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The Koreo-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese War[]

In 653 (100 BC) the Kingdom of Bei and of the Empire of Korea had concluded their war with each other. Prior to this the Japanese had rejoiced in the fall of the First Han Dynasty and were prepared to take control of the several areas who now had to fend for themselves. The First of these were the Koreans who were invaded after

Sinica at start of Sino-Japanese War

The Japanese lands in green at the start of the Sino-Japanese War.

the Bei retreated. The Japanese invaded Pyongyang but they were surprised to find themselves driven out by the Korean troops. The Japanese fell back to Kyoto, but the Koreans followed. This was actually a trap and many Koreans were disappointed that the only battle to take place on the main islands of Japan was a failure. The last battle of this war was in Seoul and resulted in the Japanese taking the whole Korean Kingdom and their lands in the north. This was the beginning of the Japanese precence in North Asia.

Following this large and drastic conquest the several Sinican States held the first Sinican Council for their common defense against the Japanese. They were justified in this action because it was undoubtedly the intention of the Japanese leaders and their new Emperor, Fuyutsuki, to invade Sinica. Taiwan had been a Japanese possession for some time and was the place from which the first battle of the Sino-Japanese War was launched. The Japanese invaded the Kingdom of Yan and conquered it rather quickly and the Sinican Council then began serious deliberations.

The Japanese attempted to squeeze both sides of the Sinica so that from Bei to Yan there would be Japanese moving into the center of the country and moving outwards into all of the continent. This Bei-Yan Offensive as it was called would fail the Japanese but in the invasion of Western Bei (the orange state in Northern Sinica) the Japanese had control of the area north of the Great Wall of Bei. This area, known to us as Mongolia, became Japanese and remained so after the Japanese concluded a peace with the Sinicans that also made the Kingdom of Yan independent again. Though the original cause of the Japanese went unachieved, there was not an opportunity for the Japanese to extract minerals and other important resources from their colony.

The Mamori and Tokugawa Shogunates[]

Emperor Fuyutsuki banished the General Hideki Mamori to the area known as Mongolia. He officially charged him with securing this area but it was known to the leadership in Japan that this was a punishment for failing in

Early Mamori Shogunate

The Early Mamori Shogunate

the Sino-Japanese War. General Mamori and his family relocated to Mongolia in 677 (80 BC) not long after the war but to prevent his acquaintances from feeling offended by this action he created a new position for the General. Hideki Mamori was named Shogun and given governing powers over the Mongolian territory which then became known as the Mamori Shogunate 守幕府. The Mamori held their capital in the city of New Kyoto 新しい京都 (Ulan Bator). The Mamori Shogunate continued for about twenty-one years before a revolution by the Mongolians overturned their power for some time. The Mamori were allowed to retreat into their neighbor Shogunate but not to Japan itself. Mongolia was independent from 698 (55 BC) until 843 (90 AD) whn they returned to Japanese dominion due to the large famine in the area. In that time however the Japanese

Early tokugawa shogunate

The early Tokugawa Shogante

had expanded in the North.

The Tokugawa Shogunate was not a punishment to the Tokugawa family. it was actually a gift after the Mamori Shogunate proved to be a rather effective means of governing the colonies. The Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) was on the coasts and close to the islands of Karafuto (Sakhalin) and Hokkaido. It was alos home to some of the more profitable cities of the Northern Colony. The Tokugawa family was very wealthy in Japan and were placed there as a display of gratitude to that family. Tokugawa Minato was the first Shogun of this region and it was and remained the wealthiest of the Shogunates. The Tokugawa invited the Mamori into their household in the capital of the Shogunate in New Kaifu 新しい海部 (Changchun) after the Mongolian Independence and there they remained and continued claiming the Mongolian lands until the Mongolians relinquished their sovereignty in 843 (90 AD). Together the mamori and Tokugawa Shogunates were known as New Echizen but this name fell out of use in the 700's.

The Kutsuwa and Suzugohei Shogunates[]

During the independent times of the Mongolians and Tokugawa Shogunates the two were rivals for the land of North Asia. Both of them extended their reach up to the Northern border, or at least claimed they did. The Japanese even extended their claims to land all the way to the Eastern shores. When the Mongolians eventually fell back under the control of the Japanese the Mamori returned along with the Japanese troops. The extra land that the Mongolians had claimed was, as the Mamori argued vigorously, the rightful property of the Mamori Shogunate. The lands that the Japanese had expanded into before the Mongolian re-annexation was under the Tokugawa's control, an amount of control that worried many other noble families with other land claims fearing the power the Tokugawa could have. The Emperor at the time, Emperor Keiko 景行, chose to address both concerns at the same time.

Emperor Keiko gave birth to all daughters. One of these daughters was married off to the Suzugohei Family in

Suzugohei Shogunate

The Suzugohei Shogunate with the Capital of New Utashinai(Magadan) labeled.

exchange for giving up their family castle in Nagano. In about the same time the Suzugohei (鈴御幣) made this marriage to an Imperial Princess, the Tokugawa were insulted that the Emperor chose the Suzugohei, a relatively small family from central Japan, over them. The Emperor, in appeasement, gave a younger daughter to the Tokugawa's son and the issue dissolved. The Tokugawa fell into debt soon after allowing this daughter into their family as she was not able to receive monetary support, for her expensive habits, from the Emperor after entering a Shogun's family, this was a serious insult to the Tokugawa and in Japanese court culture. To cover this debt they sold their claims to the Emperor who gifted it to the Suzugohei as a reward, because they were able to tame his younger daughter's impulses and found a large and respectable family. This resulted in the beginning of the Suzugohei Shogunate once the son of the Suzugohei who married into the Imperial Family was the head of the household, whereupon their whole clan would relocate to the capital in New Utashinai 新しい歌志内 (Magadan). The story of the Kutsuwa Clan is a much more sordid affair. The Kutsuwa 轡 lived in Hokkaido and were more used to the burley and unrefined attitudes of the wilderness than the kind of regimentation that was common the close one moved to Kyoto and further from the border. The Kutsuwa were, nevertheless, the wealthiest family in Hokkaido and hence led its administration. They reached the court of the Emperor in order to ask his permission to marry another one of his daughters when she reached marrying age. This failed miserably. The Kutsuwa did not enter with the grace of a prominent family. Their sons were known to frequent the prostitution districts of the

Kutsuwa Shogunate

The Kutsuwa Shogunate with the capital of New Hakodate (Irkutsk) labeled.

city. Their daughters were making a scene with several of the local men. Their behavior was very unbecoming of a person seeking a marriage from the Emperor and for such action were banished to the Northern part of the Mamori Shogunate. However, they brought along with them many of the Hokkaido families that were close to them. This set up a very balanced economy in the area and they were soon a powerful people in that area. Because of their unrefined actions, the Kutsuwa were very approachable to the native people. Unlike some other areas the city of New Hakodate 新しい函館 (Irkutsk) had a diverse population and not real aristocracy. The Kutsuwa example soon spread through the area as some people left and traded and were also banished. The Kutsuwa soon had a very large amout of wealth and control over their lands and appealed to the Mamori to leave the Kutsuwa with control of the Northern Territories. When the appeal by the Mamori to the Emperor to disenfranchised the Kutsuwa reached the palace, Keiko had died and his brother Yamada 山田

Tokugawa and Mamori Shogunates

The Tokugawa and Mamori Shogunates after the establishment of the four Shogunate System. Their respective Capitals of New Kaifu (Changchun) and New Kyoto (Ulan Bator)

became Emperor of Japan. The general distaste that Keiko had with the Kutsuwa family would fall to the side with this regime change and the Mamori were told to give in to the Kutsuwa's offer.

The amount of money that the Kutsuwa offered was very high and the Emperor justified his decision by saying that the price of this area would prove to be more than they could even repay. This would not be the case and the Kutsuwa Shogunate would prove very successful. The Emperor was, instead of embarrassed, pleased and believed that he had made the right decision and held this affirmation until his death in 887 (134 AD). Emperor Seimu changed the direction of Japanese Affairs back towards Sinica and the North Asians were given relative autonomy and cooperated with the Emperor in all matters. The four Shogunate system was very stable and proved effective for many centuries.

The Kanazawa Explosion in the Tripolipactum Era[]

After the Great Asian War which resulted in there being three major Empires and several small surrounding Kingdoms, the East and West began to engage in much trade with each other. The West brought knowledge of agricultural production techniques that would increase the population that these Empires could support. This resulted in an expansion in the population, especially in Japan where the surplus population was encouraged to leave the islands and head towards the sparsely populated continent. Many families moved and established their own areas that grew into towns and even into areas that would challenge the Four Shogunate System that had been maintained through this Era of Peace. One of these was the Kanazawa Shogunate, centered around the city of New Kanazawa. The Kanazawa Shogunate managed to gain its freedom by banding together with other surrounding cities and encouraging immigration through friendly and unique policies. The Kanazawa Shogunate, though it was small, was an example to families and groups across the Four Shogunates of the North. The explosion in population also led to there being almost twenty new Shogunates by the end of the Tripolipactum Era in 1104 (351 AD).

The Seals of the Shogunates
Kiyobu Crest

The Kutsuwa Seal

[]

Each Shogunate had a seal. These went from being used for the leading family of the Shogun to being synonymous with the Shogunate itself. The Kutsuwa Seal was a butterfly surrounded by a flower and which represented the fertility of their soil, something that attracted the very immigrants that

Suzugohei Crest

The Suzugohei Seal

would lead to the end of the Kutsuwa Shogunate. The Suzugohei was of two armed guards with traditional swords, a product of the Suzugohei family and of their Shoguante. This symbol began to represent the industry of Japan because many of the weapons, or at least the raw minerals and metals they were made of, came from the Suzugohei Shoguante. The Mamori Shogunate is two scrolls surrounded by other

Mamori Crest

The Mamori Seal

symbols and represents the two scrolls sent to Hideki Mamori when he was made Shogun of the Mongolian Territories. The first one represents his commission from the military fo Japan and the second is his order from the Emperor to administer the new territory. Lastly, the Tokugawa Seal was of three leaves and represented the climate most like that of their home islands. The

Tokugawa crest

The Tokugawa Seal

Tokugawa Clan, being expert merchants and shippers, began to represent the navy as many of the Admirals and most famous examples of naval power were done by a member of the Tokugawa family or their students or sub-families.

The Kutsuwa Disintegration and the New Shogunates[]

The Kutsuwa Shoguante was the least populous among the four original Shogunates. This being the case it had the most opportunity for immigrating peoples. Lastly, the Kutsuwa family was reduced to the city of new hakodate and some of the surrounding hinterland. The rest fell to new Shogunates. The same would be the fate of the other Shogunates and many were reduced to the area of their capitals and some small hinterland. The Second Tokugawa Shogunate which shared a border with the Korean Empire and the Second Suzugohei Shogunate would be the largest of the vestigial Shogunates and the Second Mamori Shogunate was reduced also.

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