At the very least the HRE should be afforded an electoral vote sooner rather than later.
Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
At the very least the Kingdoms and Noble Houses should see any form of election system to keep them in line and more from autonomous rebellions and such.
I guess that at least some will take after the Japanese political system in terms of its ease and brazenness in allocating and confiscating fiefs and the stone-faced puppetisation of the emperor, if not from the history of its fiefs' independence from taxation.
That said - the stronger presence of Protestantism within the empire had put cold water on consolidating the legitimacy of the entire thing around the Catholic Hapsburg monarch, however.
The Netherlands is now a stadholderate republic within the HRE, there’s no Dutch kingdom. Also has larger borders than OTL, as they have Antwerp for example. now
I’ll try and fit England/Scotland somewhere in a future update.
Yeah, I noticed the inclusion of Antwerp, a port worth its weight in gold.
Just a small thought - a big reason why the current OTL Dutch culture and language is the way it is is because more than half of Brabant (including the biggest city there, Antwerp) remained in Spanish hands, and the country culturally pivoted more towards the Holland region. With Antwerp in Dutch hands, sure it's a great economic and cultural boon (though the merchants of Amsterdam would be pissed at the domestic competition), but how do the Netherlands cope with having a greater Catholic population, a stronger south and possibly stronger Brabantine culture?
Not to mention how the Dutch would cope being a part of the HRE...
Not to mention how the Dutch would cope being a part of the HRE...
They did have it but it was made so in discreet ways iirc, so no ornate Churches and stuff
I might be wrong but the Netherlands is now 40%+ Catholic if not higher with the inclusion of central Brabant including Antwerp as well as the sliver of northern Flanders including Bruges (crucially tho not Ghent), so yeah it’s gonna be complicated.
Chapter 69: Azuchi’s Recovery Agenda and Foreign Policy in the 1640s
Chapter 69: Azuchi’s Recovery Agenda and Foreign Policy in the 1640s
After the implementation of most of the Kanei reforms, Nobutomo would focus on the recovery process from the two wars that despite expanding the realm’s borders and eliminating Azuchi’s internal enemies also sapped Japan of manpower and finances. The unassumingly precarious state of the realm would be further weakened by the occurrence of the Kanei Great Famine [1] in the early 1640s. The wartime destruction of patches of the countryside in the Kanto and Oshu regions and the province of Mikawa province reduced agricultural productivity, setting up these regions for future famine. What would break the dam were a series of geological and weather events, including the eruption of the Ezo Komagatake (蝦夷駒ヶ岳) and abnormal bouts of drought. The home islands as a whole would suffer, especially the Kanto and Oshu regions. The resulting famine would see a surge of migrants flooding into urban centers like Yonezawa (米沢) and waves of peasant rebellions break out. Many of these rebellions also involved unemployed ronin and ashigaru left displaced from the Furuwatari War. The Chinjufu and Western shoguns, Date Tadamune and Tokugawa Tadayasu, would support local daimyo in suppressing these rebellions in their new capacities.
In the meantime, Nobutomo would begin subsidizing the development and in many cases redevelopment of the Japanese East using Azuchi’s vast revenue from the daimyo and overseas trade. These subsidies went towards not only rebuilding devastated villages and structures and expanding old and new farmland but also towards funding new public works, particularly dams and dikes that could redirect floods and better use rivers for irrigating rice and other crops. This subsidized aid aimed not only at recovery but also long-term economic and political integration with the more prosperous, trade-centric west, as Azuchi’s financial support of the Oshu and Kanto regions planted the seeds for local industry in the countryside, particularly cash crops and handicrafts. Nobutomo’s subsidization agenda during this time also altered the relationship between the Oda clan and the various lords and daimyo throughout Japan, particularly in the recently rebellious regions, and assuaged many of the fears of the latter after the political centralization achieved by Nobutomo’s Kanei Reforms. The success of subsidization would lead to its greater implementation across the realm in select situations.
Because of Azuchi’s focused investment in the Oshu and Kanto countryside, certain technological advancements in agriculture would proliferate there faster than it would with the west. This included both the Archimedes screw pump and the windmill. The former had been introduced in 1618 and would spread to different places through the 1630s to address persistent flooding and drain wetlands to convert to rice paddies, with it being used specifically in Sado’s gold mines to drain water from the underground tunnels. This technology would begin to proliferate even more as the expertise required to incorporate the pumps for various purposes, which mostly was with Azuchi, spread with the subsidization and support provided to the Oshu and Kanto regions. The latter, on the other hand, was an innovation present only in Satsuma province at the beginning of the 1640s. The Dutch, who always had a close relationship with the Shimazu clan from the port of Kagoshima, gifted him the construction of a tower mill for Shimazu Norihisa. This technology would gain the attention of Azuchi as Norihisa would brag about the “gift” during one of his mandated stays in Azuchi. From there, enough interest came about that Nobutomo would receive assistance from the Dutch in helping build windmills. The first tower mills outside of Satsuma in Japan would be built in Musashi province on the Kanto plain, the perfect landscape for such technology. These mills interestingly were not used for the farmers’ primary crop of rice but rather would be used to grind both grains like barley and buckwheat and other crops like soybeans, all of which played a larger role in the diet of the average peasant. Japanese tower mills specifically would be a game changer for buckwheat and soybeans, and gradually windmills and not water wheels would be favored for their milling.
In the meantime, Nobutomo would begin subsidizing the development and in many cases redevelopment of the Japanese East using Azuchi’s vast revenue from the daimyo and overseas trade. These subsidies went towards not only rebuilding devastated villages and structures and expanding old and new farmland but also towards funding new public works, particularly dams and dikes that could redirect floods and better use rivers for irrigating rice and other crops. This subsidized aid aimed not only at recovery but also long-term economic and political integration with the more prosperous, trade-centric west, as Azuchi’s financial support of the Oshu and Kanto regions planted the seeds for local industry in the countryside, particularly cash crops and handicrafts. Nobutomo’s subsidization agenda during this time also altered the relationship between the Oda clan and the various lords and daimyo throughout Japan, particularly in the recently rebellious regions, and assuaged many of the fears of the latter after the political centralization achieved by Nobutomo’s Kanei Reforms. The success of subsidization would lead to its greater implementation across the realm in select situations.
Because of Azuchi’s focused investment in the Oshu and Kanto countryside, certain technological advancements in agriculture would proliferate there faster than it would with the west. This included both the Archimedes screw pump and the windmill. The former had been introduced in 1618 and would spread to different places through the 1630s to address persistent flooding and drain wetlands to convert to rice paddies, with it being used specifically in Sado’s gold mines to drain water from the underground tunnels. This technology would begin to proliferate even more as the expertise required to incorporate the pumps for various purposes, which mostly was with Azuchi, spread with the subsidization and support provided to the Oshu and Kanto regions. The latter, on the other hand, was an innovation present only in Satsuma province at the beginning of the 1640s. The Dutch, who always had a close relationship with the Shimazu clan from the port of Kagoshima, gifted him the construction of a tower mill for Shimazu Norihisa. This technology would gain the attention of Azuchi as Norihisa would brag about the “gift” during one of his mandated stays in Azuchi. From there, enough interest came about that Nobutomo would receive assistance from the Dutch in helping build windmills. The first tower mills outside of Satsuma in Japan would be built in Musashi province on the Kanto plain, the perfect landscape for such technology. These mills interestingly were not used for the farmers’ primary crop of rice but rather would be used to grind both grains like barley and buckwheat and other crops like soybeans, all of which played a larger role in the diet of the average peasant. Japanese tower mills specifically would be a game changer for buckwheat and soybeans, and gradually windmills and not water wheels would be favored for their milling.
Depiction of the Sado gold mines around 1637, with the far right demonstrating the usage of Archimedean screw pumps
On foreign policy, Nobutomo would also prioritize peace over confrontation for the time being. Upon the accession of the Hongguang Emperor in 1641, he would send a delegation to Beijing and renew the realm’s tributary relationship with Ming China which would do much to ease the tension built up by temporary Japanese control over the flow of European goods into the Middle Kingdom. To the south, the daijo-daijin would take advantage of Spain’s ongoing strife to extend the Treaty of Gapan and the truce for another 10 years in late 1643, although Japan would only take 5% of the Manila-Acapulco trade revenue after renegotiations occurred. Azuchi, however, would rebuff Spanish diplomatic overtures to handicap the Portuguese in Japan in their favor. Trade relations with France would gradually become realized as well, with the Company of the Moluccas superseded by the French East India Company in 1642 [2] and its operations expanded beyond Pondicherry and Middle Eastern waters to Japan.
Beyond the east, the Kanei Embassy had sparked interest among the Mughals and Ottomans, rulers of vast empires with varying degrees of diplomatic and economic relations with European powers Japan interacted with like the French and Portuguese. Japanese merchants themselves had begun to build a small but steady presence on the eastern coast of the Indian subcontinent, presenting promising economic prospects to its badshah Shah Jahan. Meanwhile, the Ottomans saw common ground with Azuchi as they had both fought the Spanish and Portuguese in the past while also maintaining friendly relations with the French and the various sultanates in Southeast Asia. The latter fact would springboard the Japanese embassy to Constantinople in 1641, headed once again by the daijo-daijin’s brother Tomoaki and partially facilitated by the French. This embassy would see Tomoaki sail through the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea before arriving in Cairo where he spent a week. From there, the embassy would travel to the Ottoman capital from Alexandria via the Mediterranean Sea where much like he did before in Paris Tomoaki rode at the front of the embassy’s procession before greeting Ibrahim, the Ottoman padishah. Tomoaki would stay for a few months exploring the sights of the world’s largest city and making a few excursions to its surroundings including Galata, home to a permanent French embassy while also overseeing the signing of a tentative treaty of friendship and exploring other diplomatic opportunities. However, not much else would be accomplished and ultimately the embassy would to one extent be yet another opportunity for the French and Japanese to communicate as it became clear that the Ottomans and Japanese actually didn’t share many overlapping objectives and interests. During his time in Constantinople, Tomoaki would receive a letter from his old friend Louis of Conde, now a rising general in the French army. Tomoaki would write back, expressing hope that they would be able to meet in person sometime in the future, although unfortunately this opportunity would never arise.
The Japanese embassy to Agra of 1643 proved to be more fruitful than expected. This embassy was led by Kajuuji Tsunehiro (勧修寺経広) and Ikeda Nobutora and was composed of a large number of Japanese merchants, including Tenjiku Tokubei (天竺徳兵衛), a veteran merchant in Indian Ocean waters who had recently published a popular account of his travels in the Tenjiku Tokai Monogatari (天竺渡海物語). In fact, he had even been given an audience with Nobutomo, and it is speculated by modern-day historians that Tokubei had been the one to recommend the Agra embassy to the daijo-daijin. The embassy’s land journey to Agra was filled with exotic sights and displays of the empire’s wealth and prosperity, although in his journal Yasubee would express his dislike for the subcontinent’s caste system. The 1644 embassy, like the previous ones to Europe and Constantinople, was greeted cordially by the ruler. Unlike previous diplomatic missions, however, the Japanese embassy to Agra would have personal interactions frequently with the badshah himself. A great patron of architecture, Shah Jahan would lead tours of many of his projects in Agra, Delhi, and Lahore, from the Naulakha Pavilion to the Taj Mahal. The Mughal badshah along with grand vizier Sa’adullah Khan would also oversee preliminary trade negotiations as well as the signing of a formal declaration of friendship between the Mughals and the Japanese. Upon the return of the embassy in 1645, the glowing reports of Tsunehiro, Nobutora, and Yasubee as well as letters penned by Shah Jahan himself to both Emperor Tensho and Oda Nobutomo that in 1647 Azuchi would initiate the process of permanent embassies between Japan and the Mughals, Japan’s only such interaction aside from its tributary embassy in Beijing established in 1642.
Shah Jahan, the Mughal badshah (left), and Ibrahim, the Ottoman padishah (right)
The success of the 1641 and 1644 embassies to Agra and Constantinople respectively would over time also lead to greater relations between Japan and the various sultanates of Southeast Asia, particularly the Aceh and Maguindanao sultanates. Additionally, the 1644 Mughal-Japanese diplomatic breakthrough would lead to greater trade relations between the Indian subcontinent and the Japanese realm and within a few decades markets would see the exchange of otters furs from the far north for spices like saffron and tamarind. In this way along with many others, Azuchi’s policies in the 1640s under the direction of daijo-daijin Oda Nobutomo forged new connections and laid the currents for the realm’s economic and mercantile development through the rest of the 17th century.
[1]: Differences to OTL are that western Japan is better off and the Oshu and Kanto regions are worse off.
[2]: The Compagnie d’Orient was formed in 1642, with it being succeeded by OTL’s French East India Company in 1664 and having a less Indo-centric scope compared to OTL.
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I am surprised he not visited Buddhist shrines and mahabodhi Temple.
Will we see influx of Buddhist missionaries and Pilgrims in india? To restore various Buddhist sites and convert lower class?
Will we see influx of Buddhist missionaries and Pilgrims in india? To restore various Buddhist sites and convert lower class?
Great seeing Japan making more friends and diplomatic overtures not only with the French but also in India and with the Ottomans, hopefully they can establish themselves as big trade partners and get themselves a share of Indian pie
The new tradition of Buddhist pilgrimages is still in its infancy. It started after the Iberian-Japanese War. I'll dive into it in a future midcentury religion update.
According to Nichiren Buddhism there was prophesy about returning india within fold of buddhism.
"The Land of the Moon is another name for India, the place where the Buddha made his appearance in the world. The Land of the Sun is another name for Japan. Is there any reason why a sage should not appear here [Japan]?(nichiren here self promoting)
“The moon moves from the west eastward, a sign of how the Buddhism of India spread in an easterly direction. The sun rises in the east, an auspicious sign of how the Buddhism of Japan is destined to return to the Land of the Moon.”
So I was wondering will it motivate nichiren buddhists to restore various sites and take control over them for missionary work?
"The Land of the Moon is another name for India, the place where the Buddha made his appearance in the world. The Land of the Sun is another name for Japan. Is there any reason why a sage should not appear here [Japan]?(nichiren here self promoting)
“The moon moves from the west eastward, a sign of how the Buddhism of India spread in an easterly direction. The sun rises in the east, an auspicious sign of how the Buddhism of Japan is destined to return to the Land of the Moon.”
So I was wondering will it motivate nichiren buddhists to restore various sites and take control over them for missionary work?
Food for thought for sure. Although if this were to happen, Nichiren Buddhism could rapidly rise as an organized religion and then be seen as a threat by the Oda regime.
I think even if Nichiren buddhism try to do so other Buddhist sects try to convert Indian population as well. Because getting their hands on Buddhist sites of such importance will provide great deal legitimacy to any such sects. I do not think various other Japanese sects or even Buddhist sects outside japan willing to accept supremacy of nichiren buddhism or want to give them such authority. I think we will see influx of Buddhist missionaries in India and targeting various lower class, tribals(north east) and merchants while Oda shogunate getting his hand on main Buddhist sites to increase their autonomy among Buddhists. It is similar case how Mughals greatly promote and even protected hajj Pilgrims even if they have hostile attitudes towards ottomans. I think shogun will not allow any Buddhist sect have such authority or legitimacy rather he will similarly like Burmese kings in canon repair mahabodhi and other Buddhist sites to increase his credentials among Japanese laity. I do not think Mughals will stop him from buying and repairing such sites as long they are classified as religious sites. So I think we will see main Buddhist sites under Japanese patronage while sects trying to promote their doctrine in india to increase their legitimacy. I really interested to see how this impact Hinduism and caste system because buddha consided as Avatar of vishnu. How those new movements will impose challenges within dharmic fremework is very interesting topic to me.
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