Kozakura

Kozakura was a nation in eastern Kara-Tur.
==Geography==
An archipelago nation, Kozakura consisted of many islands. There were four large islands as well as dozens of smaller ones that made up the entirety of Kozakuran territory. The largest island, which was roughly in length, was named Shinkoku and was the location for the imperial capital, Dojyu. It was also the center of Kozakuran population and culture, and was the most widely settled of the four major islands. The other three islands were roughly the same size, at around across, and were Tenmei (to the north of Shinkoku) and Mikedono and Hinomoto (both to the south of Shinkoku).
The islands were heavily forested in places, and there was no shortage of wood available for construction. At higher altitudes, forests tended to consist of cedar and pine, and in the lower, more humid areas, bamboo and cypress were more common.
To the west of Kozakura were the islands of Wa. Across the Sea of Kozakura to the north was the peninsula of Koryo.
===Geographic Features===
;Mountains and Hills
: Chestnut Mountains • Chimo Pass • Cormorant Hills • Daidake • Dragon's Spine • Fokobi Hills • Gensuyama • Gosuki Range • Ichiyama • Kazayama • Kojiyama • Meruyama • Mountain of Iron • Nidoyama • Satoyama • Shibuno Peaks • Sumono-yama • Sunrise Range • Teeth of Kanfu • Tokuyama
;Oceanic Features
: Arkado Bay • Eastern Sea • Gulf of Mi • Inland Sea • North Straits • Omitsu Bay • Sea of Kozakura • Straits of Ama • Suro Straits
;Islands
: Eburishima • Gatajima • Hagurejima • Hinomoto • Itzujima • Kabudono • Kagune • Kanshu • Kuroijoshima • Marujima • Matsujima • Mikedono • Nakashima • Niiashima • Nishishima • Norinoshima • Obakuto • Ojimne • Okaroshima • Ryuten • Senshi Islands (Heike • Ieyaku • Kamine • Mifura • Mishi • Ojo • Senshi • Shimo • Tojuki • Tsune • Uemi) • Shinkoku • Shizushima • Taibojima • Tanekashima • Taramuri • Tenmei • Wabekazan • Yarujima
;Forests
: Atanu Woods • Benduri Forest • Chijoshi Forest • Fokobi Forest • Ikuji Woods • Kanfu Forest • Minodati Forest • Obitake Forest • Waturi Forest
;Rivers and Lakes
: Dai River • Jito River • Lake Nodoshin • Nora-ko • Tano River • Uji-ko
;Plains
: Dai Plain • Jodo Plain • Northern Plain • Southern Plain
;Swamps
: Kebinuma • Shibinuma
;Other
: Heavenly Bridge • Stone-Icicle-World • Tara-gawa Basin
===Notable Locations===
;Provinces
: Akime Province • Ashi Province • Azuma Province • Chibana Province • Doku Province • Dosaki Province • Eiga Province • Fukudo Province • Futesama Province • Gizan Province • Gumi Province • Haso Province • Hira Province • Hochi Province • Horosawa Province • Ibasuido Province • Ike Province • Ishinuma Province • Iwari Province • Kagochi Province • Kanahanto Province • Kodo Province • Kumachi Province • Kumaike Province • Kyotoge Province • Maeshi Province • Migri Province • Miko Province • Mito Province • Miyama Province • Moro Province • Naga-ido Province • Nakaido Province • Naredo Province • Niie Province • Oie Province • Okane Province • Okiga Province • Sai Province • Sanyo Province • Senike Province • Shizume Province • Shogitsu Province • Sogai Province • Sudai Province • Tairayama Province • Takako Province • Tenmei Province • Tochiko Province • Toyaki Province • Tsuko Province • Unetgeso Province • Wakinasga Province • Watsu Province • Waya Province • Yama-no-Taichi Province • Yokozu Province
;Cities
: Dojyu • Gifu • Fukama • Jitogawa • Masakado • Nakohama • Odako • Renkyu • Senita • Sudaiko • Todaijo
;Towns
: Arita • Awa • Bingo • Chimotoge • Chitu • Ekawashi • Fuchu • Gobo • Gomen • Hiwasa • Ibara • Iewara • Itsuki • Itzuhachi • Iyo • Kabe • Kan-oji • Kuda • Mihara • Miki • Muroto • Niiashima-jo • Okahira • Shizumi • Susa • Takeo • Tamanokuni • Tanegawa • Toro-dai-be • Tosa • Yoemura • Yoetsu • Yoshida
;Roads
: Imperial Post Road • Renkyu Road
;Structures
: Anan • Atarashijo • Black Water Hall • Chimo Castle • Divine Empress Shrine • Doi No Fugu Inn • Dorumiji • Fox God Shrine • Frozen Waterfall Shrine • Fukama Castle • Hayashiro • Hiro Castle • Hojo Castle • Hori Castle • Imperial Mint • Imperial Palace • Ito-jo Castle • Jade Pavilion • Konjo Provincial Monastery • Kurisammyaku Shrine • Kuroijo • Light-Sparkling-Water School • Norijo • O-Suzuki Shrine • Raven Wood Castle • Reed-Grass Mound • Rowboat Shrine • Sato Castle • Shrine of Obun the Traveler • Shrine of Taro the Poet • Shrine of the Dark Ones • Shrine of the Monkey God • Shrine of the River Dragon • Shrine of the Setting Sun • Shrine of the Spring • Shrine of the Sun Goddess • Shrine of the War God • Sumono Castle • Tani Shrine • Temple of Kanchai-ryu • Temple of Namikami • Temple of Purification • Temple of Red Fog • Wajo Shrine
==Politics==
The nominal head of government was a hereditary Emperor, who traditionally took over from his father at a very young age, necessitating the services of a regent to rule in his name. The old Emperor was forced into retirement, but still maintained some influence with a title of Retired Emperor. This meant that generally there were three factions in the Imperial Court vying for control.
Over several hundred years, the position of Emperor faded in importance and the shogun became the de facto ruler of Kozakura. The position of Shogun was, however, tainted with much of the same politics and maneuvering that affected the Emperor. This resulted in many shoguns ascending to the position at a young age themselves, and the need for a shikken, which was a regent for the Shogun.
==Society==
Kozakuran society had a caste system. At the highest level were the samurai caste.This should not be confused with the samurai class for player-character class. The samurai caste were the nobles of Kozakura and responsible for the administration of the provinces and the nation. They were organized by their families.
Beneath the samurai caste were the clergy, who served as priests in the various temples. The clergy welcomed people from all walks of life, including retired samurai, sons of peasants, widows, and so on.
The majority of the population was made up of the peasants, who were divided into several groups. The farmers tended to be the backbone of the land, and were also organized into families in the same way as the samurai caste, with the head of a family responsible for collecting rent and taxes. Craftsmen had variable status depending on their craft, their skill, and their renown. Merchants, including moneylenders were found at this level, though they might have some control over the other members of the peasant class economically. The lowest of the peasant class were the entertainers, including actors, singers, and musicians.
Below even the peasants were the outcasts, called eta, who performed duties that were considered distasteful, unclean, or forbidden. Outcasts were quite literally cast out from the rest of society. All the other castes treated them with contempt, and contact was generally avoided. They were considered non-people, and marriages with them forbidden. The trades that were filled by outcasts included executioners, butchers, tanners, and morticians.
==Religion==
There were two major religions in Kozakura: the Eight Million Gods and the Way of Enlightenment. The former was a collection of ancient practices native to Kozakura devoted to a variety of nature spirits, and the latter was a religious practice brought from Shou Lung and devoted to guiding its practitioners to spiritual perfection.
It was normal for a Kozakuran to recognize and participate in more than one religion, shrine, or school of thought. Those who dedicated themselves to the pursuits of only one religion tended to be priests, monks, shukenja, and sohei.
The korobokuru of Kozakura worshiped a pantheon of animal spirits. Sometimes, their heroes were elevated mythically to the state of half-animalistic demigods.
==History==
The early history of Kozakura is largely fogged by mythology and origin legends of the Eight Million Gods.
 was marked by the ascent of Emperor Mori of the Akimatsu family to the position of Emperor. His claim to the throne was said to be supported by the gods in displays of divine power. He made his claim based on the support of many of the other families, which had been won through military might and a system of diplomacy that was largely based on strategic weddings of Akimatsu family women into other clans. Emperor Mori originally held court and centered his government in the city of Fukama, in Shizume Province, home to the ancestral lands of the Akimatsu family.
As time went on, the Akmitasu Emperors took control over the fertile Dai Plain in Kodo Province in order to better maintain the position of emperor—this plain was one of the largest rice-producing regions in the Kozakuran islands. They continued the tradition of intermarriage with other clans in order to cement their power, and in , they moved the imperial capital to Dojyu on the Dai Plain in order to have a closer economic foundation for their power base.
As a result of the constant expansion of the Akimatsu family, eventually several branches split from the Imperial line. Most of these cousins sought to control the Emperor through marriage to one of their own daughters, and attempting to manipulate succession to put a child emperor on the throne. In these cases, the regent to the Emperor (sessho) could often take power over the court by controlling appointments, land grants, and taxation. The Honda clan proved to be the most successful at this manipulation and they effectively ran the country through this system of sessho until .
Over the course of Imperial power, provinces grew more isolated and uncontrolled by the central authority and the landowning families far from court tended to fend for themselves, as help from Doyju took a long time to get and then to arrive. As a result, the provincial families funded their own soldiers for protection and tax collection, and developed an independent attitude. This led to the growth of a military class, and the fact that many landholding lords developed their own private armies (and fighting skills) contributed to decline in influence of the Akimatsu emperors.
The Tennu war began in . In , when the dust had settled, it was the Hojo family who emerged as the most powerful. Seizing their opportunity, they forced Emperor Showaji to grant their family head Hojo Tademashi the title of shogun, or great warlord. From this point on, the real power in Kozakura lay with this military leader, though the Emperor continued to hold his position.
In , the Shogun set up an alternate government center called the bakufu in the city of Gifu. While technically still inferior to the emperor, the shogun controlled the military. He still maintained a careful pretense of obedience to the will of the emperor, however, because the common folk believed in the Emperor's divine right to rule.
The office of Shogun became hereditary in under the rule of Emperor Ijo. Unfortunately, this led to the same kind of political maneuvering and machinations that haunted the Imperial Line eight centuries before.
===Modern History===
====The Hojo War====
In , Shogun Hojo Kikutake died in a horse-riding accident, aged 37, sparking a succession crisis. His seventeen-year-old son, Hojo Todahiro, was only a year shy of the legal age at which he might inherit, 18, requiring him to have a regent, or shikken. Moreover, Todahiro's own two-year-son, Hojo Kawabuko, should be chosen as shogun, would require a regent for many more years. Supporters of the Hojo family argued about which Hojo to choose for shogun and whom the regent should be, and the great families of Kozakura split over these questions.
The ensuring Hojo War was fought between and to determine who would succeed to the shogun's throne. Relatives of the Hojo, the Michimori and Korimori families quickly declared for Hojo Todahiro and mobilize Maeshi and Gizan provinces. The Korimori were less eager and when they found themselves pressed by Takenaka in , they switch sides, turning against Hojo Todahiro.While Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms Volume II and other sources frame the Hojo War as between two Hojo claimants, Night of the Seven Swords presents it as between Hojo and Takenaka. As such, it has families support a Hojo without specifying which. Since Takenaka supports Hojo Kawabuko, it is presumed the Hojo side is ojo Todahiro.
Finally, Hojo Todahiro and his faction lost at the Battle of Norinoshima in . The Michimori acted as mediators between the victorious Takenaka and the remaining Todahiro-supporting lords in the north; this saved the Michimori from being destroyed themselves. In , the now nine-year-old Kawabuko was installed as shogun with his maternal grandfather, Takenaka Okawa as regent. During the conflict, Takenaka Sugawara, half-brother of Okawa, distinguished himself as a talented and popular general of the pro-Kawabuko faction, but, as he had no blood ties to the position, was overlooked for the role of shikken. Thus, those families who preferred Sugawara to Okawa were alienated and unhappy instead and caused a new split in the Takenaka clan and their allies: the southwestern branch supporting Okawa from the Fukudo, Naga-ido, and Naredo Provinces, and the northwestern branch supporting Sugawara from the Dosaki, Iwari, and Sanyo Provinces.
====An Uneasy Peace====
The Niwa family were appointed as shugu-daimyos of Miyama province in and the Korimori as shugo-daimyos of Maeshi province. However, they could not gain full control of the province, owing to the Michimori's continuing power and influence there and the Korimori's own lateness in coming to the Takenaka's side in the Hojo War.
In or , Gonijo became Emperor of Kozakura, at age 15. That year, Niwa troops razed the village of Anan in Miyama Province.
Then Michimori Sado, son of the family head Michimori Uemon, died mysteriously in , believed to have been murdered by members of the Korimori family. The shogunate permitted Sado's brother to seek revenge against the Korimori. This caused a blood feud between the two families and shattered the already tenuous peace that had held since the Hojo War.
Thus, a decade since the war, Takenaka Okawa had neither united Kozakura nor weakened his enemies and rivals sufficiently. As of , with Kawabuko now aged 17 and soon to take power as shogun and Okawa due to retire as shikken, tension and turbulence were growing.
===Post-Spellplague===
The Spellplague of was as catastrophic in Kozakura and Shou Lung as it was in Faerûn. It caused many to migrate west, into the Hordelands and even Faerûn.
Following the Spellplague, Kozakura became embroiled in a civil war. This conflict was encouraged by the Iridescent Peacock Society, a mercenary cabal of wu jen that profited by selling their services to those who paid the most. It led to opposing factions, out-of-control brigandry, and ronin armies. Most hengeyokai and spirit folk stayed out of the fighting, either going further into the wilds or escaping to Shou Lung, where Sheng Ti province, via the port of Lo'Shan, was seen as a sanctuary. Nevertheless, a dedicated few worked to protect the common people from marauders and bandits. Notably, the monkey hengeyokai martial artist Aoi fought alone to defend seven villages from a 100-strong ronin army, making her a hero in southwestern Shinkoku. The civil war had faded by .
==Trivia==
The half-kender Gaeadrelle Goldring from Krynn once studied art in Kozakura.
==Appendix==
===Behind the Scenes===
Like Wa, Kozakura is modeled after Japan, but where Wa is modeled after Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate, Kozakura would be Japan between the Kamakura and Sengoku periods (Ashikaga shogunate).
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===Further Reading===
* 
===References===
Category:Countries
Category:Islands
Category:Monarchies
Category:Locations on the Celestial Sea
Category:Locations on the Yellow Sea
Category:Locations in Kara-Tur
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Locations
Category:Exports mahogany
Category:Exports tea