Shimazu
Shimazu (also called the Shimazu Realm, or the Shimazu Clan), is a nation in East Asia centered around the Japanese island of Kyushu. Shimazu has existed as 3 different variants: previously as a rebel nation during the 3rd and 4th civil wars, and now as a Japanese territory. At it's peak, the Shimazu Realm controlled the entirety of Kyushu, as well as regions in South Korea, Honshu, Tawian, and other surrounding islands
Creation of Ryukyu
On 26 July, 2019, Baron_Sigma made the town of Yakushima and had the town join the nation of Japan. At this time the Emperor, Synargle, had been missing for about a week. Within a week, it was announced that Synargle would be stepping down and a new Emperor would be voted in. Baron_Sigma, despite being very new, ran for election. In the end, Yllalen won and became the new Emperor. After Yllalen became Emperor, he employed Baron_Sigma to act as a spy on the Christiana Foetus alliance, who were planning on making a nation in Japan. Baron_Sigma convinced them that he would be the leader of this nation and had all the money funneled to him and his town. Yllalen ordered Baron_Sigma to not actually make the town, but, in secret, Baron_Sigma had arranged a rebellion with the mayors of Oita and Nagasaki to make an independent nation on Kyushu. On 26 August, 2019, exactly one month after making the town of Yakushima, Baron_Sigma made the nation of Ryukyu, triggering a civil war in Japan. However, Yllalen decided to make peace with Ryukyu and allow them to exist, uncontested, as an independent nation. Dissatisfied with Yllalen's leadership, several mayors in Japan called for him to step down, while a few others decided to join Ryukyu, notably Wakayama.
Confederation of Japan
Seeing his power slipping, Yllalen heard and agreed to Baron_Sigma's proposal to form the Confederation of Japan. In September 2019, the Confederation was formed; Japan would not be one nation, but many nations known as Clans. Ryukyu was renamed to Shimazu, and Japan was renamed to Ashikaga. Hokkaido and Yakuza also formed as nations of the Confederation. The several Clans lived in harmony for a time, but there were disagreements about diplomacy and competitions about gaining towns. In October 2019, Yllalen handed leadership of Ashikaga to QqL, who disguised himself as Big Brother. Big Brother promised to make Japan great again or something, and tried to reunite Japan. However, he faced the stubbornness of the other Clans, and after a few weeks of leading Ashikaga, simply deleted the nation. The remaining towns that were in Ashikaga joined either Shimazu, Hokkaido, or Yakuza.
The 1st Shimazu Clan
Shimazu was now at the height of its power, owning nearly half of Japan, as well as several towns in Korea and Taiwan. However, in November 2019, Yakuza renamed itself to Imperial Japan and set out to reunite Japan as well. Under alek_b, the Yakuza Hunt was performed against a prominent Shimazu mayor in Korea, kicking off another civil war. Shimazu mostly ignored the attacks, but lost several towns from mayors who were interested in reunification. Despite his effort, alek_b lost interest in his imperial ambitions and so, in late December 2019, sold his town and nation to Synargle.
Shimazu and Kamakura
Following Alek's leave of Japan, several individuals attempted to move the gap. Synargle decided to make a return to Japan, Baron wanted to buy out the remaining towns, and a newly resurgent Qing, led by Mr_X1234, wanted to create a puppet nation in Japan led by QqL. Initially, Baron assisted in Synargle buying the nation of Imperial_Japan, as well as its towns Shikara and Tokyo, in an attempt to keep Qing off the island. Imperial_Japan was promptly renamed to Tokugawa, and a new confederation was formed between Shimazu, Shimazu_North Tokugawa and Ashikaga. Asano clan, led by KawadaJP, refused to join the Confederation due to Shimazu being involved. A few days later, Baron had crowned Sairene as empress,and on the 17th of March, 2020, the Shimazu Clan was absorbed into the 3rd Japanese Empire.
The Japanese Korea Protests
The 3rd Japanese Empire had had a system of governance in which a Prime Minister was elected and they would choose their ministers. Baron (now Qorrin) had previously ran for the position and won, serving out his month-long term. When Qorrin's term ran out, Ssansss, another notable japanese player, was chosen to become the next prime minister. One of his goals was to colonize korea, and when the town of Daegu was planted on the Korean peninsula with KawadaJP as daimyo. Qorrin got together a group of supporters (most of which joined the 2nd Shimazu Clan or made clans of their own) and sent a letter to the government stating that if they did not come to an agreement with the Korean governments, the rebellion would take further action. The action given to the government was that the rebellion would fund a town in Korea, but in reality all towns in the rebellion planned to leave Japan and join Korea. The two governments eventually came to a conclusion, in which Japan would take Daegu and Koksan and stop expansion in the Korean peninsula.
Ashimazu
During this time, the Japanese community had begun to divide into several groups, which had become apparent during the final prime minister election in the united 3rd Japanese Empire. This election had seen major toxicity between candidates and player groups, with the 4 major candidates being backed up by one group or another. Among these groups was one known as Ashimazu, backing the candidate Arkas. Ashimazu believed that the election system had become stale, as only the same players were being chosen as ministers and the policies reflected around their beliefs. Arkas ended up winning the election, but after seeing the toxicity and divide that the elections brought, there was a call for independence within the Ashimazu community.
The 2nd Shimazu Clan
On June 10th, 2020, the Shimazu clan was restored, officially kicking off the 4th Japanese Civil War. The nation was originally made up of the towns of Shikoku (formerly Shikara, capital of Imperial Japan), Hirosaki (formerly Akita, capital of ShimazuNorth/Honshu), Wakayama (formerly Awaji), Youshiken (former capital of Ishikari), and Yeosu, with Sapporo joining later that day and Hirosaki leaving later on to join the clan of Date, led by KawadaJP. During this time, Shimazu distanced itself from most other nations on EMC and Qorrin cut himself off from most other Japanese players. Towns such as Toshima, Oita, and Owonia also joined in this time. While Shimazu was not directly involved in any battles with the Japanese, there were many "skirmishes" around the server, including claim and nation name disputes, as well as the flag war on hub 2. Shimazu promoted peace within its borders and with other nations, but as to avoid problems, they stayed out of alliances and battles alike. Eventually the puppet state of Ishikari was formed, allowing towns further north to join Shimazu.
Inactivity
on July 24th, 2020, the nation of Japan declared war on Shimazu, followed closely by Hokkaido and Date. During this time most members were inactive and the nation's population fell. The town of Seoul joined Shimazu during this era, which led several neighboring nations to also declare war on Shimazu. Soon after, Ishikari left Shimazu to pursue their own goals. Shimazu fell into a long period of inactivity, lasting from August 2020 until late August of next year.
Japanese Territory of Shimazu
In August 2021, Qorrin had returned to the server in order to rebuild Kagoshima and unite the island of Kyushu under a single town. An official treaty was signed between Shimazu and Japan and the now 4th Japanese Empire, officially establishing Shimazu as a Japanese territory and eliminating the last of the 4th Civil War nations. After buying the towns of L_Xia (oita) and Nagasaki, the lands were claimed over by Kagoshima, which was renamed to Kyushu. Furthermore, an extensive project was started, which would see all buildings above the original city demolished in preparation of a large scale build. Members of the Shimazu territory would go on to hold government positions in Japan, including having several ministers and shugin.
Government
Constitution
Prelude: Shimazu is a constitutional monarchy. This Constitution is the law of Shimazu and it is the job of the Emperor and Daimyo (mayors) to uphold these laws. Any mayor that joins Shimazu automatically becomes a Daimyo and a member of the Sessei (Senate).
Emperor: The Emperor is the head of the government, and has the power to nominate ministers to handle national tasks. The Emperor is also the head of the Sessei and is in charge of ensuring that the Voting Rules are followed. The Emperor may only be replaced if the Emperor abdicates.
Sessei: The Sessei is the legislative body of Shimazu and consists of all Daimyo, including the Emperor. The Sessei is in charge of drafting laws and voting on whether a law is passed.
Ministers: Ministers are national jobs. Ministers have no additional power, but are given responsibilities to help the nation. Ministers must be nominated as a proposal and must be voted in by the Sessei.
Voting Rules
1) Before a law is voted on, it must be supported by at least one other Daimyo.
2) Any proposed law will have a 48-hour voting period.
3) Laws shall be passed if a simple majority of those who vote approve it (ties are considered approved).
4) All laws passed by the Sessei must be approved by the Emperor. If a law is vetoed by the Emperor, then the Sessei may overwrite the veto with a unanimous vote.
5) Once a law is voted by the Sessei and approved by the Emperor (or an Emperor's veto is overwritten), then that law becomes official.