Ôoku

In Eisner-nominated Fumi Yoshinaga’s alternative history of Edo-era Japan, the men of Japan are dying out, and the women have taken up the reigns of power—including the shogun’s seat!

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface 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...

After the discovery of the Redface Pox vaccine, the male population of Japan has nearly recovered, and men have become used to being in public life and government again. So as the first female shogun in over 60 years, Iesada has many challenges to overcome, such as an Inner Chamber unused to a woman’s needs. But the greatest threat she faces is her own father’s unhealthy interest in her…

About the Author

Fumi Yoshinaga is a Tokyo-born manga creator who debuted in 1994 with Tsuki to Sandaru (The Moon and the Sandals). Yoshinaga has won numerous awards, including the 2009 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize for Ooku, the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for her series Antique Bakery, and the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award for Ooku. She was also nominated for the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist.