Happy new year to you too! You're amazing and this story too!
Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
What interests me most about this story apart from the main plot? Maybe a bit biased, but for me the most interesting thing is learning about the fate of Central and Eastern Europe. Will the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth be able to defend its territory and status as a superpower? Will Transylvania finally throw off Ottoman slavery and create an independent Hungarian state with Wallachia?
I am curious about the religious and social developments ¿How has the changes affected Budhism in japan? ¿How is the church of yamato? ¿how has changed the culture? ¿can we know something about the art and/or literature that has developed since the unification? ¿what new philosophys have appeared?
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The changes in Japan have already had a major knock-on in China (the continuation of the Ming Dynasty).
Also in Europe, as I note an entire chapter devoted to European affairs.
And there will be butterflies. IMO, events in Europe and even elsewhere in Asia should be left out of frame as much as possible. If not, that will require the immense labor of constructing full histories of all these regions for another century and a half.
Some areas to explore would be the long-term impact on Japanese culture through this period of extensive overseas quasi-colonial activity. Besides the on-going settlement of the Siberian littoral, Taiwan, and Luzon, ISTM almost certain that Japan will take over Micronesia and very probable that Japanese mariners will dominate the South Pacific. I could see Japanese literature developing a strong current of romantic adventure fiction set in these exotic locales. Also a population of returned adventurers, like the Anglo-Indians of OTL Britain.
Another field of exploration would be the impact on Japanese culture of western imports. In the OTL 1900s, Kurosawa famously adapted Shakespeare's Macbeth into Kumonosu-jō ("Throne of Blood"). ITTL, one might see kabuki playwrights borrowing from European sources (as Shakespeare borrowed from Italian and classical sources). Musicians would be interested in Western instruments. The decorative arts would also be influenced, not the least by Western demand for Japanese products. The 19th century craze for Japanese stuff could be advanced by over a century.
Also in Europe, as I note an entire chapter devoted to European affairs.
And there will be butterflies. IMO, events in Europe and even elsewhere in Asia should be left out of frame as much as possible. If not, that will require the immense labor of constructing full histories of all these regions for another century and a half.
Some areas to explore would be the long-term impact on Japanese culture through this period of extensive overseas quasi-colonial activity. Besides the on-going settlement of the Siberian littoral, Taiwan, and Luzon, ISTM almost certain that Japan will take over Micronesia and very probable that Japanese mariners will dominate the South Pacific. I could see Japanese literature developing a strong current of romantic adventure fiction set in these exotic locales. Also a population of returned adventurers, like the Anglo-Indians of OTL Britain.
Another field of exploration would be the impact on Japanese culture of western imports. In the OTL 1900s, Kurosawa famously adapted Shakespeare's Macbeth into Kumonosu-jō ("Throne of Blood"). ITTL, one might see kabuki playwrights borrowing from European sources (as Shakespeare borrowed from Italian and classical sources). Musicians would be interested in Western instruments. The decorative arts would also be influenced, not the least by Western demand for Japanese products. The 19th century craze for Japanese stuff could be advanced by over a century.
Thank you!!
I think you'll love what's in store shortly then.
Ishiyama Honganji was nerfed permanently because Nobunaga never permitted the reconstruction of the temple, leading to the greater prominence of other sects of Buddhism including other subsects of Jodo Shinshu as well as Yamato Christianity. Oubaku Zen emerges earlier and becomes the predominant Buddhist sect on Bireitou.
The Yamato Church has recovered from the persecution it endured during the Manji War by the koubu kanpaku's policies and is now flowering. I do plan on doing a religion update after the politics of the 1670s are covered, but I will say that a certain new religion previously mentioned will be making its debut in that decade.
I need to draft out the entirety of cultural and societal changes in terms of art and literature but that'll come when we get to the 1680s. What I will say is that because the Oda clan including Nobutomo and Nobuhiro themselves were prominent tea ceremony practitioners that the tea ceremony has an elevated status among the samurai and merchant classes even more so compared to OTL.
Also, Confucianism is significantly less influential ITTL.
The Yamato Church has recovered from the persecution it endured during the Manji War by the koubu kanpaku's policies and is now flowering. I do plan on doing a religion update after the politics of the 1670s are covered, but I will say that a certain new religion previously mentioned will be making its debut in that decade.
I need to draft out the entirety of cultural and societal changes in terms of art and literature but that'll come when we get to the 1680s. What I will say is that because the Oda clan including Nobutomo and Nobuhiro themselves were prominent tea ceremony practitioners that the tea ceremony has an elevated status among the samurai and merchant classes even more so compared to OTL.
Also, Confucianism is significantly less influential ITTL.
Idk I'm kinda up to the challenge. In any case to some extent, talking about Europe is unavoidable considering the fact that Europeans are active in the East, shaping their colonial and mercantile policy, and how Japan could be sought as an ally and participant in European wars due to events that have already taken place in this TL. That being said, I do try to ignore regions barely affected by butterflies to save time, hence why I don't think I've made any big changes to the Mughals.
I haven't really thought about the Pacific archipelagos too much but I could see that happening. Right now, there's no incentive for any Japanese merchants to go there though, lest they either find nothing or get into disputes with the Spanish, but sooner or later these islands are gonna get discovered and Japan being way closer does make a difference in terms of timing...
What you're describing here is near certain to happen at least conceptually. Also the other way around too. Prince Louis of Conde still has the sword Oda Tomoaki gave to him as a parting gift.
Now, I kinda want to speculate on an opera about Joan of Arc's life that — though using western instrumentation and melodies — has a structure inspired by Noh theatre; perhaps, it will be a masked dancer being alone on the stage like the ghosts they are supposed to be while the vocalists are singing down on the orchestra pit alongside the instrumentalists.
This tl going through the 19th century will be very fun! Even though I'e not been commenting much lately (tbf the European stuff is interesting but idk how to respond), this TL will always be very fun for me to read. Even though ppl say a Japan that keeps up with the Europeans is cliche, it isn't something that I've seen handled this well.
As I've said before I hope we see Japan colonise the west coast through the expansion of the fur trade, and make North America more split in terms how many states are present in the region. I think SEA colonisation, especially Chinese colonisation encouraged by Japanese authorities, would be very interesting and plausible if the Japanese go beyond Palawan and start exerting full control in response of the Dutch.
I also hope we see a China that is under a period of separation starting around the 1800s. As I've said before China has been under periods of separation periodically and the empire is due for some instability. The Han ethnicity isn't exactly an ethnicity too, and discrimination against certain groups (like the Hakka by the Cantonese leading to Punti-Hakka wars that killed over a million people) is something that is very much present. The spreading of western and Japanese thought through Japanese trade (Canton being one of the few open cities) would disproportionately affect the southern regions too compared to the northern Chinese plain, and cause friction between the different regions.
Ooh a Transylvanian state that is Dacian/Romanian/Vlachian would be very cool indeed.
The new religion being a mix of Buddhist and Christian thoughts would be a really fun thing to witness, especially if it supercedes other religions at least in the home islands.
A henotheistic religion with a female mother goddess as their object of worship would be very fun (an Amaterasu esque figure with mixed Christian and Buddhist teachings would be very interesting).
Ooh more stuff about tea ceremonies would be cool. A Japanese culture update in general would be cool, with how different things already are, and additional influences from the ainu and Chinese should already be affecting Japanese society.
Considering European enlightenment ideals would have spread to Japan, would Japanese attitudes towards science and religion be more like the Europeans, with science being separate from religion.
I definitely see that Japanese would try to find another way to America if the spanish remain enemies, but with the Philippines being pro Japanese I don't see them try to find other way. I do think as their American possession becomes more and more important to them the Japanese would expand in the Pacific though, since various European powers would expand in those regions and threaten Japanese interests.
I think that's for the best, since a lot of regions won't be affected, and things would still stay relatively normal.
One region I'd love for you to expand upon is Latam. With how the region is connected to the events in the Philippines small differences would be fun to see (admittedly I know next to nothing about Spanish America, but I could see the Spanish reacting from their loss in the Philippines by either allowing Spanish speakers more autonomy or by clamping down harder with different effects on the locals). Also I hope we'd see stuff like Peru fall under a native revolt, which would be very interesting in general.
Katana inspired sabres would be very cool, even if it's mostly the blade profile and silk wrappings that are Japanese-inspired.
I'd love to see some types of European fashion that would have men wear skirts to emulate Japanese fashion. Kilts and and the such being more widespread would be cool.
Thank you!!
Even IOTL, Dutch studies existed and were rejected only on the basis of foreign entanglement rather than religious reasons, and it wasn’t like Japan’s Shinto-Buddhism interfered with the study of sciences in any way. Not to mention the toleration of different Buddhist sects to begin with prevented the consolidation and centralization of a single religious authority from enforcing such controls IOTL. Same goes for ITTL but even more.
I’ll see where it is first lol, I don’t know a whole lot about Spanish America either so I guess that’s more research haha.
You’re onto something for sure.
Katana influences will definitely spread out for sure. As for skirts and kilts, I gotta look into that.
This is a very specific scenario you have and I really dig it.
Chapter 114: Hokushin or Nanshin
Chapter 114: Hokushin or Nanshin
The deaths of Kanbe Tomoyoshi and Sakuma Moritora, among Japan’s most senior and influential leaders, in 1672 marked the end of a brief period of postwar unity in Azuchi. With the oogosho dead and Nobuhiro too weak and ineffective to clamp down on any squabbling or disunity, previously suppressed rivalries and discord returned in full force. Soon, competing visions and economic interests amongst the daimyo lords and even some of the nobility would divide Azuchi into two loose camps by 1673: the Hokushin-ha (北進派) and the Nanshin-ha (南進派). They were named after the different directions each faction wanted to focus on in terms of economic and territorial expansion, north and south respectively.
The Hokushin faction advocated for prioritizing northern expansionist goals, including the continuation of Japan’s support of the Amur Khanate and the incorporation of further lands in the far north, especially northern Sakhalin. Its members also backed further investments and colonializations in Ezo, Karafuto, and Kuroryutsu as well as the expansion of the lucrative fur trade. This didn’t mean that they wanted to ignore opportunities in Southeast Asia and beyond to the realm’s south, though they believed that Azuchi should prioritize establishing dominion and hegemony in the north. To that end, the Hokushin faction was generally pro-Dutch and weren’t particularly interested in shaking up the political status quo in the south, especially if it threatened the fur trade. The faction saw its support base mostly concentrated in northern and eastern Japan, especially among daimyo most engaged with the northern fur trade. It was principally led by Tokugawa Noriyasu, Kaga Nagaaki, and Shimazu Norihisa, whose clan’s pro-Dutch stance brought him towards the Hokushin-ha.
The Nanshin faction, by contrast, viewed the far north as too resource-poor to preoccupy Japan’s mercantile and political interests. Instead, they backed an expanded focus in Southeast Asia through the continued support of Nihonmachi communities and enterprising Japanese merchants throughout that region. Although no territorial goals existed, there were conceptual prospects for Azuchi-run trade factories and even cities much like what the East India Companies were doing. Unlike the Hokushin faction, the Nanshin-ha supported a more heterogeneous, non-preferential foreign policy towards the various European nations operating in the area to keep them all balanced against one another, with some members even beginning to see the VOC as a threat to Azuchi’s interests. As a consequence of their advocacy for a more southerly focus, the Nanshin-ha also supported an ever larger navy in contrast to the Hokushin-ha that backed a larger land military presence in the far northern frontier. This faction was principally led by Tagawa Seikou, Kanbe Tomozane, and Mōri Tsugumoto. Much of the merchant class, especially those based to the west and south of Azuchi, also supported the Nanshin-ha.
The Hokushin faction advocated for prioritizing northern expansionist goals, including the continuation of Japan’s support of the Amur Khanate and the incorporation of further lands in the far north, especially northern Sakhalin. Its members also backed further investments and colonializations in Ezo, Karafuto, and Kuroryutsu as well as the expansion of the lucrative fur trade. This didn’t mean that they wanted to ignore opportunities in Southeast Asia and beyond to the realm’s south, though they believed that Azuchi should prioritize establishing dominion and hegemony in the north. To that end, the Hokushin faction was generally pro-Dutch and weren’t particularly interested in shaking up the political status quo in the south, especially if it threatened the fur trade. The faction saw its support base mostly concentrated in northern and eastern Japan, especially among daimyo most engaged with the northern fur trade. It was principally led by Tokugawa Noriyasu, Kaga Nagaaki, and Shimazu Norihisa, whose clan’s pro-Dutch stance brought him towards the Hokushin-ha.
The Nanshin faction, by contrast, viewed the far north as too resource-poor to preoccupy Japan’s mercantile and political interests. Instead, they backed an expanded focus in Southeast Asia through the continued support of Nihonmachi communities and enterprising Japanese merchants throughout that region. Although no territorial goals existed, there were conceptual prospects for Azuchi-run trade factories and even cities much like what the East India Companies were doing. Unlike the Hokushin faction, the Nanshin-ha supported a more heterogeneous, non-preferential foreign policy towards the various European nations operating in the area to keep them all balanced against one another, with some members even beginning to see the VOC as a threat to Azuchi’s interests. As a consequence of their advocacy for a more southerly focus, the Nanshin-ha also supported an ever larger navy in contrast to the Hokushin-ha that backed a larger land military presence in the far northern frontier. This faction was principally led by Tagawa Seikou, Kanbe Tomozane, and Mōri Tsugumoto. Much of the merchant class, especially those based to the west and south of Azuchi, also supported the Nanshin-ha.
Leaders of the Hokushin-ha and Nanshin-ha, Top (from left to right): Tokugawa Noriyasu, Kaga Nagaaki, Shimazu Norihisa, Bottom (from left to right): Tagawa Seikou, Kanbe Tomozane, Mōri Tsugumoto
The fierce rivalry between the Hokushin-ha and Nanshin-ha would fully rear its head in 1673 when Azuchi’s budget necessitated either more revenue or cuts in expenditures in order to continue Japan’s economic recovery from a decade of conflicts and expand the size and scope of the Japanese navy even further. No one wanted to increase taxes on the daimyo and their peasants at the risk of triggering peasant riots or discontent among the samurai class. Therefore, at a meeting of the Sangi-shu, Tsugumoto proposed downsizing the Japanese military presence in the Amur Khanate, as the late Sakuma Moritora’s earlier campaigns had rebuffed the attacks of Nikifor Chernigovsky and other Russian Cossacks successfully, and the tsardom’s focus was turning elsewhere to events in Europe. He also privately hoped that reducing active Japanese presence in that region would thaw tension between Japan and Joseon, which had persisted even after the Treaty of Shenyang and prevented trade from returning to prewar levels. This was made with immediate opposition by the Hokushin faction, especially from Kaga Nagaaki and Nanbu Shigenobu. They instead pushed for ending customs duties exemptions for Japanese merchants. Ultimately, a narrow 9-8 vote was taken in favor of freeing more funds through a military divestment from the far north. However, Nagaaki immediately appealed to the daijo-daijin in the hopes of him deciding in favor of him and the Hokushin-ha.
Enter Kudō Kanefuyu, Tomozane’s younger brother and one of Nobuhiro’s close aides who would come to play a key role in the government in the coming years. Nestled comfortably in the Nanshin-ha alongside his older sibling, he would use his access and status as a blood member of the greater Oda clan to Nobuhiro to persuade him to heed the decision of the Sangi-shu. As the daijo-daijin’s early education had been run by Konoe Toshishige’s kuge (公家) retainers, Nobuhiro tended to be soft and pacifistic, not fond of the military arts or war in general, and a partial withdraw from the Amur Khanate was therefore an easy sell to him. With that key decision, the Sangi-shu’s vote was upheld and the Japanese military presence in the Amur Khanate was scaled down, being mostly concentrated in the leased port of Kuroryutsu. Extended customs duties exemptions would also continue to allow Japanese merchants to prosper even at the expense of other traders, mostly those associated with the VOC. The Nanshin-ha’s political victory also gave them greater influence and power over the Hokushin-ha and early on decided which side held the advantage in Azuchi.
Portrait of Kudō Kanefuyu
The next few years would only see the decline of the Hokushin-ha’s power. In 1674, Tokugawa Tomoyasu would pass away of sudden illness, pushing Noriyasu to partially withdraw from political affairs in Azuchi as he mourned his son’s death and focused on training his second son, Hiroyasu (徳川熙康), as the new heir. This was followed by the death of the 62 year old Norihisa in 1675, leaving Kaga Nagaaki as the only active leader among the original trio. Norihisa’s seat would then be filled by a staunch member of the Nanshin-ha in Ryuzōji Tomoie, further tilting Azuchi politics in the Nanshin faction’s favor.
With the semi-retirement of Noriyasu and the death of Norihisa, Kaga Nagaaki assumed the leadership of the Hokushin-ha entirely. This quickly added an inter-Oda clan rivalry aspect to the division between the Hokushin and Nanshin factions, Nagaaki and Tomozane representing the cadet branches of the late Oda Nobutomo’s younger brothers Tomoaki and Tomoyoshi respectively. Nobuhiro being a weak leader only served to stir the competition over the de facto leadership of the greater Oda clan, and the two men began scheming against one another more directly. Nagaaki would turn out to be the weaker target, as Tomozane could operate behind the scenes through both his younger brother Kanefuyu and his son, Yoshihiro (神戸吉煕) who often acted as a proxy and representative for his father. The merchant class’ preference for the Nanshin-ha also came in handy whenever bribery became a necessary tool to push factional interests. Nagaaki, by contrast, possessed none of those, his military experience and reputation falling short in the covert arena of politics. He thus found himself at a disadvantage when it came to influencing policy and bureaucratic appointments. This included the filling of another vacancy on the Sangi-shu with the death of Urakusai Nagaie in 1676, where the pro-Tomozane Tarui Tomoyuki (垂井朝之), the governor of Bireigo province, was chosen over the pro-Nagaaki Musashino Toshikatsu of Musashi province.
Family tree of the main line of the Oda clan from Nobunori onwards
The political situation, despite decidedly slanted towards one side, was still a seesaw of intrigue between the Hokushin and Nanshin factions in Azuchi. Even though the Nanshin-ha dominated, many daimyo especially in the Oshu and Kanto regions favored Nagaaki and the Hokushin-ha. By the end of the 1670s, however, one would have total control and the events that would lead to that outcome were about to take place.
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While this rivalry could be be bitter, it shouldn't reach the level of warfare. ISTM that both sides would acknowledge that the other side's interests are of some general value. Nanshin-ha doesn't want to abandon the Amur region to Joseon or Russia; Hokushin-ha doesn't want to scrap the entire navy.
Thank you!!
What you say is true but at the end of the day it’s all about power and with the top rung of the political hierarchy inactive, regional interests and ambitions run more amuck.
Athis point that Joseon is dealing with its own problems and therefore aren’t viable hegemons at least for now, the Ming have fully asserted dominance in their place. More clarity on this though in a few chapters.
I have some issues with this update. I get your trying to create and sow the seeds of a future conflict, but this strikes me being a bit too poorly justified from where it stands, and if this is resolved in one update, I think just too short for what you can get out of it. The names themselves are too reminiscent of Imperial Japan's Hakushin ron and Nanshin ron plans in WW2, to say nothing of they kind of also closely ape them in where they focus, despite the the fact there's a wildly different context.
I get there is modified Japanese feudal system in play, but it's still a system most of the people with a physical interest in competing for localized trade are going to be the feudal lords who have to manage their own domains, with the merchant in their castle towns or rare Japanese city as as close seconds I don't know if you can do factionalism ala China or even Korea, especially if there's no real way for non-feudal bureaucrats to be a thing, or even the same possibilities for court politics that would usually crop up. Because while Japan in theory had a similar model to China and Korea, the predominance of it's feudal system led a divergent evolution no how matter how much you try to centralize it. Don't get me wrong factions could arise all the time in Sengoku era courts of local Daimyo, but unless the Manji War has completely upended the Japanese feudal system and these feudal lords would have no real way to be at court unless their is something akin to Sankin-Kotai. Even then these 'factions' wouldn't be fighting over resources, or 'needing' them, or at least they shouldn't unless the Oda have somehow drastically reduced the ability for Daimyo to develop their own lands, these clans should be the ones taking charge in investing and providing any required resources if they have the resources into their own particular factions interests.
There just doesn't seem enough to make either of these factions a fixture of court politics ala the Bungdang of Korea or some factions of China , to say nothing of the fact you might need more build up than some throwaway update where it's all 'solved.' The Court politics with China and Korea were essentially the by-products of the Emperor/King being an absolute sovereign in theory, and most of their officials and government functionaries being either scholar bureaucrats or people just elevated by the patronage of having married said sovereign as one of their many concubines and possible wives. The political situation of Japan could be three maybe even four tiers of courts with very varying powers across four or so teirs of administration, the Imperial Court in Kyoto, The Daijo-Daijin's Court in Azuchi, the Daimyo who govern their own provinces from their own castles, and the lands of the daimyo's retainers. With Japan's provinces being effectively run by hereditary lords with their own powers, there's no real place for political factions that can dominate the direction of the country or at least ones without the input of those feudal lords and a probable plurality at that. So again, unless the authority of the central government is somehow that strong, there's absolutely nothing that can stop Japanese colonization from the local level outside of either lack of interest or being intimidated by the locals.
I would say your best bet for factions would be a two tiered collaboration, one from the Sangi-shu if they represent the court and other from the Shinka-in if they represent the Daimyo . Otherwise, the make up of these factions seems really odd from those I can parse. The Ryuzoji of Hizen have perhaps one of the best positions for trade in all of Japan if you factor in it's northern possessions and relationship with Amur Jurchens and you have it this 'Southern' faction. The Shimazu who are below them in Satsuma are a part of the 'Northern' faction, despite the fact they have pretty good access to the areas in the South. The Nanbu make sense because of their location with more northern opportunities. The Tokugawa less so, regardless of if the Tokugawa still hold Mikawa, Suruga, and Totomi or if they've have been moved in Kanto for whatever reason their location just isn't good to be a part of 'Northern' faction because Kanto is kind of out of the way, especially if the Tokugawa are somehow in Musashi.
Kanto and Oshu (if you are talking Dewa and Mutsu) are more out of the way end points well past either any northern trade at least for the eastern half of Mutsu and Kanto with the new territories in the north. With the Southern trade were outside of the Seto Inland Sea, Southern Chubu would probably see the vast majority of profits and stops. Now if the Oda had more of a way to trade eastward to the Americas then I could see both regions reaping more direct benefits of foreign even if I do think that would make them a potential faction in their own right. I took a crack at something and it might be crap, also I'm using an 1870's map so ignore the Northeast being weird.
Speaking of what it's named after I think trying to make into an issue with similar concerns to what would be the OTL is coming off as bizarrely anachronistic. For starters the Daijo-Daijin might be able to send orders to whoever raised their forces at his order to go fight to head back to their provinces, but the provinces and colonies are going to have enough autonomy to do their own things. Azuchi's budget should not have to factor in most colonial expenses other than protection, most of that would be handled by the Daimyo, maybe merchant investors if you have such a thing, especially since they wouldn't be picky for one side over the other. To give a Western example up until the Seven Year's War the British rarely did any delegating of the colonies and it's laws, and when it did it only all of them drawn into a large scale war that saw British attention stretched thin. I'm not sure a few years of war justifies such a radical change rarely did you have whole sections of the nation try and collude against one another, and this would require large scale co-ordination among some very distant feudal lords and the backing of the court for it to really come to blows.
However I don't think this idea is bad (the names are just awful but that can be fixed) , it just needs more clarification on the specific factions, more time to go 'cook' than a simple update that states one side has a decisive advantage forever over a period of just three years. Why? Because you can do a lot more with this idea with the proper development to it. For example it could just be a simple convergence of Kanbe Tomozane and Kaga Nagaaki's feuding, a possibly knock on effect of trade embargos deeply impacting much of the Seto Inland Sea oriented Daimyo, and possibly some daimyo looking to engage in some kind of coalition building to make sure they aren't neglected if the Sangi-Shu is infighting and Daijo-Daijin is doing anything about said infighting. Impact you could throw the government into bouts of turmoil solidify the camps, or maybe even make a new one of those dissatisfied with all the infighting. If your are looking for an excuse to do an 'xyz' Imperial Restoration (How much of it is an actual restoration could vary) this could lead to that, or be a nice catalyst if some lords start losing faith in the system.
At the very least name wise, maybe have the Hoku Ikki verses the Nan Ikki, or if you have some clear leadership among the Daimyo, something like the Satcho alliance of Satsuma and Choshu, but with more provinces, or at least the five leading ones from each side.
I get there is modified Japanese feudal system in play, but it's still a system most of the people with a physical interest in competing for localized trade are going to be the feudal lords who have to manage their own domains, with the merchant in their castle towns or rare Japanese city as as close seconds I don't know if you can do factionalism ala China or even Korea, especially if there's no real way for non-feudal bureaucrats to be a thing, or even the same possibilities for court politics that would usually crop up. Because while Japan in theory had a similar model to China and Korea, the predominance of it's feudal system led a divergent evolution no how matter how much you try to centralize it. Don't get me wrong factions could arise all the time in Sengoku era courts of local Daimyo, but unless the Manji War has completely upended the Japanese feudal system and these feudal lords would have no real way to be at court unless their is something akin to Sankin-Kotai. Even then these 'factions' wouldn't be fighting over resources, or 'needing' them, or at least they shouldn't unless the Oda have somehow drastically reduced the ability for Daimyo to develop their own lands, these clans should be the ones taking charge in investing and providing any required resources if they have the resources into their own particular factions interests.
There just doesn't seem enough to make either of these factions a fixture of court politics ala the Bungdang of Korea or some factions of China , to say nothing of the fact you might need more build up than some throwaway update where it's all 'solved.' The Court politics with China and Korea were essentially the by-products of the Emperor/King being an absolute sovereign in theory, and most of their officials and government functionaries being either scholar bureaucrats or people just elevated by the patronage of having married said sovereign as one of their many concubines and possible wives. The political situation of Japan could be three maybe even four tiers of courts with very varying powers across four or so teirs of administration, the Imperial Court in Kyoto, The Daijo-Daijin's Court in Azuchi, the Daimyo who govern their own provinces from their own castles, and the lands of the daimyo's retainers. With Japan's provinces being effectively run by hereditary lords with their own powers, there's no real place for political factions that can dominate the direction of the country or at least ones without the input of those feudal lords and a probable plurality at that. So again, unless the authority of the central government is somehow that strong, there's absolutely nothing that can stop Japanese colonization from the local level outside of either lack of interest or being intimidated by the locals.
I would say your best bet for factions would be a two tiered collaboration, one from the Sangi-shu if they represent the court and other from the Shinka-in if they represent the Daimyo . Otherwise, the make up of these factions seems really odd from those I can parse. The Ryuzoji of Hizen have perhaps one of the best positions for trade in all of Japan if you factor in it's northern possessions and relationship with Amur Jurchens and you have it this 'Southern' faction. The Shimazu who are below them in Satsuma are a part of the 'Northern' faction, despite the fact they have pretty good access to the areas in the South. The Nanbu make sense because of their location with more northern opportunities. The Tokugawa less so, regardless of if the Tokugawa still hold Mikawa, Suruga, and Totomi or if they've have been moved in Kanto for whatever reason their location just isn't good to be a part of 'Northern' faction because Kanto is kind of out of the way, especially if the Tokugawa are somehow in Musashi.
Kanto and Oshu (if you are talking Dewa and Mutsu) are more out of the way end points well past either any northern trade at least for the eastern half of Mutsu and Kanto with the new territories in the north. With the Southern trade were outside of the Seto Inland Sea, Southern Chubu would probably see the vast majority of profits and stops. Now if the Oda had more of a way to trade eastward to the Americas then I could see both regions reaping more direct benefits of foreign even if I do think that would make them a potential faction in their own right. I took a crack at something and it might be crap, also I'm using an 1870's map so ignore the Northeast being weird.
Speaking of what it's named after I think trying to make into an issue with similar concerns to what would be the OTL is coming off as bizarrely anachronistic. For starters the Daijo-Daijin might be able to send orders to whoever raised their forces at his order to go fight to head back to their provinces, but the provinces and colonies are going to have enough autonomy to do their own things. Azuchi's budget should not have to factor in most colonial expenses other than protection, most of that would be handled by the Daimyo, maybe merchant investors if you have such a thing, especially since they wouldn't be picky for one side over the other. To give a Western example up until the Seven Year's War the British rarely did any delegating of the colonies and it's laws, and when it did it only all of them drawn into a large scale war that saw British attention stretched thin. I'm not sure a few years of war justifies such a radical change rarely did you have whole sections of the nation try and collude against one another, and this would require large scale co-ordination among some very distant feudal lords and the backing of the court for it to really come to blows.
However I don't think this idea is bad (the names are just awful but that can be fixed) , it just needs more clarification on the specific factions, more time to go 'cook' than a simple update that states one side has a decisive advantage forever over a period of just three years. Why? Because you can do a lot more with this idea with the proper development to it. For example it could just be a simple convergence of Kanbe Tomozane and Kaga Nagaaki's feuding, a possibly knock on effect of trade embargos deeply impacting much of the Seto Inland Sea oriented Daimyo, and possibly some daimyo looking to engage in some kind of coalition building to make sure they aren't neglected if the Sangi-Shu is infighting and Daijo-Daijin is doing anything about said infighting. Impact you could throw the government into bouts of turmoil solidify the camps, or maybe even make a new one of those dissatisfied with all the infighting. If your are looking for an excuse to do an 'xyz' Imperial Restoration (How much of it is an actual restoration could vary) this could lead to that, or be a nice catalyst if some lords start losing faith in the system.
At the very least name wise, maybe have the Hoku Ikki verses the Nan Ikki, or if you have some clear leadership among the Daimyo, something like the Satcho alliance of Satsuma and Choshu, but with more provinces, or at least the five leading ones from each side.
There is a sankin-kotai equivalent ITTL and that serves to allow the Sangi-shu to be able to meet. The Shinka-in also exists of course but it's only called up on major decisions like going to war and stuff like that, its existence as a powerful institution is not here yet. As for when the members are absent from Azuchi, proxies are occassionally sent in their place, typically a son or chief vassal. This is especially the case with someone like Kanbe Tomozane who lives far away and whose affairs in Azuchi are often managed by his son Yoshihiro.
The precedent for Azuchi being able to directly levy taxes on the daimyo's lands was established during the Iberian-Japanese War and the subsequent centralization of Japan has given an incentive to remain involved at the minimum to prevent the raising of new land taxes on them. On top of that, the continual trade expansionism and the wealth Japan has gained as a result keeps daimyo interested in ensuring that whatever trade does reach them is incentivized in a way that benefits them.
The precedent for Azuchi being able to directly levy taxes on the daimyo's lands was established during the Iberian-Japanese War and the subsequent centralization of Japan has given an incentive to remain involved at the minimum to prevent the raising of new land taxes on them. On top of that, the continual trade expansionism and the wealth Japan has gained as a result keeps daimyo interested in ensuring that whatever trade does reach them is incentivized in a way that benefits them.
Just to clarify, the political factions and their strength are driven by support among daimyo. And what you're stating here all exist as the internal domestic policies on the provincial level are determined by the lords.
Shimazu Norihisa was part of the Hokushin faction largely because of the clan's traditional ties with the Dutch, and generally the Hokushin-ha leans more pro-Dutch. The Tokugawa lean that away because of personal ties with Kaga Nagaaki, as are some of the Oshu and Kanto daimyo. Because of the context of Oda Tomoaki being Nagaaki's father and Nagaaki being a counterpart of Sakuma Moritora, there is some sense of connection from those regions to Nagaaki. If Moritora was still alive, he would undoubtedly be leading the Hokushin-ha.
I honestly might partially rewrite the most previous update to make things more clear. As you may see, I have a pretty frequent posting schedule so maybe it might to slow down a bit while also managing life stuff lol. I appreciate the input.
I will say that the closest thing to an "imperial restoration" is gonna happen at some point but this story is nowhere near that at this point.
Some have but it's not a widespread trend. However (and this is something I wll get into more detail in a future update), the vibrant colors that defined the Azuchi Momoyama period have carried over so in that sense, Japanese fashion is somewhat divergent from what we saw IOTL.
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frankly I hope the girls wear skirts so they don't need to take half an hour to wear clothes
The kimono is likely to stick around for the foreseeable future.
I can see a halfway compromise where the kimono sticks around, but gets more and more watered down to to keep up with a modernizing Japan. There's a reason why hoop skirts and petticoats aren't a thing anymore either.