The Spirit Land
Overview: Located at the southern end of the vast Asian continent, lies a land known variously as the Spirit Land, the Great Jungle and the birthplace of Shintoism…the Kingdom of Japan. This beautiful land is home to a famous race of hardy seafaring warrior scholars – masters of the art of archery, scholarly pursuits and living in harmony with nature. A land of great bountiful jungles, beautiful sparkling serpentine rivers, gentle meandering hills, mythical spirits of nature and harboring one of the oldest civilizations of man.
Population: 13.6 Million
GNP: 354 Million Yen (Japanese Currency)
Crop Yield: 315 Million Hectares
Manufactured Goods: 172 Million Tons
The Capital: The capital of this small but powerful kingdom is the fabled city of Kyoto – one of the oldest cities in the world. Settled at the southern edge of the Shinto river, near the coast of the Bay of Japan, the city is one of the primary trade centers in the south of Asia and one of the largest cities in the continent. The first thing that a traveler notices, when nearing the harbor of the city, is not the city itself, but the majestic pyramid-shaped structure that floats near the coast and climbs towards the heavens – the Chichen Itza – a city in itself, devoted to the ideal of Shinto – the principal religion of the land. A Medieval Wonder of the World, this combined with the impressive Great Library, the largest and most ancient collection of books and scrolls in the entire known world, immediately alerts the traveler to the greatness and past grandeur of this ancient city. The surroundings are filled with sprawling farms, banana & sugarcane plantations, trading posts, as well as a vast university complex on the other bank of the Shinto river, in addition to a massive foundry complex on the nearby hill. Overall, the Japanese Kingdom has a total of 11 large cities and numerous towns and villages.
Geography: The Japanese mainland, which is the southern part of the vast Asian continent, is filled with huge jungles, rivers and a few large mountain ranges, as well as scattered grasslands and hills. There were also a few swampy areas which have long since been converted to productive farmlands. The islands are mostly hilly grasslands and jungles/forests, though the cities in the Australian continent also encompass large areas of desert.
Geographic Extent: In total, this kingdom stretches from the coast of the Sea of Japan in the east to the Bay of Siam in the west and also occupies the southern islands of Kagoshima, Nagoya, Nara, Shimonoseki and Izumo as well as a few coastal areas of the vast isolated southern Australian continent – a total area of more than 2,500,000 square kilometers.
Resources: While rich in luxury resources, the Japanese have always faced a critical shortage of iron and aluminium, though other strategic resources like coal and oil are available in limited quantities.
Trade: The primary exports of Japan are dairy products, bananas, incense, ivory and fish though gems, cotton, whales and sugarcane are also found in great abundance and are traded internally.
Wars: During the early years of the Japanese civilization, they were always at war with the various aggressive barbarian cultures occupying the jungles and hills in the area. The advent of bows and spears allowed them to beat back the unending waves of barbarian attacks and eventually wipe out all the barbarian settlements. After a brief war against the far away Ottomans, the Japanese were mostly at peace for most of their history. However, they have periodically fought several wars with their immediate neighbor to the northwest, the aggressive and warlike Siamese and have also occasionally put down several indigenous barbarian uprisings on the various islands in the Sea of Japan, as well as eliminated all the indigenous native tribes of the large Australian continent (rifles & cannons vs muskets & clubs). As a result, their northwestern borders still contain a huge unbroken string of large forts, including a massive star fort built by the legendary war hero Shoto Simoneki, all manned by a large amount of well entrenched soldiers, supported by several artillery divisions, squadrons of Zero aircrafts and a full division of armour. Despite their relatively small navy, their submarine squadrons are considered a formidable threat by most of their neighbouring countries, despite their far larger and modern navies. Surrounded by powerful India to their north, the country of Japan is relatively isolated and safe from the real super powers of the world, which are mostly located far away. Of course the Japanese army is far outnumbered by the massive Indian army, but as of now they are still mostly at peace. Although nuclear weapons have now been introduced into the volatile mix, and the Siamese capital lies testament to the new destructive face of this new mode of warfare! But that is a story for another day...