A Brief History of Joukagoku

Beginning of Time-- In order to establish a home for herself while she plots to destroy the Snake of the Sea, Ascendant-From-The-Ocean commands the water to lower itself, creating a country she called the Land of Heights and Depths.

1-- Niman, demigod king of the Yellow Plain, lays out piles of silver, wheat, bone, copper, meat, rice, and salt upon the earth and fakes the disbanding of his army. Lured by the wealth of the plains and by his opponent's apparent weakness, King Wolf of the Mountains led his greedy soldiers into the trap and were defeated. Upon that site, Niman crowned himself Emperor of the Land of Heights and Depths and built a palace, housing a throne dedicated to the sparrow who told him of the plan.

230-- Niren, descendant of Niman, finishes conquering the Main Land.

290s-410s-- First flourishing of Joukan culture. The Right Histories and the Right Divinations are written, and bronzework artistry reaches its peak.

436-- Contact with a group of people who called themselves the Southlanders, despite technically being from Joukagoku's north.

461-- First of the Southlander Invasions. Repelled by the technically weaker but numerically and logistically superior Joukan navy.

469-- Second of the Southlander Invasions. Succeeds in gaining a foothold in Urushima, but is forced to abandon the city within a year due to supply issues caused by the retaliatory siege.

471-- Third of the Southlander Invasions. Finally, the Southlanders succeed in defeating both the Joukan navy and establishing a permanent presence on the Main Land. Emperor Madoro elects to submit-- trading the cost of continued warfare for limited independence, his family's continued position, and maintaining the racial purity of the imperial and noble families. The bloodied Southlanders agree.

480s-690s-- Southlander culture and Joukan culture undergo a limited degree of blending.

693-- Riots in Urushima when the son of a Southlander noble kidnaps the daughter of a Joukan noble. They spread to other Eastern cities before being quelled by militias.

711-- Emperor Nagai changes his reign-name to "Autonomy" and begins to undermine Southland rule. The Southlanders, fighting invasions from their north, are unable to spare any attention.

715-- The Southland Court's "Height Envoy" is exiled.

716-- Final Southlander Invasion. Using iron weaponry and larger ships imported from Southland, the Joukans repel the Southlanders once and for all.

730s-990s-- Second flourishing of Joukan culture. The Prince of the Grove is published, a native form of theater develops, silver coinage takes limited effect, and Median Animism develops as an organized religion.

1044-- A succession crisis results in a fake court being established in Kouyama. The War of the Pheasants begins.

1082-- The War of the Pheasants ends with the final defeat of the opposition emperor. However, Empress Jouno is forced to give power concessions to the vassals who assisted her, including the right to maintain standing armies under their personal control.

1293-- The powerful Matsuda family rebels and trounces the Imperial army. The Warring States period begins.

1293-1602-- The war waxes and wanes as the clan armies repeatedly prove themselves incapable of or unwilling to hold power over any area much larger than their original fiefs. The imperials, desperate for an advantage, reopen trade with the Southlanders. Using horses and imported grain, the imperial army slowly expanded out of its power base in Sanyakyo, breaking the stalemate by collecting allies in the form of disgruntled or opportunistic lords.

1600s-2090s-- Third flourishing of Joukan culture. The Cult of Imperial Longevity forms and adjoins itself to Median Animism, claming that the imperial family's unbroken line of succession is guarded by powerful gods selected by Ascendant-from-the-Ocean Herself. Trade with Southland is again forbidden. Opera becomes a popular pasttime. The Three Classics of Literature-- The Tale of the Golden Hull, Lady Haruno of the Reposing Court, and A Jar of Myrrh-- are penned.

2079-- Discovery of Nanzo. Rokugan is founded on the site of the first-found natural harbor. The Utani family, the nautically-inclined minor house that funded the expedition, was granted dominion over the the immediate vicinity of Rokugan and exclusive trading rights with the Eren, or Nanzo as they would come to be called. Contact with the Eren leads to a new religion, the Path of the Stone Pearl, slowly being adopted as a minority religion in southern and western Joukagoku.

2091-- The Cult of Imperial Longevity, having become a permanent fixture in Sanyakyo, gets in a spat with the attendents of the influential Higashirou family. The teenaged emperor Niwa slays the head of the family for a manufactured impertinence, sparking a bloody coup attempt by the poor man's son and palace soldiers who were disgruntled by the attention lavished on the cult. The Maruiya family, in the name of protecting the emperor but secretly seeking more power, drives the rebel soldiers from the capital, sparking the Touwa War.

2100-- The Maruiya themselves are expelled from Sanyakyo after a plot to poison Niwa is discovered.

2126-- The Imperial forces defeat the Higashirou and their allies, absorbing their lands and elevating loyal families to replace the deposed.

2225-- The Battle of Youzan ends with the Amaguro army switching sides mid-battle to support the Maruiya coalition.

2230-- The head of the Maruiya family dies of a supposed sudden illness, and Amaguro Sennosuke takes control of the alliance.

2233-- The Amaguro army wins the decisive battle of Kigawa, eliminating the imperial army as a cogent force. Sanyakyo is burnt to the ground, the imperial family slaughtered. Amaguro Sennosuke changes his family's name to Kamijou (上浄), declares it the new imperial family, uproots the Sparrow Throne, transplants it to a new palace in the newly christened Hokukyo, and sets his reign-name to "Resplendent Peace".

2250s-2360s-- Fourth flourishing of Joukan culture. Town populations rise due to advances in farming combined with the peace. The influx of silver from Nanzo makes it more prevalent than ever.

2298-- The center of Nanzo is conquered by the Utani and power-hungry minor lords from both Nanzo and the Main Land, but further invasion is rendered impossible by the area's harsh and remote climate.

2328-- The head of the Ginga family is raised to the position of daimyo.

2403-- War of the Three Claimants begins.

2419-- Kamijou Tenrou dies in battle, paving the way for Yaitabashi Raiya's assumption as the head of the western daimyo. Utani Nobuhisa calls a meeting with Ginga Jiemon to decide the fate of Nanzo.