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[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Good bye Shogunate.

Cracks in Japan are now wide open, a nation divided. Crumpled government, western invaders, treacherous dishonorable members of the Bakufu.

The rapid collapse of communications within the Shogunate, accompanied by the various samurai betrayals that have been occurring across the entire Bakufu, the Bakufu’s power is now at its lowest ever. In another poem released by Ikari Ikaru... 

The old ways

Thousand miles, one step

Our great country shall go on

Sun shall rise again

Falling blossoms pain my heart

The old ways are not the same

- Ikari Ikaru -

It seems that the Shogun is no longer able to control his Shogunate in Japan anymore, and the entire Tokugawa system that was established since the 1600s has no longer been able to serve its purpose in the modern world of the late 1800s.

All this is also compounded by the fact that the Emperor has been lobbying individual Daimyos to support him and his rise to power. The Emperor, although young, has huge political ambitions and he is not going to let the Shogunate stop him from becoming the absolute ruler of a unified Japan.

We are in the endgame; Meiji Restoration begins now.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Losing faith in the Shogunate (5)

Current situation : Japan in disarray.

NORTH

Northern Yonezawa is taken by the Russians pushing down to Nakamura Domain.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Samurai on strike!

Kuze Hirochika

Mori Takachika

Matsudaira Yoritane

Tsugaru Tsugayasu

Inaba Masamore

Their samurai turned on them, their advisors are not receiving their papyrus.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Losing faith in the Shogunate (4)

Current situation : Japan in disarray.

SOUTHEAST

Fukuoka has been taken over by Ikari Ikaru rebels. Falling along with most domains in the South Eastern region of Japan.

“Emperor Meiji is showing signs of being immensely terrified by the samurai forces enclosing Kyoto ordered by Nariaki and Katataka. Voicing his inclination toward the Ikari Ikaru rebels in regards to their promise of protection for the Emperor.” - statement by the Retainer of the Emperor

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Losing faith in the Shogunate (3)

Current situation : Japan is in disarray.

NORTH

Sekiyado 1100 samurai ordered by Kuze to fight the invading Russians, all of them destroyed in a huge imbalance of weaponry and brute strength due to lack of nutrition of the financially destitute domain.

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Losing faith in the Shogunate (2)

Reports of execution of priests in the Tosa Domain provoked rebels hiding in shrines across Japan to rise up; pre-affiliated Ikari Ikaru supporters are leading the riots rising from the shrines in Domains such as Obama, Yodo, Hiroshima, Saga, Satsuma.

The wilting blossoms

The death of Japan

Starts with old senile daimyos

That spit on our ways

The banner of the shogun

Not honour, but oppression

- Ikari Ikaru -

The northern coastal areas are officially occupied by the Russian invaders;. Landing in Kuroishi, pushing South towards Hirosaki.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Losing faith in the Shogunate

December 1860,

Situation in northern island of Japan is looking bleak. Blockade by the Russian ships in the coasts of Hokkaido, sinking Japanese fishing boats off the coast of Hirosaki Domain. Reports coming regarding plans of futher invation down South of the islands of Japan. 

Troops of Samurai protecting Edo are riled up against Manabe for not acknowledging the sacrifices they made protecting the Shogunate. Some are even starting to head back to their respective domains. Loyal samurai are left with no resources to support protection for much longer.

Peasants are piling up in Obama coming mostly from Ogaki voicing their complaints to the office stationed there. Samurai are publicly coming in to Obama bearing swords.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Open the country, stop having it be closed

TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE FOR THE WORLD

‘Educational Expeditions’ to occupied lands of the Western counties expresses Japan to the world as willing to participate in international engagements.

Expanding the show of goodwill they also show consent for fair trade in international markets and trade of goods from Japan, with intentions of stabilizing their economy.

Modern forms of communications are also being developed.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Embezzle dazzle

Investigators stationed in the Finance Ministry turned up with concerning results that prove an account of embezzlement in the finance minister’s own domain, Takamatsu. Details as given:

Large koku donations coming from merchant taxations records transfer of wealth to private household finances of Matsudaira Yoritane.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

The Shogunate has spoken

As daimyos kiss their families good bye, their domain left to the trusted hands of their advisors, starting their journey to Edo. 

Trusted clerks are travelling to Obama to take care of the complaints.

Establishments of the office in Obama, resulted in a massive movement of peasants going in to report their complaints and pouring their hearts out in cry for their well-being.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

News from the North

our land has been breached!

where is the Shogunate?

Chants by people in the Northern Coast as they see their single sailed boats ransacked by the Russians, Their fishes taken away and they are left to float the seas of uncertain fate.

No actions has been taken by any governing bodies causing tensions to rise over the roof in the north

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Traitor, traitor

Long being in the dark, Inaba Masamori is exposed as traitor to the Shogunate by deliberately circulating papyrus containing pictures of the white devils with incomprehensible writings on it.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Walking away, conflict escalated

Priests in Mikawa are seen to be having a heated discussions in the shrines with the people coming in, questioning their intentions and reasons for coming. Offense was taken and these priests walked away expressing their discontent in a rather violence manner.

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What is the Shogunate doing?

Apparently the increase in taxation ordered by Matsudaira Yoritane managing the finances of Japan is causing Sekiyado to once again go into deep financial crisis.

Worry spread between the Daimyos as to wether this might also happen to them.

‘Basking in wealth’ that’s how the people are seeing the Shogunate, while hugging their empty stomach.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Whispers from the South

In light of the recent predicament of both the Shogun and the Emperor, there has been an increase in chatters picked up by discreet sources placed throughout the region. There are an increase in people traveling throughout and within the area. Suspicious looking samurai are brushing past each other frequently as they past by. Temples within the South Eastern Japan are seen to be flooded with people coming in to ‘pray for the well-being of the young Emperor.’

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Shinto temples continue recruiting, membership up to 4,300,000 defectors from the Shogunate as raids culminate in 700,000 arrested.

Given recent security policies by the Shogunate, there have continued to be crackdowns across the entire Shogunate about anything deemed to be or related to “Ikari Ikaru thought”, which has led to almost 700,000 peasants being arrested by Metsuke and other Samurai, seeking to prove their loyalty to their lords. At the same time, these same policies have led to the overcrowding of detention facilities, which are both highly insecure and highly unsanitary, leading to multiple breaking out of prisoners and the death of almost 11,000 prisoners from disease.

These developments have led to the continuing surge of peasants into hiding at Shinto temples across the country, large and small, with almost 4,300,000 defectors now hiding at Shinto temples across the country, and new Shinto temples springing up, paid for by peasants due to the history of the Shogunate and other Japanese not touching anyone within these shrines due to how dishonorable such acts are. The Shogun’s retainers are highly disappointed that no action was taken when the problem was more manageable, but urge immediate action, as the numbers surge every day and further, our detention facilities are unable to consist all who merely think about Ikari Ikaru, which might consist of nearly everyone on the island of Honshu, at the very least.

What must be considered is the implications of ‘acting’ on the problem, especially if it involves directly going into a shrine or any territory being built upon with a shrine, as that would be considered most dishonorable, even by the Samurai, Daimyo or Bakufu tasked to act in this regard to stop the flow into Shinto temples. In some domains, guards have taken to surrounding Shinto temples, but deserted when told their actions were causing the starvation of those in the temple, and they would go to purgatory if they continued with such.

The problem is worsening, however. A solution must be reached - give in to the Shinto temples, or give in to the urge to act dishonorably. If the former is done, the Shogunate may lose its authority, with the latter, it will certainly lose its popular legitimacy, if it has not already done so.

[tokugawa-shogunate-smun]

Nevada, a city in the United States of America

Kuze Haru has been discovered as a traitor to the Shogun! Despite communiques describing that even the Bakufu may not engage in foreign endeavors without working with the committee, Kuze Haru, without the proper equipment, was discovered as having attempted to have his advisors travel to the United States for unknown purposes, although he did not have the equipment to travel across the Pacific, as his domain had been bankrupt and he had been living off scraps ever since.

Kuze Haru’s advisors, when interrogated by the security forces of the Shogun, claimed that they had been sent to “Nevada, a city in the United States of America”. This information has perplexed the security forces, who understood Nevada to be a portion of the Western Utah territory which was barely populated - if that counts as a city, what are our cities? We must investigate this “Nevada” further to understand how the world is evolving - clearly for the worse, if barren wastelands are cities.