as a member of the Inner Chambers. Within the first month Mizuno uncovers a shocking secret - the shogun is really a woman! The story then shifts to follow Yoshimune, the current shogun and her quest to learn the reason why female Shogun's must be presented as male to all but those within the Inner Chambers. She seeks out the oldest member of the Inner Chambers and from a chronicle that begins with the reign of Iemitsu, Yoshimune learns that the shogun was once a male and that in fact, the female line has been kept only because of the red face pox. This deadly disease affected boys and young men and almost always resulted in death. Unable to stop its spread, the male population of Japan dwindled away eventually killing the shogun as well. Japan converted to a matriarchal society, where men became precious treasures to be protected and where they could sell themselves as prostitutes to women willing to pay the high price to have a child. Reversing the roles between men and women affected every level of society, including the shogunate where Tokugawa Iemitsu became the first female shogun.

Sunao Ni Narenakute [Hard to Say I Love you]

As I mentioned in my post about the j-drama Majisuka Gakuen, once in a while, I will pick up a drama or television series, usually so that I break-up the cycle of watching anime most days. I haven't actually watched any anime in well over a month! There was a total of 3 j-dramas that really caught my attention and in addition to them, I have been watching a British tv show as well (more on this will come in a post at a later time). One of the j-dramas I picked up and just finished is called Sunao ni Narenakute. To be completely honest, I started watching it because one of the actors is a singer that I quite like - Jaejoong, from the Korean group JYJ. I remember that back in 2010, when this drama first aired, I was determined to watch it, but never did. So, coming across it again about 3 weeks ago, I decided that I should watch it once and for all.

Sunao ni Narenakute follows 5 individuals whose lives intertwine due to social media. In this case, 4 of the 5 have a Twitter and follow each other. One of the five who goes by "Linda" online, suggests that they should all meet up in real life. At first he tells everyone that they should wear a red flower in order to be identified but then says, "Just kidding!" The first person to arrive is "Doctor" a young man from Korea who works at a hospital in Tokyo. He is wearing a red rose when Linda finds him and Linda explains, while laughing, that he was only joking about the red rose. Doctor looks very confused at first but eventually figures it out. I think I can count about 5 instances in which Doctor didn't quite know what was going on, since his first language is Korean, but for the most part he understood and connected well with everyone.

The next to arrive is "Haru", a woman in her early twenties who is a provisional teacher at a local high school (she failed the exam to obtain her certification in teaching). Haru brings her best friend with her. While she doesn't use Twitter, she does eventually join and follows all the members from the meet-up; she goes by the name "Peach." Finally, "Nakaji" arrives. Nakaji is a photographer who often posts the images he takes on Twitter. All 5 strike up a friendship and decide that whenever they're together, they should be as honest with each other as possible. As a group of young twenty-somethings, many things happen that cause twists and turns in their lives. As they each open up with each other, they all learn that each one of them holds secrets and pain hidden away.

Book Review: Keepsake

Trish isn't perfect. She's divorced and raising two kids—so of course her house isn't pristine. But she's got all the important things right and she's convinced herself that she has it all under control. That is, until the day her youngest son gets hurt and Child Protective Services comes calling. It's at that moment when Trish is forced to consider the one thing she's always hoped wasn't true: that she's living out her mother's life as a compulsive hoarder.The last person Trish ever wanted to turn to for help is her sister, Mary—meticulous, perfect Mary, whose house is always spotless . . . and who moved away from their mother to live somewhere else, just like Trish's oldest child has. But now, working together to get Trish's disaster of a home into livable shape, two very different sisters are about to uncover more than just piles of junk, as years of secrets, resentments, obsessions, and pain are finally brought into the light.- Keepsake, Back Cover