Disclaimer: Please be aware that this is not actual history but a 'what-if' scenario developed over the course of the Edo period. The review is written cognizant of this fact and does not claim any of the events over the course of the manga to be true. With that out of the way, have a fun read.

Historical manga are some of my favorite works in the medium, with series such as Sangokushi, Kamui den, Historie, to name a few. My relationship with them tends to be quite painful, in no small part, due to them often being in hiatus hell or not picked up for translations due to lack in popularity. That was one of the driving factors in me learning French in the first place due to their voracious appetite for comic books in general. But I digress! Back to today’s focus. Ooku was a series something I first heard back over a decade back on account of the fact that it was well received and had won several prestigious awards over the years. Coupled with the rather unconventional plot, it stayed in my mind as something I would like to experience in the future. It was only recently that I came to learn that I could find it online. With the increasing free time due to IRL reasons, I figured now was the time to check it out. And I'm glad to say that the experience was truly phenomenal. In subsequent passages, I will try to present my thoughts on the work.

Ooku is at its heart a historical fiction, wherein, the reader is presented a what-if scenario (which is detailed in the synopsis), with one of the main questions being, what if, the driving reason for the Tokugawa’s policy of isolation was not political or economic, but rather due to a widespread disease, albeit affecting men. Given the ravages of COVID a few years back, it is quite believable a premise. Japan is devastated and men are slowly relegated to a subordinate role, with women taking up every role, including the government. This process at the highest level is done covertly but becomes more and more overt and the transition is complete. Men are not protected, out of concern, while women steer the fate of the nation.

Central to this transformation of society, is the Tokugawa Shogun. We cover a period of close to 250 years where we are brought into the midst of the inner chambers of the Edo castle as we get to explore the impact of this epidemic over the psyche of the nation and its women at the top. Originally, brought in out of political expediency, these women Shoguns must navigate a myriad of machinations in court, governing the country and ensuring The State continues undisturbed. And in this journey, Japan is also a participant in the world stage, though limited and reluctant. Europe is on the ascendence, and Japan must do its best to hold back the tide, until society restores to normalcy, if it ever will. Suffice to say, the women in power have their work cut out.

In this, Ooku excels. Yoshinaga has a great understanding of Japanese history and melds this beautifully with the travails of the Tokugawa family. We, as the readers are aware of the decision-making and the personalities behind them. And though I focus on this point, due to my affection for history, Ooku at its core is about relationships. We are exposed to different strata of society to understand the devastation of this disease. The changing population dynamics lead to change in relationships, and this is even more evident in Edo. The Shoguns often must give up on true relationships to assure continuity of the dynasty. A consequence of this detached nature of government leads to individuals who are fragile, both mentally and physically, and strive for true companionship, but to no avail.

This fragility is delightfully conveyed by the art in the series. Backgrounds are done tastefully, bringing a shojo aesthetic to the series. The character art however suffers from this, with some of them looking very similar. But this is to be expected given the vast timespan covered in the series. The Kimonos, ostentatious at the start of the series, is overshadowed by one, almost representing this series itself. The Kimono in question is black with a river pattern with swirls in silver, seemingly indicating that as with a river with its meandering ways, there is no one straight path. We must adapt to the situation and times around us to be resilient and overcome adversity. This is evident through the excellent cast, both female and male, that we get to see over the course of the series. They push and pull against each other, but at the end of the day, come together to help each other.

Over the course of the read, I found myself surprised time and again with the fact that the manga is only 19 volumes long. Part of it could be driven by wordiness and style of the dialogue in the manga. The English translation of the series uses an antiquated form of English at the start, making way for a more practical use of the language. And this was something I appreciated as this evolution in language over the course of history was something I haven’t necessarily seen in a lot of series. Kudos to the series on that.

The series end as Japan is on the cusp of modernization and you, as the reader, will come to appreciate the journey and the individuals which helped Japan to bounce back from that epidemic. And although a what-if scenario, I for one, will cherish this series deeply, and reminisce fondly of the times when Japan was ruled by female Shoguns.