by Fumi Yoshinaga, 211 pages
Tsunayoshi already has an heir by her doofy but sweet concubine Denbe, but she still finds herself caught in the middle of the influence competition between her doting father and her wimpy consort, who each try to bring into the Ôoku men they believe they can control as potential concubines for her and therefore potential fathers of a future shogun. Tsunayoshi laughs at their ploys, leaving the government of the country to her lackluster privy council while she enjoys her time with her daughter, Matsu. But when fate forces her to change her priorities, the pressure of it all takes its toll.
I used to think I disliked Tsunayoshi, but now it's impossible not to sympathize with her. She loves her daughter, loves her father, loves her scary lady in waiting, loves her silly Denbe; everything she does that seems awful or selfish is mitigated by her experiences and the suffering we see her go through. When she finally breaks down in front of clever, ambitious Emonnosuke, the Senior Chamberlain of the Ôoku finds himself humbled before her strength as he reevaluates Tsunayoshi, himself, and their positions in this world. With that scene, I wanted to forgive her everything and warmed up to Emonnosuke as he proves himself more than just a smart man driven by self-interest.
As long as all these characters show me that they can actually care about another human being, I won't be able to hate on them. And Yoshinaga's skill with character development probably means I won't have the satisfaction of pointing at anybody as the "bad guy" for long. That she manages to seamlessly work in slightly-tweaked historical events, like the Forty-Seven Rônin and the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things, without compromising the world or characters she's so carefully constructed is just more reason to admire her and keep reading.
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