Post by Flak on Mar 27, 2005 10:50:37 GMT -5
The land you are in is comprised of two large islands, and several smaller land masses surrounding these two. The ocean and bays lie everywhere, and everywhere there are fishermen, merchants. Docks and ports line the coasts of the islands, each overrun with people. Such is the boating industry of Kame, that no matter how many shoreline marketplaces, no matter how many piers, no matter how many docks, there will always be people to fill them. The most prosperous towns of Kame in fact lie on the coast of the south-western main island, among them Kitakyushu, Fukoaka, and Kagoshima.
After all, the ocean is the life of Kame.
Of Japan in general, an isolationist country that drags life from the sea. But especially for Kame, the center of cultivation of the sea.
However, the sea itself could be seen as the two-sided god, the ni-Jin. For it brings life, and also death. Yes, ports line the coasts, but not all are asbustle. How many dikes are crumbled? How many submerged docks and piers are there? How many shipwrecks, not far off shore? The answer is 'countless'. Some low-land towns, near the shore, have been swept away completely by the powerful forces the inhabitants of Kame call tsunami.
Moving in land, we find prosperous trading towns, yet not too prosperous. They deal mainly in the goods of the ocean and currency. If you go further yet, you'll find the rugged mountains that pushed Japan to depend on the sea. Some rice cultivation here, some shrines there, but most of Kame's content lies on the coast.
That is, its above-ground content. Deep below the surface of the south-western island, there are great mine shafts. Hundreds of workers busy themselves in these depths, creating a good third of Kame's trading economy by finding precious minerals with which craftsmen shape weapons and objects for those who can afford them.
While Kame might seem prosperous, more than eighty percent of its population is poor, by general Japanese standards. The miners get paid close to nothing for all their hard work, it is the artisans who profit. The fishers make nothing, it is the sushi shops, the stores, that make the money. As such, three different societies have been formed- the miners, the boaters, and the upper class. The miners barter with eachother in working shifts. The boaters exchange fish, their catch, whatever they can. And the upper class... they deal with the merchants in the only manner merchants will deal- in bronze. And so Kame's inhabitants are completely seperated from eachother, each having their own sub economy. If one were to transfer to another class, they would find that all their riches suddenly mean nothing.
This divide however, made each group thrive within itself, and therefore no hard feelings existed. Everyone was happy within their sphere. That is, until a tsunami struck and eliminated five or six port towns. Or until a cave crumbled and dozens of miners died. Or, now, when non descript boats loaded with archers appear from the north and sack a rich merchant's ship...
After all, the ocean is the life of Kame.
Of Japan in general, an isolationist country that drags life from the sea. But especially for Kame, the center of cultivation of the sea.
However, the sea itself could be seen as the two-sided god, the ni-Jin. For it brings life, and also death. Yes, ports line the coasts, but not all are asbustle. How many dikes are crumbled? How many submerged docks and piers are there? How many shipwrecks, not far off shore? The answer is 'countless'. Some low-land towns, near the shore, have been swept away completely by the powerful forces the inhabitants of Kame call tsunami.
Moving in land, we find prosperous trading towns, yet not too prosperous. They deal mainly in the goods of the ocean and currency. If you go further yet, you'll find the rugged mountains that pushed Japan to depend on the sea. Some rice cultivation here, some shrines there, but most of Kame's content lies on the coast.
That is, its above-ground content. Deep below the surface of the south-western island, there are great mine shafts. Hundreds of workers busy themselves in these depths, creating a good third of Kame's trading economy by finding precious minerals with which craftsmen shape weapons and objects for those who can afford them.
While Kame might seem prosperous, more than eighty percent of its population is poor, by general Japanese standards. The miners get paid close to nothing for all their hard work, it is the artisans who profit. The fishers make nothing, it is the sushi shops, the stores, that make the money. As such, three different societies have been formed- the miners, the boaters, and the upper class. The miners barter with eachother in working shifts. The boaters exchange fish, their catch, whatever they can. And the upper class... they deal with the merchants in the only manner merchants will deal- in bronze. And so Kame's inhabitants are completely seperated from eachother, each having their own sub economy. If one were to transfer to another class, they would find that all their riches suddenly mean nothing.
This divide however, made each group thrive within itself, and therefore no hard feelings existed. Everyone was happy within their sphere. That is, until a tsunami struck and eliminated five or six port towns. Or until a cave crumbled and dozens of miners died. Or, now, when non descript boats loaded with archers appear from the north and sack a rich merchant's ship...