https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakai [WIP]

Sakai

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(Redirected from Kashimura)

The Imperial Capital of Sakai — sometimes known by its historic name, Kashimura, or simply as Capital City — is a city-state located within the Dark Lands of Yomi and the capital of the Yomese Empire. The nation’s noteworthy territory exists in 4 concentric quarters, making up an estimated 56,371 square miles (146,001 square kilometers), and is the empire’s most powerful state. Sakai is diverse in demon species, mainly due to its repopulation after being destroyed, but remains primarily Japanese in culture.

The earliest habitation of fox species in Yomi is proposed by historians to be between the 4^th and 8^th centuries as immigrants from China, supported by the kistune’s appearance in the 11^th century work Konjaku Monogatarishū. Upon their first arrival in Yomi, an ethno-village was set up in a nondescript area by the first kitsune in a settlement dubbed Kashimura. With its quickly growing size, Kashimura had effectively become its own country, though with no real governance. Some time before 1163 and the war of succession, Lady Ninetails had been granted the title of Demon Lord by Yami, the God of Darkness and assumed power over Kashimura as a de facto leader. Despite being slain, Ninetails’ lineage continues to rule to this day through the Shinonome bloodline. After the war of succession and rise to power during the feudal era, the kitsune of Kashimura subdued all opposition and were dubbed the new preeminent power and capital of Yomi. This was the birth of what would become the the Yomese Empire. Despite the fairly oppressive reign, there would be little change in the empire and Kashimura outside of occasional skirmishes until the 1940s. A feud between the two princesses of the empire at the time would escalate into a civil war, the victor leading the empire from then on. After a successful revolution in the capital, the next opponents were enemies to the revolution, lead by long-time rival to Kashimura, Maochengshi. The defeat of Maochengshi in 1959 lead to a new era of relative peace similar to before the war. Currently, Kashimura continues its peace as Sakai, the only change being the slow move to gender equality started in the 1990s by Amaterasu Kanjō.

Sakai is an absolute monarchy ruling over a representative democracy. While it does have an elected mayor and three representatives in the Earthly Body, the empress holds all legislative power. It maintains the same non-intervention agreement that all religions uphold internationally, preventing any direct intervention in human affairs or the revelation of the reality of any one religion. As a representative of the Yomese Empire, it does take part in covert trade with a handful of nations, though it never specifies its origin or location to humans, only that the supernatural exists.

Being a country of high development, Sakai is the second largest economy – arguably the first – in the Yomese Empire, behind Tanamura. Its status as an economic and military powerhouse despite being only a fraction of the total imperial population and its population’s diversity has lead people make comparisons to the United States of America. However, all governing bodies assert it is Japanese at its core and defer attention to its American subjects, New Yorkshire and Canida. Sakai within the empire ranks highly in most fields, being the foremost military power with high wages, high median income and wealth, and leading scientific force.

Etymology

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Following a nuclear strike destroying Sakai and the Imperial Library of Records & Knowledge, all records of the country’s meaning were wiped away by white hot plasma. Until any records from international sources can be unearthed, there are only theories as to meaning of the names. Because of this, it has become common to simply refer to the capital as “Capital City”.

Kashimura Etymology
It is unknown what the “kashi” portion of Kashimura means. Two prevailing theories have since arisen in the etymological community.

1. “kashi” means “change, transform” (化し), such as from the words “ayakashi” (yōkai, monster, demon) and “gomakashi” (deception, illusion). “Kashimura” would then mean “Village of Transformation”, “Village of Monsters”, or “Village of Illusions”. All are apt fits, as all kitsune regardless of subspecies are capable of some level of transformation and illusion magics.

2. The “ka” still undeciphered, the “shi” means “death” (死). This would lead to a translation of “Kashimura” as “Village of Death”, appropriate due to its situation in a land of the dead.

Sakai Etymology
Sakai also currently has no meanings on record even as a more modern name. With it unclear as to how many kanji are even in the name, there is thusfar only one circulating theory.

1. The name “Sakai” is the same as the word, meaning “boundary” (境) in Japanese. The name would fit as Sakai is home of the empress and chief yama, making it comparable to the boundary between life and death, heaven or hell.

History

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Founding & Early History
The exact foundation of Sakai is unknown, as it originally was not a formal settlement. Huli jing from China migrated to Japan sometime between the 4^th and 8^th, transforming many of the Japanese fox population into the progenitors of modern kitsune. With the evolution of fox to kitsune, those aligned with dark became demons under the Dark God, Yami, while those sided with light aligned with the Great Goddess, Inari. The unaligned would go on to become yōkai. These demon kitsune set up a small, unnamed village founded on their primary resource, hedonism. The brothel town had no governing body and merely expanded as a response to its growing population. Kitsune commonly cheated their visitors out of money by any means possible, assuming they were not eaten. This early settlement had much in common with the other nearest ethno-villages, Tanamura and Nekomachi, with which it had close rivalries.

Feudal Era & Dark War of Demon Ascension
In the year 1163, the Dark Lord, Yami, had finally squared off against the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu in one final showdown. Upon his defeat, the position of leader in Yomi had gone unfilled with no clear line of succession. The resulting power vacuum caused every territory under the former rule to immediately go to war.

Early on in the war, Kashimura exerted considerable control over its populace and smaller combatants in its immediate region, fielding a substantial army, but would find a great deal of trouble in its historic rivals, Tanamura and Nekomachi. The following three years would be a continuous threeway stalemate between the evenly balanced powers with one always outclassing the other two in some form, with all three trying to perfect the art of espionage. By the end of 1166, rolling into 1167, Kashimura proposed separate, but similar ultimata to Tanamura and Nekomachi without informing one side about the other. Tanamura was offered the role of being an economic center and effectively treasury of the empire if it would serve under Kashimura. If they refused, the threat of an “unprecedented force” — implied, but never outright stated, to be a Kashimura-Nekomachi alliance — would be held against them until an unconditional surrender. Meanwhile, Nekomachi was offered the role of arms manufacturing and military advisory for the empire if it would serve under Kashimura, effectively guaranteeing a second-in-command position for the military. Similarly if they refused, the threat of a “combined strength” — implied, but never outright stated, to be a Kashimura-Tanamura alliance — would be held against them until an unconditional surrender. While both enemies mostly saw through this bluff, Tanamura enjoyed the idea of being responsible for a Yomi-wide treasury in exchange for the possibility of the crown. As such, a deal was struck between Kashimura and Tanamura, the union almost immediately becoming the most powerful military force in all of Yomi. No longer a bluff, the fox-tanuki union overpowered the cats of Nekomachi as declared by the ultimatum in the span of approximately 17-20 months, depending on the account. The annexed nation’s army was added to the manpower of the fledgeling empire under Kashimura. Despite the refusal of the offer, Nekomachi would during the course of the war be a manufacturing hub and maintain a relative amount of liberty within the triumvirate.

The power of three of the strongest royalties in the underworld quickly snowballed until it had become an unstoppable force. By the year 1172, all combatants had submitted to Kashimura, one way or the other. This is largely agreed upon to mark the end of the war and begin a period of reconstruction. The empire under its new emperor would be dubbed the Yomese Empire.

Demon Lord Sixtails & the Holy Pacts
After the defeat of the matriarch of the largest clan of kitsune, Demon Lord Ninetails, at the hands of Mother Amaterasu, her young son, Sixtails, assumed her title of Demon Lord. Despite this honorable title and the chaos about to embroil his new kingdom, the child was quick to leave his responsibilities to his brothers and sisters while he settled his own vendettas. Sixtails sought the head of Mother Amaterasu’s own son while his family of regents guided Kashimura through a war of succession. His absence was secretly, but almost unanimously seen as a blessing, as splitting Kashimuran forces between the war against Yomi and his own war on the Celestial Plane would’ve left both armies too weak. Sixtails’s siblings used this as an opportunity to increase their own legitimacy in government, pass their own laws, and otherwise use the power they had while the child king was away.

In the year 1173, Sixtails returned from his attempt on the Sun God’s life to find himself emperor of a land entirely different from when he left. He returned to a questioned legitimacy, as he was absent for more than the entirety of the war of succession, and himself did not fully recognize what had taken place. In addition to no leadership over his people, he also returned with horrible news for the Empire. After losing every duel to his enemy, Sixtails and his lands would serve under the will of Mother Amaterasu, officially making Yomi subservient to the Celestial Plane. This meant lockdowns on the empire, primarily through severe limitations on demon passage into the human realm, as well as the discouragement of breeding in an effort to curtail the demon population as a whole. This would dubbed the First Holy Pact.

Due to the blows to credibility of the crown and Kashimura as a whole, as well as the more primal functions of demonkind being under restriction, a slow boil of gradually increasing tension began in the empire. The crown and government of the empire instead shifted attention away from conquest and focused more on domestic policy to regulate the power balance. The first major changes occurred in 1175 following years of secret drafting by the government, still run by the clan of foxes the child emperor belonged to. The royal clan was, due to the nature of their abilities, primarily a matriarchal society, and such customs carried over to the new laws being passed dishonestly. First and foremost, it was decided that all future rulers would defer first to daughters of the bloodline. Because both male and female kitsune disproportionately became brides (as opposed to grooms), females were seen as far more necessary to the line, as it was believed females would be more accepting of the role and focus less on imperialism. Secondly, only women of the Empire would henceforth be allowed to practice magic, and men must be conscripted for at least five years’ military service. While unacceptable by modern standards, this law was generally received with little opposition upon its first creation. Most male demons had thusfar proven more apt to physical combat, whereas female demons tended towards the more skill-based magical combat at the time. This tenate would also follow into the third major change, clearing a female demon of any wrongdoing when fighting a male demon should he strike first. This was added with the idea that male demons would be able to physically overpower a female demon if caught by surprise in mind, and would offer a more level playing field so to speak. These and numerous other laws of lesser consequence would be added to a single set of documents and signed by Sixtails, who according to most accounts did not read any of the paper, instead dismissively trusting guarantees from the advisors who authored it. With his unpopularity, brash attitude, and rule-by-fear style, Sixtails after fathering five daughters abdicated his throne to instead challenge Amaterasu’s son to subsequent rematches. While evenly matched at some points, he was generally unsuccessful. In ultimate disgrace, he was finally exorcised by the Sun God who, due to the anachronistic nature of the gods, was still a child.

As expected, while most of these laws did go according to plan, their intended effect of making a more controllable leader and populace was ineffective at best and backfired at worst. Princesses were raised to be successful mothers and empresses, but due to their teachings descending from Sixtails himself, most subsequent generations continued to rule by force and subversion, replacing old advisors with closer family members of the clan. This aggressive tendency for suppression lead to little change in the following centuries, the only major law passed being the Wealth Reform of 1288, wherein the commodity currencies of rice and meat were changed to gold coin and banknote minting. It would not be until 1484 where the most radical shift would occur.

In the year 1484, Shintoism had been seeing a spike in total deaths due to war in Japan, and the number did not appear to be subsiding. The workload of processing souls then steadily became overwhelming for the gods. This caused Mother Amaterasu to take drastic action in order to steady the flow of souls by appointing numerous superlative yamas to increase the workforce involved in the judgement process. This resulted in a yōkai run branch called the Higan Courthouse of Paradise and a demon run branch. The demon branch was created as part of a famous negotiation called the Second Holy Pact or the Shinonome Pact. The terms of this pact between Mother Amaterasu and the then Empress Haruhi were that in exchange for the readmittance of demons into the human realm for the purposes of guidance and atonement, the judicial system of the Yomese Empire would serve a secondary purpose for the judgement of souls. This quelled public tensions within the Yomese Empire by allowing the citizenry to relieve their collective frustrations while careful wording of the terms boosted confidence in the imperial government and crown. From this point on, the clan of foxes running the Yomese Empire would be known as the Shinonome Clan with its members adopting the surname.

Modernization and the Lost Age
After another few centuries of stagnation and humanity’s rising strength, Kashimura, the Yomese Empire, and Shintoism as a whole found itself asking what is regarded as The Great Question: What purpose do they serve in a modern era? Historically, gods existed to reward humanity for their piety, demons existed to punish humanity for their sins, and yōkai existed to keep humanity on the path to righteousness. In the year 1890, Shinto had been recently reestablished — there was no shortage of belief — but the scientific advancement of mankind had far surpassed the abilities of demonkind. There were logical explanations for mystical phenomena, lights to illuminate the dark recesses, and firearms that could pierce many of even the strongest demons. The demon response was seen as a revolutionary step in the empire’s path: modernization in kind. Volunteer teams from many of the empire’s cities would be drafted over the next three years. Once expeditionary teams were properly stocked and briefed, they would set out across the surface of the Earth in disguise attempting to catalog exploitable weaknesses, scientific advancements, and details on how other religions fared the Industrial Revolution sweeping the world. These teams were then to report back in a decade’s time for debriefing so that the Empire could take the best of this information for its own industrial revolution. Kashimuran and Tanamuran expeditionary teams granted themselves the assumedly easy mark of East and West Japan, respectively. The following decade became known as the Lost Age, as it marked the start of the Yomese Empire’s search for a new identity and place in the world. The mission was by all regards seen as a great success, though it also lead to unintended side effects in certain areas. Kashimuran expeditions, relatively unchanged, returned without problem in 1903 and immediately began collaborating with other teams to modernize the city. Electrical infrastructure was added, asphalt roads were paved, carriages and rickshaws were slowly phased out for automobiles, and a plethora of other overhauls were implemented. Most notably, rifled firearms were introduced to the imperial militias and iron ships were first laid down for the Imperial Navy, allowing demons to stand on equal footing with humans.

The Great War & Postwar Reconstruction
Following a streak of successful annexations by the Japanese Empire from the 1890s to the 1930s, the Yomese Empire and its crown family took an increasing interest in human affairs. Shintoism, being a religion local to Japan exclusively, did not hold the same reputation or power as other religions, and as such sought to use Japan’s expansionism as a means to spread Shinto in direct counter to invasive outside religions. The Kashimuran government dispatched several spies in early 1931 to operate within the Japanese government — most notably, Princess Higure — for the purpose of exporting raw materials and strategic advisory. The plan for the expansion of Shintoism was thusfar proving successful, with significant land gains in the campaigns against China by the end of 1938. The initiative shown by Higure in the supression of the Chinese lead to more favorable treatment by the Empress. This was to the dismay of the Crown Princess Hikari who, due to her more liberal upbringing under Mother Amaterasu, grew to sympathize with humanity. While this historic sibling rivalry formed a deep crack in the family, there was a general understanding of avoidance between the sisters. Higure would would go on to serve as a body double for several high-ranking officers in the German Reich including Eva Braun, while Hikari preferred to stay away from her family in vacation homes in Novosibirsk, Haleiwa, and several other classified locations.

With a foothold in two continents and the recent signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940, 1941 became a highly contentious year within the Yomese Empire. The division between the crown princess and her family were exacerbated as the empress began openly berating the crown princess and began considering passing the crown on instead to her younger sister. Japan’s territorial expansion had slowed down significantly ran low on resources from subsequent embargos. While the oil shortage was not a problem that could be readily remedied by any Yomese force, Higure did co-opt the military power of Nekomachi — renamed Maochengshi — to begin the production and testing of some more advanced weaponry and tactics to support the Imperial Japanese Army. On her birthday that year, she would be assigned the title of Princess Regent and given permission to aid the Axis powers as she saw fit in a trial run for her own reign. Higure made a famously rash advisory decision in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. Against the advisory of more informed personnel and the better judgement of the emperor, the Empire of Japan lead a surprise naval raid against the island of Oahu. The aim was to immediately cripple the United States Navy while Higure had the longer term goals of acquiring American oil reserves and infuriating her sister. This proved to be a step too far as the plan near immediately backfired. The crux of the United States Navy, the aircraft carriers, were not docked in Hawaii on that day. The following day, the United States of America formally declared war against Japan. On December 10^th, after personally witnessing the horrors of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Crown Princess Hikari declared a coup in an overthrow of her mother and in direct opposition to her sister.

Crown Princess Hikari moved out of the royal palace permanently and joined the United States for tactical advice, materiel aid, and on the battlefield as a combat medic incognito. Her next arrival in Kashimura would be to start an underground revolutionary party with the aim of putting herself in power. While a majority of the Kashimuran populace was taken with nationalism, a portion were in support of the reforms Hikari promised as a leader. She would find a more numerous following in other members of the Yomese Empire. Kashimura itself primarily stayed a stronghold for the government under Princess Regent Higure for the duration of the war as both sisters spent most of their time from then on focusing the human war. Kashimura began to slowly lock down as dissent and defectors caused unrest in the city state, forcing the revolutionaries to hide in the outskirts. Despite the circumstances, skirmishes remained infrequent, as both sides were still heavily invested in the management of human powers.

In February of 1945, after many duels between the warring princesses, Crown Princess Hikari successfully exorcised her sister, Princess Regent Higure, after a dogfight in the skies of Baden-Württemberg. With their stake in human affairs lessened, war in Yomi and its capital quickly heated up. Following a battle that lasted an estimated two months, the siege of Kashimura ended with Crown Princess Hikari retaking her own home, incarcerating her mother and declaring herself the new Empress of the Yomese Empire. In honor of the state’s rebirth, it was renamed Sakai.

Following the establishment of its new 15-year-old empress, the empire was thrown into a state of turmoil. While there was now both only one ruling bloodline and a stable crown, loyalties on both the personal and the national level still remained along the formerly established lines. Those in support of Hikari and the new Sakai state remained within the empire, as well as ambivalent parties. However, nations who did not recognize Hikari’s legitimacy and intended to continue intervention in the human realm banded together against the empire, a force spearheaded by long time rival Maochengshi.

For two years, there was a cold era in the war after Empress Hikari ascended to the throne. After a brutal involvement in both human and demon wars, combatants took reprieve to regroup their forces and rebuild in preparation for the imminent battles to come. Sakai spent this time drafting new soldiers, improving their arsenals, and organizing offices in the name of the new empress.

Unlike the last war, all nations — including Sakai — were slow to remobilize. Technology had progressed rapidly since its start, and time to fully assess damages and casualties had worn on the pride and psyche of the nations. In 1947, fighting began slowly with entrenched border skirmishes in the wastelands between Sakai and Maochengshi on the Sakai front of the war. As the conservation of life on the Sakai side of the war and impenetrable defense on the Maoren side became priorities, Sakai soon saw itself facing an uphill battle. Land battles had intermittently used rubber bullets at closer ranges, and sea battles frequently had ships taking on enemy survivors. The dangerous influx of prisoners of war had increased the strain in the short term, with some ships and entrenchements reaching far above their expected capacity. This tactic by the empress later proved to have the intended effect in the long term, however. The disappearance of so many men on the frontlines along with the careful spread of misinformation had easily tricked Maochengshi into believing their soldiers were being brutally tortured, never seen again once taken by Sakai. The truth however was that many Maoren ended up becoming footsoldiers and even officers for Sakai. Due to generally low cohesion and poorer standard of living amidst the Maoren populace, Empress Hikari and Sakai were able to turn ~84% of prisoners of war by keeping them in better living conditions than their natural home and generally treating them well. While not easy, the stark juxtaposition between Maoren word and Sakaijin actions created a distrust for the Maoren state while humanizing Sakaijin. Sakai was able to swing battle back into their favor, using the steady boost in manpower and intel to pressure the Sakaino-Maoren line back.

In late 1949, after increasing intensity in battle and deep presses into Maoren territory, Sakai and Empress Hikari began shifting their focus toward espionage. Maochengshi had set up an especially complicated defense barrier around the city-state, more powerful than any other’s. Anticipating the empress’s ability to teleport, this seal proved greatly problematic when coupled with the outer defense walls. The flow of intel from turncoats was useful, but dispelling the barrier was a close guarded secret of high-ranked officers, devout loyalists to the Maoren state. Empress Hikari spent much of 1950 searching for exceptional soldiers of all backgrounds among Sakai’s ranks to create a special forces team for the infiltration of Maochengshi, who responded in kind. The next three years, from 1951-1954, were a lull in the battle between Sakai and Maochengshi, who had since been locked in a stalemate, but a hotbed of subterfuge beneath the surface. During this three year span, Empress Hikari — in her casual approach to relations — gave birth to her first daughter, named Crown Princess Haruko, the father of whom is unknown. Bastard children being the norm for the royal bloodline, this was not unusual, as marriage would not be introduced until her second daughter. This source of joy filled her with a renewed vigor, which she used to boost morale by portraying herself as a mother to her men.

The war outside of the Sakai area had begun temporarily cooling down, with most immediate neighbors stalemated or capitulated. With no current solutions to Maochengshi’s defense and the network of spies only able to find partial information on the barrier’s flaws, Sakai drafted Sourisian and Volkovian weaponologists to create a counter. Thus began the construction of 16 barrier-piercing warheads that would come to be known as the Rods of Damnation, hybrids between curse and nuclear ballistic missile that threatened to crack the Maoren barrier and damage some of the infrastructure within Maochengshi. The top secret construction began in a distant no man’s land for a large missile base, complete with a silo to house each Rod. This project, being such a precarious stage to set, slowly siphoned manpower from the frontlines outside Maochengshi to guard the missile silos. The Maoren spy network in collaboration with the generals of the Maoren military noticed the reduced effort, and were able to triangulate the launch site. Having shifted attention, forces from both armies were shunted from the frontline at Maochengshi to the Rods’ launch base. Maochengshi was unfortunately able to rout the Sakaino army from the base using their slight edge in numbers and hold the various engineers hostage. The Maoren now held the Rods of Damnation, one of Empress Hikari’s deepest regrets. The upside of this was that, while housed in what became Maoren territory, the encrypted launch codes were in the heart of Sakai.

With the armed forces split between two fronts and the Rods progressing with new specifications under Maochengshi, morale waned, leading to increases in casualties and discharges. The decreased manpower, the composite make up of forces, and the somewhat lax laws on defection culminated in the final Sakaino losses of the war. The Maoren spy network had managed to obtain one of the launch codes from a recaptured defector and, on July 29th of 1956, launched Rod #5 at Sakai. Sakai’s barrier was much weaker than Maochengshi’s due to not anticipating an assault and the Rods’ redesign increasing the delivered payload. As a result of these factors, Rod #5 punctured through the barrier rather than detonating on impact. The barrier instead had the unintended effect of trapping the explosion inside, making it far more lethal. After the initial three stages of the explosion had mostly leveled the city, all that the fallout touched was subjected to approximately 5Gs of force due to the cursing element, causing further death and destruction. While a select few including Empress Hikari and Crown Princess Haruko were able to flee the city in time, the prior breakdown in command prevented the warning from coming soon enough to save the population of Sakai.

Between the loss of manpower, materiel, and morale following the destruction of their home, the remaining Sakaijin either surrendered or deserted, both later rounded up and executed by Maochengshi militias. Having rebuilt since their exiting the war, volunteer forces from across the empire defended the empress and princess as a government-in-exile.

In January of 1958, during a raid on Sourisian soil, Crown Princess Haruko was kidnapped and held for ransom as a surrender condition by Maochengshi. After a botched retrieval attempt, Haruko’s captors killed the child. This sent Empress Hikari into a blind rage. After teleporting herself to the edge of the barrier around Maochengshi, she spend twelve days killing all the opposition she could strike at, eventually temporarily subduing the Maoren militia by fear alone. She then spent another three days attempting to brute force her way through the defensive shield around the city. On the dawn of the fourth day of her barehanded assault, the barrier formed a crack large enough for her to slip through before eventually resealing itself. Empress Hikari went directly to the Maoren palace and confronted Queen Li Hue herself. After a brief dialogue between the two, Empress Hikari grabbed Queen Li by the neck and decapitated her. Afterwards, Hikari collapsed from overexertion and exhaustion and was carried back to Fort Souris. In 1959, after the last of the Maoren military was defeated, Maochengshi signed an unconditional surrender under its traumatized new queen, the young Chen Yang Hue.

In the wake of multiple decades of war, the empire had finally found some semblance of peace. By herself for the first few days, soon accompanied by more and more volunteers, Empress Hikari began the slow process of clearing debris and decontaminating the land that Sakai once stood on, as well as burying what few bodies there were to be found. These people would pioneer the Sakai reconstruction project that eventually became an official workforce for the future nation. This started with the royal palace, then the military academy, infrastructure, and so on. While perhaps the largest construction crew ever utilized, the ghost city it built in the name of resurrection still had no native population. Free housing was offered to all those who participated in the job, on the grounds that they live and work in the city state. With such a large workforce and appealing offer, Sakai had been restored to a state similar to before its destruction by 1977, in the span of approximately 18 years.

Contemporary Yomese History
On 1973 on April Fool’s Day, the Crown Princess Amaterasu was unexpectedly born to Empress Hikari at Honolulu International Airport after having spent a short time on a diplomatic leave. Not wanting to take for granted the gift of her daughter, the empress reassigned many offensive military positions and campaigns to more defensive roles to prevent a repeat of the events surrounding her first daughter. This meant less involvement in intervention and more of an inward approach, towards things like social issues surrounding class and gender disparity, technological advancement for the consumer markets, and encouraging open forum through the democratic process.

With less drive for war and blue collar jobs, many veterans of foreign armies found themselves introduced to a relatively defanged world in the 70s. While they still held some sway as ideals of power, gone were the needs for the brutish, indomitable foot soldier men and ruthless, amoral tactician women. An unfamiliar and leveling playing field in both class and gender, the late 70s and early 80s instead saw the rise of salarymen and office ladies. Kashimura had formerly been a hub of bureaucracy, but Sakai would not so easily be able to reestablish such a reputation without its former smooth-talking kitsune populous. Strict reforms were put in place dictating office behavior to prevent sexual harassment, abuses of power, and fair pay. While a majority of demons slowly acclimated to this new way of life, some found the percieved flouting of tradition disagreeable. A partial quell came in the form of conversion of military factories to civilian, rebranding staples of the war as the layman’s status symbol. However, those unable to properly integrate into the office lifestyle would end up emigrating, turning to crime, or simply living homeless — as a feral animal for some demons. Reintegration centers would be opened in 1986 to help these disenfranchised demons, with moderate success. While not able to eliminate crime or homelessness entirely, these veteran support centers would later come to serve as aid for all homeless, as well as rehabilitation for criminals.

While primarily a needing white collar workforce, the easier-to-fill skilled labor jobs in Sakai had to be accounted for with the slowing of the military industrial complex. This became the birth of many popular goods and brands in Sakai with the conversion to civilian industry. Notable examples include big names like the Akuma aviation engine company becoming the Akuma sportscar line, the Mitsudomoe brand of aviation engines diversifying into multiple vehicle and appliance types, and Fujiyama telecommunications venturing into circuit boards for consumer goods as a technology company. Explosives companies also started branches of mining, both as vertical integration and to make up for lost revenue in weapons. The sharp increase in quantity and quality lead to a sharp increase in the economic standing of Sakai, which has since plateaued.

Currently, as of 2012, Sakai remains wealthy and militarily powerful, with its current objectives focused on scientific research into computer science and magic, deployment of demons on missions into the human realm, and peacekeeping within the empire. Despite this, Sakai and the royal estate are still sporadically populated by extremist rallies internally as well as external pressure from hostile subject countries, Maochengshi still the most vocal among the opposition. Otherwise, Sakai remains on a friendly basis with most of its subjects.

Geography

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The land area of Sakai is approximately 56,371 square miles (146,001 square kilometers) of land considered within the country’s limits in a roughly circular pattern, though like many Yomese states, the border of actual owned territory spans far out into the less habitable area surrounding the city-state until it meets the border of another nation. Also like other nations of the empire, this wasteland area is not generally counted and therefor unmeasured, though the coastlines adjacent to bodies of liquids are counted. Sakai therefor has 328.520 miles (528.702 kilometers) of saltwater coastline, 106.895 miles (172.031 kilometers) of lava coastline, and 39.332 miles (63.300 kilometers) of acid coastline.

Sakai on a map is most defined by its long mountain range running from the West border into the North and part of the Northeast. A valley runs through the Northwest through these mountains to create a natural entrance to the city’s outermost reaches. Away from the mountain range, the terrain levels out, giving way to the flatlands common to most of the empire.

Sakai currently uses an unorthodox implementation of the climate regulation magic surrounding the city, using multiple various magic users of different backgrounds. Dating to postwar reconstruction, this has given rise to a less stable climate kept in a tenuous balance by specialists specifically trained for the roles. The turbulent flow of clashing magic creates not just the weather system, but various subclimates whose strengths are slightly altered to simulate seasonal change.

The division of the mountains to the North are the Shiraki mountain range. Home primarily to the coniferous haimatsu — or ash pine — trees, the range is perennially colored white. The entire area is near or below freezing in temperature year-round, with only the warmest days melting enough snow to show the forest floor. This is one of the two areas in Sakai known for its high amounts of precipitation: at its greatest height, the snow can measure as much as 102 inches (259 centimeters) deep. Because of the cold, trees and the odd berry plant are the only forms of naturally occurring life in this area. Some wildlife from the human realm was introduced, reportedly to fill out the area and help seed germination. This comes in the form of rodents and small birds that feed on the berries and pine cones. As one approaches the limit of this clime, other trees adapted to slightly warmer temperatures may be seen.

In the Northwest between the Setsuri and Shiraki mountain rages is the Mayoi forest, a temperate valley thick with fog and covered in gargantuan trees. The only exception to this is the single road cutting through it, which has better lighting and clarity. Wildlife in this area is generally what bleeds over from the surrounding climes, though it is still generally considered dangerous to venture into these woods. The mix of trees grow incredibly tall with a dense canopy, causing the area of the forest floor to appear twilit even during daytime. Combined with the constant fog reducing visibility, it is advised one stays on or near the road at all times, as emergency rescues in the deeper woods are almost impossible. The rare instances without fog are during summer storms producing enough wind to remove the fog or abnormally cold winters freezing the fog in rime.

The division of the mountains to the West are the Setsuri mountain range. This area of the mountains is bathed in high temperature and humidity, creating frequent rains and densely packed vegetation. This rainforest-like area extends slightly farther South than the mountain range itself, and has no name. While the flora is more dense, the canopy is not as obstructive as the Mayoi forest since many bushes and grasses exist between the towering trees. Though many of these plants may be edible or bear fruit, it is not advised to ingest any without first consulting a guide on any potential side effects. The larger amount of ground vegetation allows for a larger variance in wildlife, like insects, larger birds, tentacles, and some amphibians and reptiles. What this area is more notably known for however is its large cave system in the mountains. These caves have been expanded upon by various mining companies for their ores — particularly the substance known as “black diamond” — creating a complex mineshaft system beneath the surface. Due to the power of black diamonds, special clearance must be given for any individuals entering the cave system. Another facet of the heat, humidity, and frequent rainfall of this area is that sections closer to the city have been cleared for farmland. The space has created a blue-collar community of miners and farmers to the West, like a small village within the city.

In the Southern lands of Sakai, as the air and humidity decrease from the jungle-like conditions, the rainforest recedes into normal woodlands interspersed throughout what is mostly open plains. The climate of the plains is temperate, with moderate temperatures and and less extreme weather patterns. Here, many types of flowers can be observed blooming in the springtime in pleasant weather conditions. Aside from the threat of lightning during a severe storm, these empty plains are a primarily safe area. It is advised to check academy calendars when available or heed signs in the area though, as small portions of the land are sometimes marked for military exercises. This large swath of rolling plains covers the Southwest and spans well into the Southeast.

The Eastern lands of Sakai would be a continuation of the Southern plains, but are cut off by a bluff known as the Odayaka Cliff or Calm High Cliff. Beyond the bluff in the Northern direction is a series of wet flatlands that descend from the cliff. The weather in the East is incredibly stable, though the frequent light rains and small plantlife leave the ground constantly muddy and undesirable for most. Some small bamboo groves can be found amid the grasses until this land meets with the icier clime of the North.

Government & Politics

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The government of Sakai holds a unique position in the Yomese Empire as both a nation and the capital of the empire. Because of this, its national government is integrated with its imperial government, while its civic government has comparably reduced power with respect to that of other civic governments of the empire. Citizens are governed by all three levels of government, with imperial outranking national, and national in turn outranking civic. The celestial bureaucracy — the governance of the religion as dictated by the gods — outranks all three, but rarely takes part in the affairs of demons.

As an absolute monarchy, members of the royal family as well as some closely associated agencies and individuals are not beholden to any form of law in the empire, but may pass or vicariously attempt to pass laws themselves. Laws created and passed directly this way are known formally as “decrees”, as they are merely spoken into existence and recorded and specified at a later date if necessary. These are usually imperial-level legislature. Laws created by the national government — in this case, the government without the aid of the empress — are called “bills”, as they are formulated and go through due process beforehand. These are almost explicitly laws that apply to the nation as a whole. At the lowest level of official legislature in Sakai exists “petitions”, named for their public input. Petitions can be started either as a bill-like document created by the civic government or as an actual petition drafted by the population. While these can have national-level effects like bills, they are also capable of having local effects on scales as small as neighborhoods or unions. In all three cases, the laws must be signed off on by the empress herself if they affect more than 0.5% of the population. In the event of conflicting laws, precedent is given to the law from the higher government, or if from the same level of government, given to the newer overriding law unless vetoed by a higher level. Likewise, higher powers can also veto vetoes if necessary.

In the realm of Sakaino and Yomese politics, parties are typically centered around ideals for the future not beholden to typical political spectra, in that traditionally liberal values are conservative from the viewpoint of the current government, and the old traditions that were abandoned are now considered radical in thought, being more likened to the definition of “liberal” in the general sense. Sakaino democracy supports tiered popularity in voting, primarily lead by two parties with several smaller parties in play. While it is not devoid of corruption, it is generally considered clean due to the fact that corrupt officials are handled by the imperial family personally.

Division of Governmental Powers
Having spent much time in the United States, power on all levels of government is separated into three distinct roles, as with many other countries.

• Legislative power is held on the imperial level by the empress, any advisors she may take on, and any authors that may be involved in formalizing the act. This power extends to close relations, but can be checked by the empress. On both the imperial and national level, Sakai has a bicameral government in which the empress also enacts her role as Queen of Sakai specifically. This is a quality unique to Sakai. On the civic level, a mayor is elected by the Sakaijin who may then take on their own advisors.

• Executive power is held solely on the imperial level by the imperial family. With the title of Empress of Yomi comes the title of Commandant of the Militias — sometimes expressed as Shogun of the Militias or “Dai Gensui” — wherein the empress holds the foremost command of all armed forces of the empire. The Imperial Army, Imperial Navy, and Imperial Air Force were made with the intention of acting as a cohesive front against the Celestial Plane should the time come or when acting in tandem with human governments, but primarily play a peacekeeping role in modernity. Beneath the imperial militias would be the Sakaino-specific militias, but because the imperial and national levels are so closely tied, the same personnel oftentimes simply swap uniforms. The civic level of government has its own police force that ranks lower than the militias, but has militarized units for extreme situations.

• Judicial power is also held supremely by the empress, but because her duties seldom permit actually attending court proceedings, these powers can be deferred to the Supreme Court of the Empire, which doubles as the Supreme Court of Divine Judgement. This court features eight Tail Yamas and one Chief Yama, a role that is filled by a ninth individual while the empress is busy. The empress passes judgement on many souls exclusively by herself, but lesser cases may be passed on to these yama to expedite the flow of the dead. Inversely, the Supreme Court takes on high profile legal cases, with only a select few demanding the attention of the imperial family. Because imperial cases are few and far between, this court also handles national legal cases or cases elevated from the civic levels. The civic government has multiple courthouses covering no more than three layers of subdivision, with any one case requiring either one or three judges.

The lower house of the government of Sakai and the Yomese Empire is known as the Earthly Body. The Earthly Body on the imperial level is a council of representatives elected by the population to represent the interests of the common demon. Three representatives are elected from every nation, who must come to an agreement and cast a singular vote as a unit on a given issue. On the national level, the council of the Earthly Body is instead only the three members elected by the people of Sakai. Members of the Earthly Body serve five year terms, specified as “called upon by the people during years divisible by five”, and can serve up to four full terms, though this is not often the case. Though not specifically tied to the Earthly Body, the title of Mayor of Sakai has also come to fall in line with these regulations, often becoming one of the members.

The upper house of Sakai and the Yomese Empire is known as the Heavenly Body. The Heavenly Body on the imperial level is a council of high-ranking officials appointed by the heads of state from each nation. These members are meant to represent the will of the government and nobility, and are often self-appointed. Only one member may join the Heavenly Body, making the ratio a consistent 1:3 with the Earthly Body. On the national level, the Heavenly Body member is appointed by the Queen of Sakai, the empress, and as such is currently the empress herself. This role is an unlimited appointment, lasting until a new member is chosen.

The leader of the capital of the empire is always to be the empress by decree, and as such, the title of Queen of Sakai is intrinsically tied to Empress of the Yomese Empire. The role of empress is also an unlimited appointment, a occupation passed down by matrilineal primogeniture. While it has happened that one rules for their entire life, most cases have the previous empress abdicate the throne once they feel they’ve sufficiently set themselves up to reap maximum benefits with none of the responsibility or once they feel their inheritor has been primed for the position.

Territorial Subdivision
The city-state of Sakai is formally separated into four distinct quarters — concentric ring-like areas of the city divided by status and economics, roughly described as “purpose” by many. There are four major subdivisions, each named for its approximate level of population density.

• Aristocratic Quarter: The centermost area of the city is land set aside for the housing of nobility in Sakai, mostly open fields and small hills by area. While there was once nobility besides members of the imperial family, noble power has become concentrated into the seat of the empress. The land is instead used for the complex of the Imperial Palace, a mansion set aside for the previous empress, the Hall of Succession, the Imperial Gardens, and other properties. Between this and the next quarter is a large brick wall surrounded intermittently with guards. Commoners may visit if they obtain a visitor’s permit and enter through the main gate to the South, though the places the imperial family frequent and much of their home is off limits to tourists for safety reasons.

• Urban Quarter: This is the first ring within the city, consisting of large skyscraper towers and heavily trafficked roads. This area is mostly commercial in usage with some of the high rises being more expensive apartment buildings. The most noteworthy businesses and institutions operate within this quarter, such as high-end boutiques, the empire’s leading hospital, and the imperial military academy. When attracting business, this is generally the part of Sakai tourists come to see besides the Aristocratic Quarter. At the very edge of the outside of this ring is a thin secondary ring of abandoned buildings that are unsafe for living in. These are ruins of the city prior to the Great Kitsu-Neko War that survived the bombing that have been cleared of debris, but not rebuilt. These are common places that Sakai’s small homeless population reside, as the nation feels no need to forcibly remove them from such an area. Empress Amaterasu and Sakai are currently working on solutions to restoring these buildings without displacing any populations, and in the meantime strongly advise avoiding these structurally unsound areas.

• Suburban Quarter: The second ring of the city is lower density land full of smaller businesses, family homes, and domestic streets. A few exceptions are the occasional factories and warehouses that employ the residents. These homes begin densely packed, separated only by a small yard and brick fence towards the innermost area, and begin to spread out as they near the next quarter. Because Sakaino suburbs are primarily focused on housing and small business, only chain businesses tend to penetrate the area with any efficiency. On the outer rim of the ring, homes begin to have large yards and can afford the space for rancher-style homes before blending almost seamlessly with the next quarter.

• Rural Quarter: The third ring and last quarter of the city is home to the producers of the capital. Out in this area are large land holdings primarily for grain production, both privately and corporately owned. The most common sight is the rice paddy, though wheat and corn are also popular as necessities that can be more easily produced. While high traffic roads such as mining roads and highway roads to and from the city are paved, asphalt may give way to gravel and dirt in these low traffic areas. Though this land is sparsely populated, the closer knit communities and open space mean there is more room for cultural celebrations, like Bon Odori and other matsuri festivals. Beyond the fields and lesser townships is a moment of open space, marking the end of city-controlled territory. Once the wildlife takes the terrain, it officially becomes national lands, described above.

Outside of the scope of the city and the wilderness surrounding it is a large swath of wasteland. Military installations appear periodically throughout this wasteland which belong to Sakai as a country, but not as a city. The heads of these installations act as pseudo-mayors in an administrative capacity, but the bases do not legally count as cities independent from Sakai.

Citizenship in Sakai can be granted to an individual through multiple methods. If an individual whose age is at least 20% of their species’s natural lifespan has legally resided at a permanent residence for at least 5 years and passed a naturalization exam consisting of basic maths, history, and politics, they may apply for citizenship in Sakai. Alternately, if a person is born within Sakaino territory and has at least one parent who is a legal citizen of the nation, they are granted citizenship at birth. In both cases, exclaves of the nation such as military bases and embassies are not included. Beyond this, citizenship may be granted by decrees or bills, generally as an award in exceptional circumstances.

Foreign Relations
The Imperial Capital has well established relations with many different foreign polities, including subjects of the Empire, human countries, the Celestial Plane, and limited contact with other religions. It is home to key governmental buildings of the empire as well as multiple embassies outside city limits belonging to subject states. Due to Sakai’s status as capital, it is deeply invested in the affairs of other nations of the Yomese Empire. Sakai, both as a nation and in an imperial capacity, recognizes the limited sovereignty of anarchist communities that reside in the wastelands, though not the sovereignty of bandit groups.

Sakai maintains a special status as a member of the Triumvirate, as well as a member of the Great Ten, the Zodiac Association, and the Association of Classical Demons. Sakai does its best to find common ground with all of its subjects, though relations with Maochengshi have not made a recovery since the previous war. Sakai’s closest ally, Tanamura, has a special relationship with the country and the Empire, as Sakai still upholds the promise of letting Tanamura serve as the treasury in return for increased military defense. It also is currently investigating Volkovgorod on their quality of life under suspicion of possible rights violations and corruption of the lower and middle levels of government, which has slightly eroded the relationship between the two, and is in the process of questioning the validity of megalopolises such as the Greater Yorkshire Metropolitan Area.

A limited number of human heads of state have been made aware of Sakai’s existence due to its interference in human wars in the 1930s and 1940s. Though they have been informed demons and magic are real, this is mostly the extent of human knowledge of Sakai. Key figures on the list of individuals are primarily, but not limited to:

• The President of the United States of America

• The Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

• The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

• The President of the Federal Republic of Germany

• The President of the French Republic

• The President of the Republic of India

• The President of the Republic of China

• The President of the Republic of Korea

• The Emperor of the State of Japan

• The Prime Minister of the State of Japan

Most of these relationships are formal, dating back to previously recorded interactions between Sakaijin, but some are personal, such as the acquaintanceship between the former Empress of the Yomese Empire and the Queen of the United Kingdom. There is a limited trade utility with these relationships, in which Sakai will import cultural goods in return for manufacture of products at lower prices. In such cases, the “Made in” signifier will be changed to that of a human country when products are exported to humanity.

Sakai and the Celestial Plane are in an awkward state of affairs politically due primarily to matters of religion. Both maintain quite amicable relations with each other, with a few from the most recent generations of Sakaino royalty being raised by Mother Amaterasu herself as well as the citizens of Sakai worshipping the gods of the Celestial Plane, but both realms being required to be prepared to destroy each other at a moment’s notice in the event of a holy war. It is possible for one realm to reach the other with the use of special, high-level spatial magic, but for the most part, demons and celestials never meet. There is also that matter that, though demons are not wont for prayer, they do worship the gods in a limited capacity through churches, temples, and shrines.

There exists a revived relationship between Sakai and one of the forgotten realms associated with Yomi. Formerly located in its own realm, Higan was consolidated into Yomi and is now working with the Yomese Imperial government in the processing of souls. The connection between the two was lost over time as Yomese leaders passed due to Higan being a timeless pure land, eventually causing the Higan Courthouse of Paradise to operate independent of Yomi. The connection was remade after a review of old documents, leading to diplomatic missions to the courthouse and the lands it presided over. The largest of these lands ended up being an enclave of the last modern instance of classical yōkai, located in Aokigahara in the modern day Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan.

Although not in any formal relationship, Sakai has also been made aware of and sent diplomats to a civilization on the Moon. Though the mission was received well, the Moon God, Tsukuyomi, wished for the two societies to stay separate, as the Moon is also considered a pure land.

Military
The highest ranking position in the Sakaino militias is that of the Empress, whose rank is beyond any known human rank, but is speculated to be equivalent to an 8-Star rank. This is due to the position not just entailing administration of all the militias of Sakai, but of all other militias in the Yomese Empire as well. Similarly, the branches of Sakai’s militia are jointly run by the leaders of the branches of the empire’s militia. In both cases, these administrative positions are run by members of the imperial family.

The militia of Sakai is divided into four official branches, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Special Operations Force. The combined personnel of all four branches is reported to be 1.2 million employees, not including contractors and paramilitary forces nor the personnel of other countries in the empire. Military service is voluntary, but may be compulsory in times of war via a nationwide draft. The largest source of recruitment is the exclusive Hinode Military Academy, but many adults also join for the sake of payment or patriotism. The Sakaino government maintains the fourth largest military behind New Yorkshire, Maochengshi, and Volkovgorod, and ranks third in military spending behind New Yorkshire and Fort Souris.

The largest group of Sakaino military personnel are located in or near the city, but the majority are stationed in bases strategically scattered throughout the wasteland. They are part of Sakai’s forward deployment in a peacekeeping effort, aiding the local populations of allies when needed as well as deploying against insurgent or revolutionary forces when need be. Because it is impossible to deploy satellites in the realm of Yomi, the various branches deploy their own communication towers for high speed communications between units. Since soldiers and communication towers are stationed in both Sakai and other nations’ territories, they also serve as a secondary information network and an early warning system, being able to quickly relay information back to the capital.

The Imperial Army is run by Elder Prince Kaku at the rank of Field General as one of his many jobs. The doctrine of the Army can be described as related to “shock & awe”, as the Field General’s stated goals with the Army were to create soldiers that were predatory in nature and immortal in stature. Despite the openly hostile and threatening phrasing of this plan, it materializes in the form of near constant training of all enlisted individuals and the use of his highness’s status as Surgeon General to bolster the medical corps and overall health of the Army. This is also combined with the Elder Prince’s encouragement of fearlessness as a method of unit control and intimidation. The constant training together, shared mindset, and high morale has created a high level of cohesion among units, as well as the more tangible effect of increased overall strength. The surplus strength allows soldiers a greater carrying capacity, sometimes allowing them to carry higher caliber weaponry. When not preoccupied with other aspects of his life, the prince can sometimes be seen training and leading these units personally in border skirmishes and base activities.

The Imperial Navy is run by Young Prince Ōku as the Fleet Admiral as one of his many jobs. The Fleet Admiral’s ideal navy is akin to a floating fortress, an impenetrable defensive line of torpedoes and artillery to protect Sakai. The Young Prince has self-reportedly stated that his focus on defense and counteroffensives is care for his soldiers, but also the understanding that naval vessels are costly and not easy to replace. The Imperial Navy does not engage in battle as frequently as the other branches, and so has shown a less cohesive mix of inveterate soldiers and younger sailors who have not been tested in battle yet. Prince Ōku has since tried to routinely put the Navy through various combat exercises to recreate the environments sailors may be asked to work under in wartime, also performing frequent base and ship inspections to maintain a standard of quality. In addition to its normal complement of ships, the Imperial Navy home to two experimental divisions involving the use of tsukumogami rites and magic. The first experimental division is the Revival Division. The Revival Division is focused on rebirthing old human warships as tsukumogami by reconstructing the wrecks and imparting demonic energy into them. In doing so, the ships can be refloated as many times as needed. The list of proverbial ghost ships includes many famous ships, such as the DKM Bismark, the NKG Musashi, and the USS Enterprise. Research and production is ongoing, though many of these ships currently serve more historical and educational purposes. The second experimental division is the Haze Division. The Haze Division explored the possibility of creating tsukumogami out of new, cutting edge ships. Though they were successfully turned into demons, the project result was deemed too dangerous and was cancelled. The small flotilla is kept under surveillance at an imperial naval base and may only be used as a last resort.

The Imperial Air Force is run by Crown Princess Mayu as the Sky Marshal as one of her many jobs. Her highness is a highly tactical individual who expects the finest soldiers to have perfect loyalty in combat and training. The Sky Marshal’s bar for entry requires individuals be able to follow orders exactly with high skill and efficiency as part of her strategies to minimize losses and maximize damage inflicted to the opponent. The air force also prioritizes minimizing loss of vehicles and materiel to optimize money spent, since it currently uses primarily 5^th and 6^th generation aircraft. The Imperial Air Force also currently employs drones for combat training, but is looking into their combat capabilities for bloodless air support and dog fighting. As part of joint operations with the Army, the Crown Princess also trains soldiers to become snipers, a talent she picked up with her grandmother. The top-rated individuals may end up joining the Foresight Marksmen Unit, a recently founded unit personally trained by the Sky Marshal. FMU members attempt to train their ability to forecast enemy movement at high speeds, allowing them to learn the Crown Princess’s personal skill of shooting aircraft out of the air using high-powered rifles. Currently, no members of the FMU have been able to achieve this feat.

Economy

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The nation of Sakai is one of the largest economic powerhouses of the Yomese Empire, benefitting from both being the capital and from the personal wealth of the royal family tied to the national and imperial funds. It is known best for being the leader in education and magic, with strong advancement in technology and innovation. Sakaijin are also beneficiaries of this this economic success, earning above the empire’s average income. Overall, Sakai is the second most powerful individual country economically in the empire, behind Tanamura.

The Yomese Imperial Tomi (YET) is the currency used throughout the Yomese Empire, backed by the empire’s economy, military, and treasure reserves. Sakai trades with multiple nations within the empire to supplement its own needs, major partners being Tanamura, Fort Souris, and New Yorkshire among others. It also has free trade agreements with most of these partners and openly cooperates with them in an economic bloc. In an imperial capacity, Sakai also serves as an economic throughway for trade between the Yomese Empire and the human realm. In return for technological aid, the empire receives cultural imports such as its connection to the global internet through the Japan-US Cable Network station in Makaha, Hawai’i.

The economy of Sakai is primarily post-industrial, but still maintains industrial niches like agriculture and mining. Empress Amaterasu has also admitted much to her embarrassment that she pours large sums of capital into construction in the wake of damages caused by her children, sometimes contracting time-manipulating individuals to expedite the repair process.

Demographics

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Population
The most recent census information on the inhabitants of Sakai record a population of 68,235,419 with a margin of error being ±20,000. The total fertility rate across Sakai as of 2012 is calculated to be 3.29, a demographic trend indicating net growth. The population of Sakai is diverse, with at least eight statistically significant species. The largest populace is formed by the Yorkshire-Canidans, demons who are genetically at least 50% inugami by birth. The next largest demographic is Maoren, demons who are at least 50% bakeneko or nekomata by birth. The third largest populace is the Tanamuran population, demons who are at least 50% tanuki by birth.

Language
All permanent residents of Sakai are required to speak Japanese, the official national language. Kanto Japanese is the most common form spoken and is exclusively taught, though the large Tanamuran population has introduced Kansai Japanese. The de facto lingua franca of Sakai is English — particularly the New Yankee dialect, a mixture of American English and Japanese, and Doggerbank English to a lesser extent, a mix of Commonwealth English and Japanese. Other commonly spoken languages are dialects of German and Volchiy Russian, though both are vastly less prominent than Japanese and English. Mao Mandarin is spoken by the Maoren population, but further population studies have shown it is almost exclusively within the household.

The most widely taught languages in Sakai are Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Korean. Other popular languages include Italian, Mandarin, Polish, Vietnamese, Dutch, and Imperial Sign Language.

Religion
Sakai is by its inception a Shinto state with an obligate 100% of the population following Shintoism. However, though religion is a requirement for demons, a secular lifestyle has lead to a rise in non-practicing believers. In 2010, census data indicated that 38% of demons self-reported that they prayed less than once a week, and 63% admitted to only visiting shrines for special occasions such as holidays.

Religion in Sakai and the Yomese Empire is Shinto at its root, but has diversified into numerous branches and sects based over time. The disunity of Shinto in the empire lead to the creation of State Shintoism — unrelated to Japanese State Shintoism — a single and generalized form of Shintoism that adherents across cultures can agree upon. Scholarly surveys from 2011 indicate State Shintoism is the largest sect, followed by Solitheism, Orthodox Soliveranity, Bidaoism, Nocmatkaism, Couperism, and various other sects. The most prominent sites of worship are shrines, but recent efforts within the past decade have seen the conversion of some of them into more church-like structures in accordance with their culture and sect.

Culture & Society

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Though Sakaino society is still largely Japanese, it also is influenced by many outside cultures due to most of its population largely having immigrated from other nations of the empire. Modern Sakaino culture functions as a blend of its primarily Japanese history mixed with some Western schools of thought as a direct result of the intermingling of its constituent species. Less than 1% of the population is native Sakaijin, which is to say only the royal family and its few relatives are the only kitsune, Shinonome or otherwise.

Sakaijin are characterized by their focus on justice, formal mentality, more liberal ideology, and metropolitan lifestyle. Many believe in the heightened status and prestige of the Capital, regarding it as a bastion of liberty, equality, opportunity, and stability. This has created a positive feedback loop in its reputation, as institutions invest in Sakaino property to associate with its status, and Sakai in turn receives a more positive image due to it housing multiple well-regarded institutions. Sakaijin are largely seen as rating highly in tolerance, following a social creed of non-interference and acceptance. The belief in the nation’s benevolence and superiority has become a unifying factor, creating a homogeneity that would otherwise take much longer to develop among its diverse populace.

Literature
Much of the earliest surviving Kashimuran literature prior to the cultural revolution brought on by modernization is comprised of poetic anthologies on the topics of eroticism and hedonism, as was wont for the elite class. Scholars debate what percentage is fiction and what percentage is autobiographical due to the adult nature of old kitsune heritage, but many agree the purpose of these works beyond record and entertainment were to advertise the growing city’s adult tourism industry. One influential work, The Art of Seduction, has been confirmed to be an instructional guide of kitsune espionage tactics of the era, and would later go on to form the basis for college-level courses in manipulation. An unnamed anthology of stories is hypothesized to serve a similar purpose, outlining the weaknesses of other species as a sort of makeshift catalog.

Though simple works of adult nature remained prominent through the following centuries, a noticeable trend arose in the late 1100s after the death of the Dark God Yami and the Demon Lord Ninetails. More somber and serious works came in a time of political instability. Because of the general difference in tone by author, refined works of romance, political intrigue, and the joys of life became known as onnamonogatari (lit. “woman stories”), while the more guttural works of war, revenge, and the gravity of loss became known as otokomonogatari (lit. “man stories”). These genres continued well past the events of the 1100s into the modern era, where they merged with Japanese demographic terminology to become “shoujo/seijo” and “shounen/seinen” respectively.

After the Yomese Empire began reconnaissance on the world, Kashimura became aware of many more possibilities in writing. The 20^th Century introduced serialized fiction to Kashimura as well as the Western style of story progression among other things. Novels became an especially popular form of writing for entertainment while multi-chapter textbooks replaced biographies as a primary source of information. With an influx of foreign education, one of the most noteworthy books of the era was an official government-backed bestiary chronicling the many species of demons within the Yomese Empire. While not strictly literature, a cultural phenomenon that swept the nation was the replacement of old deal-brokering methods with paper contracts. As an administrative state, Kashimurans had become specialized in the art of the deal, law and legislature becoming a key component of Kashimuran culture. The early 1900s also saw the first waves of Kashimuran manga shortly after the introduction of the novel, distinct from other art styles in that it focused heavily on youthful traits and more child-friendly storylines. In its earliest form, Kashimuran manga were developed as instructional books, but the design methodology and format was used with novel stories to create the version of manga that is currently popular. Today, Sakaino manga are made for all age demographics, but focus heavily on the pubescent and young adult age ranges with stories similar to human manga.

Visual & 3-Dimensional Artwork
Of the limited number of prewar art pieces that survived, one of the most notably well kept are the paintings in the Hall of Ancestry. Stored in a Tanamuran bank for safekeeping during the war, a multitude of portraits displaying every ruler since the Lady Ninetails not only trace a direct lineage from founding to modern day, but also demonstrate the evolution of art styles in portraiture spanning centuries. The earliest piece depicts an emakimono painting of Ninetails posed for battle, reminiscent, but distinct from a similar piece in The Wandering Artist’s Bestiary. However, this image only dates back to somewhere between the late 1000s and the mid-1100s, centuries after early writings.

In the late 12^th Century, Kashimuran artists shifted from interpretive art stylings to realism, most notably an appreciation for their human forms. The duller natural pigments gave way to newer, more expensive colors for the sake of accuracy and vibrancy. Bold color exploded in popularity as a sign of indulgence, something celebrated culturally. The contrast provided by these brighter colors were also a necessity for realism in the paintings due to proper shading and highlighting. Going into the 13^th Century, the art of statue making allowed for incredibly realistic pieces to be commissioned, further spreading realism as an art style. Stone carving was the most prominent medium due to its availability, but metal casting was more sought after by the upper class. Following the death of Lady Ninetails, it became a funerary custom to have a golden statue made of the passed ruler depicting the height of their reign. The increase in skilled stone carvers for art caused a new market for masonry, allowing for sturdier and less flammable buildings. The original stylings of the original Oni Island castle inspired architecture throughout the nation. The traditional wooden homes were not replaced, but stone and brick also allowed the construction of taller multilevel pagoda-style buildings.

In the centuries following, a progressively less brutal reign adopted more artistic techniques. Bold colors were still the style of choice for most artwork, but monochrome stylings were introduced as a way to produce simpler art pieces. The most popular colors were black and red due to the easy procurement of those inks. These were usually meant for reflective exercises at the mastery level, or simply for practice for beginners as a method of preserving the more costly colored pigments. In the 15^th Century, realism in painting adopted methods for painting depth of field, greatly enhancing works. The standard accented portraits became entire landscape paintings and scenery. Nature depictions were especially popular with the recent readmittance of demonkind into the human realm. As works became grander, they started using larger and larger canvases. They eventually gave rise to painted folded screens, which became a mainstay furniture piece.

While gold was eventually phased out for all but aristocracy, gardening became the new craze of the upper class. Ornamental gardening developed into three distinct styles named after the Greensprout techniques. These styles are easily differentiated by a number of factors, but most easily by the size and scope of the garden. The smallest Saki-style was attainable for even commoners and came at approximately the size of a few hundred square feet ー 25Ft² at the smallest. Hasu-style was generally larger, as it often included a body of water stocked with koi and possibly some trees or other larger flora. Tsuta-style gardens were also attainable for commoners on the low end due to their signature feature being their verticality, but the most true-to-form Tsuta-style gardens included terraforming entire plots of land to create certain desirable viewpoints. Gardening as a whole has declined due to its use of space and resources, but they remain popular and ubiquitous attractions in Sakai today.

Woodblock printing existed in Kashimura as early as the 11^th Century in a purely utilitarian form, primarily to spread literature quickly and conveniently. It was not particularly popular outside of well-established writing since a new set of carvings had to be made every time a new work was published, and it only worked in a single color. However, in the mid-1600s, Kashimura rediscovered printing press technology that allowed multiple colors to be pressed. The rise in the woodblock stamping method took off, launching an interest in artwork with heavy outlines and sharp edges. Popular art pieces suddenly became widely available and quickly replicable. Conveniently, misprints without color could also be sold as a precursor to coloring books or pages, popular among children. The ease of publication caused realism to wane as older 2-Dimensional styles reemerged, fitting well with the woodblock presswork. This method of artwork would also later resurface in the early 1900s.

In the mid and late 1800s, the Yomese Empire began experimenting with Western influences. Though it could not match the speed of traditional flat art, realism made a return as a sign of upper class taste due to its scarcity. Western schools of art vastly improved the quality of realism with techniques like pointillism and mediums like oil paint. Though it was not yet popular, photography was also being experimented with at this stage. Expanding techniques also opened a new medium for painting, ceramic and lacquerware. Objects like vases and sake bottles had simple color gradients and tones to make them pleasing to look at, though their draw came in the form of shape and ornamentation. Once Western ceramic painting was introduced, ceramics like porcelain became a much more celebrated art form. Most vases, bottles, and china were given floral decorations while dolls were redesigned to use porcelain and paint for a cuter appearance.

The 1890s and 1900s brought about the age of photography, relegating art to a leisure activity rather than necessary for publications, but art remained popular, especially with the advent of manga in Kashimura. Classic woodblock printing had a renaissance with manga due to its simple black and white line printing paired with simpler, easy to draw characters. By now, the printing press allowed pages of manga to easily be mass produced. Because simple shapes were easier to produce than realistic figures, cute mascots with exaggerated features were often the subject of early 1900s manga. The mascot look ended up having a broad appeal, and became the basis for the artistic trend known as moe. Broadly speaking, moe has not changed drastically since its inception, using neotenous traits such as large eyes and small bodies to give characters a childish and innocent appearance. Despite being relegated to children and female genres currently, moe previously played an all-audiences cultural role akin to Disney’s and Fleischer’s rubber hose animation that would appear later in the 1950s. As Kashimuran art developed into Kashimuran animation, techniques from the human realm and advancements in artistic talent allowed for some realism to be brought back to entertainment art and allowed for the separation of styles. Moe evolved into the modern shoujo style with its rounder youthful appearances while the more realistic art lent itself to the sharper action-oriented shounen style. In the late 60s, anime became popular during the postwar reconstruction with messages of hope and exploration, and mainstream quickly after. However, there is debate on the validity of postwar art in Sakai due to the radical population shift. Some argue that modern manga and anime are actually the product of other countries and should not be counted. Despite its different origin, manga and anime in Sakai and the empire currently show very little difference from Japanese manga and anime, even though original Kashimuran mangaka no longer exist.

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