1104-1310 (351-557 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

Growth in the Japanese Population
Throughout Asia there was an explosion of population due to the widespread peace and lack of any large disaster to curb the birth rate. These people began to move into the more sparsely populated areas of their respective nations. When this began to be too much of a strain on the land there were many innovations that accounted for this. In the Japanese Empire, especially, new techniques of farming such as the rotational system, that had been implemented in the Roman Empire for some time, were embraced more rapidly than other Empires. The Sinicans, because of the development of strong local customs, were very averse to changes. In many cases the only areas that had discussions about the base issues of their Empire were in large cities like Beijing and Xi’an. The Sinicans did begin these policies though mostly in the outskirts of these cities. The Japanese on the other hand had a tradition of universal implementation. When the Emperor was persuaded in favor of certain policies it was very rare for him to hear any objections and it was rare for any of the lower officials to even think of not enforcing these policies. Therefore, when Emperor Azumi in the year 1035 (282 AD) enacted the change in agriculture the Japanese were ahead of the curb in agriculture for almost another decade before the other nations were able to compete with them in the agriculture market.

The wealth of the Japanese encouraged many of them not only to have more children but to set out into the frontiers of the large North Asian colony the Japanese still possessed. Small, family farms sprang up and the Shoguns of the area were selling their families land to these upstarts. Small cities were now beginning to build themselves to the more distant areas of Northern Asia. On the River Azumi (Lena River), named after the current Emperor, there was a new town named New Kanazawa. This area began as a city in 1048 (295 AD) and became a center of trade among the North Asian Shoguns. The Mayor of New Kanazawa rebelled against these Shoguns and created a new Shogunate with the neighboring cities and their hinterlands as its constituent parts. The Kanazawa Shogunate was the fifth in the the North Asian Colony but set a precedent in this area after the year 1061 (308 AD) when this Shogunate was established. The Original Shoguns, who were now without the support from the main islands or their assets from the land they owned, began to fall immediately. By 1076 (323 AD), only 15 years after the establishment of the Kanazawa Shogunate, there were over twenty new Shogunates and the original areas, those not dissolved entirely, existed in much smaller areas.

Before we proceed in describing the different Shogunates let us briefly see how the Shogunates existed prior to this explosion in the 1060’s and 70’s. The original four Shogunates were established by noble families that actually fell out of favor with the Emperor at that time, with the exception of the Tokugawa. These four families: the Suzugohei in the Northeast; the Tokugawa in the Southeast; the Kutsuwa in the Northwest; and the Mamori in what was intermittently Mongolila, all transferred what wealth they had into establishing new areas in the colonies. The Emperor at the time believed that these places would be the death of these families but in a few generations many of these areas were now rather prosperous and under control. The four original Shogun families were now the established political and economic power in their respective regions, save for the few times when the Mamori lost and regained power in Mongolia. In the rebellion that preceded the accension of Empress Harima the Shoguns at this time took new names to disassociate themselves with their colonies and thereby gain the independence that would allow them total conquest, they were defeated however and the four families had their power returned.

That being said, the new and numerous Shogunates were not of noble heritage. They were merchant and farmer class people with ideas that gained popularity among the native people. The Mamori were especially unpopular because of the Mongolian community in their area being so dissatisfied with being the underclass in their own land. The Tokugawa were the wealthiest of these Shogunates and retained the most land, but it was the prime coastal areas. The Suzugohei also held some ports but not nearly the degree that the Tokugawa retained. These new Shogunates now were growing much more exponentially than their former Shogunates. This is attributed to the sense of individuality and freedom that came with their new independence. The money and products of these areas was such a boost to the Japanese Empire that they appeals for assistance from the Emperor by the four original Shogun Families not only went ignored but the military in the area were ordered to now attack the new Shogunates and seek only to reestablish peace once the new Shogunates appeared to stop forming. This process, as we have already said, ended in 1076 and the city of New Kanazawa was by this time one of the largest in continental Asia. For the next thirty years there was an explosion in the population, most of which occurred in this colony.

Trade with the West and the Tibetan-Maurya Rift
Over this same period there was also a growth in the amount of foreign trade, as has already been noted. This trade brought, among other things, the ideas about the world that had been commonplace in the Roman Empire for some time. Most proficient of these was a description of an automobile and how it moved people and goods quickly across their Empire. Sinica and Japan were fascinated by this technology, especially considering the detachment felt by many inhabitants from their neighbors in such a large Empire. The Sinicans and the Japanese were very ardent in their desire to get the technologies that the Romans had been using for more than 50 years, but their main conduit was now a main obstacle.

The Maurya Empire and the Tibetan Empire had been the veins through which the blood of knowledge and foreign trade had to pass. The Maurya were, as we know, a Hindu nation. Their Samraats were descended from the Great Shaman Harishchandra I and had a deep hatred for all things Buddhist or Thenmobist. However, this prejudice did not cause them to cut off trade with the Tibetan Empire because of lucrative relationship those nations had shared with each other. This was a violation of the laws of the Maurya Empire but the Tibetan Empire had enjoyed this treatment since before the rise of Harishchandra and so he chose not to interfere with it.

In the year 1080 (327 AD) Samraat Harishchandra V redoubled the religious laws of his Empire. The name Harishchandra had fallen out of the public mind of the people of the Maurya Empire. The Maurya were beginning to embrace the ideas that came through them to meet the demands of the Sinicans and Japanese Empires. Harishchandra V, taking the name of his distant ancestor to remind the people about the supremacy of the Hindu society in his Empire. Among his reforms was the stopping of the social mobility that was growing among the merchant classes so that they would not threaten to change the established system of castes. He placed a limit on the amount of money they could hold and returned the remainder to the nation’s treasury. This severely restricted the movement of goods to Tibet and cause tension between the two nations to arise for the first time.

In 1083 (330 AD) with the accension of Harishchandra VI, the Samraat cut off all trade with Tibet and other nations in an attempt to keep out the “Foreign and unnatural influences contrary to the perfect system of out heritage.” The Tibetans, who depended on free trade with their neighbors to support their economy and to import necessities like food, were outraged. The main trade route through which foreign trade and emissaries shad to pass through was now closed and Japan and Sinica were expectantly angered. The Japanese however were unable to reach an agreement with the Sinicans to attempt and resolve the situation. A Peace meeting in the capital of Tibet in Sengdroma (Lhasa) dissolved into violence between the two nations over the Sinican loss of Shanghai and of the Japanese islands being subjected to blockades and other examples of harassment by sea by the Sinicans on Japanese trade vessels.

The Maurya would also not budge on their stance and the Japanese and Sinicans, the only other nations strong enough to change the Mauryan decision, were not reacting either. The Sinicans would not be able to lead a strong invasion through the Himalayas without being too close together to be easy pickings for the Maurya. Sinica also could not invade by sea because the Maurya were in an equal, if not greater, position on the seas. The Japanese, being the strongest naval power, attempted to go through the many islands of what we know as Indonesia. These areas alliance with the Sinicans would not allow the Japanese to pass. The Japanese began looking to the records and maps that the Romans had in order to find an alternate route to their continent. They were going to attempt an expedition through North Asia but found its natives and their environment much to hostile. The same reason failed the Sinicans in moving through Central Asia from their Westernmost border. The last option, and the most obscure, was to circumnavigate the earth.

The idea that the earth was even round was something that the Sinicans rejected and mocked the Romans for believing. The Japanese were more open minded to this idea however. The Japanese had often observed how when a ship is far enough away from land one can observe only the tops of buildings and mountains as well as a large but subtle curvature in the open sea. This background prompted the Japanese begin exploring any lands they could find to the East of the ocean.