After the discovery of the Redface Pox vaccine, the male population of Japan has nearly recovered, and men have become used to being in public life and government again. So as the first female shogun in over 60 years, Iesada has many challenges to overcome, such as an Inner Chamber unused to a woman’s needs. But the greatest threat she faces is her own father’s unhealthy interest in her... -- VIZ Media

Ienobu's heir is still just a child, and with few official functions to perform, the men of the Inner Chamber find themselves with much time on their hands. Some find ways to make the most of their rare trips outside the palace, while others turn their minds to bloody intrigue... -- VIZ Media

With the death of her monstrous father, Iesada is finally assured that she can have a consort who will survive life in the Inner Chambers. And she is delighted that the new spouse chosen for her is intelligent, kind and considerate of her past trauma. But the consort Taneatsu comes to the court with a past of his own—and an assignment from his liege lord that could pit him against his beloved shogun. -- VIZ Media

Curious about why female lords must take on male names, the shogun Yoshimune seeks out the ancient scribe Murase and his archives of the last eighty years of the Inner Chambers--called the Chronicle of the Dying Day. In its pages Yoshimune discovers the coming of the Redface Pox, the death of the last male shogun, and the birth of the new Japan... -- VIZ Media

The new government of Japan is determined to not only end the reign of the shoguns but erase any mention of the generations of women who once ruled the country. Try as they might to rewrite history, though, they cannot erase the memories of those who served in the Ōoku... -- VIZ Media

Taneatsu’s shogun Iesada has died, but unlike previous bereaved consorts, he has been denied the refuge of taking Buddhist vows. Stuck in the Inner Chambers, he has instead thrown himself into supporting the new shogun, Iemochi. But salacious rumors about the nature of their relationship and the arrival of Iemochi’s new consort threaten to make a mockery of his noble intentions! -- VIZ Media

The tale told in the Chronicle of the Dying Day continues as the young female shogun Iemitsu tries desperately to conceive a male heir. But her lover Arikoto seems unable to give her a child, and they must betray their hearts to save their country. Meanwhile, the Redface Pox continues its ruthless progress through Japan, leaving famine, despair, and the threat of anarchy in its wake. -- VIZ Media

"In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red 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"--Page 4 of cover.

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... -- VIZ Media

Boys Love Manga and Beyond looks at a range of literary, artistic and other cultural products that celebrate the beauty of adolescent boys and young men. In Japan, depiction of the “beautiful boy” has long been a romantic and sexualized trope for both sexes and commands a high degree of cultural visibility today across a range of genres from pop music to animation. In recent decades, “Boys Love” (or simply BL) has emerged as a mainstream genre in manga, anime, and games for girls and young women. This genre was first developed in Japan in the early 1970s by a group of female artists who went on to establish themselves as major figures in Japan's manga industry. By the late 1970s many amateur women fans were getting involved in the BL phenomenon by creating and self-publishing homoerotic parodies of established male manga characters and popular media figures. The popularity of these fan-made products, sold and circulated at huge conventions, has led to an increase in the number of commercial titles available. Today, a wide range of products produced both by professionals and amateurs are brought together under the general rubric of “boys love,” and are rapidly gaining an audience throughout Asia and globally. This collection provides the first comprehensive overview in English of the BL phenomenon in Japan, its history and various subgenres and introduces translations of some key Japanese scholarship not otherwise available. Some chapters detail the historical and cultural contexts that helped BL emerge as a significant part of girls' culture in Japan. Others offer important case studies of BL production, consumption, and circulation and explain why BL has become a controversial topic in contemporary Japan.