History of Akitsu
The history of Akitsu includes the islands of Akitsu and the Akitian people, spanning from ancient history of the region to the modern history.
Contents
Prehistory and ancient history
Imin period
The first evidence of human habitation in Akitsu dates back to around 27500 BCE, though settlement on the Akitsu Islands are believed to have started earlier. There are two prevailing theories as to the origin of these settlers. The first is the Western Origin Theory (西部原産論), which holds that the first settlers of Akitsu came from west of Akitsu, from what is modern day Tieguo. The other is the Northern Origin Theory (北部原産論), which holds that the first settlers of Akitsu came from the north of Akitsu. Though genetic evidence has proven that modern-day Akitians share a connection with both of these groups of people, there is no evidence that can directly point at which group arrived first. Nonetheless, by 26000 BCE it is generally accepted that immigrants from both the north and west had arrived in Akitsu, and had begun mixing together.
This period of initial settlement is called the Imin period (移民時代), and is generally regarded to have lasted from around 40,000 BCE to around 22,000 BCE. This period is marked by initial settlement of the islands that make up Akitsu and the emergance of ancient Akitian culture. During the Imin period the people of Akitsu generally lived on coastal settlements and obtained their food primarily from fishing. The most common type of homes were huts and pit-houses. Settlers brought with them various animals and vegetables. Smaller settlements have been found in the mountains, though these are less numerous and are thought to have housed small hunter-gatherer tribes.
Furutsu period
From 22,000 BCE to 1,000 BCE, and is separated into the early Furutsu period (22,000-12,000 BCE), middle Furutsu period (12,000-3,000 BCE), and late Furutsu period (3,000-1,000 BCE). The early Furutsu period is marked by the establishment of new settlements in Akitsu deeper inland. It is also marked in a great increase in complexity of the design of huts and pit-houses compared to the settlements of the Imin period. The middle Furutsu period is marked by the widespread emergence of small-scale agriculture and a sharp increase in population. The late Furutsu period is marked by an increase in contact with foreigners. During the late Furutsu period small numbers of settlers came from foreign nations bringing with them new technologies including wet-rice farming and metallurgy. The origin of these settlers is debated, but at least some of them are believed to have come from Tieguo. These settlers eventually mixed with the already existing Akitian people, causing the old Furutsu culture to slowly fade out and modern Akitian ethnicity to emerge. By 500 BCE the Furutsu culture had vanished, ending the Furutsu period and beginning the Kyutetsu period.
Kyutetsu period
The Kyutetsu period (旧鉄時代) immediately followed the Furutsu period and lasted from 1,000 BCE to 200 BCE. During this time wet-rice farming and metallurgy became widespread. While during the late Furutsu period these technologies had existed in Akitsu, they weren't in widespread use and were instead limited to a small number of settlements. However with the end of the Furutsu period and the birth of the modern Akitian ethnicity the technologies spread across all of Akitsu. The Kyutetsu period is also marked by the emergence of the first Akitian states out of the tribes and chiefdoms that had previously been scattered around. The Kyutetsu period is also the period during which the Akitian religion established itself. Before the Kyutetsu period, the Akitian religion was largely just a disorganized set of local myths. The birth of the first Akitian states during the Kyutetsu period caused the beliefs to become more uniform during this time. This is also the time that the first reishi appeared, though they had no formal name for themselves during this time and went by a variety of names.
Feudal Era
Hakkoku period
Near the end of the Kyutetsu period various states warred with each other for control over Akitsu. Eventually a status quo was reached and the violence ended. eight Akitian kingdoms were born, starting what is called the Hakkoku period (八国時代) of Akitian history. The Hakkoku period of Akitian history lasted from 200 BCE to 200 CE. This period is divided into two sub-periods, the Reimae period (霊前時代) and the Reimei period (霊命時代).
The Reimae period (200 BCE - 160 CE) is marked by a continued peace between all eight kingdoms of Akitsu. The eight kingdoms of Akitsu during this time were Gi (魏), Go (呉), Shoku (蜀) and San (賛) on Akishima, Jaku (寂) and Hou (鳳) on Harajima, Sei (清) and Zen (禅) on Izumijima. The Reimae period is marked by the establishment of the idea of the "Mandate of Rei". The Mandate of Rei holds that nations gain the legitimacy to rule by maintaining an equilibrium with the Rei of the world, and is derived from a similar idea developed in Tieguo. The Mandate of Rei was used to legitimize the rule of the six different kingdoms over their own domains until the end of the Reimae period.
In around 160 CE the King Haku (白) of Shoku chose to apply the Mandate of Rei in a wider context, starting the Reimei period (160-200 CE). Instead of using the Mandate of Rei to legitimize his rule over only his domain he extended it to mean that he had the right to rule all of Akitsu. On King Haku's order the Kingdom of Shoku launched an attack against San. San's armies were quickly defeated by Shoku. By 170 CE, all of the north was under the control of the Kingdom of Shoku. Around this time King Toku (徳) of Hou had the same idea and launched a campaign against Jaku and Zen. Zen fell in 165 CE and Jaku fell in 169 CE, bringing all of the south and Izumijima under the rule of the Kingdom of Hou. The Kingdoms of Shoku and Hou went to war against each other in 180 AD. The war proved to be a long and bloody one, lasting two decades Nonetheless, in 200 CE the Kingdom of Shoku emerged victorious and unified Akitsu for the first time ending the Reimei period.
Shokukoku period
Once Shoku unified Akitsu under their banner, the Shokukoku period (蜀国時代) began. It lasted from 200-653 CE. This was a time of peace for Akitsu, as the Kingdom of Shoku maintained order. The new unified nature of Akitsu allowed for further development of the Akitian religion, and for the during this time in history it finally became a uniform belief system. Reishi became an established occupation and a respected part of Akitian society during this period. This prosperity didn't last forever as near the end of the Shokukoku period there was a series of natural disasters which resulted in a famine, causing the popular support for the Kingdom of Shoku to nosedive.
It was right after the famine ended (622 CE) that Hidemori Hatakeyama (畠山 秀盛) began rallying the commonfolk in Akitsu. Though exactly who Hidemori started off as is disputed, it is believed that he was a low-ranking general within the military of the Kingdom of Shoku before he did this. Initially Hidemori ws only able to recruit small numbers of troops, but Hidemori made use of what he could get. Hidemori and his forces conquered a small village in order to obtain a source of food, water, and other supplies, as well as establish a base-of-operations in the region. The Kingdom of Shoku ignored this first attack, believing it to be nothing more than false rumors. Hidemori used this as a chance to let his forces prepare for battle. After being ignored for a while Hidemori conquered several nearby villages and began attempting to recruit the locals. Hidemori started drawing in many recruits by claiming that the Kingdom of Shoku had lost the Mandate of Rei and that it was time for a "new order" to emerge in Akitsu. To many Akitians this appeared to be true because of the famine that had recently struck, and thus Hidemori attracted recruits from all over Akitsu rather than just the villages he had captured. The King of Shoku saw this and commanded the armies of Shoku to attack Hidemori. A large force that outnumbered Hidemori 10 to 1 was dispatched. However the attack against Hidemori ended in failure when much of the troops sent to fight against Hidemori instead defected to Hidemori. Using this victory to further legitimize his claim to the Mandate of Rei in the eyes of Akitians, Hidemori launched a successful campaign to conquer Harajima. Upon capturing Harajima other warlords in Akitsu rebelled in Akijima and Izumijima, further weakening the Kingdom of Shoku. Using this chaos to his advantage, Hidemori launched successful campaigns in Harajima and then Akishima. By 653 CE Hidemori had conquered all of Akitsu and established his own kingdom in Akitsu, ending the Shokukoku period.
Sennari period
Hidemori's conquest of Akitsu marked the start of the Sennari period (戦成時代) which lasted from 653-781 CE. Hidemori tried his best to create his "new order" in Akitsu. Hidemori implemented linguistic reforms intended on making it easier to write Akitian, resulting in the development of tangana and kakukana from Akitian nanji. Hidemori also implemented architectural reforms that were meant to "upgrade" Akitian architecture. One of Hidemori's most notable policies was to establish a warrior class in Akitian society that had not previously existed. This warrior class would eventually become known within Akitsu as "Senshi" (戦士).
These reforms were unpopular with the people at the time. However, Hidemori was viewed as having obtained the Mandate of Rei and thus the people tolerated this. The policy on language resulted in Akitian writing becoming widespread among the upper classes of Akitian society. Akitian architecture that had existed until then dissappeared in all major cities during this time, being replaced with architecture inspired by Hidemori's reforms. The emergence of the Senshi class dramatically changed the socio-political landscape of Akitsu, with several powerful Senshi clans emerging. By the end of the Sennari period Akitsu had changed drastically, and these changes would last long after Hidemori's death. Hidemori died in 681 and was succeeded by his son Toyomori, who was succeeded by his son Yoshimori in 720.
By 736 at the latest, there were 5 powerful Akitian Senshi clans. These clans were the Kobayakawa clan, Ichikawa clan, Eda clan, Kawaguchi clan, and Ikehara clan. In 750 the Eda clan led these clans in a plot to overthrow the then-ruling Yoshimori. These clans viewed the kingdom that Hidemori had established as a declining power and decided that in order to strengthen Akitsu the rule of the Hatakeyama dynasty must be ended. They launched a series of attacks near the end of 750 with devastating consequences for Yoshimori's army. Since these clans consisted of the bulk of Yoshimori's military forces he was completely overthrown in 751. The Eda clan then established the Eda Dynasty, starting the Eda Period of Akitian history.
Eda period
The Eda period (江田時代) lasted from 751-783 NY and is marked by the short-lived Eda Dynasty. Because of it's relatively short length, it is generally considered a sort of prelude to the Eisen Period, and sometimes even part of it. The Eda Dynasty attempted to assert it's control over all of Akitsu, but was met with resistance from other Senshi clans. The Eda Dynasty attempted to use force to bring these clans in line, which only caused resentment from the other Senshi clans who felt that the Eda Dynasty was trying to unjustly take power away from them. As more force was used by the Eda Dynasty to bring Senshi clans in line, more and more resentment grew, until finally in 778 open rebellion broke out. Various Senshi clans claimed that they had inherited the Mandate of Rei and established their own states. Though the reasoning for the claim on the Mandate of Rei varied, all claims maintained that the Eda Dynasty had never inherited the Mandate of Rei at all and that their rule was illegitimate. By the middle of 783, the Eda Dynasty had lost control over much of Akitsu, ending the Eda period.
Eisen period
The Eisen period (永戦時代) immediately followed the Eda period and lasted from 783-1207 CE. This period is marked by a state of near-constant war between the 5 major Senshi clans as well as various coalitions of minor Senshi clans. After 2 centuries of constant war there were three factions that clearly had a large advantage in the war compared to other factions. The first was the Kobayakawa clan, which had gained control of all of Akijima and had an advantage in manpower. The second was the Green Coalition, a coalition of minor clans named because of their banner which featured the color green. The Green Coalition was led jointly by the Hirosawa clan and the Hoshino clan in a diarchy and controlled Izumijima. The Green Coalition had military officials that were more well-versed in the art of war than the other factions, and thus had a strategic advantage. The third was the Ikehara clan, which had gained control of much of Harajima had established numerous defensive fortifications giving them an advantage whenever they were involved in a defensive battle.
Between 983 and 1207 numerous battles were fought between the Kobayakawa clan, the Ikehara clan, and the Green Coalition. By the time 1207 came all other factions had been eliminated, leaving these three factions left. An unofficial ceasefire was declared between all three factions. Each of the factions established their own government and continued to claim themselves as the sole legitimate governing authority over Akitsu. The Kobayakawa clan called their government the Empire of Akitsu and set up an absolute monarchy. The Green Coalition set up the Kingdom of Izumijima and continued their diarchy. The Ikehara clan established the Kingdom of Akitsu, another absolute monarchy. Once this happened the constant state of war ended, along with the Eisen period.
Retsukoku period
The end of the Eisen period marked the start of the Retsukoku period (裂国時代) which lasted from 1207 to 1380. This period is marked by tense relations between the three kingdoms that made up Akitsu, and occasional skirmishes between the three powers. It was also during this period of time which Akitsu first came into contact with more advanced civilizations. All three kingdoms, fearing for their own safety, restricted the activities of foreigners. The extent that it was restricted varied from nation to nation. The Kobayakawa clan allowed foreigners to conduct trade through a single, designated port. The Green Coalition allowed foreigners to conduct trade in a select few approved ports, and even then only via an intermediary. The Ikehara clan allowed foreigners to conduct trade through a select few approved ports, and allowed foreigners to stay within a designated area for a maximum duration of 2 weeks.
1380 was the beginning of the end of the Retsukoku period. It was this year that some Akitian fisherman witnessed a naval battle between foreign nations. This showed Akitians the full extent of the military power of foreign nations. This came as a shock to many Akitians as most Akitians thought of themselves as the superior military power at the time. This worry directly led the three Akitian kingdoms, in the hopes of avoiding being conquered, to begin modernizing.
Modern era
Kindai period
This marked the start of the Kindai period (近代時代), which lasted from 1380 to 1413. This era is marked by the rapid modernization and industrialization of Akitsu. All three kingdoms had the technological basics for such a change through their limited exchange of information with foreigners, but because of the extent of the policies each kingdom developed at a different pace. The Ikehara clan's Kingdom of Akitsu was able to modernize the fastest, while the Green Coalition's Kingdom of Izumijima lagged behind considerably. Nonetheless, by 1400 all three kingdoms had advanced a considerable degree. All three kingdoms were quick to adopt the a very different political system, abandoning the idea of the "Mandate of Rei" and adopting psuedo-constitutions called "absolute laws" (絶対法律) which granted some freedoms such as the freedom of religion.
Akitian culture also saw a slight change during this period. The old Senshi class began to gradually fade away along with the old class system, being replaced by a class system based more on wealth. The Akitian upper-class then felt the need to distinguish themselves from the "lower classes". As a result many rich Akitians began to dye their hair various colors. The most common color dyed varied from region to region. Later on rich Akitians would also begin to tattoo their cornea's. Though in other regions corneal tattooing was only temporary, in Akitsu the procedure was permanent due to the properties of certain unique plants grown in Akitsu. While hair-dyeing continues to be practiced by some Akitian elites to this day, corneal tattoing is no longer common due to concerns over the success rate and risks of the procedure.
In 1404 the political landscape of Akitsu began to change drastically. The King and Queen of the Ikehara-backed Kingdom of Akitsu died when their heirs were only 6. The heirs were the twins Keisuke Ikehara, a boy, and Satomi Ikehara, a girl. Due to the rule of male primogeniture, Keisuke was next in line for the throne. The uncle of these twins, Jiro Ikehara, was appointed regent. Jiro however wanted Satomi to succeed to the throne rather than Keisuke. He hoped that Satomi would leave all the ruling to him, essentially giving Jiro power over all of Akitsu. Jiro also thought that there was no way that Keisuke would allow this as he was already talking about what he wanted to do when he became ruler. Once Jiro became regent he secretly arranged for Keisuke to be moved to a middle-class family who had long been servants to the Ikehara clan, though publicly he claimed that Keisuke died of an illness. Keisuke also had his penis and testes removed by the order of Jiro. He was worried that if Keisuke ever had any children who found out about what had happened they would rebel in an attempt to reclaim the throne. After spending 6 years in this family, Keisuke returned to the royal family as a servant. Jiro chose to let Keisuke live in order to use Keisuke as a tool to keep Satomi in line, and he used Satomi as a tool to keep Keisuke in line.
Jiro ruled the Kingdom of Akitsu was done in a manner that many consider to be tyrannical. Jiro had zero tolerance for any sort of dissent, and publicly executed anyone who he even thought opposed him with a guillotine he had imported. Whenever Jiro ran low on money he simply forced his subjects to give him extra money outside of normal taxes. Naturally the people didn't like this and Jiro's rule was widely unpopular. However, Jiro also made the public image that Satomi was influencing his decisions, causing the public to despise Satomi as well.
One day when Satomi and Keisuke were 14 a delegate from the Kingdom of Izumijima arrived in the Kingdom of Akitsu. During this visit it is known that Satomi and Keisuke fell in love with one of the royal family of Izumijima. Jiro, fearing that if this resulted in a royal marriage he would lose power, Jiro ordered an invasion of the Kingdom of Izumijima and extermination of the royal family of Izumijima. In order to hide what really happend, Jiro wrote in the official records that he invaded because Satomi's love had fallen in love with someone from Izumijima.
The Kingdom of Izumijima's armies had grown weak after years of peace and were unprepared for war, while Jiro's armies had been conducting regular military drills and were much more prepared. The Kingdom of Izumijima fell under the control of Jiro very quickly and all of the ruling class of the Green Coalition was executed. In order to ensure that Keisuke didn't get any aspirations of his own, Jiro had Keisuke observe the executions in order to scare Keisuke into obedience, though on official records he put down that the servant Keisuke took part in the executions.
Many people thought that the reason for the war that Jiro put forward was ridiculous. They saw it as another abuse of power by Jiro and Satomi. Most of these people professed allegiance to the Kobayakawa-backed Empire of Akitsu, both due to a surge in Akitian nationalism and the fact that the Empire of Akitsu was doing a much better job of protecting the rights it granted it's people. Significant portions of the army defected as well, resulting in a successful coup de'tat within a single week. Jiro and someone thought to be Satomi were dragged out immediately after the coup to be executed by guillotine. Jiro was stomped to death by the masses before reaching the guillotine. "Satomi" on the other hand was slightly better protected and reached the guillotine, and was executed. Keisuke's fate was never revealed, and it is thought that he was killed along with Satomi by the masses who assumed he was in league with Jiro.
Shortly after Jiro's fall, the new government petitioned the Empire of Akitsu for unification under the Kobayakawa banner, a proposal which the Empire of Akitsu accepted. The negotiations that followed resulted in unification in December of 1413. This marked the end of the Kindai period.
Kobayakawa period
The period between 1413 and 1510 is referred to as the Kobayakawa period (小早川時代). During this time the Akitian government underwent many changes. The most notable change being the transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The Kobayakawa family, which had become the royal family of all of Akitsu, felt that they would be able to stay in power longer if they gave up some of the powers they currently had. As a result they called for a formal constitution to be drafted. It took many years to draft it, but the first Akitian constitution was established in 1417. The first elections in Akitsu took place one year later. Under this constitution the rights of the people were guaranteed but the Emperor retained most of his political power. The most notable change during this era was the establishment of a legislative branch and executive branch separate from the Imperial house. This constitution remained in effect until 1510, when a new constitution was created formally establishing a judicial branch, which previously had been considered an extension of the legislative branch, and reduced the powers the Imperial house held. This new constitution remains in effect to date.
The Kobayakawa period also marked a few new cultural developments in Akitsu. Baseball became a massively popular sport. Mahjong was also brought to Akitsu during this period, and it also became extremely popular. The most commonly played variant of Mahjong in Akitsu is Akitian Mahjong.
Shinkoku period
The period after 1510 to the modern day is called the Shinkoku period (新国時代). It is marked by steady economic growth and a large amount of political stability. During this period the political focus shifted away from war and the military and more towards gaining a strong economy, allowing the Akitian economy to develop rapidly. Eventually the Akitian economy became one of the stronger and more developed economies.
