Welcome to the Ooku, the harem of the Tenno, the Emperor of Japan. In this colorful, luxurious space, forbidden to men under the penalty of immediate beheading, an all-female service takes care of the eight concubines of the one sitting on the Chrysanthemum Throne. They also perform various sacred ceremonies, and the first among them… Read More First Impression: Mononoke. The Phantom in the Rain
On a bright summer day, a bunch of kids runs to Nagakura-sensei, asking him for stories about the shinsengumi, the elite warriors of the last sword era, the troubled warring period of mid-18th Century Japan called the Bakumatsu. Every kid has heard of Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and Okita the Prodigy, and each has a… Read More First Impression: Blue Miburo
Young Tokiyuki Hojo is a consummate master at hide-and-seek, which wouldn’t be that strange if he wasn’t also the heir to the Kamakura Shogunate. The year is 1333, and Tokiyuki prefers hiding in treasure vaults, jumping from roofs, and running in front of his bodyguards to archery training or his lordly duties. Some at the… Read More First Impression: The Elusive Samurai
It’s the Boshin War or Japanese Revolution of 1868 and two lone samurai face down the upstart Imperial forces at Tsuguru Castle, with tragic results. But before dying, Gen’nosuke makes bestie Shizuma promise to survive and protect his younger sister, Sumie, who will now be orphaned. Six years later, Edo is much transformed as foreign… Read More First Impression: Meiji Gekken: 1874
It’s the dead of night and a palace coup is afoot. Murder and mayhem! Vengeance and usurpation! The commoner prince takes out his wrath on the elderly Dowager Empress, and then storms to the secluded palace of the Raven Consort—where no man or woman dare set foot—in order to demand a favor of the mysterious… Read More First Impression: Raven of the Inner Palace
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