#inner chambers

[nippon-com]

The intrigues of the Ōoku, the shōgun’s famed “inner chambers” located inside the walls of Edo Castle, have long captivated the public imagination. Containing the living quarters of women serving Tokugawa rulers, it played a vital role in ensuring stability through a system fulfilling the political need for successors.

In later interviews, servants who worked in the Ōoku described what went into a shōgun choosing to spend the night with a concubine—a rite known figuratively as “entering the bedroom.” Far from passionate affairs, these rendezvous called for careful preparations on the part of the concubine and attendants.

Step 1: Request by the shogun

The shōgun would first inform an elderly female attendant called an otogibōzu that he wished to visit the Ōoku. He would presumably also mention which of his concubines he desired to meet.

Step 2: The concubine prepares

The chosen concubine would change into a white kimono and dress her hair, holding it in place with a kushi (comb) rather than the customary hairpin, which like all potentially dangerous items were prohibited in the shogunal bedchamber.

Step 3: Entering the tsugi no ma

Dressed, a concubine would then move to the tsugi no ma, an antechamber adjacent to the bedroom, accompanied by a personal attendant of the shōgun called an ochūrō, who would search her for forbidden items. These examinations were quite thorough, including probing the hair, which the concubine would then have to reset.

Step 4: Entering the bedchamber

The shōgun would be waiting when his concubine entered the onjōdan, a narrow, raised area of his personal apartment that served as the bedchamber. Personal attendants, the otogibōzu, and otoshiyori (the elder who ran the Ōoku) remained on guard nearby even after the couple settled down to their conjugal duties. This was to head off any attempt by the concubine to secure favors of the shōgun in the heat of the moment, such as a promise to make a male offspring the heir apparent.

Step 5: Reporting to the highest authority of the Ōoku

In the morning, the elder would make her customary report of the previous evening’s activities to the head of the Ōoku. If a pregnancy resulted from the encounter, this too would be closely monitored.

Photo: A scene from the Meiji-era graphic magazine Fūzoku Gahō depicting the sitting room inside the shōgun’s Ōoku apartment. Courtesy the Kokugakuin University Library.

#Japanese history #the love life of shōguns #Ōoku #inner chambers

[shiguresouma]

Ooku (Serie de TV, 2023): mi círculo íntimo

Conocida también como “Ooku, The Inner Chamber” (Ooku, los aposentos privados) henos tenido la suerte de que a Netflix se le ocurriera la genial idea de apoyar este proyecto y nos presentará una primera temporada de 10 episodios. Y decimos primera temporada porque cuando hablamos de Ooku hablamos de una adaptación del manga de Fumi Yoshinaga que entre el 2004 y 2020 logró completar la nada…

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#Adaptacion #Epidemia #Fumi Yoshinaga #Inner Chambers #Netflix #ooku #Recamara interior #Shogun #Togukawa #Viruela de la cara roja #Yoshimune Tokugawa

[futur3gh02t]

I started the drawing thinking "its just a sketch only 15 minutes." The next thing I know, it's the next day.

#art #drawing #mechanical pencil #traditional art #BATIM #Bendy and the Ink Machine #twisted alice angel #chapter 3 #rise and fall #inner chambers

[sword-in-a-hoard]

Netflix animated stuff i think you should watch pt. 3

(Part 1, Part 2)

Blue eye samurai

Pluto

Pokemon concierge

Ooku the inner chambers

Dungeon meshi

Blue period

Tekken bloodline

Lost song

Carole and Tuesday

Centaurworld

BNA

Great pretender

Nimona

Bastard!! Heavy metal dark fantasy

#netflix #bna #centaurworld #pluto #pokemon concierge #nimona #blue period #great pretender #carole and tuesday #carole & tuesday #lost song #dungeon meshi #blue eye samurai #tekken bloodline #ooku: the inner chambers #ooku #bastard netflix #bastard heavy metal dark fantasy

[uwanosorade]

one thing i really like about ooku is that far from being about female rulers magically making some kind of feminist utopia one of its central themes is that a system of power that is tied completely to bloodline inheritance is inherently humiliating and dehumanizing even for the person supposedly in power. that’s obviously one of the biggest parts of the next arc but there’s glimpses of it here as well

#her little よいっこらせっと as she sits down is so cute. wife #ooku #ooku: the inner chambers #god forbid shoguns do anything

[gigi-does-art]

Not art but… assigning RE characters a species of bird because why not

(Part 1)

Chris Redfield: Red-tailed Hawk

Jill Valentine: Peregrine Falcon

Albert Wesker: Barn Owl

Leon S. Kennedy: Kestrel

Claire Redfield: Red-tailed Hawk (Just like Chris lol)

Ada Wong: Secretary Bird

Rebecca Chambers: Rosy-faced Lovebird

Billy Coen: Magpie

Sherry Birkin: Sandpiper

Carlos Oliveira: Quetzal

#chris redfield #jill valentine #albert wesker #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #claire redfield #ada wong #rebecca chambers #billy coen #sherry birkin #carlos oliveira #resident evil #im sorry but my inner zoologist wanted to assign birds to re characters #fun fact one of my favorite species of birds for the longest time was the peregrine falcon lol #i thought they were so cool and interesting when i was younger #they still are #this is very self indulgent #and silly #i plan on doing more of these with other re characters #if anyone has suggestions for types of birds that some re characters should be assigned to i wont mind if you share!

[yonae]

#ooku #ooku the inner chambers #anisource #animangaboys #fyanimegifs #fyeahanimegifs #dailyanimatedgifs #netflixedit #usersophies #useradrienne #animeedit #cats #anime gifs #anime #animangahive #shoujoedit #Shoujo-net #merygifs

[anonymouslyangsty]

When I started Ooku The Inner Chamber, I was kinda expecting a reverse harem, fanservice with a good side of romance, kinda deal. Instead I got a political drama and tears.

#i was expecting sexy but got sad instead #very good btw #got me crying over characters who are...not good people but STILL #VERY GOOD SHOW #ooku: the inner chambers

[yarrayora]

i was hesitant to start reading ooku because. you know. it's a gender apocalypse story. people tend to get weird with gender apocalypse story. they either make women oppress men but the narrative insists that it's not the same, that it's better even. or it's some lonely guy's power fantasy about being the only option these women have. but not ooku. ooku is so good, it's the best harem palace intrigue i've ever read and i haven't even finished volume one yet but i have to make this post because of this woman

an epidemic killed most of japan's male population, which the locals attributed as a god's wrath

japan's society changes without holding men in contempt for being "weak" or "evil" like most gender apocalypse storyline does. but they end up treated like a precious commodity which dehumanizes them in a different way.

another great thing about this is the fact that it only happened in japan while other countries are still a patriarchal society so people made great effort to hide the fact that their leader is a woman as to not be looked down upon (ex. the shogunate only accepts "manly names" in their registration, the female shogun must wear male ceremonial outfits when facing foreigners who have no clue about the epidemic and the new gender role swap, etc)

and of course that means men who manage to survive the epidemic and still remember The Old Ways still held patriarchal views on how the world should works and how he should be treated

such scene is shown as early as chapter 4, where the senior chamberlain cussed out the woman featured in the screenshot above. hes angry at her for helping the shogun dismiss 50 harem members to cut the expenses of the palace because he feels like his authority is being challenged.

at first, O-Mitsu seems to be an easy going, mild mannered woman, perhaps even a bit airheaded, because she presents herself as a smiling fool. but the moment the senior chamberlain complains that the shogun has trampled on tradition and thus made an enemy out of the inner court, she calmly points out that the tradition that he loves so much involves replacing every courtiers and servants from the previous shogunate when a new one rose to power

it's so fucking good

#ooku: the inner chambers #kano hisamichi #hisamichi kano #shout out to the official english release for localizing it using old timey vocabulary #shes so hot. i want her carnally.

[talesofedo]

Netflix has announced an anime adaptation of "Ooku: The Inner Chambers", produced by Studio Deen and directed by Abe Noriyuki.

I hope it's true to the books.

#random things #anime #Ooku #Ooku: The Inner Chambers #shared

[ydotome]

Sugishita: I have bedded with men more than once myself. - Ōoku: The Inner Chambers - Episode 01

#Oooku #Ōoku The Inner Chambers #Ooku The Inner Chambers #大奥 #Yunoshin Mizuno #Sugishita #my gifs #my post #long post

[takosan]

What happens to Arikoto is so tragic I had to stop watching Ooku for a bit. It was just too hard to watch.

Spoilers below; TW rape

Eventually I did finish watching Ooku and have too many thoughts buzzing in my head.

First of all, Arikoto is voiced to perfection by Mamoru Miyano in the Japanese version. Just the softest and most gentle intonations reflecting Arikoto’s personality so well. (The voice was so familiar and when I looked him up, I realized he’d also done Chrollo in Hunter x Hunter - another favorite character!)

Throughout the series, other men in the Ooku constantly remark on Arikoto’s shining presence and his dignified mien. There is a divine light about him in the ugly world of the ooku, court politics, and the threat of the plague. Even though he is forced to renounce his vows as a monk, he remains a caregiver at heart. We see this when he tends carefully and alone to Kasuga in her last days (despite everything she put him through). He is also the only one who takes care of the men dying of the red face pox inside the Ooku. He takes care of those who have been abandoned. But I also think this caregiving is a form of penance for the guilt he carries (the monk, sexworkers and others who were killed because of him).

It is his kindness that first draws him to Chie (pretending to be Iemitsu) despite her cruelty (more on that in another post). Arikoto’s love for Chie was such a tragic romance. He is forced into the Ooku after confinement and rape. He is forced to renounce his vows by Kasuga so that he can father Chie’s children. He ends up falling in love with Chie and wants to be with her - in more ways than one. And after all that violence, it turns out that he is …infertile. The universe is an unfair one and this was just a devastating blow. Arikoto is a changed man by the end of the show but his kindness and regard for life and people remains true. He can no longer wear the clothing of a monk but it was his calling to tend to those who needed him and he stays true to that calling to the end.

Although he is forced into the Ooku, in the end, he is chained to the Ooku not out of duress but due to the bonds of love. He stays in the Ooku to be with Chie, and later to fulfill her dying wish to be a father figure to her daughter. In trying to give the men in the Ooku purpose and some measure of joy, he actually ends up formalizing the system that we see as harmful in the first episode of the show.

Personally I found it hard to tell what Arikoto is feeling by the end of the show. His grief over Chie’s death (at a very young age) may be tempered by the fact that she is now free of the roles she was forced into. In the end they can’t keep their promise to die together. Does he care for Chie’s daughter out of filial love, or to fulfill Chie’s wish, or out of his inherent desire to be there for those who need him? Does he find meaning in becoming the chief administrator for the Ooku because he can now create structure and purpose for the other men? Is he at peace with his decision to stay in the Ooku? Is he numbed by everything he has faced in his life? In the end his gentle smile and calm demeanor reveal nothing of his true emotions.

Buckle in if you want to watch this show. The story is well told and heart rending in every episode.

#ooku: the inner chambers #ooku #madenokoji arikoto #mamoru miyano #anime recommendation #fumi yoshinaga #anime romance #historical anime #tokugawa

[uwanosorade]

yoshimune voice if you’re hot get the fuck out of my sight

#shes so funny i love her sm #i forgot that she and sugishita become buddies im so glad #ooku #ooku: the inner chambers #god forbid shoguns do anything

[nichiirawberryy]

lol I'm enjoying ooku a lot

#ooku: the inner chambers #ooku

[animefeminist]

Anime Feminist Recommendations of Summer 2023

Our latest recs are a grab bag of Summer shows, carryovers, and endearing oddballs you might have missed.

How did we choose our recs?

Participating staff members can nominate up to three titles and can also co-sign other nominated shows. Rather than categorizing titles as “feminist-friendly” or “problematic,” they are simply listed in alphabetical order with relevant content warnings; doing otherwise ran the risk of folks seeing these staff recommendations as rubber stamps of unilateral “Feminist Approval,” which is something we try our hardest to avoid here.

The titles below are organized alphabetically. As a reminder, ongoing shows are NOT eligible for these lists. We’d rather wait until the series (or season) has finished up before recommending it to others, that way we can give you a more complete picture. This means we also leave out any unfinished split-cour shows, which we define as shows that air their second half within a year of the first.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead will not be eligible for recommendation until it returns from its indefinite hiatus.

Here’s what the team thought—let us know your picks in the comments!

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#bang dream #bandori #bang dream it's mygo #its mygo #ooku the inner chambers #ooku #fumi yoshinaga #my happy marriage #reborn as a vending machine i now wander the dungeon #reborn as a vending machine #undead murder farce #sacrificial princess and the king of beasts #niehime to kemono no ou #articles

[heyheyray]

Ooku - The Inner Chambers

#ooku: the inner chambers