Ooku: The Beginning(2012)

Ooku: The Beginning is a historical drama set during Japan's Edo period, when a mysterious epidemic decimates the male population. As men become scarce, the rigid social order collapses and inverts. Women ascend to power, with one becoming shogun while three thousand handsome men serve in the inner palace—a reversal that upends centuries of tradition. The series explores how this demographic catastrophe reshapes politics, desire, and gender roles in a feudal society built on male dominance. Caught between duty and survival, characters navigate a transformed world where power flows through unexpected hands. Rich in period detail and intrigue, Ooku examines what happens when the foundations of a patriarchal system crack.