History (Chanbara Setting)

Subject to Change :P

Ancient Times

???? to -200

Almost no written history remains of this extended era of history. Myths and legend remain of the creation of the world, the brith of the gods and the breaking of Nikko from the other continents but the details are lost in time.

The Age of Swords

Years: 200 to 0 Shogun: None

The First Sword

The first enchanted sword was said to be crafted by the blacksmith Amakuni with the help of the god Oinari, to defend the small town of Tou from raids by neighboring clans. After many failures, Amakuni crafted Amegitune no Tsurugi or Sword of the Heavenly Fox. With his weapons, the village of Tou became a powerhouse in the region and Tou's decedents latter became the Tsurugi clan. Many of Amakuni's works while ancient are still considered to be powerful weapons, and 4 of the surviving blades are considered part of the 37 legendary swords of Nikko, including Amegitsune no Tsurugi.

Rise of the Kingdom of Swords

It was in the province of Izumo where the Prophet Queen Saya no Miko brought clan Tsurugi into dominance, conquering the neighboring clans to make the first kingdom of Nikko, Tsurugi no Kuni. Her success was in part due to her clan's mastery of forging weapons but was also helped by the clans unwavering belief that Saya was the oracle of the great god Hirume.

By the death of Saya no Miko, Tsurugi no Kunni had grown in power to the extent that it was able to establish it's control not only in central Nikko but in the north and south as well, clashing with the northern tribes and the southern kingdoms of Kumamoto and Harisen.

Civil War

With the death of Saya no Miko, the Tsurugi no Kuni erupted in civil war over a successor. The kingdom was split between prince Jokotou, Saya's first born son, and princess Shinai, Saya no Miko's daughter. With the infighting the lands of Tsurugi no Kuni were taken bit by bit by outsiders and Saya no Miko's third daughter Tsubaki was assassinated by Shinai.

The Kingdom Reforged

Tatara was a young warrior who served Sugari, the youngest daughter of Saya during the civil war and the only one out of Saya's children that inherited her power of prophesy. With Sugari foresight and Tatara's own skill on the battlefield the two were able to secure Tsurugi no Kuni's borders. Jokotou challenged his younger sister to a duel, however he was beheaded by Tatara disguised as Sugari. With his death his army was absorbed into Sugari's. Hearing the news and of the approaching army, Shinai threw herself from the top of the royal palace were her army was based, and killed herself. With her death, Sugari was the sole heir to the throne of Tsurugi no Kuni. During her crowning Sugari took the title of Miko and decreed that only her female heirs favored by the sun god Hirume would become sit on the throne, to prevent further internal conflict. Tatara was named the first general "Shogun" of Tsurugi and was tasked with unifying "All that is under the sun."

The Age of Peace

Sword Hunt

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