The story of Shitani was about a ronin called Minya Iemon. In order to marry Ah Yan, he killed his father-in-law who was obstructing him. Ah Yan gave birth to a son, but Iemon began to hate her. Ito's Mei became interested in Iemon and sent someone to send poison to Ah Yan, trying to marry Iemon. After Iemon learned about it, not only did he not stop it, he even agreed to Ito's proposal. After Ah Yan consumed the poison, his appearance was ruined and he died tragically. Ah Yan's spirit turned into a vengeful spirit, pestering Iemon and eventually leading to his death. This ghost story was adapted into a kabuki performance and continued to influence Japanese horror culture.
They can serve as blueprints. If a town sees another town's success in, say, reducing crime through community policing programs as in some strong towns success stories, they can adopt similar strategies.
In some ways, it is. The characters' emotions and experiences are quite authentic, but there might be a touch of fictional exaggeration for dramatic effect.
I'd say it's a mix. There's a romantic storyline, but the focus is more on the protagonist's journey and personal growth, so it's not strictly a pure romance novel.