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Ōoku: The Inner Chambers Manga Gets Live-Action TV Drama, 2nd Film
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Fumi Yoshinaga's Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga will receive a live action television drama adaptation and a new film adaptation in October and December, respectively.
The television drama, titled Ōoku: Arikoto・Iemitsu Hen, will premiere in October. The drama will cover volumes 2-4 of the manga. Masato Sakai (Honey and Clover's Shuuji, Buddha: The Great Departure, Aoi Bungaku Series) will play Arikoto, the monk turned Ōoku member, and Mikako Tabe (Kimi ni Todoke's Sawako) will play the female shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa.
The movie, titled Ōoku: Emonnosuke・Tsunayoshi Hen will open on December 22, immediately after the TV drama ends. The movie will cover volumes 4-6 of the manga. Masato Sakai will play the Ōoku member Emonnosuke, and Miho Kanno (Tomie's title character) will play the female shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa. Additional cast members for the drama and film will be announced in July.
Fuminori Kaneko, a director best known for the live-action Kisarazu Cat's Eye and Ikebukuro West Gate Park television series, will return to direct both the drama and the second film, and Minako Kamiyama is handling the scripts.
The manga already received a live-action film adaptation in October 2010. That film covered the first volume of Yoshinaga's manga.
The historical science fiction story takes place in an alternate-history version of medieval Japan, in which a bizarre disease has dwindled the male population. This has led to a matriarchal society where women outnumber men by 4 to 1. The shogun and de facto ruler of Japan keeps her own harem of men, or Ōoku.
The previous flim starred Arashi J-pop group member Kazunari Ninomiya (Tekkonkinkreet, Letters from Iwo Jima), and singer/actress Kou Shibasaki (Battle Royale, Dororo, Sekai no Chūshin de, Ai wo Sakebu) played Shogun Yoshimune herself.
Viz Media released the sixth volume of the manga in North America in July 2011. The manga won the 2009 James Tiptree, Jr. Award, and it also won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2009.
Update: More background information added.
Source: Comic Natalie
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