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Thread: Japanese Ah Au

  1. #1
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    Default Japanese Ah Au

    i am sorry. i am not able to find any earlier thread on this.
    anyone watch "ah au"? it's a story of a shogun who was raised by a nanny named ah fu and whose favorite wife [so should it be concubine since she is the second) is ah wang.
    the vcds i watch is series 1. any new series on it?

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    Oh the drama is known as Ooku or Inner Palace. The one you watched should be the second series because the first series covered the period of the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate and the lives of the women who lived during those times.

    The third installment will air in Japan this autumn (October) and will chronicle as its theme the love and hate of the women who lived admist the flourishing Edo culture during the Genroku period. Will post some pictures when they become available.

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    thanks, jade frosts. as i can't understand japanese and there is a loss of substitle, there is one scene which i do not understand. as the soldiers are about to kill the "christian guy", ah fu stopped it. what's the reason?

    looking forward to the next series. possibly it will be about the three mothers' fight for the shogun position i believe.

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    I'm sorry. I haven't watched the show yet because my copy doesn't have subtitles and I'm not that good at Japanese that I can understand the formal language.

    There isn't any continuity between the previous series and the one that will be screened soon. News on the drama said it's about the battles between the women surrounding Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth Tokugawa shogun and supposedly the most foolish ruler since he was suspected to have been moderately retarded.

    The one you watched was on the third shogun, Iemitsu and his nanny.

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    my goodness. based on the series i watched, the fifth shogun should be ah wang's son [third son in line]. as ah wang was a buddhist nun before and forever kind [that's why the shogun favours her most], i will expect the son to be the kindest and best. however, it is possible that he could be moderately retarded because ah wang got pregnant despite constantly fed with abortion medicine by ah fu. ah wang cannot give birth as she is from the emperor's side. giving birth will allow the emperor's side to claim credit and hence an increase of power accordingly. that's why the son was given to her maid (ah yi) to take care. something like it's ah yi who gave birth. and i think ah yi became a concubine in name too. an arrangement which only the shogun, wife& concubines and top servant knows. so as to keep the child.

    any idea where i can get news about the coming series. i did a google search based on the "ooku" title you gave (thks, ) but found no news about the coming series.

    Quote Originally Posted by jade_frosts
    News on the drama said it's about the battles between the women surrounding Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth Tokugawa shogun and supposedly the most foolish ruler since he was suspected to have been moderately retarded.

    The one you watched was on the third shogun, Iemitsu and his nanny.

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    Hmm I see. I don't know how true the story is compared to real life. Because history has it that he was retarded not because of medication but because of too much inbreeding within the Tokugawa family. Anyway his foolishness may not merely indicate his mental state but also the ridiculous policies he put in place because of religion.

    You won't be able to find any news of the third series in English because it hasn't been screened yet. Filming will start soon. All news come from Japanese entertainment magazines.
    Last edited by jade_frosts; 08-19-05 at 04:12 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jade_frosts
    Because history has it that he was retarded not because of medication but because of too much inbreeding within the Tokugawa family. Anyway his foolishness may not merely indicate his mental state but also the ridiculous policies he put in place because of religion.
    yes, i can understand the inbreeding.
    care to share about the ridiculous policies because of religion?

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    Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was very religious and promoted Neo-Confucianism.

    From what I know and what was depicted in the drama Chushingura, which was about the 47 loyal samurai, Tsunayoshi had a fixation with living things, especially dogs, in the later part of his life. He was unable to produce an heir and was told that the reason he remain childless is because he killed living things in his past life. So in atonement, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, decides issues a decree prohibiting the killing of any living creature. In particular, edicts which told the populace to protect dogs were released everyday, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city. So much so that he was called the 'dog shogun.

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    thank you for the interesting insights.

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    You're welcome. Filming starts in the last third of August at the studio in Kyoto
    -> which means anytime now.

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    Ooku ~ Hana no Ran (Inner Palace ~ Flower Rebellion) official website:
    http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/oh-oku/index2.html

    Norika Fujiwara looks like she's going to play a scheming difficult woman.

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    thank you, jade_frosts.
    that everything is in Japanese language.

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    anyone can translate the kanji to english?

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    There is nothing much on the website now save for what I told you and a reference to Ooku - The First Chapter. The drama doesn't start till 13 October so till then we can only sit back and wait for the first trailer.

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    Ooku is a very exciting show! And I really loved the romance between The Shogun & his most favoured wife (you call her Ah Wang? I saw the dubbed version so I know her as Ah Mun) So good must watch !!!

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    yes, the series is out.

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    Ooku ~ Hana no Ran (The Inner Palace ~ War of the Belles) - third installment

    [from FujiTV]

    The third Oh-oku series takes place during the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi's era. Oh-oku is completely controlled by the Shogun's mother, Keishoin. Giving birth to the Shogun's two children, Tokumatsu and Tsuruhime, Oden-no-kata is Keishoin's favorite concubine. Tsunayoshi's official wife, Nobuko - who came from the famous Takatsukasa Family in Kyoto - has no children yet. Coming from a very noble family, Nobuko always stands against Keishoin and Oden-no-kata, both who come from average households.

    More than anything, Shogun Tsunayoshi loves to study. Since a very early age, Keishoin valued studies rather than martial arts and provided her son with plenty of education. Especially passionate about Confucianism, Tsunayoshi was eager to follow the “filial duties" (duties of a child to his parent) written in “The Analects of Confucius". That is why he devoted himself to his mother, and is at her beck and call.

    Tsunayoshi has two close advisors that he trusts very much: Narisada Makino and Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa. The story begins when Tsunayoshi one day visits Narisada's residence.
    Last edited by jade_frosts; 11-22-05 at 03:48 AM.

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    Ooku ~ Hana no Ran: Episode 1

    Makino Narisada (Hiraizumi Sei) is acting in a Noh performance before the Shogun Tsunayoshi (Tanihara Shosuke) when he falls to his knees at the climax due to an injury sustained from a celebratory ritual hailing the end of winter (Setsubun which is commonly celebrated by throwing beans to chase away the evil spirits).

    Makino apologises profusely to the Shogun but the Shogun surprisingly waves it off and invites himself to a Noh performance at Makino's house. After the performance, the Shogun is shown to his guest room by Makino's wife Akuri (Manda Hisako). Several women are brought along for the Shogun to choose for the night but he sends them all away and rapes Makino's wife. The Shogun continues to visit Makino’s household and demands to sleep with Akuri every night until he sees her crying on the verandah. On his next visit, he does not ask for Makino's wife (she later commits suicide), but instead sets his eyes on Makino's lovely daughter, Yasuko (Uchiyama Rina).

    Though Yasuko is happily married to Narizumi (Tanabe Seiichi), the Shogun demands that she be brought to the inner palace as one of his consorts or her father will have his grounds and rice income confiscated. Narizumi tries to commit suicide, but Yasuko stops him because she will still have to abide by the Shogun's orders. Yasuko, dressed as a bride, is then brought to the palace but her appearance threatens Oden-no-kata's (Eiko Koike) position.

    Yasuko carries with her her mother's crane hairpin, but is it supposed to be a keepsake or does she wish to stab the Shogun with it? On their first night together, Yasuko patiently waits till the Shogun has fallen asleep before removing a sword from its display stand in the alcove, and prepares to strike ...

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    Quote Originally Posted by jade_frosts
    The third Oh-oku series takes place during the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi's era. Oh-oku is completely controlled by the Shogun's mother, Keishoin.
    thks, jade_frosts. Is Keishoin Ah Wang? if so, why the marked change in character? I am also shocked that Tsunayoshi is a "bad" person who committed rape.

    do you write out the story in English?

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    Default Ooku ~ Hana no Ran

    Quote Originally Posted by wkeej
    thks, jade_frosts. Is Keishoin Ah Wang? if so, why the marked change in character? I am also shocked that Tsunayoshi is a "bad" person who committed rape.

    do you write out the story in English?
    Keishoin isn't Lady Oman (who appeared in the second installment). According to historical facts, Keishoin became a lady-in-waiting of Lady Oman's (Keishoin's mother remarried the steward of a noble family, and Lady Oman was a relative of that family). Later on, Lady Oman recommended Keishoin as a concubine for the third Shogun and Keishoin consequently bore the fifth Shogun, Tsunayoshi.

    As the shogun, he has no qualms doing such things but in Akuri's case you have to watch on to see his rationale. Tsunayoshi somehow comes across as a boy-child rather than a man, probably a result of his exceptionally close relationship with his mother.
    Last edited by jade_frosts; 11-23-05 at 10:38 AM.

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