War of One Thousand Shoguns
The War of One Thousand Shoguns, also known as the Great Northern War, was a major conflict on the Blessed Isle during the middle of the Shogunate Era, unfolding over the course of two centuries. The two major sides of the conflict were the daimyo of the northern Blessed Isle and those of the central Isle, the former commonly holding views of greater regional independence and military spirit (which some condemned as barbarism and anarchism) and the latter commonly holding views of power resting with the court at Meru and cultured spirit (which some condemned as cover for weakness and corruption).
Such factional lines were not static, with different groups formed and shattered, alliances shifting as daimyo jockeyed for advantage, though at its core the conflict was one between Gens Tsatsuka of Chanos and Gens Ruan of Meru, each of whom supported a succession of Shoguns as they exchanged control of the capital… official records list one thousand different Shoguns, with reigns lasting from a decade to mere hours, and of whom only six perished of natural causes.
Nearly every daimyo on the Isle and many in the Threshold declared themselves to support one side or the other, positions expressed through accepting or denying the legitimacy of the current Shogun. Periods of massive armies clashing in battle were interspersed with periods of border skirmishing, peasant rebellions, devastating exchanges with First-Age weapons, trade war, and political intrigue in the Shogunal Court.
With such a long timeframe and large number of participants, some historians hesitate at calling the event a single War, preferring to view it as a series of separate wars and battles. The eventual conclusion saw the weakening of the two Gens around whom the conflict originated, and a general decline in the power of the daimyo in the northern Blessed Isle, whose military and economic strength never quite recovered.
The conflict had a major influence on the Shogunate, calming the warring for the Shogun’s title for a hundred years. Several of the Gentes crumbled in the conflict, and others were born as new heroes arose and established their own lines. The war, both during and after it had run its course, formed the backdrop for a number of plays, paintings, and poems that still exist today, including The Peach Blossom Fan and Daimyo Two Hearts. In the present age, the Scarlet Empress saw some benefit in revealing the chaos of the time before She rose to power, and so granted occasional favour to Dynastic historians seeking to study the conflict, though such things were never thought appropriate for the eyes of the common folk.
