The Phantom of the Inner Palace: Rumors and Imaginations Swirling in the Garden of Secrets (Late Edo Period)

The Phantom of the Inner Palace: Rumors and Imaginations Swirling in the Garden of Secrets (Late Edo Period)

In the late Edo period, the O-oku (inner chambers) of Chiyoda Castle was a space where thousands of women lived in seclusion from the outside world. The only male resident was the Shogun. Although daily life was conducted under strict discipline, this closed world strongly captured the imagination of the people. Anecdotes spread through kawaban (tile-printed newspaper), kodan (storytelling), and novels of later generations transformed into something bizarre and curious that transcended reality.

One such story is that of a man sneaking a man into a nagamochi. Although it seemed possible, in reality it was an extremely dangerous act, but the common people were amused by it as "a secret affair unique to the inner chambers of the palace. Rumors also arose that women used secret tools to comfort each other since there were no other men in the house besides the Shogun. The tradition of the "Shinshin-mai" (dance for newcomers to the inn), in which new female attendants were forced to dance naked, can be seen as a reflection of the tension and depression that existed in the closed environment of the inner chambers.

There was even a story that when the shogun and his chamberlain slept together, a "chamberlain" would stay in the room all night listening attentively and report back to his superiors the next morning. This anecdote is a caricature of the thoroughness of the surveillance system, and is more influenced by private imagination and rumor than by actual records. These stories are not historical facts, but rather urban legends that grew out of the imagination of what was going on inside the closed space.

In the late Edo period (1603-1868), society was undergoing a period of reform and thrift ordinances, and the general public's entertainment and interest turned instead to bizarre topics and the forbidden world. Anecdotes about the inner chambers of the ladies' chambers were the product of curiosity and imagination, and were a mirror that reflected the psychology of the people more than reality.