Ooku

Deep within Edo Castle was the ōoku (the inner palace)--the large expansive living quarters for the wives and concubines of the Tokugawa Shogun. The entrance was under the tightest security, and the corridors were barred to all men except the Shogun himself. It is said that over 1,000 women lived in the ōoku to serve the Shogun. For him, life in the ōoku was like living in paradise.

"Ōoku" is the story of the picturesque lives of the women living in the hidden, maze-like inner structure of Edo Castle. Inside, the women wielded their beauty and knowledge: some of them to win the Shogun's love, obtain political power, or to climb the ladder of the ōoku hierarchy. Their lives were filled with romance, hatred, anger, envy, tears, and persecution.

Of the three-century history of the Tokugawa ōoku, this Fuji Television drama focuses on the last several years. It tells the story of the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the ōoku, and also the lives of the women who lived through these times.

Synopsis: Fuji TV