Shogunate Romance Novel

The Shogunate Romance Novel is a genre of literature dated by most to the time of the Shogunate, though some examples have been found fitting the type which date from times before.

The genre is characterized by a simple set of themes: the protagonist begins trapped in a bad situation, often as a prisoner or slave or merely chained by social bonds such as class which force her to remain in a place she does not like or is a source of ennui. She meets a hero, who typically hails from a lower social class or position, such as a common soldier or a servant or a foreigner. The two fall in love (through increasing romantic and sensual scenes) but cannot be together, and the hero is compelled to depart. The protagonist pines for her lost love until he makes a triumphant return having ascended from his lowly status through merit, now occupying a position of leadership. From this position, he is able to free the protagonist from her own bad situation and the two find happiness.

The number of different situations to which this scenario can be applied meant that while large numbers of shogunate Romance Novels were produced, they are largely interchangeable, not varying from the formula. They seem to have been printed and distributed widely in Shogunate cities, read by the urban middle classes and lower-ranking Dragonblooded, but seem to have fallen out of favour as the Shoguate wore on. Most Shogunate and modern critics of literature decry the Shogunate Romance Novel as having no artistic merit nor the beauty of the true classics of the time period.

Some suggest that Drums on Golden Mountain stands as the origin of the genre, but others argue against this view.