Domain of the Month: Rokushima

[KingCorn]

Tucked away near Mount Frost is the monastery of the Way of the Hollow, which believe that the key to enlightenment is to free one's self from all forms of attachment to the physical world. The founder of the monastery proved his dedication to this philosphy by undergoing the process of Sokushinbutsu, self mummification. His dried remains are venerated by the monks at the temple who wish to follow his example, slowly turning him into an ancient dead. Barely concious, he is slowly driven to rage and despair over his student's unwittingly preventing him from reaching enlightenment.

[Mistmaster]

The Kokunotsu no Seisen-shi the Nine Holy Warriors, were nine legendary Samurai swore directly to the Emperor, before Haki Shimpi rose to power; The Nine were a threat to his rule, so he managed to kill them, and had his Oni allies bind theyr souls to theyr weapons. Each of the nine weapons host the righteous spirit of oneof the Nine, and it will give power to an owner deserving it, to fight the evil of the land. Shimpi hates the Nine with a passion, and will do everything in his power to destroy the current incarnations.

[KingCorn]

The Kokunotsu no Seisen-shi the Nine Holy Warriors, were nine legendary Samurai swore directly to the Emperor, before Haki Shimpi rose to power; The Nine were a threat to his rule, so he managed to kill them, and had his Oni allies bind theyr souls to theyr weapons. Each of the nine weapons host the righteous spirit of oneof the Nine, and it will give power to an owner deserving it, to fight the evil of the land. Shimpi hates the Nine with a passion, and will do everything in his power to destroy the current incarnations.

Is this based on the latest one piece arc? Or is that just based on an older story you're basing this on?

[Mistmaster]

Actually I made it up thinking on several different inspirations like Ronin Warriors ans Saint Seiya.

[Jakob]

Uh.
Hi.
This is embarrassing, but... uh...
I noticed this thread too late.
...
I actually posted a HUGE atlas I made for Rokushima Taiyō here.

[Manofevil]

It looks swell, but I can't read a word of it. Does anybody have it in English?

[Jakob]

It looks swell, but I can't read a word of it. Does anybody have it in English?

Errrr... you should wait until I have the time to sit down and translate it.

[Zettaijin]

I wrote the first and (at the time) most complete gazetteer for Rokushima Taiyou or 六島太陽 or Six Island Sun (yeah, I know).

That was a long time ago. I mean a LONG time ago. As in the days of mailing lists long ago. As in the 90's long ago. As in everything was 2nd Edition long ago.

Yeah, that long.

Since then, a lot has changed. I moved to Japan almost ten years ago now and learned a lot about the country, its people and its history. I've also periodically reminded people that my gazetteer existed and was once a glorious thing... which is a little bit silly now that look at it with my wiser, more experienced eyes. Still, there are key ideas that I remain fond of.

(a link to my original work... ah the days of Geocities...)

• The four remaining sons each represent a different period of Japan's history. One is the Nara-era with a Buddhist elite informed by the teachings of a much more advanced society and ruled in secret by the head priest, Shinpi's second son. The next represents the Kamakura era with its wars and upheavals and a population driven to hunger and even more abject poverty under the iron-fisted rule of the newly empowered warrior class and their shogun, Shinpi's third son. The fourth son is a craft but shady man more adept at numbers and words than his brothers and who maintains ties to various "financial cliques" or 財閥 (zaibatsu) as well as the shadowy underworld; an obvious nod to Meiji era Japan with the only real stable port of entry for outsiders. Last but not least is as island filled with beauty and art; a place where artists flourish and the ruling class spend their days idling about exchanging poems and letters and creating ever increasingly complex rituals of courtship (as is often said of the Heian era) under the watchful eye of the fifth son and his domineering otherworldly lover.
• The first and sixth sons are not quiet dead yet. The first is the perfect embodiment of classic Japanese heroes as depicted in the chanbara or samurai stories while the sixth has devoted himself to secretly mastering ancient forgotten magics of forgotten times - a symbol of all the superstitions and irrational fears that haunt Japanese people sometimes even to this day.
• Morality isn't absolute and actually depends on various factors. It's not about what is good, but what is good for certain people in certain contexts. Everything in its time, everything in its place.
• Buddhism and Shinto coexist in various ways and to various degrees. For example, the second son's island has relegated Shinto to a form of peasant religion; tolerated but not particularly encouraged. On the other hand, the third son is much more favorable towards Shinto and keeps a simplified version of popular Buddhism alive that keeps people pacified. Religion has a far less prominent role in the other two islands' political life.
• As stated before, the fifth son has welcomed foreigners and sees trade with far away land as a means to achieve dominion over his brothers once and for all. It also allows for all that hot ninja action we all want. (Now to find a way to bring Richard Harrison into this... because only a ninja can defeat a ninja!)
• The sons don't like each other, but they reach temporary alliances in some cases.

Now, for things that need to change.

• As per this paper, Shinpi is disgruntled about his inability to attain his proper status in the afterlife and blames his sons for this. As a result, he uses his considerable power over the land to hamper their various coups against one another along with preventing usurpers from taking over. If the land unites once again with his family in a position of power, he feels the land will remember him and promote him in the afterlife.
• As I just stated, rival families exist that seek to challenge his sons' respective positions of power in each island. Sadly, death often leads to the more powerful individuals becoming restless spirits that are worshiped as semi-deities in need of guidance and appeasement. Shinpi is jealous of these said spirits and wishes to see any and all potential rival cut down.
• Shinpi has considerably more power over nature, extending to causing natural disasters and the like when sufficiently angry. In a way, he is an unseen force often interpreted as nature rather than a once living, breathing man. A source of frustration for the vain odem.
• The birth of rebel groups such as a troupe of female performers/prostitutes who are causing chaos among the military ranks by inciting rivalries for their affections.
• Friction between Ezra and the RL stand in for Buddhism. Colonialism, yokoso!
• Shinpi's sons are somewhat doomed to forever repeat their mistakes and unknowingly live a thousand lives, constantly reborn and brought back into their original position by mysterious black-clad puppeteers. Names change, and historical records magically get rewritten, but the individuals do not change and no one seems to mind. Save Shinpi, who is starting to wish his first son (the good one) could just be brought back.
• SUPERSTITIONS! The Japanese are an extremely superstitious lot who cling to various fears and worries over things not being done the proper way or offending some unseen forces through clumsiness. Rituals are important and every act is measured and practiced to the point of becoming second nature. Failure means calamity and misfortune, if not death or illness.

[Mistmaster]

Now, for things that need to change.

• As per this paper, Shinpi is disgruntled about his inability to attain his proper status in the afterlife and blames his sons for this. As a result, he uses his considerable power over the land to hamper their various coups against one another along with preventing usurpers from taking over. If the land unites once again with his family in a position of power, he feels the land will remember him and promote him in the afterlife.
• As I just stated, rival families exist that seek to challenge his sons' respective positions of power in each island. Sadly, death often leads to the more powerful individuals becoming restless spirits that are worshiped as semi-deities in need of guidance and appeasement. Shinpi is jealous of these said spirits and wishes to see any and all potential rival cut down.
• Shinpi has considerably more power over nature, extending to causing natural disasters and the like when sufficiently angry. In a way, he is an unseen force often interpreted as nature rather than a once living, breathing man. A source of frustration for the vain odem.
• The birth of rebel groups such as a troupe of female performers/prostitutes who are causing chaos among the military ranks by inciting rivalries for their affections.
• Friction between Ezra and the RL stand in for Buddhism. Colonialism, yokoso!
• Shinpi's sons are somewhat doomed to forever repeat their mistakes and unknowingly live a thousand lives, constantly reborn and brought back into their original position by mysterious black-clad puppeteers. Names change, and historical records magically get rewritten, but the individuals do not change and no one seems to mind. Save Shinpi, who is starting to wish his first son (the good one) could just be brought back.
• SUPERSTITIONS! The Japanese are an extremely superstitious lot who cling to various fears and worries over things not being done the proper way or offending some unseen forces through clumsiness. Rituals are important and every act is measured and practiced to the point of becoming second nature. Failure means calamity and misfortune, if not death or illness.

Are these pueposes for changing or things that should be changed?

[Zettaijin]

Are these pueposes for changing or things that should be changed?

Things that I would change about/add to my old gazeteer.

Also, ideas I felt like throwing around.

[Manofevil]

Has anybody here, besides me, ever watched the miniseries or read the book 'Shogun' by James Clavell, and if so, would any of it apply?

[Zettaijin]

Has anybody here, besides me, ever watched the miniseries or read the book 'Shogun' by James Clavell, and if so, would any of it apply?

I watched the series as a child, so my memories are too vague.

As for the books, I recall reading some accounts that it wasn't a fully historically accurate reproduction of the period (17th century Japan) and in many ways seems to be playing fast and loose with a variety of historical events and characters. But then, one might say the same of even proper historical records which often reflect the biases of those who write them.

In any case, the author was a POW in a Japanese camp so he may have a somewhat negative view of the Japanese. I seem to recall some characters being particularly cruel in the "evil Asian lord" trope sort of way. Lastly, the main character (a "western samurai") was also changed to make for a more compelling read as the real historical figure may not have been as interesting.

[Ryan Naylor]

I've always been a fan of the Scattered Lotus Cluster idea from the Pathfinder stats guy, especially the lord of the Poison Sea domain. Ravenloft needs more dragons, and I liked their being another non-humanoid darklord.

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Albeit slightly concerned to be "the Pathfinder stats guy."

The Scattered Lotus Cluster was originally the idea of one of the Kargatane Andrews (Cermak, I think, off the top of my head), to give due credit.