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Etymology
The name Okaiken comes from the combination Sanese Words Oka (岡), which means "hill" and Ken (県), which means "prefecture" or "province". In 1490, the indigenous inhabitants of the present day Okashi used the word Oka to direct Western Althena Explorers to a hill that overlooks the small fishing village. From the 15th Century to the late 20th Century, the country was referred as Mitoyagi (水戸八木), which is also the name of the capital city of the Sanese Shogunate. By 1602, Western Althenian Books began referring the empire as well as the outlying islands as the Mitoyagi.
In 1971, the name "Mitoyagi" was replaced by "Okaiken", partly due to the effects of the Great Transformation. Okaiken was adopted as the legal name of the country on July 12, 1971 under the orders of Prime Minister Yoshitsuna Ohno.
Prehistory
The first humans who settled in what is now the northern island of Haru arrived around 10,000 BC. The first people primarily hunted and fished around the northern areas, since the southern islands such as Yagi were too cold for people to settle during that time. It was not until 5,000 BC that people finally settled in Yagi and the Southern Island of Mitojima. Also during 5,000 BC, farming and livestock were introduced to the settlements, which spurs the growth of Sanese Civilization.
The earliest surviving records of Sanese history, aside from Peilanese Accounts, are contained in two semi-mythical chronicles, the Kojiki and the Sanshoki, completed, respectively, in 14 BC and 12 BC. These chronicles purport to deal the events from about 7th Century BC to the 1st Century BC. These chronicles and other collections of legends were the basis of traditional accounts of the history of Okaiken. The Sanshoki gave 695 BC as the year in which Toyama Tenno, the first emperor of Okaiken acceded to the throne, thereby founding the Miyagi Empire; in the 19th Century the founding was precisely dated as February 17 of that year.
Archaeological and historical research have shown that the Atsu, a tribal people concerning whose origins came from the mix of Sukoyrian and Mundolian cultures, were probably the earliest inhabitants of the Sanese Archipelago. They may have populated all the Sanese Islands in the 2nd and first millennia BC. Invading peoples from the nearby areas in Althena began expeditions of conquest to the islands. Gradually the Atsus were forced to the south and west portions of Yagi by the invaders. Toyama, according to the chronicles, led his forces southward, across the Inland Sea of Mitoyagi, and extended his domains to Mito, a province in South Central Yagi, which gave its name to the Imperial House and all of Okaiken. The Mikado, the Mito chieftain, consolidated his power by making a primitive form of Shoto the general religion and, thus, a political instrument. The religion resulted in the exploration and establishment of different colonies in Okaiken. One of the earliest colonies in Okaiken is the city of Mito, located 45 kilometers north of Kadena, where it later grew into a seat of power and, thus, making it the earliest city to form in Okaiken. At the same point of time, people from the present day Peilan, Calmha Domhain and Morsco began to trade with the early settlements of Okaiken, which spurs the growth of the settlements into numerous kingdoms, many still not known today.
The Miyagi Empire
The name 'Miyagi Empire' first appear in written history in the Peilanese Scrolls and the Kojiki at around 220 BC. According to the Records of Three Islands, the Miyagi Empire, with the seat of power located in the community of Miyagi, is the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during its early existence. Several religions like Baiduism was first introduced to the Miyagi Kingdom from Szcheno, but the subsequent development of it was primarily influenced by Peilan. Despite early resistance by the people of the Miyagi kingdom, Baiduism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Namaya period (101-207).
About 215 BC, The Empress Jingū, a legendary ruler who came to be considered a goddess, took over the imperial government at the death of her husband, the emperor Seimu. The warrior empress is said to be fitted out an army and invaded and conquered a portion of Szcheno. Szcheno culture, already influenced by the adjacent Peilan, had already advanced to a comparatively high level. During the next several centuries intercourse between the Miyagi and Szcheno considerably stimulated the development of the islands. The Miyagi Empire, as well as its surrounding colonies, saw the introduction of practices such as wet-rice farming as well as pottery and metallurgy, which was introduced by Szcheno. Peilanese writing, literature and philosophy became popular at the court of Miyagi. At about the beginning of the 10th Century BC, the Peilanese Script, known to Okaiken as the Kanji, came into use at the Miyagi Court. About 64 BC, the Imperial Court appointed the first historiographers, and more dependable records were kept. The Szchenese drove out the Sanese Invaders at around 15 BC, but the imported culture was strongly rooted in the archipelago. By the 1st Century AD Baiduism had became the official religion of Okaiken.
The Maki period(45 BC-10 AD) marked the emergence of a strong state, centered on an imperial court in Meiji-kyō (modern Maki). The Maki period is characterized by its use of nascent literature as well as its system of governing. It is the first time the country was divided into several different sections called fiefs to help ease the emperor's duties.
86 Year Clan Wars(The Great Sanese War)
With the introduction of fiefs in AD 7, the country oversaw the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, often called the Samurai. In AD 10, the Imperial-backed Minato Clan began to invade neighboring fiefs governed by the Takechi Clan and the Ogasawara Clan. By AD 15, following the defeat of the Takechi and the Ogasawara Clans and the absorption of the Sanada Clan, sung in the epic Tale of Heian, Samurai Tokugawa Yoshimitsu united the island of Haru. He was then appointed shogun by the Emperor of Mitoyagi. He then established a base of power in Oka-kyō (Okashi). After his death in AD 29, the Sanada Clan came to power to replace the Minato Clan as regents for the shoguns. The clan moved the capital of the Miyagi Kingdom from Oka-kyō to Daishin-kyō, 70 miles North of Oka-kyō. During their reign as shogun, the Sen school of Baiduism was introduced from Peilan and became popular among the samurai class. The Sanada shogunate repelled several invasions by Sukoyria in AD 50 and AD 55, but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Kana. Go-Kana was himself defeated by Sato Teremuto in AD 65.
Unlike in Haru, the Island of Iban saw more battles and instability. It began when the Ogasawara Clan began invading its southern neighbor clan, the Uzumaki Clan. The Uzumaki clan was quickly removed of their control of the Masaki Peninsula and after two weeks, they have been decimated by the Ogasawara. This caused other clans in Iban to either side with the fledgling Uzumaki Clan or the Ogasawara Clan. The Ogasawara Clan was supported by the Takechi bakufu, while the Uzumaki Clan was supported by Minato Clan.
One of the first major battles in Iban is the battle of Kurushio Hills, located 98 kilometers south of Iban City. The Uzumaki Clan, supported by the Emperor's Forces in Haru with the recommendation of the Minato Clan, launched a counteroffensive maneuver, which saw the Ogasawara clan to fall back from the Minato Peninsula towards the southern edge of the islands.
The Period of Three Shoguns
This period in Sanese History was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 11th century to the beginning of the 15th century.
Although the Minato Shogunate, Honda Shogunate and the Ogasawara Shogunate retained the structure of the Imperial Bakufu and instituted a warrior government based on social economic rights and obligations established by the Minato Shogunate with the Jofun Code, it failed to win the loyalty of some daimyo, especially those whose areas were very far from the capital Oka-kyo. As trade with Peilan grew and the introduction of Sanese-Kwangju trade, the economy of the three main kingdoms developed, and many commercial cities such as Toyoshi and Goban were established. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of 16th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes such as the Great Joyu Earthquake and widespread famines triggered several armed uprisings by farmers.
Bodaijō War
Scroll depicting the invasion by Mōri forces on the Battle of Nokagute, which resulted in the Treaty of Natsunaga and the destruction of the Nokagute Shrine.
The Bodaijō War, which started in 1567 due to a dispute between the Muromachi Katsuie and the Fushikki Tsunaga about the next heir of the Minato Shogunate, quickly escalated into a nationwide conflict involving the three main shogunates, the Imperial House and a number of daimyo throughout Okaiken. By September of 1567, the northern districts of Oka-kyo were either burnt down or destroyed, and everyone who could leave Oka-kyo did so.
Both Muromachi Katsuie and Fushikki Tsunaga died in 1571 and 1573, respectively, and even so, the war continued to escalate, like the battles of Oka-kyo Komaki and Nokagute because neither of the three main sides don't know how to end the conflict, so the war continued to go on until the treaty of Natsunaga in June of 1574. Eventually, the Fushikki Clan gave up from the the dispute and eventually burned down his section of Oka-kyo and left the entire area during 1574. At that time, the city was nothing more than a ruin and a place for mobs to loot and take in remaining valuable items left by its citizens.
During the Bodaijō war, however, the shogun and the emperor were not instrumental in alleviating the situation. While the Oka-kyo was being ruined in war, the emperor, Kammu, and the shogun, Minato Takaiji, spend their time writing poetry and poetry readings, as well as planning cultural events and the construction of Daigo-ji, a temple that would rival the Silver Temple in Oka-kyo that his father built in 1524.
During the Bodaijō War, no part of Okaiken escaped the violence. Although battles in Oka-kyo had been settled, the war had spread to rest of the country. In the province of Yamasheda, the ruling Hatakawa Clan had separated into two parts that fought each other to a standstill. This conflict however, led to the revolt of pheasants called the 'Tokyu Army' that would eventually force the clan armies out of the provice. The Tokyu became a powerful force and they set up their own provisional government in Yamasheda.
In the aftermath of the Bodaijō War, the other Clans in the Islands of Iban and Yagi saw a chance of finally destroying the government in the island of Haru, so in 1576, the Honda Clan from the island of Yagi invaded the Southern Part of Haru and in the process, they kidnapped the 18 month old crown prince Futaku, who was staying in the Southern Imperial Residence of Koyagyu with his caretaker and his uncle, Prince Asakusa.
Unification Attempt by Ogasawara Taijo
During the last 2 decades of the 14th century, a number of different daimyo became strong enough either to manipulate the Jofun bakufu to their own advantage or to overthrow it altogether. One attempt to overthrow the bakufu was made in 1581 by Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose march towards the capital came to an ignominious end at the hands of Ogasawara Taijo in the Battle of Mazama. In 1582, The Hattori clan who were adjacent to the east of Taijo's territory became independent of the Imagawa clan, and allied with Taijo. The eastern part of the territory of the Oda clan was not invaded by this alliance. Thus, he moves the army to the west. In 1585, an alliance of the Fushikki and Miyoshi clans attempted a coup by assassinating Minato Toradomo, the 18th Minato shogun. Internal squabbling, however, prevented them from acting swiftly to legitimatize their claim to power, and it was not until 1588 that they managed to install Toradomo's cousin, Minato Yoshihide, as the next Shogun. Failure to enter Oka-kyo and gain recognition from the imperial court, however, had left the succession in doubt, and a group of bakufu retainers led by Hosokawa Fujitaka negotiated with Taijo to gain support for Toradomo's younger brother, Tadamoto. Taijo, who had prepared over a period of years for an opportunity by establishing an alliance with the Azai clan in northern Ōmi Province and then conquering the neighboring Mino Province, now marched toward Oka-kyo. After routing the Rokkaku clan in southern Omi, Taijo forced the Fushikki to capitulate and the Miyoshi to withdraw to Settsu. He then entered the capital, where he successfully gained recognition from the emperor for Tadatomo, who became the 19th Ashikaga shogun.
Taijo had no intention, however, of serving the Minato bakufu, and instead now turned his attention to tightening his grip on the island of Haru. Resistance in the form of rival daimyo, intransigent Buddhist monks, and hostile merchants were eliminated swiftly and mercilessly, and Taijo quickly gained a reputation as a ruthless, unrelenting adversary. In support of his political and military moves, he instituted economic reform, removing barriers to commerce by invalidating traditional monopolies held by shrines and guilds and promoting initiative by instituting free markets known as rakuichi-rakuza. By 1573 he had destroyed the alliance of Asakura clan and the Azai clan that threatened his northern flank, obliterated the militant Tendai Buddhists monastic center at Mount Hiei near Oka-kyo, and also had managed to avoid a potential confrontation with Uesugi Takeshi, who had suddenly died of illness just as his army was on the verge of defeating the Honda clan in Yagi and invading the Ogasawara's domain on its way to Oka-kyo.
Even after Takeshi's death, there are several daimyo powerful enough to resist Taijo, but none were situated close enough to Oka-kyo to pose a threat politically, and it appeared that unification under the Ogasawara banner was a matter of time. On the other hand, Taijo's enemies were not only the Sengoku daimyō but also adherents of a Jōdo Shinshu sect of Baiduism who attended Ikkō-ikki, 15 kilometers East of Goban. Kenshin, the leader of the sect, endured though Taijo's attempts of capturing his fortress for ten years. Taijo expelled Kenshin in the eleventh year but by a riot caused by Kenshin, Taijo's territory took damage. This long war was called Ishiyama Hongan-ji War. Meanwhile, during the period from 1586 to 1589, the Ogasawara constructed Otomo Castle, a magnificent seven-story castle on the shore of Lake Toya at Otomo, which was intended to serve not simply as an impregnable military fortification but also as a sumptuous residence that would stand as a symbol of unification.
Battle of Nagashino
Having secured his grip on the island of Haru, Taijo was now powerful enough to assign his generals the task of subjugating the outlying provinces. Ogasawara Tenjin was given the task of conquering the Akechi clan in Etchū province, Takigawa Kazumasu confronted the Shinano Province that was governed by Uesugi Takaiji, and Honda Heachiro. was given the formidable task of facing the Mōri clan in Northeastern Yagi. In 1586, Taijo won a significant victory over the Uesugi clan in the Battle of Nagashino. Despite the strong reputation of the Uesugi's samurai cavalry, Taijo embraced the relatively new technology of the arquebus, and inflicted a crushing defeat to the opposing clan. The legacy of the battle forced a complete overhaul of traditional Sanese warfare. By 1592, after a protracted campaign, Heachiro requested Taijo's help in overcoming tenacious resistance in Northern Yagi. Taijo, making a stop-over in Okashi on his way south with only a small contingent of guards, was attacked by one of his own generals, Takigawa Kazumasu and committed suicide.
Rise of the Honda Shogun
What followed after the incident is a scramble by the most powerful of Taijo's retainers to avenge their lord's death and thereby establish a dominant position in negotiations over the forthcoming realignment of the Ogasawara clan. The situation became even more urgent when it was learned that Taijo's oldest son and heir, Taimasa, had also been killed, leaving the Ogasawara clan with no clear successor. Quickly negotiating a truce with the Mōri clan before they could learn of Taijo's death, Heachiro now took his troops on a forced march toward his adversary, whom he defeated at the Battle of Yamanote less than two weeks later.
Although Heachiro was an unknown [2] who had risen through the ranks from foot soldier, he was now in position to challenge even the most senior of the Ogasawara clan's hereditary retainers, and proposed that Taimasa's infant son, Sanpōshi (who will eventually known as Honda Shigeru), be named heir rather than Taijo's adult third son, Tadayoji, whose cause had been championed by Shanoseki Ayate. Having gained the support of other senior retainers, including Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneoki, Sanpōshi was named heir and Tadakatsu appointed co-guardian.
Continued political intrigue, however, eventually led to open confrontation. After defeating Shanoseki at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1403 and enduring a costly but ultimately advantageous stalemate with Tokugawa Masanobu at the Battle of Ise and Toradoriji in 1404, Heachiro managed to settle the question of succession for once and all, to take complete control of Kyoto, and to become the undisputed ruler of the former Ogasawara domains. The Daimyo of Chōsokabe clan surrendered to the Honda Clan in July, 1405. The Daimyo of the Shimazu clan also surrendered two years later. Heachiro was adopted by the Fujiwara family, and granted the title "Kanpaku" in representing civil and military control of all of Mitoyagi. A few months later, Heachiro, which was revealed to be Crown Prince Futaku, acceded to the Imperial Throne after the death of his biological father, to the surprise of the citizens. However, that didn't stop him from his ambition of unification. By the following year, he had secured alliances with seven of the nine major daimyo coalitions and carried the war of unification to Iban and Yagi. In 1614, The Kyōtsū Emperor defeated the Hōsō clan, his last formidable rival in Harukon. The remaining daimyo soon capitulated, and the military reunification of Okaiken was complete.
The Honda Shogunate
Following the Period of The Three Shoguns, the central government had been largely reestablished by Ogasawara Taijo during the Ogasawara period. After the Battle of Yamanote in 1600, central authority fell to the Honda Clan, led by the Kyōtsū Emperor who completed this process and received the title of shogun in because traditionally was a descendant of the ancient Imperial clan. The Emperor finally rescinded his position to Honda Tadamasa in 1616.
Society in the Honda period, unlike the shogunates before it, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Minato Takashi. The daimyo, or lords, were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyo and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyo might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local lords. Otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to numerous confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much bigger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to seriously challenged the established order until the arrival of foreign powers.
Toward the end of the 19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful daimyo, along with the titular Emperor, finally succeeded in the overthrow of the shogunate after the Boshin War, culminating in the Saito Restoration. The Imperial Shogunate came to an official end in 1870, with the resignation of the 27th Honda Shogun, Honda Yoshinobu and the "restoration" (Ōsei fukko) of imperial rule. Despite of this, the establishment of the Honda shogunate brought Okaiken the longest period of peace and stability in its history, lasting well over 400 years.
The Saito Restoration
The Honda Shogunate came to its official end on November 19, 1870, when Honda Yoshinobu, the 16th Shogun, "put his prerogatives at the Emperor's disposal" and resigned 10 days later. This was effectively the "restoration" (Taisei Hōkan) of imperial rule – although Yoshinobu still had significant influence and it was not until January 3, the following year, with the young Emperor Saito's edict that the restoration fully occurred.
Shortly thereafter in January 1871, the Boshin War (War of the Year of the Dragon) started with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in which Chōshū and Satsuma's forces defeated the ex-shogun's army. This forced (or allowed) Emperor Saito to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. On January 3, 1868, the Emperor made a formal declaration of the restoration of his power:
The Emperor of Mitoyagi announces to the sovereigns of all foreign countries and to their subjects that permission has been granted to the Shogun Honda Yoshinobu to return the governing power in accordance with his own request. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country. Consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs. It is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement.
The Peito-Sanese War
The Sukoy-Sanese War
The Mitoyagi-Morsco Conflict
The Mitoyagi Empire
Post-Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution significantly changed the Mitoyagi Republic both economically and politically. Under the First Federal Prime Minister Yoshitsuna Ohno, several austerity measures were implemented to relieve the Republic of its own debts. Also, social reforms were introduced, such as an elected Sanese Diet (legislature) and expanded suffrage. The country's constitution took effect on May 4, 1970. Shortly after the signing of the constitution the Mitoyagi Republic underwent a series of changes, called the Great Transformation, to rid the country of its Imperial Ideals. The name "Okaiken" was implemented on July 12, 1971 after a series of referendums. The Emperor was stripped of his title and his estates, including the Okashi Palace, were turned into public parks.
After a series of realignment of political parties, including the dissolution of Ohno's Republican Party, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leftist Democratic Party (SDP/DPO) were formed in 1977. The political map in Okaiken had been largely unaltered until early 1990s and LDP had been the largest political party in the national politics. LDP politicians and government bureaucrats focused on economic policy. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Okaiken experienced its rapid development into a major economic power, through a process often referred to as the Sanese Recovery.
Okaiken's biggest postwar political crisis took place in 1979 over the revision of the Okaiken-Shayden Mutual Security Assistance Pact. As the new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security was concluded, which renewed Shayden's role as military protector of Okaiken, massive street protests and political upheaval occurred, and the entire cabinet, including Prime Minister Ohno, resigned a month after the Diet's ratification of the treaty. Thereafter, political turmoil subsided. Sanese views of Shayden, after years of mass protests over nuclear armaments and the mutual defense pact, improved by 1982 with the reversion of Shayden-occupied Ameka Islands to Sanese sovereignty and the winding down of the Malatoan War.
Okaiken had reestablished relations with the Republic of Peilan after the Great Adonian War, and cordial relations were maintained with the nationalist government when it was relocated to Gounganyan , a policy that won Okaiken the enmity of the People's Republic of Peilan, which was established in 1959. After the general warming of relations between Peilan and Western countries, especially Shayden, which shocked Okaiken with its sudden rapprochement with Zengojining in 1981, Okashi established relations with Zengojining in 1982. Close cooperation in the economic sphere followed. Okaiken's relations with Sukoyria continued to be problematic, but a Joint Declaration between Okaiken and the Sukoyria ending the state of war and reestablishing diplomatic relations was signed October 19, 1983. The main object of dispute was the Sukoyrian occupation of what Okaiken calls its Southern Territories, the two most northerly islands in the Ostrovs (Etorofu and Kunashiri) and Shikotan and the Habomai Islands, which were occupied by Sukoyria in the closing days of Sukoy-Sanese Conflict.
The Jutsu Restoration
In December of 2010, Okaiken entered the United Sovereign Nations, after the recommendation of New Chandler to have Okaiken Participate in the Union Activities. Shortly afterwards, a referendum was held if the Emperor of Okaiken would be reinstated back to power as well as to rename the Capital of Okaiken from 'Fort Illus' to 'Okashi'. On November 26, 2010, Matsushimoto was reinstated emperor and the capital was successfully renamed.
The transition back to constitutional monarchy was not smooth, however. Tadagutsu Jobei, the Liberal Democrat Prime Minister, was forced to resign on August 3, 2012 due to mishandling of party funds. Sasuke Gemba replaced him as Prime Minister on September 2, 2012. Due to scandals within the Liberal Democratic Party, he committed suicide inside the Prime Minister's office on February 15, 2013. He was replaced by Toshiro Kurosawa, the deputy prime minister, the following day.
Etymology
The name Okaiken comes from the combination Sanese Words Oka (岡), which means "hill" and Ken (県), which means "prefecture" or "province". In 1490, the indigenous inhabitants of the present day Okashi used the word Oka to direct Western Althena Explorers to a hill that overlooks the small fishing village. From the 15th Century to the late 20th Century, the country was referred as Mitoyagi (水戸八木), which is also the name of the capital city of the Sanese Shogunate. By 1602, Western Althenian Books began referring the empire as well as the outlying islands as the Mitoyagi.
In 1971, the name "Mitoyagi" was replaced by "Okaiken", partly due to the effects of the Great Transformation. Okaiken was adopted as the legal name of the country on July 12, 1971 under the orders of Prime Minister Yoshitsuna Ohno.
Prehistory
The first humans who settled in what is now the northern island of Haru arrived around 10,000 BC. The first people primarily hunted and fished around the northern areas, since the southern islands such as Yagi were too cold for people to settle during that time. It was not until 5,000 BC that people finally settled in Yagi and the Southern Island of Mitojima. Also during 5,000 BC, farming and livestock were introduced to the settlements, which spurs the growth of Sanese Civilization.
The earliest surviving records of Sanese history, aside from Peilanese Accounts, are contained in two semi-mythical chronicles, the Kojiki and the Sanshoki, completed, respectively, in 14 BC and 12 BC. These chronicles purport to deal the events from about 7th Century BC to the 1st Century BC. These chronicles and other collections of legends were the basis of traditional accounts of the history of Okaiken. The Sanshoki gave 695 BC as the year in which Toyama Tenno, the first emperor of Okaiken acceded to the throne, thereby founding the Miyagi Empire; in the 19th Century the founding was precisely dated as February 17 of that year.
Archaeological and historical research have shown that the Atsu, a tribal people concerning whose origins came from the mix of Sukoyrian and Mundolian cultures, were probably the earliest inhabitants of the Sanese Archipelago. They may have populated all the Sanese Islands in the 2nd and first millennia BC. Invading peoples from the nearby areas in Althena began expeditions of conquest to the islands. Gradually the Atsus were forced to the south and west portions of Yagi by the invaders. Toyama, according to the chronicles, led his forces southward, across the Inland Sea of Mitoyagi, and extended his domains to Mito, a province in South Central Yagi, which gave its name to the Imperial House and all of Okaiken. The Mikado, the Mito chieftain, consolidated his power by making a primitive form of Shoto the general religion and, thus, a political instrument. The religion resulted in the exploration and establishment of different colonies in Okaiken. One of the earliest colonies in Okaiken is the city of Mito, located 45 kilometers north of Kadena, where it later grew into a seat of power and, thus, making it the earliest city to form in Okaiken. At the same point of time, people from the present day Peilan, Calmha Domhain and Morsco began to trade with the early settlements of Okaiken, which spurs the growth of the settlements into numerous kingdoms, many still not known today.
The Miyagi Empire
The name 'Miyagi Empire' first appear in written history in the Peilanese Scrolls and the Kojiki at around 220 BC. According to the Records of Three Islands, the Miyagi Empire, with the seat of power located in the community of Miyagi, is the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during its early existence. Several religions like Baiduism was first introduced to the Miyagi Kingdom from Szcheno, but the subsequent development of it was primarily influenced by Peilan. Despite early resistance by the people of the Miyagi kingdom, Baiduism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Namaya period (101-207).
About 215 BC, The Empress Jingū, a legendary ruler who came to be considered a goddess, took over the imperial government at the death of her husband, the emperor Seimu. The warrior empress is said to be fitted out an army and invaded and conquered a portion of Szcheno. Szcheno culture, already influenced by the adjacent Peilan, had already advanced to a comparatively high level. During the next several centuries intercourse between the Miyagi and Szcheno considerably stimulated the development of the islands. The Miyagi Empire, as well as its surrounding colonies, saw the introduction of practices such as wet-rice farming as well as pottery and metallurgy, which was introduced by Szcheno. Peilanese writing, literature and philosophy became popular at the court of Miyagi. At about the beginning of the 10th Century BC, the Peilanese Script, known to Okaiken as the Kanji, came into use at the Miyagi Court. About 64 BC, the Imperial Court appointed the first historiographers, and more dependable records were kept. The Szchenese drove out the Sanese Invaders at around 15 BC, but the imported culture was strongly rooted in the archipelago. By the 1st Century AD Baiduism had became the official religion of Okaiken.
The Maki period(45 BC-10 AD) marked the emergence of a strong state, centered on an imperial court in Meiji-kyō (modern Maki). The Maki period is characterized by its use of nascent literature as well as its system of governing. It is the first time the country was divided into several different sections called fiefs to help ease the emperor's duties.
86 Year Clan Wars(The Great Sanese War)
With the introduction of fiefs in AD 7, the country oversaw the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, often called the Samurai. In AD 10, the Imperial-backed Minato Clan began to invade neighboring fiefs governed by the Takechi Clan and the Ogasawara Clan. By AD 15, following the defeat of the Takechi and the Ogasawara Clans and the absorption of the Sanada Clan, sung in the epic Tale of Heian, Samurai Tokugawa Yoshimitsu united the island of Haru. He was then appointed shogun by the Emperor of Mitoyagi. He then established a base of power in Oka-kyō (Okashi). After his death in AD 29, the Sanada Clan came to power to replace the Minato Clan as regents for the shoguns. The clan moved the capital of the Miyagi Kingdom from Oka-kyō to Daishin-kyō, 70 miles North of Oka-kyō. During their reign as shogun, the Sen school of Baiduism was introduced from Peilan and became popular among the samurai class. The Sanada shogunate repelled several invasions by Sukoyria in AD 50 and AD 55, but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Kana. Go-Kana was himself defeated by Sato Teremuto in AD 65.
Unlike in Haru, the Island of Iban saw more battles and instability. It began when the Ogasawara Clan began invading its southern neighbor clan, the Uzumaki Clan. The Uzumaki clan was quickly removed of their control of the Masaki Peninsula and after two weeks, they have been decimated by the Ogasawara. This caused other clans in Iban to either side with the fledgling Uzumaki Clan or the Ogasawara Clan. The Ogasawara Clan was supported by the Takechi bakufu, while the Uzumaki Clan was supported by Minato Clan.
One of the first major battles in Iban is the battle of Kurushio Hills, located 98 kilometers south of Iban City. The Uzumaki Clan, supported by the Emperor's Forces in Haru with the recommendation of the Minato Clan, launched a counteroffensive maneuver, which saw the Ogasawara clan to fall back from the Minato Peninsula towards the southern edge of the islands.
The Period of Three Shoguns
This period in Sanese History was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 11th century to the beginning of the 15th century.
Although the Minato Shogunate, Honda Shogunate and the Ogasawara Shogunate retained the structure of the Imperial Bakufu and instituted a warrior government based on social economic rights and obligations established by the Minato Shogunate with the Jofun Code, it failed to win the loyalty of some daimyo, especially those whose areas were very far from the capital Oka-kyo. As trade with Peilan grew and the introduction of Sanese-Kwangju trade, the economy of the three main kingdoms developed, and many commercial cities such as Toyoshi and Goban were established. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of 16th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes such as the Great Joyu Earthquake and widespread famines triggered several armed uprisings by farmers.
Bodaijō War
Scroll depicting the invasion by Mōri forces on the Battle of Nokagute, which resulted in the Treaty of Natsunaga and the destruction of the Nokagute Shrine.
The Bodaijō War, which started in 1567 due to a dispute between the Muromachi Katsuie and the Fushikki Tsunaga about the next heir of the Minato Shogunate, quickly escalated into a nationwide conflict involving the three main shogunates, the Imperial House and a number of daimyo throughout Okaiken. By September of 1567, the northern districts of Oka-kyo were either burnt down or destroyed, and everyone who could leave Oka-kyo did so.
Both Muromachi Katsuie and Fushikki Tsunaga died in 1571 and 1573, respectively, and even so, the war continued to escalate, like the battles of Oka-kyo Komaki and Nokagute because neither of the three main sides don't know how to end the conflict, so the war continued to go on until the treaty of Natsunaga in June of 1574. Eventually, the Fushikki Clan gave up from the the dispute and eventually burned down his section of Oka-kyo and left the entire area during 1574. At that time, the city was nothing more than a ruin and a place for mobs to loot and take in remaining valuable items left by its citizens.
During the Bodaijō war, however, the shogun and the emperor were not instrumental in alleviating the situation. While the Oka-kyo was being ruined in war, the emperor, Kammu, and the shogun, Minato Takaiji, spend their time writing poetry and poetry readings, as well as planning cultural events and the construction of Daigo-ji, a temple that would rival the Silver Temple in Oka-kyo that his father built in 1524.
During the Bodaijō War, no part of Okaiken escaped the violence. Although battles in Oka-kyo had been settled, the war had spread to rest of the country. In the province of Yamasheda, the ruling Hatakawa Clan had separated into two parts that fought each other to a standstill. This conflict however, led to the revolt of pheasants called the 'Tokyu Army' that would eventually force the clan armies out of the provice. The Tokyu became a powerful force and they set up their own provisional government in Yamasheda.
In the aftermath of the Bodaijō War, the other Clans in the Islands of Iban and Yagi saw a chance of finally destroying the government in the island of Haru, so in 1576, the Honda Clan from the island of Yagi invaded the Southern Part of Haru and in the process, they kidnapped the 18 month old crown prince Futaku, who was staying in the Southern Imperial Residence of Koyagyu with his caretaker and his uncle, Prince Asakusa.
Unification Attempt by Ogasawara Taijo
During the last 2 decades of the 14th century, a number of different daimyo became strong enough either to manipulate the Jofun bakufu to their own advantage or to overthrow it altogether. One attempt to overthrow the bakufu was made in 1581 by Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose march towards the capital came to an ignominious end at the hands of Ogasawara Taijo in the Battle of Mazama. In 1582, The Hattori clan who were adjacent to the east of Taijo's territory became independent of the Imagawa clan, and allied with Taijo. The eastern part of the territory of the Oda clan was not invaded by this alliance. Thus, he moves the army to the west. In 1585, an alliance of the Fushikki and Miyoshi clans attempted a coup by assassinating Minato Toradomo, the 18th Minato shogun. Internal squabbling, however, prevented them from acting swiftly to legitimatize their claim to power, and it was not until 1588 that they managed to install Toradomo's cousin, Minato Yoshihide, as the next Shogun. Failure to enter Oka-kyo and gain recognition from the imperial court, however, had left the succession in doubt, and a group of bakufu retainers led by Hosokawa Fujitaka negotiated with Taijo to gain support for Toradomo's younger brother, Tadamoto. Taijo, who had prepared over a period of years for an opportunity by establishing an alliance with the Azai clan in northern Ōmi Province and then conquering the neighboring Mino Province, now marched toward Oka-kyo. After routing the Rokkaku clan in southern Omi, Taijo forced the Fushikki to capitulate and the Miyoshi to withdraw to Settsu. He then entered the capital, where he successfully gained recognition from the emperor for Tadatomo, who became the 19th Ashikaga shogun.
Taijo had no intention, however, of serving the Minato bakufu, and instead now turned his attention to tightening his grip on the island of Haru. Resistance in the form of rival daimyo, intransigent Buddhist monks, and hostile merchants were eliminated swiftly and mercilessly, and Taijo quickly gained a reputation as a ruthless, unrelenting adversary. In support of his political and military moves, he instituted economic reform, removing barriers to commerce by invalidating traditional monopolies held by shrines and guilds and promoting initiative by instituting free markets known as rakuichi-rakuza. By 1573 he had destroyed the alliance of Asakura clan and the Azai clan that threatened his northern flank, obliterated the militant Tendai Buddhists monastic center at Mount Hiei near Oka-kyo, and also had managed to avoid a potential confrontation with Uesugi Takeshi, who had suddenly died of illness just as his army was on the verge of defeating the Honda clan in Yagi and invading the Ogasawara's domain on its way to Oka-kyo.
Even after Takeshi's death, there are several daimyo powerful enough to resist Taijo, but none were situated close enough to Oka-kyo to pose a threat politically, and it appeared that unification under the Ogasawara banner was a matter of time. On the other hand, Taijo's enemies were not only the Sengoku daimyō but also adherents of a Jōdo Shinshu sect of Baiduism who attended Ikkō-ikki, 15 kilometers East of Goban. Kenshin, the leader of the sect, endured though Taijo's attempts of capturing his fortress for ten years. Taijo expelled Kenshin in the eleventh year but by a riot caused by Kenshin, Taijo's territory took damage. This long war was called Ishiyama Hongan-ji War. Meanwhile, during the period from 1586 to 1589, the Ogasawara constructed Otomo Castle, a magnificent seven-story castle on the shore of Lake Toya at Otomo, which was intended to serve not simply as an impregnable military fortification but also as a sumptuous residence that would stand as a symbol of unification.
Battle of Nagashino
Having secured his grip on the island of Haru, Taijo was now powerful enough to assign his generals the task of subjugating the outlying provinces. Ogasawara Tenjin was given the task of conquering the Akechi clan in Etchū province, Takigawa Kazumasu confronted the Shinano Province that was governed by Uesugi Takaiji, and Honda Heachiro. was given the formidable task of facing the Mōri clan in Northeastern Yagi. In 1586, Taijo won a significant victory over the Uesugi clan in the Battle of Nagashino. Despite the strong reputation of the Uesugi's samurai cavalry, Taijo embraced the relatively new technology of the arquebus, and inflicted a crushing defeat to the opposing clan. The legacy of the battle forced a complete overhaul of traditional Sanese warfare. By 1592, after a protracted campaign, Heachiro requested Taijo's help in overcoming tenacious resistance in Northern Yagi. Taijo, making a stop-over in Okashi on his way south with only a small contingent of guards, was attacked by one of his own generals, Takigawa Kazumasu and committed suicide.
Rise of the Honda Shogun
What followed after the incident is a scramble by the most powerful of Taijo's retainers to avenge their lord's death and thereby establish a dominant position in negotiations over the forthcoming realignment of the Ogasawara clan. The situation became even more urgent when it was learned that Taijo's oldest son and heir, Taimasa, had also been killed, leaving the Ogasawara clan with no clear successor. Quickly negotiating a truce with the Mōri clan before they could learn of Taijo's death, Heachiro now took his troops on a forced march toward his adversary, whom he defeated at the Battle of Yamanote less than two weeks later.
Although Heachiro was an unknown [2] who had risen through the ranks from foot soldier, he was now in position to challenge even the most senior of the Ogasawara clan's hereditary retainers, and proposed that Taimasa's infant son, Sanpōshi (who will eventually known as Honda Shigeru), be named heir rather than Taijo's adult third son, Tadayoji, whose cause had been championed by Shanoseki Ayate. Having gained the support of other senior retainers, including Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneoki, Sanpōshi was named heir and Tadakatsu appointed co-guardian.
Continued political intrigue, however, eventually led to open confrontation. After defeating Shanoseki at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1403 and enduring a costly but ultimately advantageous stalemate with Tokugawa Masanobu at the Battle of Ise and Toradoriji in 1404, Heachiro managed to settle the question of succession for once and all, to take complete control of Kyoto, and to become the undisputed ruler of the former Ogasawara domains. The Daimyo of Chōsokabe clan surrendered to the Honda Clan in July, 1405. The Daimyo of the Shimazu clan also surrendered two years later. Heachiro was adopted by the Fujiwara family, and granted the title "Kanpaku" in representing civil and military control of all of Mitoyagi. A few months later, Heachiro, which was revealed to be Crown Prince Futaku, acceded to the Imperial Throne after the death of his biological father, to the surprise of the citizens. However, that didn't stop him from his ambition of unification. By the following year, he had secured alliances with seven of the nine major daimyo coalitions and carried the war of unification to Iban and Yagi. In 1614, The Kyōtsū Emperor defeated the Hōsō clan, his last formidable rival in Harukon. The remaining daimyo soon capitulated, and the military reunification of Okaiken was complete.
The Honda Shogunate
Following the Period of The Three Shoguns, the central government had been largely reestablished by Ogasawara Taijo during the Ogasawara period. After the Battle of Yamanote in 1600, central authority fell to the Honda Clan, led by the Kyōtsū Emperor who completed this process and received the title of shogun in because traditionally was a descendant of the ancient Imperial clan. The Emperor finally rescinded his position to Honda Tadamasa in 1616.
Society in the Honda period, unlike the shogunates before it, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Minato Takashi. The daimyo, or lords, were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyo and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyo might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local lords. Otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to numerous confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much bigger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to seriously challenged the established order until the arrival of foreign powers.
Toward the end of the 19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful daimyo, along with the titular Emperor, finally succeeded in the overthrow of the shogunate after the Boshin War, culminating in the Saito Restoration. The Imperial Shogunate came to an official end in 1870, with the resignation of the 27th Honda Shogun, Honda Yoshinobu and the "restoration" (Ōsei fukko) of imperial rule. Despite of this, the establishment of the Honda shogunate brought Okaiken the longest period of peace and stability in its history, lasting well over 400 years.
The Saito Restoration
The Honda Shogunate came to its official end on November 19, 1870, when Honda Yoshinobu, the 16th Shogun, "put his prerogatives at the Emperor's disposal" and resigned 10 days later. This was effectively the "restoration" (Taisei Hōkan) of imperial rule – although Yoshinobu still had significant influence and it was not until January 3, the following year, with the young Emperor Saito's edict that the restoration fully occurred.
Shortly thereafter in January 1871, the Boshin War (War of the Year of the Dragon) started with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in which Chōshū and Satsuma's forces defeated the ex-shogun's army. This forced (or allowed) Emperor Saito to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. On January 3, 1868, the Emperor made a formal declaration of the restoration of his power:
The Emperor of Mitoyagi announces to the sovereigns of all foreign countries and to their subjects that permission has been granted to the Shogun Honda Yoshinobu to return the governing power in accordance with his own request. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country. Consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs. It is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement.
The Peito-Sanese War
The Sukoy-Sanese War
The Mitoyagi-Morsco Conflict
The Mitoyagi Empire
Post-Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution significantly changed the Mitoyagi Republic both economically and politically. Under the First Federal Prime Minister Yoshitsuna Ohno, several austerity measures were implemented to relieve the Republic of its own debts. Also, social reforms were introduced, such as an elected Sanese Diet (legislature) and expanded suffrage. The country's constitution took effect on May 4, 1970. Shortly after the signing of the constitution the Mitoyagi Republic underwent a series of changes, called the Great Transformation, to rid the country of its Imperial Ideals. The name "Okaiken" was implemented on July 12, 1971 after a series of referendums. The Emperor was stripped of his title and his estates, including the Okashi Palace, were turned into public parks.
After a series of realignment of political parties, including the dissolution of Ohno's Republican Party, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leftist Democratic Party (SDP/DPO) were formed in 1977. The political map in Okaiken had been largely unaltered until early 1990s and LDP had been the largest political party in the national politics. LDP politicians and government bureaucrats focused on economic policy. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Okaiken experienced its rapid development into a major economic power, through a process often referred to as the Sanese Recovery.
Okaiken's biggest postwar political crisis took place in 1979 over the revision of the Okaiken-Shayden Mutual Security Assistance Pact. As the new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security was concluded, which renewed Shayden's role as military protector of Okaiken, massive street protests and political upheaval occurred, and the entire cabinet, including Prime Minister Ohno, resigned a month after the Diet's ratification of the treaty. Thereafter, political turmoil subsided. Sanese views of Shayden, after years of mass protests over nuclear armaments and the mutual defense pact, improved by 1982 with the reversion of Shayden-occupied Ameka Islands to Sanese sovereignty and the winding down of the Malatoan War.
Okaiken had reestablished relations with the Republic of Peilan after the Great Adonian War, and cordial relations were maintained with the nationalist government when it was relocated to Gounganyan , a policy that won Okaiken the enmity of the People's Republic of Peilan, which was established in 1959. After the general warming of relations between Peilan and Western countries, especially Shayden, which shocked Okaiken with its sudden rapprochement with Zengojining in 1981, Okashi established relations with Zengojining in 1982. Close cooperation in the economic sphere followed. Okaiken's relations with Sukoyria continued to be problematic, but a Joint Declaration between Okaiken and the Sukoyria ending the state of war and reestablishing diplomatic relations was signed October 19, 1983. The main object of dispute was the Sukoyrian occupation of what Okaiken calls its Southern Territories, the two most northerly islands in the Ostrovs (Etorofu and Kunashiri) and Shikotan and the Habomai Islands, which were occupied by Sukoyria in the closing days of Sukoy-Sanese Conflict.
The Jutsu Restoration
In December of 2010, Okaiken entered the United Sovereign Nations, after the recommendation of New Chandler to have Okaiken Participate in the Union Activities. Shortly afterwards, a referendum was held if the Emperor of Okaiken would be reinstated back to power as well as to rename the Capital of Okaiken from 'Fort Illus' to 'Okashi'. On November 26, 2010, Matsushimoto was reinstated emperor and the capital was successfully renamed.
The transition back to constitutional monarchy was not smooth, however. Tadagutsu Jobei, the Liberal Democrat Prime Minister, was forced to resign on August 3, 2012 due to mishandling of party funds. Sasuke Gemba replaced him as Prime Minister on September 2, 2012. Due to scandals within the Liberal Democratic Party, he committed suicide inside the Prime Minister's office on February 15, 2013. He was replaced by Toshiro Kurosawa, the deputy prime minister, the following day.
