Ōoku: The Inner Chambers S01

During the Edo period in Japan (1603-1868), a strange disease called "red-faced pox" spread among men in the country. In the first 80 years of its outbreak, the male population decreased to a quarter of the female population. Women took over all social roles that previously belonged to men, even the position of shogun. Men were carefully guarded and the most handsome men served in the inner palace of the shogun.