Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume #06 Manga Review

Posted by Matthew Alexander
August 24, 2011 at 01:00 PM

Political intrigue is amped up multiple notches as backdoor bickering and assassinations run rampant.

Creative Staff
Art & Story: Fumi Yoshinaga
Translation/Adaptation: Akemi Wegmüller

What They Say
The aging shogun Tsunayoshi must name an heir, but her senile father is blocking the ascendance of the most likely candidate in favor of a young, untried lord. But politics and the shogun’s own unpopularity may soon take the choice out of her hands.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This series continues to be a solid outing by the author, proven by multiple manga awards and nominations from 2008 to 2011. However, my only beef with the writing is the time frame shifts. They can be quite awkward, and the shift in this volume ruins the second half of the book for me as I knew who was going to die and when. I have to wonder why the book’s editor didn’t think it was a bad idea.

That complaint aside, this volume covers the span of two Shoguns. Shogun Tsunayoshi is well past her childbearing years and has yet to bear an heir. She also decreed a very unpopular set of laws known as the ‘Edicts on the Compassion for Living Things’. These edicts are never discussed in this book beyond the idea that the populace is suffering under them. The real-life historical Shogun Tsunayoshi did proclaim ‘Edicts on the Compassion for Living Things’ to protect dogs, much to the suffering of the populace as taxes paid to feed and shelter thousands of dogs.

Regardless, the Tsunayoshi of the ‘Ooku’ series is greatly despised, and lives longer than many would like. Albeit, she is an interesting character, seemingly trying to forget her sorrows and stresses, she sleeps with one concubine after another deep into her matronly years. Although, to be fair and point out societies double standard, she isn’t doing anything that a man wouldn’t do. There is no better example in today’s world than Hugh Heffner. Late in Tsunayoshi’s life, she survives an assassination attempt that brings her into the arms of her Senior Chamberlain. Sadly, they had wasted most of their life loving each other in secret, never admitting to the other their feelings. I can’t decide if this saddens me or makes me feel happy for them as they finally reach a place in life where they can express their love.

Eventually, Tsunayoshi passes and Lord Ienobu takes the Shogun’s title. By this time, Shogun Ienobu is no spring chicken herself, nor has she successfully bore a daughter. The remainder of this volume chronicles her attempt to become pregnant and eventual birth of a semi-healthy daughter. For me, the most interesting aspect of this story arc is Ienobu’s senior retainer, who loves Ienobu so much that she ignored her own carnal desires to focus on her lord. This is quite similar to the relationship the former Shogun Tsunayoshi had with her senior retainer. This adoration a servant has for their lord is not only a requirement for any senior retainer, but makes for an interesting sociology examination in a world that none of us will ever experience. This type of adoration becomes even more interesting when the servant goes to such an extreme that they do everything in their power to keep others away from their lord. I have to wonder if that kind of a relationship will be seen in future volumes with some other shogun.

In Summary
After six solid books in this series, I have come to realize that ‘Ooku’ is more about burning love and passion that could never be allowed than it is about women ruling Japan or the implications of a disease that targets males. Whether it is one of the Shogun’s many concubines that feels his love has been spurned, the Shogun’s love for an infertile concubine that she can’t be with, or one of the Shogun’s female servant’s that loves her more than any man; this series shows the unhappy lives of aristocrats as they forsake love for duty. Of course, all of this is wrapped in a unique package where the women of feudal Japan rule the men.

The art in this series continues to shine as brightly as the story. The translation also needs some mention as it follows Elizabethan English style of speech. I personally believe this method works quite well for this series, and I have to say that the translator does a good job. It must be tough enough to translate dialogue, but even more difficult to use Elizabethan English to portray the formality of the time and aristocracy.

Regardless of all that, this is a great series and a good volume. The reason for the B grade is merely the poor use of the time shift between shoguns. Otherwise, I enjoyed this volume very much.

Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: A

Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 19th, 2011
MSRP: $12.99