ABSTRACT
In the manga series Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Yoshinaga Fumi presents an imagined history of Japan's Edo period in which women rule the country, after a plague decimates the male population. In Yoshinaga's manga, the inner chambers become the female shogun's male harem, instituted to increase the likelihood of an heir through multiple partners. As in the real inner chambers, appointment at any rank is for life, and the men are not allowed to leave or communicate with their families. Ooku plays with shojo manga genre conventions, particularly the tendency to rely on cross-dressing, gender switching, and boys' love to avoid restrictive gender roles for girls. The fictional Gennai, unlike most of the women in Ooku, wears men's clothing and is occasionally mistaken for man. Another measure of her gender-bending is her special status as one of very few women allowed regular access to the inner chambers. Another gesture towards shojo manga tropes appears in the character of Hiraga Gennai.
