OHOKU

This is a history drama of the reversal of the position of men and women, where “the SHOGUN are a woman and there are 3,000 beautiful men in OHOKU (inner palace).” The scene where, at sound of a voice which says “UESAMA NO!! ONA—–RI——-!!” (Here the Lady is appearing),” all the beautiful men fling themselves down on the ground, is a sight to see, but this story goes beyond that. It lets the reader feel that there are many layers ahead which have not been revealed and makes the readers expect a story full of complications. What is depicted here is “a world where a man is assessed according to his sexual value”. Why has such a world been established then? One opinion held is that it might have been better to hold off nominating this piece for the Grand Prize as it will be more interesting the more the story progresses. However, other voices supported the high estimation of the present work and it was decided to make the award. We cannot take our eyes off from the development of the story in the future.