Post by Hasekura Takamori on Jun 3, 2007 12:49:26 GMT
A Short Overview Of The Shirezei
The Shirezei are what is now all the tribes who inhabit the fortress-island of Ganura, although many are descended from other tribes from the time of the Great Theriza-Shirezei War, who moved to Ganura after the war.
War and battle are hugely intertwined with life in Shirezei culture, but the fighting of the Shirezei is cultured and educated, not based on machismo and brute force. Children are taught to treat their weapons as an extension of their bodies, and their enemies as respected equals.
Many of the Shirezei do not follow war professionally - working in the fields of Ganura, or other professions on the island, but all know how to wield a weapon, with a skill that surpasses most others, and to use the armour that every person owns.
History
Nigh on nine centuries ago, the people of Far Eastern Septrem found themselves in the midst of a bloody civil war. For years, the tribes that populated the banks of Lake Nadai had lived in an uneasy peace, ruled over by the strong, but supremely traditionalist Theriza clan.
However, the new leader of the Theriza was immensely distrustful of any and all of his subordinate tribes, and started a dangerous path down the road of intense paranoia.
Finally, one tribe, the noble warriors of the Shirezei, punished and persecuted due to their position on the highly fertile and strategic Ganura Island in the middle of Lake Nadai, declared a schism of their tribe from the Theriza.
Looking to new ways, and the arts and technologies of the fabled Ulthan, they built themselves a great fortress of stone, armoured their soldiers in suits of intricately forged steel and leather, wielding katanas and spears of, until this point, unknown sharpness and balance, and composite bows with carefully fletched arrows.
The Theriza, resplendent in their painted bodies and ancient spears, arrayed themselves at the end of the bridge to fight, in the ways they had been fighting minor skirmishes for hundreds of years. Finally, as the sun rose over Ganura at dawn, into the eyes of the Theriza, the Shirezei marched forth from the fortress.
The tsuwamono, or Brutes, decked out in massive suits of full steel armour, and carrying the massive no-dachi, led the charge of the Shirezei forces, smashing their way through the forces of the Theriza, who could neither protect themselves against the crippling sword blows, or penetrate the thick plates of steel with weak spear thrusts.
The ashigaru followed, mixed cavalry and light infantry, who easily ran down the fleeing Theriza with sword and spear on horseback, or laid them low with volley after volley of steel tipped arrows.
In but two hours, the Shirezei had destroyed the Theriza, and the tribes of the Nadai honoured their new rulers with respect. Many of the shore tribes moved to Ganura, and the island-fortress was built larger and larger on land reclaimed from the lake using Ulthan techniques.
Some large sections were built on huge stilts, set into the depths of the Nadai, which were difficult to build, but hugely useful.
Now, the tribe is ruled by one Hasekura Takamori, a uruwashii, one of the cultured and educated officers of the Shirezei. They face many problems from the Imperials, who sense a military opponent, and the other factions who have their own reasons for ancient grudges.
Structure Of Shirezei Society
Shirezei society is split into three classes, who's position is based around a mixture of military capability & rank, and amount of work done to the greater whole of Ganura.
Ijitse are agricultural workers, builders, anyone not in permanent military employment, domestic workers - and although they are deemed the lowest class, they are not abandoned to poverty, but are provided for to a certain extent by the government. They are given homes and enough food to be relatively comfortable.
Shijitse make up the professional soldiers, blacksmiths and all others involved in military employment. Housed near the barracks, any and all Shijitse are expected to eat, sleep and breathe their profession - be it training at the forge or in the dojo, it is central to their very lives.
Bunijitse form the governmental backbone of the Shirezei, and the class is composed of clerks, bureaucrats, high ranking military officials, and politicians. Although most of them do not have an active military career, they are still expected to train with weapons to a certain age, and have had served in either the military ior the fields before working their way into office.
The very highest of the Bunijitse are given homes within the Shirezei Palace itself, and these are obviously the very top of Shirezei hierarchy.
Architecture
Traditional Shirezei architecture is based around a single central room, with many cupboards and storage spaces coming off of it, covered by simple paper or wood doors, or slideable shoji screens.
Mattresses, cooking equipment and anything else is tidied away after use, and sleeping, eating and all else occurs in this central room, except of course matters of personal hygiene, for which there is a small bathroom, supplied with water by old Ulthan designed sewage networks.
This architectural style is typical of Ijitse and Shijitse homes, where functionality and lack of space must be merged together, so this brand of minimalism is perfect. In Bunijitse homes, other additions are common - more rooms, gardens, etc.
Clothing
Loosefitting cotton and other strong fabrics are the norm in Ganura, in a long shorts/top arrangement. However, silk robes and kimono style dresses are quite common, be they intricate or quite robust.
Also, guard uniform consisting of steel and leather plates with turqouise or aqua green fatigue-style clothing underneath are visible everywhere, on the guards that patrol the streets of Ganura.
Agriculture & Food
Large sections of Ganura, most of the island areas in fact, are given over to farmland. 3 varieties of cereal, several types of vegetable and many livestock are grown and reared on the farms, and fishing in Lake Nadai provides a tasteful alternative, but the bulk of the food is supplied by the farms.
The poor drainage of the northern section of the island requires this part to be given over to rice, and the paddies are thoroughly intensive, many tonnes of rice being produced on relatively little land.
Weapons & Armour
Different classes in the Shirezei wear different armours, but all follow a similar pattern. The great forges are masterful in creating the two-layer (soft steel/hard steel) armour and katanas that the Shirezei wield.
These weapons are exceedingly sharp, perfectly balanced to the individual's taste, and the armour is fitted and weighted to the owner's preference. Armour and weaponry is a very personal thing, many warriors of the Shirezei feeling stronger for their swords & armour than their wives or children.
There are many types of weapon preferred by the general populace Shirezei, but the three distinct classes of the professional military are generally similar in their equipment.
Ashigaru are the general infantry of the Shirezei, and personal preference dictates their armament and equipment - light cavalry, archers and standard, rank and file infantry make up their numbers.
The cavalry wield naginata, spears with long, glaive-like blades, and wear light armour, as do their horses.
Archers carry composite longbows, curved and strong, and large amounts of steel-tipped arrows. They generally also carry a short wakizashi for hand-to-hand combat.
The infantry are standardised in their compliment - three swords, the katana, a long sword for combat, the wakizashi, a shortsword for honourable fighting, and finally the tanto, a long knife for use in honourable killing of a enemy, or honourable suicide.
The Tsuwamono are bedecked in huge suits of full steel, plated armour, and wield great no-dachi: massive, long swords designed for removing cavalry and large numbers of infantry, or westernised halberds or warhammers. They are chosen from the strongest and largest of the ranks of Ashigaru, and the great suits of armour only compliment the great strength and height of these gargantuan warriors.
Finally, the Uruwashii, the officer class, are allowed to choose their weapons to their own tastes, generally preferring ornate katanas or strange, exotic blades. One of the female Generals, a Tang Fu Xiang, wields two chakrams, circular weapons with an outer metal edge.
Government And Finance
Intelligence and martial ability are held in similar stead in governmental office, but proficiency at the job will always win out when deciding on candidates for different positions.
Money is relatively non-existent in Ganura, trade based on a mutual help arrangement, or barter. Many things, such as housing and food, are supplied by the government in accordance with your position, but it is used to purchase luxury items outwith the government provided items.
Wildlife
Although no wildlife other than birds and domestic livestock such as sheep and cows live upon Ganura itself, Lake Nadai itself abounds with fish and other marine life, occasional dolphins and other strange sea creatures making their way up from the sea.
The Shirezei are what is now all the tribes who inhabit the fortress-island of Ganura, although many are descended from other tribes from the time of the Great Theriza-Shirezei War, who moved to Ganura after the war.
War and battle are hugely intertwined with life in Shirezei culture, but the fighting of the Shirezei is cultured and educated, not based on machismo and brute force. Children are taught to treat their weapons as an extension of their bodies, and their enemies as respected equals.
Many of the Shirezei do not follow war professionally - working in the fields of Ganura, or other professions on the island, but all know how to wield a weapon, with a skill that surpasses most others, and to use the armour that every person owns.
History
Nigh on nine centuries ago, the people of Far Eastern Septrem found themselves in the midst of a bloody civil war. For years, the tribes that populated the banks of Lake Nadai had lived in an uneasy peace, ruled over by the strong, but supremely traditionalist Theriza clan.
However, the new leader of the Theriza was immensely distrustful of any and all of his subordinate tribes, and started a dangerous path down the road of intense paranoia.
Finally, one tribe, the noble warriors of the Shirezei, punished and persecuted due to their position on the highly fertile and strategic Ganura Island in the middle of Lake Nadai, declared a schism of their tribe from the Theriza.
Looking to new ways, and the arts and technologies of the fabled Ulthan, they built themselves a great fortress of stone, armoured their soldiers in suits of intricately forged steel and leather, wielding katanas and spears of, until this point, unknown sharpness and balance, and composite bows with carefully fletched arrows.
The Theriza, resplendent in their painted bodies and ancient spears, arrayed themselves at the end of the bridge to fight, in the ways they had been fighting minor skirmishes for hundreds of years. Finally, as the sun rose over Ganura at dawn, into the eyes of the Theriza, the Shirezei marched forth from the fortress.
The tsuwamono, or Brutes, decked out in massive suits of full steel armour, and carrying the massive no-dachi, led the charge of the Shirezei forces, smashing their way through the forces of the Theriza, who could neither protect themselves against the crippling sword blows, or penetrate the thick plates of steel with weak spear thrusts.
The ashigaru followed, mixed cavalry and light infantry, who easily ran down the fleeing Theriza with sword and spear on horseback, or laid them low with volley after volley of steel tipped arrows.
In but two hours, the Shirezei had destroyed the Theriza, and the tribes of the Nadai honoured their new rulers with respect. Many of the shore tribes moved to Ganura, and the island-fortress was built larger and larger on land reclaimed from the lake using Ulthan techniques.
Some large sections were built on huge stilts, set into the depths of the Nadai, which were difficult to build, but hugely useful.
Now, the tribe is ruled by one Hasekura Takamori, a uruwashii, one of the cultured and educated officers of the Shirezei. They face many problems from the Imperials, who sense a military opponent, and the other factions who have their own reasons for ancient grudges.
Structure Of Shirezei Society
Shirezei society is split into three classes, who's position is based around a mixture of military capability & rank, and amount of work done to the greater whole of Ganura.
Ijitse are agricultural workers, builders, anyone not in permanent military employment, domestic workers - and although they are deemed the lowest class, they are not abandoned to poverty, but are provided for to a certain extent by the government. They are given homes and enough food to be relatively comfortable.
Shijitse make up the professional soldiers, blacksmiths and all others involved in military employment. Housed near the barracks, any and all Shijitse are expected to eat, sleep and breathe their profession - be it training at the forge or in the dojo, it is central to their very lives.
Bunijitse form the governmental backbone of the Shirezei, and the class is composed of clerks, bureaucrats, high ranking military officials, and politicians. Although most of them do not have an active military career, they are still expected to train with weapons to a certain age, and have had served in either the military ior the fields before working their way into office.
The very highest of the Bunijitse are given homes within the Shirezei Palace itself, and these are obviously the very top of Shirezei hierarchy.
Architecture
Traditional Shirezei architecture is based around a single central room, with many cupboards and storage spaces coming off of it, covered by simple paper or wood doors, or slideable shoji screens.
Mattresses, cooking equipment and anything else is tidied away after use, and sleeping, eating and all else occurs in this central room, except of course matters of personal hygiene, for which there is a small bathroom, supplied with water by old Ulthan designed sewage networks.
This architectural style is typical of Ijitse and Shijitse homes, where functionality and lack of space must be merged together, so this brand of minimalism is perfect. In Bunijitse homes, other additions are common - more rooms, gardens, etc.
Clothing
Loosefitting cotton and other strong fabrics are the norm in Ganura, in a long shorts/top arrangement. However, silk robes and kimono style dresses are quite common, be they intricate or quite robust.
Also, guard uniform consisting of steel and leather plates with turqouise or aqua green fatigue-style clothing underneath are visible everywhere, on the guards that patrol the streets of Ganura.
Agriculture & Food
Large sections of Ganura, most of the island areas in fact, are given over to farmland. 3 varieties of cereal, several types of vegetable and many livestock are grown and reared on the farms, and fishing in Lake Nadai provides a tasteful alternative, but the bulk of the food is supplied by the farms.
The poor drainage of the northern section of the island requires this part to be given over to rice, and the paddies are thoroughly intensive, many tonnes of rice being produced on relatively little land.
Weapons & Armour
Different classes in the Shirezei wear different armours, but all follow a similar pattern. The great forges are masterful in creating the two-layer (soft steel/hard steel) armour and katanas that the Shirezei wield.
These weapons are exceedingly sharp, perfectly balanced to the individual's taste, and the armour is fitted and weighted to the owner's preference. Armour and weaponry is a very personal thing, many warriors of the Shirezei feeling stronger for their swords & armour than their wives or children.
There are many types of weapon preferred by the general populace Shirezei, but the three distinct classes of the professional military are generally similar in their equipment.
Ashigaru are the general infantry of the Shirezei, and personal preference dictates their armament and equipment - light cavalry, archers and standard, rank and file infantry make up their numbers.
The cavalry wield naginata, spears with long, glaive-like blades, and wear light armour, as do their horses.
Archers carry composite longbows, curved and strong, and large amounts of steel-tipped arrows. They generally also carry a short wakizashi for hand-to-hand combat.
The infantry are standardised in their compliment - three swords, the katana, a long sword for combat, the wakizashi, a shortsword for honourable fighting, and finally the tanto, a long knife for use in honourable killing of a enemy, or honourable suicide.
The Tsuwamono are bedecked in huge suits of full steel, plated armour, and wield great no-dachi: massive, long swords designed for removing cavalry and large numbers of infantry, or westernised halberds or warhammers. They are chosen from the strongest and largest of the ranks of Ashigaru, and the great suits of armour only compliment the great strength and height of these gargantuan warriors.
Finally, the Uruwashii, the officer class, are allowed to choose their weapons to their own tastes, generally preferring ornate katanas or strange, exotic blades. One of the female Generals, a Tang Fu Xiang, wields two chakrams, circular weapons with an outer metal edge.
Government And Finance
Intelligence and martial ability are held in similar stead in governmental office, but proficiency at the job will always win out when deciding on candidates for different positions.
Money is relatively non-existent in Ganura, trade based on a mutual help arrangement, or barter. Many things, such as housing and food, are supplied by the government in accordance with your position, but it is used to purchase luxury items outwith the government provided items.
Wildlife
Although no wildlife other than birds and domestic livestock such as sheep and cows live upon Ganura itself, Lake Nadai itself abounds with fish and other marine life, occasional dolphins and other strange sea creatures making their way up from the sea.
