Republic of Lamu - Legacy of Japanese colonization of the Horn of Africa

[PolishMagnet]

So basically, I had this idea for the legacy of a Japanese attempt to be a "big boy" colonial power and colonize Africa.

if this is in the wrong forum, please move it

Support for the colony takes a major dive but it remains as a hang-on territory until WW2.

To start off, I constructed a functioning Japanese orthography for Swahili.

Japanese Orthography for Swahili - “Lamuan Standard”

Phoneme	Swahili in “Japanese Orthography”
a i u e o [1]	ア　イ　ウ　エ　オ
j	ヤ・イァ　イィ　ユ・イゥ　イェ　ヨ・イォ　[a]
wa	ワ・ウァ　ウィ　ウ・ウゥ　ウェ　ヲ・ウォ　 [a]
n / ŋ / ɲ [2]	ン・ナ 　ニ　ヌ　ネ　ノ　\[b\]
m	ン・マ　ミ　ム　メ　モ　\[b\]
h / x [2]	ハ　ヒ　フ　ヘ　ホ
b	バ　ビ　ブ　ベ　ボ
p / pʰ [2]	パ　ピ　プ　ペ　ポ
f	ファ 　フィ　フ・フゥ　フェ　フォ　[a]
t / tʰ [2]	タ　チ　ツ　テ　ト　[d]
d	ダ　ヂ　ヅ　デ　ド　[d]
s / θ [2]	サ　シ　ス　セ　ソ　[d]
z / ð [2]	ザ　ジ　ズ　ゼ　ゾ　[d]
ʃ	シャ　シィ　シュ　シェ　ショ　[c]
tʃ / tʃʰ [2]	チャ　チィ　チュ　チェ　チョ　[c]
dʒ	ジャ　ジィ　ジュ　ジェ　ジョ　[c]
k / kʰ [2]	カ　キ　ク　ケ　コ
g / ɣ [2]	ガ　ギ　グ　ゲ　ゴ
v	ヴァ　ヴィ　ヴ・ヴゥ　ヴェ　ヴォ　[a]
l / r	ラ　リ　ル　レ　ロ

[1] long vowels are written using the “long” symbol 「ー」
[2] not perceived as different by Japanese analysts, so they were combined

[a] "Irregular lines" (ie "j" line and "w" line) should be written with a single kana where possible (ie "wa" can be written with ワ) but many write them as two kana so as to keep the line standard.
\[b\] 「ン」 in a cluster and 「ナ」 or 「マ」 line elsewhere
Note: pre-1946 did not use cluster forms
[c] appears alongside the corresponding small “y” line OR small vowel (if no “y” line)
[d] unlike in Japanese, "i" and "u" lines do not assimilate.

Sample Text:

[/B][/B][/B]

Swahili (Latin Orth.)	Swahili (Lamu Orth.)	English
Baba Yetu	ババ　イェツ	Our Father
Baba yetu, yetu uliye Mbinguni yetu, yetu amina! Baba yetu yetu uliye M Jina lako e litukuzwe. Utupe leo chakula chetu Tunachohitaji, utusamehe Makosa yetu, hey! Kama nasi tunavyowasamehe Waliotukosea usitutie Katika majaribu, lakini Utuokoe, na yule, muovu e milele! Ufalme wako ufike utakalo Lifanyike duniani kama mbinguni. (Amina)	ババ　イェツ、イェツ　ウリイェ ンビングニ　イェツ、イェツ　アミナ！ ババ　イェツ　イェツ　ウリイェ ン　ジィナ　ラコ　エ　リツクッズウェ。 ウツペ　レオ　チャクラ　チェツ ツナチョヒタジィ、ウツサメヘ マコサ　イェツ、ヘイ！ カミ　ナシ　ツナッヴヨワサメヘ ワリオツコセア　ウシツチエ カチカ　マジャリブ、ラキニ ウツオコエ、ナ　ユレ、ムオヴ　エ　ミレレ！ ウファッルメ　ワコ　ウフィケ　ウタカロ リファンイィケ　ヅニアニ　カマ　ンビングニ。 アミナ	Our Father, who art in Heaven. Amen! Our Father, Hallowed be thy name. Give us this day our daily bread, Forgive us of our trespasses, As we forgive others Who trespass against us Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one forever. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done On Earth as it is in Heaven. (Amen)

edit: made a correction to a misuse of "ji" in the transcription of "Baba Yetu" in Lamu Orthography.
edit2: Re-wrote the phoneme table to have standard kana rows. Also, footnote "b" has canceling slashes because it kept breaking the table.

 

[PolishMagnet]

Map of the Lamu Republic, formerly Japanese East Africa (日本帝國東阿弗利加). The official language is Lamu Swahili or "Lamugo" (ラムゴ / ラム語), which is written in a Japanese-based orthography. The writing system, known as "Lamu Orthography" or "Lakana", writes the local variety of Swahili with Japanese Katakana - with a few adaptations for local writing. While Swahili varieties from Kenya and Somalia are theoretically mutually-intelligible, the amount of loan-words from Japanese causes considerable confusion. Many younger speakers of the language have also lost phonetic differences which exist in other varieties of Swahili, due to the lack of distinction in the written language and the format of education which has been preserved, almost perfectly, since Japanese colonial days.

Note: Somalia's border with Kenya is further west, the British transfer of territory after WW1 shifts the border further west, since there is no coastal tip ITTL.

Nishichi / 西地 is the only purely Japanese-built city in the country. It was built from the ground up by the colonial government with the intention of being a settler-only city. It mostly succeeded (though it was economically unviable), though that collapsed with the US occupation and subsequent independence of the Lamu Republic. The city center, formerly home to the privileged settlers, became the home of the new elite. The biggest sign of its decline was its sidelining during the construction of the Trans-Republic Highway in 1962 - built with US funds.

 

[The Tai-Pan]

What an interesting idea. So would Britain and such really be ok with Japan muscling in Africa this way?

 

[Count of Crisco]

What an interesting idea. So would Britain and such really be ok with Japan muscling in Africa this way?

Likely they would if they got something in exchange. The British allow Japan a colony in Africa in exchange for Japanese support elsewhere, or just straight up territorial exchange. Say Japan hands over Formosa (Taiwan) in exchange for its colony or something of that nature.

The idea of Japanese writing being used in Africa tickles a particular itch I didnt know I had. Really cool idea.

 

[M79]

-Japan overhears information about Berlin Conference, decides to attend

-Ridiculed by other attendees, they talk their way into control over (part of?) Madagascar dependent on Policy of Effective Control

-Japan signs treaty with Merina Empire, making it a protectorate by 1890 and a full colony by 1905

-Mineral exploration and exploitation commences apace but natives are treated a better than the French did in OTL to gain prestige and cooperative manpower

-Russo-Japanese War sees beginning of literal Afro-Samurai while Merina/Polynesian naval tradition blends into Japanese objectives

-World War I sees Japan gain Zanzibar (and perhaps part of German East Africa?) along with Togo and part of Namibia, permitting wider naval reach

 

[PolishMagnet]

My original idea was a Japanese voyage sent to establish a fort on Madagascar, but the voyage fails and instead builds a fort on Lamu Island. During the Berlin Conference they are laughed off probably, but after the russo-japanese war and the prestige it brought, Japan is able to stake it's claim to the area again. Unfortunately, that area was kind of already under control by the British. A subsequent treaty, made possibly by warm relations, gave the Japanese a small area around Lamu Island. Thus the current name Lamu remains in use to this day to refer to the whole territory.

 

[PobreCesar]

Sample Text:

This is a work of art.

 

[Maxamillion96]

So basically, I had this idea for the legacy of a Japanese attempt to be a "big boy" colonial power and colonize Africa.

if this is in the wrong forum, please move it

Support for the colony takes a major dive but it remains as a hang-on territory until WW2.

To start off, I constructed a functioning Japanese orthography for Somalian.

Japanese Orthography for Swahili - “Lamuan Standard”

Phoneme	Swahili in “Japanese Orthography”
a [1]	ア
e [1]	エ
i [1]	イ
o [1]	オ
u [1]	ウ
j	ヤ
wa	ウァ [a] [f]
n / ŋ / ɲ [2]	ン・ナ [c]
m	ン・マ [c]
h / x [2]	ハ
b	バ
p / pʰ [2]	パ
f	ファ [a]
t / tʰ [2]	タ [e]
d	ダ [e]
s / θ [2]	サ [e]
z / ð [2]	ザ [e]
ʃ	シャ [d]
tʃ / tʃʰ [2]	チャ [d]
dʒ	ジャ [d]
k / kʰ [2]	カ
g / ɣ [2]	ガ
v	ヴァ [a]
l / r	ラ

[1] long vowels are written using the “long” symbol 「ー」
[2] not perceived as different by Japanese analysts, so they were combined

[a] the katakana appears alongside the corresponding small vowel
“y” line is used where possible, otherwise written using “i” plus the corresponding small vowel
[c] 「ン」 in a cluster and 「ナ」 or 「マ」 line elsewhere
Note: pre-1946 did not use cluster forms
[d] appears alongside the corresponding small “y” line OR small vowel (if no “y” line)
[e] unlike in Japanese, 「シ」「ジ」「ツ」「ヅ」「チ」「ヂ」do not assimilate but retain their basic vowel form. To use the assimilated form, they must be combined with the correct small “y” line or small vowel.
[f] Standard orthography calls for use of 「ワ」for “wa” though due to its limited usage, 「ウァ」is more common

Note: consonants in a “final” position are written either with a small “u” line character or a small “tsu” character plus the “u” line character.

Sample Text:

Swahili (Latin Orth.)	Swahili (Lamu Orth.)	English
Baba Yetu	ババ　イェツ	Our Father
Baba yetu, yetu uliye Mbinguni yetu, yetu amina! Baba yetu yetu uliye M Jina lako e litukuzwe. Utupe leo chakula chetu Tunachohitaji, utusamehe Makosa yetu, hey! Kama nasi tunavyowasamehe Waliotukosea usitutie Katika majaribu, lakini Utuokoe, na yule, muovu e milele! Ufalme wako ufike utakalo Lifanyike duniani kama mbinguni. (Amina)	ババ　イェツ、イェツ　ウリイェ ンビングニ　イェツ、イェツ　アミナ！ ババ　イェツ　イェツ　ウリイェ ン　ジィナ　ラコ　エ　リツクッズウェ。 ウツペ　レオ　チャクラ　チェツ ツナチョヒタジィ、ウツサメヘ マコサ　イェツ、ヘイ！ カミ　ナシ　ツナッヴヨワサメヘ ワリオツコセア　ウシツチエ カチカ　マジャリブ、ラキニ ウツオコエ、ナ　ユレ、ムオヴ　エ　ミレレ！ ウファッルメ　ワコ　ウフィケ　ウタカロ リファンイィケ　ヅニアニ　カマ　ンビングニ。 アミナ	Our Father, who art in Heaven. Amen! Our Father, Hallowed be thy name. Give us this day our daily bread, Forgive us of our trespasses, As we forgive others Who trespass against us Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one forever. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done On Earth as it is in Heaven. (Amen)

edit: made a correction to a misuse of "ji" in the transcription of "Baba Yetu" in Lamu Orthography.

That is Swahili, not Somali

 

[PolishMagnet]

That is Swahili, not Somali

Whoops haha, mistake.

Also, this project is not finished yet, I have a few updates I'll post soon.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

Okay this is epic. I haven't seen such a creative proposal for a colony in that timeframe since Beer's German Canada and Hokkaido timeline.

 

[PolishMagnet]

Symbols of Lamu:

Under Japanese administration, Lamu used the flag of the Japanese Empire, alongside a red standard which represented the Governor.

Flag of the Governor of Japanese East Africa

After the fall of Japanese East Africa to Allied forces, a local police force was assembled to monitor the area, as loyalty to the Japanese was passive at best. Local men were arranged into the "Lamu Area Police" which quickly developed a civilian side. The LAP came to also take the place of Allied bureaucrats who were administering the territory during occupation. Due to a lack of new insignia, the Lamu Area Police was identified by a black armband with a white star. After the war ended and the area came under a US transitional authority, the LAP insignia was standardized into an 8-pointed star.

The black armband of the LAP was also adapted into an early flag, used during occupation for simple identification purposes, which consisted of a simple white-black-white tricolour. In 1947, when the first constitution was drafted, a variant of the tricolour with the 8-pointed star was adopted as the official flag.

National flag of Lamu, adopted 1947

For government documents and official correspondences, the "official seal" of Lamu is used (though such a seal is not outlined in any official capacity). The seal consists of a black-outlined 8-pointed star.

 

[twovultures]

There's no way for the Japanese to realistically get to Lake Victoria in this scenario, which is a pity. The Kipsigi language is perfectly suited for kanji.

 

[PolishMagnet]

In the wake of US occupation, some called for the adoption of a Latin alphabet orthography for what came to be known as "Lamuan" (Lamu dialect of Swahili). However, due to the entrenched nature of the LAP in the administration of the territory, such calls were quickly abandoned. All local administration was already conducted using Japanese-standardized orthography, and nobody was in favor of reforming the orthography and replacing everything. Such an effort would have required re-education of administrative staff as well as an overhaul of local education.

However, in the 1960s, efforts were made by educated Lamuans to extend Lakana (Lamuan Katakana) to better accommodate the local language (as opposed to representing sounds for Japanese speakers). Due to Japanese influence, many consonants had started to blend among the "educated dialect", the blending had not occurred in rural areas nor among uneducated populations speaking the same variant of Swahili.

1966 proposed extension of Lakana. Red stars indicate completely new kana, green for changed sounds, blue for revived kana (not commonly used in Japanese).

The biggest changes were:

1. The inclusion of distinction between N and M individual consonants. These are used for M or N initials or finals.
2. Extension of W and Y lines to include unused combinations or new combinations only used in Lamuan.
3. Removal of assimilation of tsu-tu or shi-si sounds
4. A new SH line of kana.

The changing of the standard Lakana table came with a few changes for producing voiced (バ) and semi-voiced (パ) sounds.

1. F sounds are denoted by a SEMI-VOICED W (F and H merged in "educated" Lamuan dialect).
2. V sounds are denoted by VOICED W (even in "educated" dialects, V remains in use).
3. CH sounds are SEMI-VOICED SH
4. J sounds are VOICED SH
5. If differentiation is required, L/R distinction can be shown - L sounds are marked with a tilde (~) in the top right of the kana***

***In "educated" Lamuan, L/R distinction is often ignored or the word is derived from context. Unlike Japanese, a more liquid "L" sound is preferred.

Like the proposed change to Latin orthography, The "1966 Lakana" project failed to gain traction and even faced opposition in some circles. Since many "Japanese" sound mergers had occurred among upper-class Lamuans, the same people found it hard to justify a change in orthography. However, due to the decentralized nature of administration in the countryside, many use a mix of Standard Orthography ("1921") and Extended Orthography ("1966") depending on the situation and the addressee. Though schools only teach Standard Orthography, many Lamuans learn Extended Orthography in daily life or from family.

EDIT: Swapped SHU and SHO, made a new kana for SHO

 

[PolishMagnet]

Some notes on how I made the extended Lakana.

1. The individual consonant M shortened the final N to make room for a voiced mark, since N does not usually accommodate such a mark.
2. WU is derived from the Chinese pronunciation of 五 and ignores the merging of U and WU in both Chinese and Japanese.
3. YI is derived from 以 and is intended to resemble the Hiragana い.
4. SHA is from 写
5. SHI is from 司
6. SHU is from 収
7. SHE is from 节 which is "jie" in Chinese. SHE is not used in Japanese, so Chinese was used for inspiration.
8. SHO is from the inner radical of 処

Any comments or feedback are welcome

 

[varyar]

I can't offer any informed commentary on orthography, but this is an amazing level of detail and consideration. I love it!

 

[spoonzandforkz]

I don't see Japan gaining a colony in the Berlin Conference, both due to typical European orientalist racism and lack of Japanese naval capabilities at this point in time. As you've said, Japan would need to fight and win a Russo-Japanese type war with a European nation in order to be recognized as a great power deserving of respect and recognition.

Perhaps as part of an alt-WW1 where Italy stays on the Central Powers' side, Japan contributes more, maybe a larger naval contingent in the Mediterranean and some men on the Western or Middle Eastern fronts... gets part of Italian East Africa in the post-war treaty?


EDIT: Would be really interesting to see the colony would function in this world's alt WW2, how it might be used by the Japanese to attack Suez, although an early POD could also butterfly the rise of Japanese militarism.

 

[PolishMagnet]

I don't see Japan gaining a colony in the Berlin Conference, both due to typical European orientalist racism and lack of Japanese naval capabilities at this point in time. As you've said, Japan would need to fight and win a Russo-Japanese type war with a European nation in order to be recognized as a great power deserving of respect and recognition.

Perhaps as part of an alt-WW1 where Italy stays on the Central Powers' side, Japan contributes more, maybe a larger naval contingent in the Mediterranean and some men on the Western or Middle Eastern fronts... gets part of Italian East Africa in the post-war treaty?


EDIT: Would be really interesting to see the colony would function in this world's alt WW2, how it might be used by the Japanese to attack Suez, although an early POD could also butterfly the rise of Japanese militarism.

Tbh I wanted to focus on the impact of such a colony rather than how it came to be. Also my thinking was that the colony falls incredibly quickly to the Allies.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

I don't see Japan gaining a colony in the Berlin Conference, both due to typical European orientalist racism and lack of Japanese naval capabilities at this point in time. As you've said, Japan would need to fight and win a Russo-Japanese type war with a European nation in order to be recognized as a great power deserving of respect and recognition.

Perhaps as part of an alt-WW1 where Italy stays on the Central Powers' side, Japan contributes more, maybe a larger naval contingent in the Mediterranean and some men on the Western or Middle Eastern fronts... gets part of Italian East Africa in the post-war treaty?


EDIT: Would be really interesting to see the colony would function in this world's alt WW2, how it might be used by the Japanese to attack Suez, although an early POD could also butterfly the rise of Japanese militarism.

I agree that Japan is unlikely to gain a colony in the Berlin Conference, though why not have Japan win a colony in the Russo-Japanese war? For the POD have Sagallo be founded before the Berlin Conference, and have the Russian delegation successfully argue for control over Djibouti. Russo-Japanese war still happens and imperialists in Japan push for annexation of Djibouti, and there'd likely already be a Japanese presence in the area from their close relations with Ethiopia. Though I don't know if they speak Swahili in Djibouti, I think they speak Somali, but that's a plausible Japanese African colony without too far back a POD.

 

[Quinkana]

I believe Somalia wanted greater Somalia, and the Lamuans would hate that as they're quite different from normal Somalians. would this cause the Americans to not help the Somalis when they tried invading Ethiopia, and would Lamu invade Somalia to prevent Somalian incursions? Also, would Lamu invade Kenya for Somalia speakers?

Also, how much Japanese culture do the Lamuans take in? Do other Somalis write in katakana rather than a latinised script?

 

[PolishMagnet]

I believe Somalia wanted greater Somalia, and the Lamuans would hate that as they're quite different from normal Somalians. would this cause the Americans to not help the Somalis when they tried invading Ethiopia, and would Lamu invade Somalia to prevent Somalian incursions? Also, would Lamu invade Kenya for Somalia speakers?

Also, how much Japanese culture do the Lamuans take in? Do other Somalis write in katakana rather than a latinised script?

Somali language is unaffected (Lamuan is divergent Swahili), and Lamuans See themselves as significantly different from Kenyans that they don't want union. It might go the other way at some point, I think, where Kenya tries to invade Lamu.

Someone may have adapted a kana script for Somali in this timeline, but it's not used by anyone, no.