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In Eisner-nominated Fumi Yoshinaga’s alternative history of Edo-era Japan, the men of Japan are dying out, and the women have taken up the reigns of power—including the shogun’s seat! In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the shogun's Inner Chamber... Prince Kazu is not the consort shogun Iemochi was expecting, but the young ruler is determined to make their relationship a good one. And despite her initial distaste for Edo and everything about it, Prince Kazu find herself warming to her spouse. But the world beyond the safety of the Inner Chambers is a cruel one, and the secret of their fragile marriage is under constant threat from of discovery.
Author
Japanese: よしなが ふみ Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works. Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo. In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated." Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege. She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets. Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico. Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
