Imperial Japanese CultureImperial Japanese Culture

Japan

Government The governmental structure of Japan is as follows:

His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akira Kurosawa, is the titular ruler of the Empire of Japan. There are six shoguns, who are the true power. Each has his own Shogunate (partly an

area of Japan, and partly an area of the world), and is the head of his government. Each has a Kanrei, a deputy, who helps deal with the administration.

The Imperial Army is subject to the Emperor; they are “on loan” to the shoguns. The Army’s first loyalty is to the Empire. This is how the six shoguns check each other’s power – if one becomes unmanageable, the others jointly recommend that the emperor recall his army. Lower ranking officers also act as the Shogunate’s police force.

Emperor

Shogun

General(Army)

Kanrei(Bureaucracy)

Shogunates

The six shogunates are as follows: Tanaka (Sapporo)

Russia, Alaska, Korea

Hidaka (Sendai) The Han Provinces

Yoshida (Tokyo) Japan & Okinawa

Watanabe (Kyoto) The Americas

Mochizuki (Osaka) Thailand, Viet, Singapore,

Indonesia & surrounds

Suzuki (Fukuoka) Australia & South Americas

Politics The buke are the aristocracy of

Japan. Their lineage is hereditary and they are responsible for managing the areas they own. They are frequently landed and/or wealthy, most own successful businesses, and they often have high ranking positions in the government. It should be stressed that only buke who have land on the islands of Japan itself are considered high society. The culture is snobbish in the extreme.

The samurai are the warriors of Japan. Loyal to their shogun and the Empire, samurai follow bushido, an ethical code that stresses honorable conduct. Almost all of them have posts in the military. When one is without a Shogun, it is considered a mark of his unreliability or incompetence, and he or she is called ronin, meaning ‘without patron’. The culture is insular; the samurai consider themselves a family, especially those who have trained together.

It is not possible to be a member of both groups at the same time. Samurai can and frequently do own land, conferred by the shogun, but they do not have the blue blood necessary to be part of both circles. Buke can become Samurai, and those low down in the line of succession often do, but once they have, they renounce their right to move in buke circles.

The Shogun is a member of the buke. He is not a samurai, and has no military rank.

Jurisdictionational Map

Foreign Affairs

The three major international superpowers are:

The Imperial Empire of Japan (commonly: the Empire, Imperial forces, samurai) Comprising the Pacific Rim, Australia, most of Southeast Asia and parts of

South America. The United Kingdom of Great Britain (commonly: the British, Queen’s forces,

redcoats) Comprising the United Kingdom, the Dominion of Canada, the Dominion of

America, India and most of South Africa.

Frequently supported by the European Union.

The Caribbean Republic (commonly: the Republic, rebel forces, blacksails) Comprising the Caribbean islands, the North American protectorates, Mexico

and most of South America.

Religion

There is no official religion of Japan. Religions can operate simultaneously and concurrently.

Among the religions recognized and/or practiced are: Buddhism (the philosophy that elimination of desire is the way to enlightenment)

Buddhism teaches that life is suffering. One must understand the nature of suffering, and then live according to that understanding in order to alleviate pain. According to Buddha, suffering comes from desire and blindness to reality. Properly done, living by these understandings leads to a state of enlightenment and bliss.

Shinto (the religion incorporating the worship of ancestors and nature spirits) Shinto involves the worship of spirits called kami. Some kami are the spirit or embodiment of a

particular person, place, object, concept or event, but others represent major natural objects and processes. For example, two major Shinto kami are Amaterasu the Sun goddess, and the spirit of Mount Fuji.

Christianity (the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ) Christian belief focuses around the events of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, as presented in the

Bible. The central fact of Christian life is that Jesus allowed himself to be crucified in order to redeem the world. Christians believe that when the world ends, Christians both living and dead will be taken to a place of bliss, and those who are not Christians will suffer.

The Samurai

Bushido

Bushido is the code of honor of the Samurai. In Japanese, it means “Way of the Warrior”.

The seven virtues of Bushido are: Rei – Respect, Courtesy Gi – Fairness, Justice, Rectitude, Fairness Jin – Compassion, Benevolence, Generosity Makoto (Shin) – Honesty Chungi (Chugi) – Duty, Loyalty, Devotion Yu – Courage, Valor Meiyo – Glory, Honor

Weapons

Samurai use two kinds of weaponry. Swords come in three sizes; from largest to smallest, they are the katana, for

primary offense, and the wakizashi and the tanto for secondary offense and defensive fighting. Samurai carry the katana strapped to their backs, and either a tanto or wakizashi strapped to one thigh. The martial art governing sword use is called kendo.

Firearms were allowed into the samurai arsenal only a hundred years ago. Most samurai choose from the Glock family of automatic pistols, which are the most popular among law enforcement officials.

Ranks

The Samurai are a military order, and as such, they have a rank system. It is one of the few Westernisms that has made its way into the Empire – all samurai are considered officers.

The ranks are, in order from highest to lowest: General Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant

Halfway points are created by field promotion – a lieutenant colonel is a step above a major, but a step below a full fledged colonel.

Rank insignia are worn on the belt. Gold beads with the insignia of the Samurai (tomoe) stamped into the sides are strung onto a short cord. Halfway ranks are indicated by a silver bead at the bottom of one’s cord.

Formal Uniform

hakama(jacket)

gauntlet

obi (belt)

katana

gun holsters

wakizashiholster

a samurai wears hisshogun’s colors toindicate his allegiance

Language

Honorifics

There are several kinds of honorifics (or titles) used in Monogatari. Each indicates a level of respect and/or familiarity. By these cues, one may discern relationships between characters. –San is the most common. It is the equivalent of “Miss”, “Ms.” or “Mister”, and is

used to address almost everybody. –Sama is used to address people of greatly higher stature or, sometimes, clients at

a shop or restaurant. –Dono is the equivalent of “Lord” or “Lady”. It is used to address both buke and

any person who holds land in the Empire, specifically on the Islands themselves. –Tono is used to refer to the top, or head of an organization. Combined with sama,

it is the basic equivalent to the english "sir", applied by servants to masters or lower ranking military officers to those of higher rank.

–Kun is used to address people of a lower or equal station, usually fellow students. Some equals might consider it insulting, or overly familiar, but if one is comfortable with the person one is addressing, one may take the liberty.

–Chan is often used to address children or especially beloved people. It is more common to use it for women rather than men, but many celebrities have –chan appended to their names as a gesture of good feeling.

Glossary

BukeJapanese aristocracy. Buke are born into their status by lineage only, although it is possible to marry into a buke family and gain the status that way.

BushidoThe code of warrior conduct practiced by the Samurai.

GoshoPalace, grand estate.

KashoA house, specifically a manor house.

KamiThe spirit of a place, object, concept or event as defined by the Shinto religion.

NinjaA spy/assassin. Organized loosely into schools of ninjutsu and families (clans) the ninja swear loyalty to one shogun, and serve that shogun in any way that is deemed necessary. Officially, the ninja do not exist and assassinations are not condoned, so the ninja often disguise themselves to go abroad in the world.

OniShinto demons, mischievous and sometimes malevolent spirits responsible for chaos and misfortune.

SamuraiA warrior, an officer in the Shogun’s army. Loyal to the Emperor and the Empire.

SenseiTeacher, master in the ways of a particular style or method.

DaishoThe rack that holds a samurai’s swords.