building_description_texts_long_description_bos_1_region_specialty_gold_mining_1_desc \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_10_region_specialty_coal_mining_2_desc \n\nThe province has coal deposits which can be exploited in place of charcoal for industry. With proper investment, coal can be produced on a large scale. It is the only practical power source for the modern, industrial world and, in particular, steam trains. \n\nEasy access to “King Coal” was what began the Industrial Revolution in England at the appropriately named Coalbrookdale. By 1853, coal was the root of industrial wealth in the West. With coal to burn, steam-powered machinery was practical and profitable, and iron could be smelted in great quantities. To get the same industrial results with charcoal would have stripped forests bare across the world! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_100_modern_1_desc \n\nA cadet school allows the recruitment of modern units in a province. Training to be an officer takes a long time, and the best officers, the most dedicated professionals, are those who are trained from an early age to consider the army’s interests before their own. \n\nAs part of the efforts to modernise and professionalise armed forces, it was recognised in most countries that it made sense to teach young men the rudiments of military wisdom. As new guns and rifles arrived on the battlefield this became even more of an issue. In many countries officers had been trained by a sort of apprentice system, joining regiments directly as ensigns, cornets or junior lieutenants. While this was undoubtedly good for fostering strong bonds with their new units, it also meant that young officers also learned all the bad habits and prejudices of their senior colleagues. Only the seriously technical branches such as artillery and engineers avoided such problems by requiring officers to be educated. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_101_modern_2_desc \n\nA barracks allows the recruitment of modern units in a province. A roof over one’s head and regular food are powerful incentives to join the army. \n\nPermanent barracks allow a standing army to be maintained in isolation from the civilian population, and any funny ideas that they may have about free speech or democracy. Even revolutionary armies quickly abandon one-man-one-vote as a way of creating discipline and deciding tactics when the bullets start flying. A permanent home for military units allows for a sense of identity, and for professionalism in the ranks, to develop. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_102_modern_3_desc \n\nA military academy, only available for construction in Kyoto itself, allows the recruitment of modern units in a province. Modern warfare is a highly technical business, and an officer needs far more than good breeding and a samurai ancestry to get the best from his men, although those do help of course. \n\nWestern armies were, haltingly, in the process of making their officer classes into professionals rather than the sons of gentry and the aristocracy. Not all great generals appreciated the benefits of military academy education: Robert E. Lee, the greatest general of the American Civil War, is reported to have said his military education was the worst mistake of his life. It was also possible to send the sons of titled gentry to an academy and leave them utterly immune to any intellectual process. Indeed, the British staff college at Camberley was so poorly regarded that it had only a handful of pupils in the 1850s. Certainly, the backgrounds (and mixed performances) of British commanders during the latter years of Victoria’s reign suggest that social class and connections were far more use in a successful career than an excess of thinking. Academies were nice to have, but that didn’t mean commanders had to attend them. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_103_modern_4_desc \n\nAn army war college allows the recruitment of modern units in a province. Only one may be built. Warfare as an academic, intellectual challenge is the modern way; individual bravery is still of value, but the scientific approach to crushing an enemy has much to recommend it. \n\nWhen the Meiji government created a war college in 1882, they employed Prussian officers as teachers and to create a syllabus. By then, the Prussian military system had proven to be most effective, defeating both Austria and France in lightning-quick campaigns. Part of this effectiveness was attributed to the high professional standards of the senior Prussian officers, and it was these standards that the Japanese wanted to have in their army. In one sense, they did produce able men including several prime ministers, but fierce rivalry with the Imperial Japanese Navy was always source of tension and created competing national objectives. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_104_buff_1_desc \n\nA training camp reduces the expense of recruiting new units. Men can be efficiently trained, and cannot desert quite so readily from a well-ordered camp. \n\nAll armies need to train men in weapons handling, and toughen them for the rigours of campaign. Modern weaponry in particular can be intimidating to peasants unused to anything more complicated than the plough or the sickle. Gaining even rudimentary familiarity with something as alien as a foreign-built rifle takes time. On the other hand, such men are often quite hardy because they have lived a life outside, toiling in the fields. They need to learn, but their backs are already strong! They will be able to bear the burdens of soldiering. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_105_buff_2_desc \n\nA headquarters improves the morale of units recruited in the province. With good administration, soldiers justifiably feel that their interests and wellbeing are considered important. \n\nAs armies modernised, their ability to live off the land was sharply reduced. A good headquarters, in particular a well-organised supply effort, was vital to all operations. A medieval army, barring specialist weaponry, was able to take whatever it wanted or needed as it advanced through enemy territory. In contrast a 19th Century army would be hard-pressed to find enough food, let alone ammunition, by looting. Even something as simple as boots could be a problem: Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War were regularly reduced to looting boots, uniforms and equipment from dead Yankees. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_106_buff_2_desc \n\nA military hospital improves the replenishment rate for understrength units. Wounded men who are treated properly and promptly can often be returned to duty. \n\nMany European military hospitals, particularly those set up on campaign, were extremely badly run. During the Crimean War in the mid-1850s, for example, disease killed more British soldiers than the Russians, and anyone wounded in action faced a terrible, possibly fatal, time in hospital. This is what prompted Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole to improve medical care. During the American Civil War, field hospitals were often set up in stables as conveniently large buildings to shelter the wounded from the worst of the weather, but thanks to copious amounts of horse dung, not necessarily the best place to recover. Permanent hospitals were often better, but they were often far from the front, and could only care for survivors who lived through their immediate post-battle care. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_107_buff_2_desc \n\nA jujutsu hall is a training dojo that teaches traditional hand-to-hand combat techniques to recruits, improving their fighting abilities in melee. \n\nJujutsu was developed by the samurai as a method of self-defence without weapons when facing an armed and probably armoured enemy. It was a set of techniques that evolved to use an opponent’s own weight and movements against them. Like most practical forms of infighting taught to soldiers, jujutsu was not about obeying the rules or being “fair” as is the case in modern martial arts. It was an “art” about killing or disabling an attacker quickly and with whatever was to hand: gouging and even biting an enemy were taught and used. As a way of fighting, it was exactly what you would expect of a system developed by samurai: effective, and deadly. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_108_buff_2_desc \n\nA drill school does much to remake recruits into obedient soldiers, willing to obey orders without thought. This improves their charge bonus into close combat. \n\nAll Victorian armies used weapons that required a mass of troops to work as one. From marching in formation to occupy land, to delivering accurate and disciplined volley fire, the rank and file were expected to be part of the regimental machine, not individuals. Some units did require individualism from the men, it is true, but for the most part strict adherence to orders and good discipline were required in battle and in barracks. Drill, endless drill, is one way of instilling instinctive obedience into recruits. If they are conditioned to obey orders on the drill square, they will be more inclined to do so in the heat of battle. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_109_buff_2_desc \n\nA firing range gives every recruit and soldier a chance to practice with their firearms, under the disapproving eyes of their drill sergeants. This mild “baptism of fire” improves unit accuracy. \n\nMarksmanship was a completely wasted skill when infantry carried smoothbore muskets. An average infantryman was lucky to hit a target more than a few paces away. Industrialisation in the 19th Century made it possible to make rifled weapons at a low cost, and give one to every soldier in an army. All of a sudden, skill-at-arms, and in particularly paced, accurate firing, became a practical proposition. A trained man with a rifle could, with practice, reliably hit a man-sized target hundreds of yards away. The key requirement was practice, but a unit which had been properly trained, or had been blooded in action, could make any advancing foe pay dearly for every yard gained. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_11_region_specialty_coal_mining_3_desc \n\nThe province has coal deposits which can be exploited in place of charcoal for industry. With proper investment, coal can be produced on a large scale. It is the only practical power source for the modern, industrial world and, in particular, steam trains. \n\nEasy access to “King Coal” was what began the Industrial Revolution in England at the appropriately named Coalbrookdale. By 1853, coal was the root of industrial wealth in the West. With coal to burn, steam-powered machinery was practical and profitable, and iron could be smelted in great quantities. To get the same industrial results with charcoal would have stripped forests bare across the world! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_110_region_specialtea_1_desc Tea is grown in this province, and the value of this trading resource can be increased by proper and timely investment. \n\nThe tea ceremony is one of the defining images of Japan for many, even if it is a bafflingly formal ritual to many outsiders. In the 1850s and later, however, tea was a Japanese product that could find a ready market in the wider world; it was also one where production could be increased to earn foreign currency. This was vitally important if Japan was to modernise, as everything needed in the process had to be brought by, and bought, from foreigners. Japanese tea proved to be successful enough that trading monopolies were granted to Japanese merchants; trade in sayama tea, for example, was a very valuable monopoly, as the brew was particularly popular in the USA. Green tea is still popular, and considered a very healthy drink. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_111_region_specialtea_2_desc Tea is grown in this province, and the value of this trading resource can be increased by proper and timely investment. \n\nThe tea ceremony is one of the defining images of Japan for many, even if it is a bafflingly formal ritual to many outsiders. In the 1850s and later, however, tea was a Japanese product that could find a ready market in the wider world; it was also one where production could be increased to earn foreign currency. This was vitally important if Japan was to modernise, as everything needed in the process had to be brought by, and bought, from foreigners. Japanese tea proved to be successful enough that trading monopolies were granted to Japanese merchants; trade in sayama tea, for example, was a very valuable monopoly, as the brew was particularly popular in the USA. Green tea is still popular, and considered a very healthy drink. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_112_region_specialtea_3_desc Tea is grown in this province, and the value of this trading resource can be increased by proper and timely investment. \n\nThe tea ceremony is one of the defining images of Japan for many, even if it is a bafflingly formal ritual to many outsiders. In the 1850s and later, however, tea was a Japanese product that could find a ready market in the wider world; it was also one where production could be increased to earn foreign currency. This was vitally important if Japan was to modernise, as everything needed in the process had to be brought by, and bought, from foreigners. Japanese tea proved to be successful enough that trading monopolies were granted to Japanese merchants; trade in sayama tea, for example, was a very valuable monopoly, as the brew was particularly popular in the USA. Green tea is still popular, and considered a very healthy drink. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_113_propaganda_4_desc \n\nA military society is a “secret” organisation that encourages nationalist views in the population, and makes them happier in these times of change by giving them a sense of security. Usually membership is limited to officers, but wealthy civilians may contribute their support as well. The society’s membership is an open secret: everyone knows it exists, but no one actually talks about it, or ever claims to be a member. \n\nEventually military societies were to plague Japanese politics, and cause no end of misfortune to Japan and other countries. After the Great War, Japan entered a period when ultra-nationalist factions within the Imperial Japanese Army and the Navy professed enormous loyalty to the Emperor. Often these groups were middle and low-ranking officers, and they were quite prepared to assassinate both politicians and senior officers in their own services that they considered to be insufficiently loyal to the Imperial Throne. Any sign of compromise, social liberalism or free thinking was seen as base treachery to be punished with death at their hands. As might be expected, in such a febrile atmosphere, moderate politicians kept quiet. The military societies acted in zeal, but seemed unable to understand that others could be equally loyal and still hold different views as to what was best for Japan. Officers in military societies were also quite prepared to kill themselves to advance their views about what was right for the country. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_12_region_specialty_copper_mining_1_desc \n\nThis province contains enough copper deposits to be worth mining. With further investment and time, these will become even more profitable, and enable ships to be constructed with copper bottoms. \n\nCopper mining and, more particularly, refining and smelting the metal, are unpleasant and polluting businesses. This is outweighed, though, by the benefits of having industrial amounts of copper available. Many early telegraph cables, including undersea ones, were made from copper wire as the metal has low resistance to electric currents. However, its uses in shipbuilding were more relevant to anyone warlike: plating the bottom of a ship with copper sheets stopped all kinds of marine worms, and prevented barnacles and weeds from getting a hold on the hull. Ships lasted longer, were cheaper to maintain because they needed fewer repairs, and could achieve a better top speed for much of their service life. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_13_region_specialty_copper_mining_2_desc \n\nThis province contains enough copper deposits to be worth mining. With further investment and time, these will become even more profitable, and enable ships to be constructed with copper bottoms. \n\nCopper mining and, more particularly, refining and smelting the metal, are unpleasant and polluting businesses. This is outweighed, though, by the benefits of having industrial amounts of copper available. Many early telegraph cables, including undersea ones, were made from copper wire as the metal has low resistance to electric currents. However, its uses in shipbuilding were more relevant to anyone warlike: plating the bottom of a ship with copper sheets stopped all kinds of marine worms, and prevented barnacles and weeds from getting a hold on the hull. Ships lasted longer, were cheaper to maintain because they needed fewer repairs, and could achieve a better top speed for much of their service life. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_14_region_specialty_copper_mining_3_desc \n\nThis province contains enough copper deposits to be worth mining. With further investment and time, these will become even more profitable, and enable ships to be constructed with copper bottoms. \n\nCopper mining and, more particularly, refining and smelting the metal, are unpleasant and polluting businesses. This is outweighed, though, by the benefits of having industrial amounts of copper available. Many early telegraph cables, including undersea ones, were made from copper wire as the metal has low resistance to electric currents. However, its uses in shipbuilding were more relevant to anyone warlike: plating the bottom of a ship with copper sheets stopped all kinds of marine worms, and prevented barnacles and weeds from getting a hold on the hull. Ships lasted longer, were cheaper to maintain because they needed fewer repairs, and could achieve a better top speed for much of their service life. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_15_region_specialty_copper_mining_3_desc \n\nThis province contains enough copper deposits to be worth mining. With further investment and time, these will become even more profitable, and enable ships to be constructed with copper bottoms. \n\nCopper mining and, more particularly, refining and smelting the metal, are unpleasant and polluting businesses. This is outweighed, though, by the benefits of having industrial amounts of copper available. Many early telegraph cables, including undersea ones, were made from copper wire as the metal has low resistance to electric currents. However, its uses in shipbuilding were more relevant to anyone warlike: plating the bottom of a ship with copper sheets stopped all kinds of marine worms, and prevented barnacles and weeds from getting a hold on the hull. Ships lasted longer, were cheaper to maintain because they needed fewer repairs, and could achieve a better top speed for much of their service life. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_16_region_specialty_iron_mining_1_desc \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine and its industries are developed and expanded, the ability to train modern units improves, and the cost of locally-recruited artillery units is reduced. \n\nIron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any modern state. Without iron, there are no machines, and no modern weaponry made by those machines. Gold is very useful, but it flows to foreign hands when good iron is not available. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_17_region_specialty_iron_mining_2_desc \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine and its industries are developed and expanded, the ability to train modern units improves, and the cost of locally-recruited artillery units is reduced. \n\nIron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any modern state. Without iron, there are no machines, and no modern weaponry made by those machines. Gold is very useful, but it flows to foreign hands when good iron is not available. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_18_region_specialty_iron_mining_3_desc \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine and its industries are developed and expanded, the ability to train modern units improves, and the cost of locally-recruited artillery units is reduced. \n\nIron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any modern state. Without iron, there are no machines, and no modern weaponry made by those machines. Gold is very useful, but it flows to foreign hands when good iron is not available. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_19_region_specialty_iron_mining_3_desc \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine and its industries are developed and expanded, the ability to train modern units improves, and the cost of locally-recruited artillery units is reduced. \n\nIron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any modern state. Without iron, there are no machines, and no modern weaponry made by those machines. Gold is very useful, but it flows to foreign hands when good iron is not available. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_2_region_specialty_gold_mining_2_desc \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_20_region_specialty_silk_1_desc \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. It can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in the enterprise, such as in this province. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. It was so beautiful, magical and costly that only the very powerful and very wealthy could afford to wear it. Although sumptuary laws forbidding common people from wearing rich clothes had fallen out of usage in Victorian Europe, the equivalent rules and customs were still obeyed in Japan when the American squadron arrived in 1853. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_21_region_specialty_silk_2_desc \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. It can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in the enterprise, such as in this province. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. It was so beautiful, magical and costly that only the very powerful and very wealthy could afford to wear it. Although sumptuary laws forbidding common people from wearing rich clothes had fallen out of usage in Victorian Europe, the equivalent rules and customs were still obeyed in Japan when the American squadron arrived in 1853. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_22_region_specialty_silk_3_desc \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. It can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in the enterprise, such as in this province. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. It was so beautiful, magical and costly that only the very powerful and very wealthy could afford to wear it. Although sumptuary laws forbidding common people from wearing rich clothes had fallen out of usage in Victorian Europe, the equivalent rules and customs were still obeyed in Japan when the American squadron arrived in 1853. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_23_region_specialty_holy_site_1_desc \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, the spirits of troops recruited here are raised, and their devotion to the old ideals of duty, courage and honour are reinforced. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People will always appreciate the beauty of the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that is important. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. Many shrines in Japan are now historical monuments as well as revered religious sites, and this means that many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_24_region_specialty_holy_site_2_desc \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, the spirits of troops recruited here are raised, and their devotion to the old ideals of duty, courage and honour are reinforced. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People will always appreciate the beauty of the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that is important. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. Many shrines in Japan are now historical monuments as well as revered religious sites, and this means that many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_25_region_specialty_holy_site_3_desc \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, the spirits of troops recruited here are raised, and their devotion to the old ideals of duty, courage and honour are reinforced. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People will always appreciate the beauty of the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that is important. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. Many shrines in Japan are now historical monuments as well as revered religious sites, and this means that many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_26_region_specialty_smithing_1_desc \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the traditional equipment of the samurai, or creating Japanese versions of modern, foreign weapons. In either case, the troops recruited here will benefit from their efforts. \n\nThe skills that made Japanese swords were not always easy to apply to the new machines that openness with the West brought. However, Japanese craftsmen did learn quickly and were soon making “native” modern weapons as good as anything from outside, if not in quite the same quantities. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_27_region_specialty_smithing_2_desc \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the traditional equipment of the samurai, or creating Japanese versions of modern, foreign weapons. In either case, the troops recruited here will benefit from their efforts. \n\nThe skills that made Japanese swords were not always easy to apply to the new machines that openness with the West brought. However, Japanese craftsmen did learn quickly and were soon making “native” modern weapons as good as anything from outside, if not in quite the same quantities. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_28_region_specialty_smithing_3_desc \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the traditional equipment of the samurai, or creating Japanese versions of modern, foreign weapons. In either case, the troops recruited here will benefit from their efforts. \n\nThe skills that made Japanese swords were not always easy to apply to the new machines that openness with the West brought. However, Japanese craftsmen did learn quickly and were soon making “native” modern weapons as good as anything from outside, if not in quite the same quantities. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_29_region_specialty_smithing_3_desc \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the traditional equipment of the samurai, or creating Japanese versions of modern, foreign weapons. In either case, the troops recruited here will benefit from their efforts. \n\nThe skills that made Japanese swords were not always easy to apply to the new machines that openness with the West brought. However, Japanese craftsmen did learn quickly and were soon making “native” modern weapons as good as anything from outside, if not in quite the same quantities. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_3_region_specialty_gold_mining_3_desc \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_30_region_specialty_clay_1_desc \n\nThere are extensive and easily accessible deposits of clay in this province. This can be fired to produce pottery and tiles. Money spent here will improve production and so help with building construction. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. Even simple objects were considered worthy of being made with care, and being beautiful. This applied to household items as much as rich silks and valuable swords. The coming of the industrial world meant that these ideas were in danger of being swept away, but there is an echo of the idea that things worth doing or making are worth doing well in “kaizen”, or the concept of continuous improvement. Anything and everything is reviewed and changed to make it better by everyone, even on a factory floor or a production line. Craftsmanship is still treasured: even today “living national treasures”, the absolute masters of their arts and crafts, are celebrated and supported by the government and people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_31_region_specialty_clay_2_desc \n\nThere are extensive and easily accessible deposits of clay in this province. This can be fired to produce pottery and tiles. Money spent here will improve production and so help with building construction. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. Even simple objects were considered worthy of being made with care, and being beautiful. This applied to household items as much as rich silks and valuable swords. The coming of the industrial world meant that these ideas were in danger of being swept away, but there is an echo of the idea that things worth doing or making are worth doing well in “kaizen”, or the concept of continuous improvement. Anything and everything is reviewed and changed to make it better by everyone, even on a factory floor or a production line. Craftsmanship is still treasured: even today “living national treasures”, the absolute masters of their arts and crafts, are celebrated and supported by the government and people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_32_region_specialty_clay_3_desc \n\nThere are extensive and easily accessible deposits of clay in this province. This can be fired to produce pottery and tiles. Money spent here will improve production and so help with building construction. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. Even simple objects were considered worthy of being made with care, and being beautiful. This applied to household items as much as rich silks and valuable swords. The coming of the industrial world meant that these ideas were in danger of being swept away, but there is an echo of the idea that things worth doing or making are worth doing well in “kaizen”, or the concept of continuous improvement. Anything and everything is reviewed and changed to make it better by everyone, even on a factory floor or a production line. Craftsmanship is still treasured: even today “living national treasures”, the absolute masters of their arts and crafts, are celebrated and supported by the government and people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_33_region_specialty_clay_3_desc \n\nThere are extensive and easily accessible deposits of clay in this province. This can be fired to produce pottery and tiles. Money spent here will improve production and so help with building construction. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. Even simple objects were considered worthy of being made with care, and being beautiful. This applied to household items as much as rich silks and valuable swords. The coming of the industrial world meant that these ideas were in danger of being swept away, but there is an echo of the idea that things worth doing or making are worth doing well in “kaizen”, or the concept of continuous improvement. Anything and everything is reviewed and changed to make it better by everyone, even on a factory floor or a production line. Craftsmanship is still treasured: even today “living national treasures”, the absolute masters of their arts and crafts, are celebrated and supported by the government and people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_34_region_specialty_smugglers_1_desc A wise warrior uses the weapons to hand; given a spear, he does not ask for a sword. A nest of criminality might seem a source of trouble and discontent, but with “encouragement” it can be a well of gold. It can also be a training ground for intrigue and deception. \n\nThe Tokugawa prohibitions on overseas contacts and trade kept out foreign influence, but they did not suppress the desire for foreign goods. Although trade with the Dutch was allowed at Nagasaki, it could not satisfy everyone. Where there is demand for the forbidden, there will be criminals. Once there are criminals, they will make money through criminality. Once the money flows it finds a way into many purses, and the boundaries between the shadows and the light become very blurred. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_35_region_specialty_smugglers_2_desc A wise warrior uses the weapons to hand; given a spear, he does not ask for a sword. A nest of criminality might seem a source of trouble and discontent, but with “encouragement” it can be a well of gold. It can also be a training ground for intrigue and deception. \n\nThe Tokugawa prohibitions on overseas contacts and trade kept out foreign influence, but they did not suppress the desire for foreign goods. Although trade with the Dutch was allowed at Nagasaki, it could not satisfy everyone. Where there is demand for the forbidden, there will be criminals. Once there are criminals, they will make money through criminality. Once the money flows it finds a way into many purses, and the boundaries between the shadows and the light become very blurred. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_36_region_specialty_smugglers_3_desc A wise warrior uses the weapons to hand; given a spear, he does not ask for a sword. A nest of criminality might seem a source of trouble and discontent, but with “encouragement” it can be a well of gold. It can also be a training ground for intrigue and deception. \n\nThe Tokugawa prohibitions on overseas contacts and trade kept out foreign influence, but they did not suppress the desire for foreign goods. Although trade with the Dutch was allowed at Nagasaki, it could not satisfy everyone. Where there is demand for the forbidden, there will be criminals. Once there are criminals, they will make money through criminality. Once the money flows it finds a way into many purses, and the boundaries between the shadows and the light become very blurred. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_37_region_specialty_railroad_1_desc \n\nThe telegraph and railway are the height of modernity: a journey of days or weeks becomes a matter of moments for a message, or hours for an army. Goods can be swiftly transported to new markets, giving tremendous opportunities for growth. \n\nEven before the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma domain and the Tokugawa Shogunate considered building railways. When work did start under Meiji orders, it was British engineers who got the rail-building contracts. Given Japan’s mountainous landscape, the decision to build a narrow gauge (3 feet 6 inches) railway system was probably a sensible one, as this allows for much tighter curves. Shipments of rails and rolling stock also seem to have been diverted from a line in New Zealand to Japan. Narrow gauge locos are also a good deal smaller than standard gauge ones, and therefore easier to offload from ships and manhandle! Other than the modern “Bullet Trains”, today’s fearsomely efficient Japanese railways continue to use this narrower gauge. \n\nThe telegraph, incidentally, was vital to the safe running of a railway because it could send warnings along the line that a train was coming. Among other dangerous practices, it had been usual to send trains off at the appointed time whether or not the line ahead was clear. All telegraph messages had to be sent in "romaji", a version of Japanese written down using the English alphabet. Morse code already allowed for sending English letters, so there was no need to develop new morse codings specifically for the symbols of written Japanese. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_38_region_specialty_railroad_2_desc \n\nThe telegraph and railway are the height of modernity: a journey of days or weeks becomes a matter of moments for a message, or hours for an army. Goods can be swiftly transported to new markets, giving tremendous opportunities for growth. \n\nEven before the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma domain and the Tokugawa Shogunate considered building railways. When work did start under Meiji orders, it was British engineers who got the rail-building contracts. Given Japan’s mountainous landscape, the decision to build a narrow gauge (3 feet 6 inches) railway system was probably a sensible one, as this allows for much tighter curves. Shipments of rails and rolling stock also seem to have been diverted from a line in New Zealand to Japan. Narrow gauge locos are also a good deal smaller than standard gauge ones, and therefore easier to offload from ships and manhandle! Other than the modern “Bullet Trains”, today’s fearsomely efficient Japanese railways continue to use this narrower gauge. \n\nThe telegraph, incidentally, was vital to the safe running of a railway because it could send warnings along the line that a train was coming. Among other dangerous practices, it had been usual to send trains off at the appointed time whether or not the line ahead was clear. All telegraph messages had to be sent in "romaji", a version of Japanese written down using the English alphabet. Morse code already allowed for sending English letters, so there was no need to develop new morse codings specifically for the symbols of written Japanese. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_39_region_specialty_railroad_3_desc \n\nThe telegraph and railway are the height of modernity: a journey of days or weeks becomes a matter of moments for a message, or hours for an army. Goods can be swiftly transported to new markets, giving tremendous opportunities for growth. \n\nEven before the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma domain and the Tokugawa Shogunate considered building railways. When work did start under Meiji orders, it was British engineers who got the rail-building contracts. Given Japan’s mountainous landscape, the decision to build a narrow gauge (3 feet 6 inches) railway system was probably a sensible one, as this allows for much tighter curves. Shipments of rails and rolling stock also seem to have been diverted from a line in New Zealand to Japan. Narrow gauge locos are also a good deal smaller than standard gauge ones, and therefore easier to offload from ships and manhandle! Other than the modern “Bullet Trains”, today’s fearsomely efficient Japanese railways continue to use this narrower gauge. \n\nThe telegraph, incidentally, was vital to the safe running of a railway because it could send warnings along the line that a train was coming. Among other dangerous practices, it had been usual to send trains off at the appointed time whether or not the line ahead was clear. All telegraph messages had to be sent in "romaji", a version of Japanese written down using the English alphabet. Morse code already allowed for sending English letters, so there was no need to develop new morse codings specifically for the symbols of written Japanese. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_4_region_specialty_gold_mining_3_desc \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_40_foundation_1_desc \n\nA town is a basic settlement in a province, a place for merchants to meet and do business on a small scale. Peasants visit once or twice a year, with appropriately open-mouthed amazement at the sophisticated pleasures on offer! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_41_foundation_2_desc \n\nA large town is a significant settlement in a province, with its own life and identity quite distinct from the countryside around. The settlement is large enough to make the collection of taxes somewhat easier, if only because so many taxpayers live there! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_42_foundation_3_desc \n\nA city is a very large settlement, with many people living and working there at all kinds of crafts and trades. Life in the city is far removed from the drudgery of fields and harvests. A city improves the tax income of a province. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_43_foundation_4_desc \n\nSome cities burst beyond the confines of their walls because they are such desirable places to live. The streets may not be paved with gold, but for the people who live and work in a municipality there are opportunities to better themselves and their status in society. A municipality significantly improves the tax income of a province. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_44_foundation_5_desc \n\nA large city with many government officials, nobles and wealthy merchants living there will always have a large pull on common people looking for work and a better life. Almost any trader or craftsman can be found here, along with all the pleasures and diversions that the good life demands. A prefecture and its officials significantly improve the tax income of a province. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_45_criminal_1_desc \n\nAn inn is a place for entertainment, and for weary travellers to rest on their journeys. It increases the happiness of the local population and, as they can use their skills there, enables geishas to be recruited as agents. \n\nThe great Imperial roads of Japan had inns at regular intervals, allowing messengers to rest before pressing on with the Shogun’s business. Unfortunately, they also had a less salubrious side: drunken duels were not unknown, and gambling was also common. Geishas, however, did not provide any “personal services” to their clients: they were decorous escorts, not prostitutes. It was their part to make sure that everyone had a good time, drank a lot, ate excessively, and spent a lot of money at the inn. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_46_criminal_2_desc \n\nA market allows any local traders and entrepreneurs to make money, so increasing economic activity in a province. Such income can, of course, be taxed. Given that market days are also chances to enjoy life, the skills of geisha are also in demand. Any geisha agents recruited in the same province will have some experience of life. \n\nMarkets are the centre of life in any town or agricultural community, a chance to get together, gossip, trade, and buy something special that can’t be made at home or by a neighbour. The peddlers who travelled between markets were seen as a necessary social class, but not held in much esteem. This dislike of outsiders and strangers was not particularly Japanese, but was echoed across the world in medieval times: tinkers and peddlers were welcome, but not trusted, and only for the duration of a market or festival. After that, sadly, they could expect short shrift. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_47_criminal_2_desc \n\nA gambling den is a sink of vice and depravity, and also something that brings enormous enjoyment to those who frequent it. The local people are often happy, if only because the gamblers will protect them from other, worse types. The den also improves the local economy, even if the ruling classes see very little of this activity, at least officially. Geishas also polish their skills here, improving the quality of agents recruited in the same province. \n\nCriminality covered a number of social classes in Shogunate Japan, lumping people together as slightly unacceptable based on their jobs. Not quite the lowest of the low, bakuto were gamblers. They were held in contempt because they did not earn an honest living. Above them were hinin, criminals such as actors and entertainers; again, they did not have respectable trades. Even ordinary townsfolk, the chonin, were held to be less than respectable compared to the peasants, simply because they did not labour on the land. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_48_criminal_3_desc \n\nA financial district brings together moneylenders, loan sharks and rich merchants into one community that engages in the delicate business of lending money to others. Trade and commerce are improved throughout the province, as merchants can more easily finance their trading activities. Because these men have large amounts of money to spend on their entertainments, the quality of geishas recruited in the same province will be improved. \n\nWithout a structure of property laws, all financial dealings are necessarily about the given word of the lender and borrower. Because of this, the lender often expects a very good return on his money; after all, short of going after repayments with threats of violence, there may be no way of recovering his funds. Legally enforceable contracts, even though they involve expensive lawyers, can actually make the business of borrowing money cheaper: the lender has a good expectation of seeing all of his money back, and can charge a smaller fee or less interest for its use. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_49_criminal_3_desc \n\nThis hotbed of criminality and gambling improves happiness in the province. It also gives geishas a chance to practice their skills, and so adds experience to any recruited here. \n\nMahjong (“Sparrow Tiles” in the original Chinese) looks complicated, but is actually remarkably simple in principle, and ruthless in practice. Played with 136 ivory tiles, four players try to form matching groups of four tiles until “Mahjong” is called, gambling on the result as they do so. Based on an older Chinese card game, Ma-Taio, the Japanese embraced the game and made it a little more cutthroat. Richi Mahjong adds a winner-takes-all element that makes the game more of a race to victory. While gambling is now illegal in Japan, Richi Mahjong was once the perfect game for high-stakes excitement. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_5_region_specialty_silver_mining_1_desc \n\nSilver mining can be enormously profitable, and additional investment in this province will bring in extra, taxable income. Silver can be found as nuggets or, as it is reactive and unlike gold, as compounds with other elements. It is also a by-product of other kinds of mining, either from the tailings or because silver is often found in the same rock strata. This can make silver mining or recovery a hazardous business for the workers, as lead or arsenic poisoning are horrible ways to die. \n\nNevertheless, silver is an attractive metal, and has been long valued and used by people as coinage and jewellery. It has also had medical uses, both for instruments and as a treatment for a variety of complaints. Before the arrival of modern antibiotics, it was recognised that silver could treat some infections; this is because the metal is toxic to some microbes and fungi. The medical benefits, though, are entirely outweighed by its use as treasure. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_50_criminal_4_desc \n\nThe Junin Ryogae improves commerce for the owning faction by managing the availability of money in the economy. The building improves happiness in a province, and also improves the quality of geishas recruited there. After all, bankers must have their small pleasures. \n\nCompared to medieval merchants, all modern industries and businesses make extensive use of banking services. In the rapidly modernising Japan of the Meiji period, the city of Osaka became a centre for banking, with much of the work of a central bank being done by the “Junin Ryogae”, the Ten Exchange Houses. Although these were not modern bankers, they did lend money to other banks, the governments of individual domains, and manage the markets of gold-back cash and silver-backed bank-issue money. In effect, they controlled the exchange and interest rates for Japan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_51_criminal_4_desc \n\nA yakuza office may not be an entirely legal business, but it is a business and it does improve the commercial activity in a province. The protection extended by the yakuza also improves the happiness of the local people, and improves the quality of geisha recruited in the same province. Only one yakuza office can be built. \n\nThe yakuza can trace their origins back to two groups: peddlers and gamblers. Nobles and samurai were at the top of the social hierarchy. Oddly, townsfolk of all kinds ranked below “honest” peasants, and itinerant traders were considered even lower. They were forced to gang together to protect themselves during markets. Gamblers were similarly considered of very low status, but they had access to money, and often acted as loan sharks and informal financiers. The yakuza, then, were united in the face of social scorn, but behaved with considerable decorum towards each other. Even today, and unlike many organised criminals, they rarely attack people outside “the life”. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_52_propaganda_1_desc \n\nA police station gives a community a sense that justice and law are forces for good in their lives, not the arbitrary whim of a passing noble. They also come to feel that property is safe, and that wrongdoers will be punished. It improves the quality of agents recruited in the same province. \n\nPolicing was often an ad hoc business, carried out by a lord’s retainers as and when it was required. Justice, in a society where a samurai was pretty much free to kill anyone he wanted provided they were from a lower social class, was swift and summary. Towns and cities had city watches, groups of men paid to patrol the streets at night and during festivals, but these were as much concerned with fire-watching as thief-taking; fire, of course, was always a terrible danger in the close-packed wooden buildings of many towns. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_53_propaganda_2_desc \n\nA magistrate has wide powers of investigation and punishment, his authority being drawn from the provincial lord and, ultimately, from the Shogun. It is a foolish man indeed who crosses a magistrate, and a foolishly brave one who does so deliberately. He is, then, a tool of legal repression in human form. He also knows his province and can spot men of talent, making it easier to recruit agents. \n\nAfter the lawlessness of the Sengoku Jidai, the strongest reasons for ordinary people to support the Tokugawa Shogunate were law and order. With peace came the chance to build settled lives, safe from pillage, rapine and murder. Shogunate officials were quick to capitalise on this history during the struggle of the Meiji Restoration, although direct criticism of the Emperor was, of course, completely beyond the pale. The motive of his servants, lawless as they were and without respect for tradition, could be called into question with impugnity. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_54_propaganda_2_desc \n\nA secret society serves to influence and control public opinion, both swaying people and keeping them in line through, although its members would deny it, fear. \n\nA secret society that everyone knows about is something of an oxymoron, yet Japanese history is replete with small groups who are both secret and yet known about by those in authority. Mostly, and particularly within the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army after the Meiji Restoration, these groups were very nationalistic and uncompromising in their outlook, and all professed a fierce loyalty to the Emperor. Their targets were usually intellectuals, liberals and compromisers (or realists) who, in their view, were not serving the Emperor or Japan properly. Unfortunately, rather than arguing their cases in open, often assassination became the secret societies’ favoured tool of political discourse. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_55_propaganda_3_desc \n\nWhile the shinsengumi became a police force of sorts, they had many of the habits of the gangs and “secret” societies they purported to oppose. Often drawn from the ranks of ronin, impartial observers would probably have trouble in distinguishing between protection racketeers and the squads of special police. \n\nThe use by the Shogun of the shinsengumi was probably little more than a recognition that troublemakers were going to cause trouble. It was therefore better to have some control over them than none at all, particularly as these men were largely traditionalists at heart. It was inevitable that Japan modernised in the face of foreign intervention or domination, and reactionary forces had to be kept in check somehow. Better, then, to co-opt the shinsengumi than let them do anything they wanted. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_56_propaganda_3_desc \n\nThe shikoyoku office looks after Imperial records, and makes sure that the truth of history is known to all. In the process, of course, the justifications of rebels and traitors are shown to be lies, which helps make the local population certain of where their loyalties should lie. The office also helps with the recruitment of ishin-shishi. \n\nThe “men of high purpose” of the ishin-shishi were the most vociferous supporters of the Emperor, and used history and tradition to justify their viewpoint. Oddly, the “historical office” or shikoyoku had been established by the Tokugawas to formalise the study of Japanese history. But tradition can be used by more than one group of people, and the ishin-shishi used the historical record with more skill. Clever use of history did, however, mean that the Shogun’s supporters could be reconciled to the Emperor’s final triumph. It was not, after all, new, but a return to an older tradition; even the Shogun’s servants had always been loyal to the Imperial throne. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_57_propaganda_4_desc \n\nGiven the dangerous nature of the men of the shinsengumi, their headquarters unsurprisingly increases repression. Unsurprisingly, the quality of shinsengumi agents recruited here is improved. \n\nThe shinsengumi, the “newly chosen squad” were a police force recruited by the Shogunate to keep order in Edo. “Recruited” in this context is a slightly formal term for what was, in fact, the recognition that a group of former ronin were keeping their own brand of order on the streets while professing loyalty to the Tokugawa Shogunate. They did not treat people with different loyalties with any great respect or courtesy. They also acted as little better than some of the armed groups of “loyalists” (to various causes and ideas) they claimed to being keeping in order. However, they were effective at making sure the Shogun’s rivals did not have chance to say very much! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_58_propaganda_4_desc \n\nA newspaper is a unique building for an Imperial faction. It adds to happiness, and also helps policing by reporting news in the right fashion. The quality of any ishin-shishi recruited is improved by a newspaper. \n\nMeiji-period Japanese newspapers were initially intended to be for foreigners, and largely containing foreign news. There had been Japanese news sheets since the 1700s but they were, as might be expected, closely monitored by the government. When the newspapers were produced with Japanese news and content, they soon divided into “broadsheets” and “tabloids”, acting respectively as political propaganda for various parties and interest groups, and sources of more general lightweight news and entertainment. Neither sort of paper survived intact to the end of the century, and Japan developed a fairly healthy free press that tried to report impartially. This state of affairs lasted until the rise of militarism and the imposition of heavy-handed government censorship. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_59_industry_1_desc \n\nCottage industry adds to the wealth of a province. The craftsmen use traditional methods, but do so very efficiently and in close cooperation with merchants and traders. Their goods can be sold in many places, even though each man may only make a few items. \n\nHistory shows that cottage industries are the natural precursor to an industrial revolution. Each weaver, potter or smith may work in his own shop, but with many of them in a small area, they can produce large quantities of goods even though their machinery is not mechanised or modernised. Each family tends to specialise in one part of craft process, so that a potter will make pottery, which is then sold on to a decorator or painter, and in turn sold on when fired to a merchant. There is, in effect, a production line, but one split across small workshops. While this meant that craftsmen could make more goods and so more money, they were not in a position to compete against water or steam-powered factories and their enormous outputs. The same pattern of craftsmen being driven out of markets and overwhelmed by the relatively cheap goods from factories was repeated in Japan. As with the original Industrial Revolution, many craftsmen were forced to take work in the new factories, or face starvation. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_6_region_specialty_silver_mining_2_desc \n\nSilver mining can be enormously profitable, and additional investment in this province will bring in extra, taxable income. Silver can be found as nuggets or, as it is reactive and unlike gold, as compounds with other elements. It is also a by-product of other kinds of mining, either from the tailings or because silver is often found in the same rock strata. This can make silver mining or recovery a hazardous business for the workers, as lead or arsenic poisoning are horrible ways to die. \n\nNevertheless, silver is an attractive metal, and has been long valued and used by people as coinage and jewellery. It has also had medical uses, both for instruments and as a treatment for a variety of complaints. Before the arrival of modern antibiotics, it was recognised that silver could treat some infections; this is because the metal is toxic to some microbes and fungi. The medical benefits, though, are entirely outweighed by its use as treasure. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_60_industry_2_desc \n\nA cotton weaving shed adds to the wealth of a province, and helps industry to grow. Cotton is not a native plant to Japan, so this building implies more contact with outsiders, making the process of modernising slightly easier. Access to cotton is required before the shed can be built. \n\nAlmost without exception, craft looms are powered by the craftsman, or craftswoman, making the cloth. The work is, as a result, physically quite hard. Power looms, first developed in England in the early 1700s were less tiring to use. They were first driven by waterwheels, and only later by coal-fired steam engines. The first mills built were all on hillsides in Northern England, precisely to take advantage of the force of water when it flows downhill. Japan, whatever else it may lack, does not suffer from a shortage of steep hillsides! Simple power looms are therefore easy to install. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_61_industry_2_desc \n\nA silk weaving shed adds to the wealth of a province, and helps industry to grow. Silk worms are cultivated in Japan, so this building requires no machinery from foreigners, giving the province a traditionalist air. Obviously, access to silk is required before the shed can be built. \n\nSilk was, and remains, a remarkable fabric. The silk kimono is almost a clichéd image from Japan, although during the Meiji Restoration it was a symbol of the old ways. As modernisers among the Japanese nobility, bureaucracy and merchants adopted western dress, the traditionalists were equally keen to retain the kimono and other traditional garb. This distaste for Western fashion did not normally extend to a distaste for Western firearms, and even staunch traditionalists would, quite discreetly, tuck away a revolver. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_62_industry_2_desc \n\nA craft workshop improves economic growth in a province, as workers can produce their goods more efficiently. \n\nCraftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for everyone. From the high lord to the simple peasant, all appreciate objects that are well made. Skilled craftsmen have always been admired in Japan, no matter what their individual trade. The master potter who creates a perfect pot is as well regarded as the scholar who can write beautifully, or the gardener who grows a perfect blossom. It is not only a Japanese accomplishment, but what sets such craftsmen apart is their absolute dedication to their work and, in the end, the almost-instinctive ability to make the very hard appear very simple. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_63_industry_3_desc \n\nA factory significantly adds to the economy, and acts as a force for further economic growth. \n\nThe Industrial Revolution in England and then across Europe changed the way that common people lived forever. Before the coming of factories, people lived and died without ever going more than a few miles from where they were born. Their days were marked by the passing of the seasons, and the position of the sun. Factories took all that away: the clock and the weekly pay packet, suitably reduced by charges imposed by factory owners, became the rhythm of life. Life in the fields had been hard, but life in the factories was equally so, and without the benefits of fresh air. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_64_industry_4_desc \n\nA cotton processing plant adds substantially to the wealth of a province, and significantly helps industry to grow. Cotton is not a native plant to Japan, so this building implies more contact with outsiders, making the process of modernising slightly easier. Access to cotton is required before the plant can be built, and only one can be constructed. \n\nAs far as textile production was concerned, the Industrial Revolution was almost a century old by the time of the Meiji Restoration, depending on which invention is considered to mark the start of the process. Cotton and woollen mills in England had, by 1850, contributed a huge amount to the wealth of the nation and encouraged a second wave of industrial innovation in railways, shipping and machine making. Across the Atlantic, “King Cotton”, and the demand for raw cotton from slave-owning American states, helped convince the Confederate States of America that they could secede and pay for a war. Cotton, such an inoffensive plant, remade the world in the space of only a few generations. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_65_industry_4_desc \n\nA silk manufactory significantly adds to the wealth of a province, and helps industry to grow, but access to silk is obviously required before it can be built. As a traditional material and craft process, silk adds to the traditionalist outlook of a province’s population. Only one manufactory may be built. \n\nMass production of silk fabrics tends to be a craft activity carried out on a grand scale, with many weavers working on many looms. Machine-made silks, while all very fine, lack the subtleties and refinement of handmade cloth. In the mid-19th Century, such silks would have been the height of modernity in Europe, and therefore shunned by those who valued tradition and the “old ways”. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_66_castle_2_desc \n\nA stronghold acts as a visible symbol of power and keeps the local people in order. It also helps recruitment in a province. It is, however, a rather old-fashioned structure, but a design that has stood the test of time. \n\nStone was used in Japanese castles and strongholds to create sturdy foundations, something that was important in a nation so beset by earthquakes. Wherever possible Japanese castle builders preferred to use the landscape to create a formidable defence, but often it was necessary to make a stone platform for a castle. This would then support an impressive collection of tiered towers and walls, a sign of both wealth and military might. The older design of stronghold, though, was designed to keep out traditional foes, not deal with modern artillery. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_67_castle_3_desc \n\nAlthough old-fashioned, a fortress is a clear symbol of power and dominance, and serves to repress any local dissent. It also helps recruitment in a province. \n\nTraditionally, most fortresses in Japan had been constructed from stout timbers, but this policy had changed during the Sengoku Jidai, when siege engines were widely used. Most fortresses, though, had old roots, as the strategic importance of where they were in the landscape did not change over the centuries: what was difficult to assault in 1400 remained so in 1600, and in 1850. Fortresses traditionally relied on a layered approach for their defence, making any attack time - and manpower - consuming. Despite this design philosophy, it was not unusual for the defenders to open the gates and charge the enemy, regardless of the odds, if this was judged to be the best way of upsetting the enemy’s plans. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_68_castle_4_desc \n\nAlthough somewhat old-fashioned, a castle represents power as it looms over the homes of the peasantry; this alone helps suppress dissent. The castle also acts as a recruitment centre in a province. \n\nDuring the Sengoku Jidai, castles were the homes of the great provincial lords, the daimyo. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, castles remained homes, but lost much of their practical use as fortresses. It would be a foolish enemy indeed who laid siege to a castle, given that at least one close member of an attacker’s family would be held hostage at the Shogun’s pleasure. There was little reason, then, to be afraid of open attack, although assassination remained a constant concern, even under the Tokugawas. \n\nCastles were expensive, though, and a good way of flaunting family wealth without openly counting the contents of the treasury. A great deal of prestige was gained by tasteful patronage of arts and crafts, both to beautify the fabric of the building and as objects to display within. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_69_castle_5_desc A citadel is the power of an overlord represented in stone and military might, and a reminder that dissent and discontent among the people carry terrible risks. It acts as a focus for military activities in a province, and helps recruitment. \n\nBy the end of the Sengoku Jidai, castles had grown into magnificent palaces as well as fortifications. With the peace imposed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was no need for further castle building, although existing structures continued to show off the prestige and wealth of the great families. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s fortress at Himeyama is one such citadel that survived war and peace, a complete rebuilding by Hideyoshi’s son-in-law, and the Meiji Restoration. Today it is a spectacular tourist attraction, one of the great fortress-palaces of Japan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_7_region_specialty_silver_mining_3_desc \n\nSilver mining can be enormously profitable, and additional investment in this province will bring in extra, taxable income. Silver can be found as nuggets or, as it is reactive and unlike gold, as compounds with other elements. It is also a by-product of other kinds of mining, either from the tailings or because silver is often found in the same rock strata. This can make silver mining or recovery a hazardous business for the workers, as lead or arsenic poisoning are horrible ways to die. \n\nNevertheless, silver is an attractive metal, and has been long valued and used by people as coinage and jewellery. It has also had medical uses, both for instruments and as a treatment for a variety of complaints. Before the arrival of modern antibiotics, it was recognised that silver could treat some infections; this is because the metal is toxic to some microbes and fungi. The medical benefits, though, are entirely outweighed by its use as treasure. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_70_castle_6_desc \n\nA modern star fort does not look all that intimidating to civilian eyes, but on closer inspection its firepower is enough to induce fear and a healthy respect for authority. Given such a concrete example of government power, the people of a province with one are right to feel more than a little repressed. A star fort also acts as a recruiting centre for the army. \n\nStar forts were a European design intended to counter increasingly powerful siege artillery. Seen from above, they really are star-shaped. Essentially, the design was a fortress was sunk into the ground, presenting a low silhouette, with a surrounding glacis, or slope, to deflect shots over the top of the fortifications. The slope might seem an easy approach for attacking infantry, but a ring of projecting points allowed the defenders to fire along the length of the walls. Any defenders who reached the top of the glacis then had to cross a deep dry moat, all the while under heavy fire. A star fort was intended as a killing ground, pure and simple. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_71_port_1_desc \n\nA harbour is little more than a natural inlet from the sea and a few buildings around a slipway, a place that allows the building of some straightforward naval units. \n\nAll navies need a base of operations, at the minimum somewhere they can carry out repairs and allow crews a little entertainment ashore. As navies modernise, however, the need for support facilities ashore becomes pressing. Repairs to a wooden vessel could often be carried out by the ship’s crew; the same is not true of modern ironclads. Even the simplest job may mean that the ship has to return to port for specialist attention. The need for coaling stations is another “infrastructure” problem for a modernising navy. In the old days, the wind did not need to be loaded aboard before a voyage took place! Navies have to keep an eye out, then, for strategic places that can be added to the support structure needed for a modern fleet. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_72_port_2_desc \n\nA port is a man-made structure with sea walls improving a natural harbour, with warehouses and fishing buildings along the shore. It allows shipbuilding, lets the owning clan establish trade routes and helps commercial activity in the province. It also has a few coastal defences. \n\nTrade, or rather foreign access, was the issue that eventually brought down the Tokugawa Shogunate and forced the Japanese ruling class to adapt to the modern world. Faced with the prospect of seeing the country bullied and divided, as happened in China, the Shogun made the best of a potentially very bad situation and opened Japan to foreign traders. In doing so, he also opened the rest of the world to Japanese merchants, and they lost little time in taking advantage of the new situation. Even today, Japan is a nation built by, and reliant upon, trade. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_73_port_3_desc \n\nA military port is a specialised facility that supports naval operations. It can handle shipbuilding activities and create a naval force, but the port is substantial enough to allow a good deal of trade, helping commercial life in the province as a result. It is also provided with some coastal defences. \n\nShortly after the Boshin War, the Meiji government chose Sasebo near Nagasaki as the site for a major naval base. Nagasaki itself had long been an important port and, in the later years of the 19th Century, became home to heavy shipbuilding yards. Sasebo proved its worth during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, when it was a coaling station and the nearest repair base to the front lines. Sasebo and its arsenal, along with Nagasaki and its yards, remained vital to the Imperial Japanese Navy until the end of the Second World War. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_74_port_3_desc \n\nA trading port is a specialised harbour and support buildings that allow merchants free access to the seaways. While shipbuilding can happen here, the concentration of effort is on commerce, both in terms of overseas trade and in helping the province develop. \n\nJapan had been a closed society to outsiders for many decades, but that is not to say that the Japanese were ignorant about the outside world. The truth was very different. After 1633 Japanese traders had been forbidden to go abroad, and foreigners had been confined to Nagasaki, but foreign books and the ideas they contained were still circulated. The Japanese kept up with European scientific, political and military developments through Dutch booksellers, and this contributed to their realistic appraisal of what opening up trade with the West might mean. A clear understanding of what had been happening overseas helped the Japanese to leap from the late medieval world to a modern one in less than 50 years. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_75_port_4_desc \n\nA drydock is an important naval support facility. It allows complicated shipbuilding projects to be undertaken, and the associated port allows for a very substantial amount of trade. Because of its value, it is well provided with coastal defences. \n\nA drydock is actually quite a substantial investment for any naval power. For shipbuilding purposes, a vessel can be constructed and then the dock flooded, allowing the vessel to be towed out. Ships for repair can be floated in at high tide through lock gates; the pond is then pumped dry while the ships are propped up on supports. The main drawback of a drydock is the initial cost and its capacity. In effect, it becomes the limiting factor on the size of new ships. Parsimonious politicians are very rarely willing to pay for a ship that will not fit into a dry dock, and even less willing to keep paying for bigger and bigger docks! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_76_port_4_desc \n\nA British trading district improves the port defences in several ways, and improves the value of exports to the outside world. \n\nWhile the Victorian era is seen only as a period of rampant colonialism on the part of Britain, a considerable amount of wealth was generated as a result of trade concessions. Substantial profits could be generated by “managing”, or controlling, a nation’s trade, rather than running the place. This had been the original purpose of the East India Company: actually ruling India was an almost accidental consequence of the Mutiny in 1857, and the imposition of British government control rather than private enterprise in Company affairs. It was yet to dawn on the British Civil Service that, while ruling large swathes of the world was all very nice, an empire was extremely expensive in terms of money and manpower. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_77_port_4_desc \n\nAn American trading district improves the port defences in several ways, and improves the value of exports to the outside world. \n\nIn 1854, the Treaty of Kanegawa, concluded between Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy and the representatives of the Shogun, began the process of opening up Japan to American business interests. Perry had wanted to deal with the Emperor but, from an Imperial perspective, dealing with foreigners was completely beyond the pale. The treaty was more than a little one-sided in terms of what the Americans got. Like the other treaties Japan signed, it reflected the balance of power between the closed, backward Japan and the industrialised, colonial nations of the West. These were a spur to Japanese modernisation efforts and, by 1900, Japan could be counted a developed, modern nation in many ways: Japanese troops fought alongside European soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion in China, for example. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_78_port_4_desc \n\nA French trading district improves the port defences in several ways, and improves the value of exports to the outside world. \n\nThe Second Opium War (1856-60) gave the Japanese a concrete example of what could happen if European powers, in this case Britain and France, decided to use force. China was forced to make extensive trade concessions by the war, including legalising the opium trade, granting “favoured nation” trading status to her attackers and opening up ports to effective European control. Quite sensibly, the Japanese wanted nothing like it to happen to them. During the years of the Opium War, the Japanese agreed to a series of treaties that, while unfair, were distinctly better than handing over complete control to foreigners. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_79_farming_1_desc \n\nSubsistence farms provide a basic agricultural income, and can help industry grow by providing food to the workers. \n\nRelatively small-scale farming will feed the people adequately in most years, but it allows little excess to support a workforce away from the farm. Even in medieval-pattern societies, a reliable food surplus is necessary to support skilled craftsmen, and even warriors. If the surplus fails, then starvation and economic disaster soon follow, as craftsmen move to where they can find food. Peasants, being tied to the land rather than having marketable skills, do not have such an option. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_8_region_specialty_silver_mining_3_desc \n\nSilver mining can be enormously profitable, and additional investment in this province will bring in extra, taxable income. Silver can be found as nuggets or, as it is reactive and unlike gold, as compounds with other elements. It is also a by-product of other kinds of mining, either from the tailings or because silver is often found in the same rock strata. This can make silver mining or recovery a hazardous business for the workers, as lead or arsenic poisoning are horrible ways to die. \n\nNevertheless, silver is an attractive metal, and has been long valued and used by people as coinage and jewellery. It has also had medical uses, both for instruments and as a treatment for a variety of complaints. Before the arrival of modern antibiotics, it was recognised that silver could treat some infections; this is because the metal is toxic to some microbes and fungi. The medical benefits, though, are entirely outweighed by its use as treasure. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_80_farming_2_desc \n\nTenant fields provide farming income, and help industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nTenant farmers do not work solely for themselves and their village. Instead, they pay rent on their lands, and this means that they become part of the larger, cash economy of the land. This may sound trivial, but it is important because it boosts trade activity, and gives common people a way of accumulating wealth. A subsistence farmer can never be “wealthier” than having too much food to eat; a man who sells his goods can accumulate a surplus of wealth over many harvests, and use it as he wishes. His worth is separate from his labours, and can grow independently. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_81_farming_2_desc \n\nTenant fields provide farming income, and help industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nTenant farmers do not work solely for themselves and their village. Instead, they pay rent on their lands, and this means that they become part of the larger, cash economy of the land. This may sound trivial, but it is important because it boosts trade activity, and gives common people a way of accumulating wealth. A subsistence farmer can never be “wealthier” than having too much food to eat; a man who sells his goods can accumulate a surplus of wealth over many harvests, and use it as he wishes. His worth is separate from his labours, and can grow independently. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_82_farming_3_desc \n\nCommercial farming provides a substantial agricultural income, and helps industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nIndustrial revolutions cannot work without agricultural revolutions before them: without an increase in food production and fewer labourers being needed, there is firstly little surplus food to feed the workers needed in the new industries and, secondly, no workers to go into the factories. Such was the demand for workers in England’s Industrial Revolution, not to mention the profiteering of many factory owners, that entire families left the land and worked in factories. Women and children, rather conveniently, could be paid far less than their menfolk, while performing jobs that were just as hard and dangerous. This pattern is being repeated in some developing parts of the world even today. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_83_farming_3_desc \n\nCommercial farming provides a substantial agricultural income, and helps industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nIndustrial revolutions cannot work without agricultural revolutions before them: without an increase in food production and fewer labourers being needed, there is firstly little surplus food to feed the workers needed in the new industries and, secondly, no workers to go into the factories. Such was the demand for workers in England’s Industrial Revolution, not to mention the profiteering of many factory owners, that entire families left the land and worked in factories. Women and children, rather conveniently, could be paid far less than their menfolk, while performing jobs that were just as hard and dangerous. This pattern is being repeated in some developing parts of the world even today. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_84_farming_4_desc \n\nZaibatsu fields provide a large farming income, and help industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nLarge landowners are able to invest large amounts of money in improving their lands, and the transport links to towns and any newly industrialising cities. There is little point in growing more food if it then rots in warehouses far from where it is needed. Landowners can also spend money on mechanical aids for farmers; this frees people to seek work in new industries in towns. This is a bald, cold way of describing a process that can dislocate people’s lives, throw them out of their homes, and make them work long hours in unpleasant conditions. Fortunately, Japanese farmers had centuries of experience of being extremely efficient, compared to many others across the world. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_85_farming_4_desc \n\nZaibatsu fields provide a large farming income, and help industry grow by providing food for the factory workers. \n\nLarge landowners are able to invest large amounts of money in improving their lands, and the transport links to towns and any newly industrialising cities. There is little point in growing more food if it then rots in warehouses far from where it is needed. Landowners can also spend money on mechanical aids for farmers; this frees people to seek work in new industries in towns. This is a bald, cold way of describing a process that can dislocate people’s lives, throw them out of their homes, and make them work long hours in unpleasant conditions. Fortunately, Japanese farmers had centuries of experience of being extremely efficient, compared to many others across the world. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_86_defenses_1_desc [PLACEHOLDER] True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_87_defenses_2_desc [PLACEHOLDER] True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_88_defenses_3_desc \n\nMatchlock towers improve defences by allowing the defenders to pepper attacking soldiers with heavy, if somewhat slow, gunfire. \n\nMatchlocks are a very simple kind of firearms, with smoothbore barrels and a very simple firing mechanism. They are muzzle-loaders, which means that powder and ball must be rammed down the barrel, and a pan at the breech end of the barrel, with a small hole to main charge, primed with gunpowder. This is quite risky for the firer, as the match is a slow-burning cord, soaked in flammable chemicals: gunpowder and fire do not mix terribly well in the hands of the careless! When the trigger is pulled, the match, held by a lever, is touched to the pan. The priming catches, the fire flashes through to the breech, and the gun goes off. In wet conditions, this doesn’t always happen. In dry conditions it may not work either, and the gunner is left with the ticklish business of re-priming his matchlock, not knowing whether it will suddenly go off in his face, a “hang fire”. It is not surprising that matchlocks were abandoned in most of the world in favour of flintlocks and then percussion cap weapons. Modern firearms avoid all these problems by using a cartridge that integrates primer, powder charge, and bullet in one waterproof unit. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_89_defenses_4_desc \n\nGatling gun towers are an improvement to the basic defences of a castle. These mechanical marvels of death from America can cut down any attackers within their range. While machinery is incredible, it surely reflects poorly on a warriors’ honour to resort to such methods of making war. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_9_region_specialty_coal_mining_1_desc \n\nThe province has coal deposits which can be exploited in place of charcoal for industry. With proper investment, coal can be produced on a large scale. It is the only practical power source for the modern, industrial world and, in particular, steam trains. \n\nEasy access to “King Coal” was what began the Industrial Revolution in England at the appropriately named Coalbrookdale. By 1853, coal was the root of industrial wealth in the West. With coal to burn, steam-powered machinery was practical and profitable, and iron could be smelted in great quantities. To get the same industrial results with charcoal would have stripped forests bare across the world! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_90_defenses_5_desc \n\nGun batteries improve the defences of a castle by emplacing large numbers of artillery pieces in critical locations with good fields of fire. Any enemy foolish enough to mount a direct assault must cross a killing field bombarded from several directions by grape, shot and shell. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_91_infrastucture_1_desc \n\nTokugawa Ieyasu, the eventual victor in the wars of the Sengoku Jidai, created five great roads all leading from Edo, his capital. The roads were, of course, a tool of control, as they allowed to his armies to move swiftly to crush any opposition to his rule. While this was a worthwhile reason for keeping them in use for 250 years, they soon became vital to internal trade. Over the decades, the Tokugawa Shogunate made sure that travel was controlled by a series of post stations along the roads’ length. While travellers could rest, they were also carefully watched. The roads remained vital, even after the Meiji Restoration, and their paths had been chosen so well that the new-fangled railways came to follow much the same route! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_92_traditional_1_desc \n\nA traditional dojo trains young men in the skills required of the samurai. It enables the recruitment of “old fashioned” units and agents. \n\nThe word “dojo” means “the place of the way”; it is a formal setting for a particular art, not even necessarily combat related. For samurai extensive training and constant practice was absolutely necessary, and a dojo of some kind was almost required, even if this was only a courtyard set aside for the work. While all swords require skill from the user, the katana makes greater demands than other weapons. Kenjutsu, the art of using a sword, could take decades to truly master. More relevant to the samurai of the Tokugawa Shogunate were specialised skills such as iaijutsu, a self-defence technique of drawing and striking with the sword in the same instant. This skill had forms that could be used in defence even when sitting down to dinner! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_93_traditional_2_desc \n\nA samurai dojo trains young men in the traditional duties of their class. It enables the recruitment of units and agents of the traditional, Japanese kind. \n\nEven after centuries of peace, samurai were the only class in Japanese society allowed to carry arms as a matter of duty. Indeed, they were required to wear a pair of swords precisely as a public declaration of their social class. \n\nDespite the lack of warfare, and possibly because they had no genuine need to act like warriors, the samurai remained jealous of keeping their perquisites and privileges. There was a determination to keep their skills current, and to make sure that new generations learned them. The relentless march of the hob-nailed future that Europeans and Americans brought only made some more determined than ever to keep to the old ways. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_94_traditional_3_desc \n\nA master dojo trains young men in the proper and honourable duties of their class. It enables the recruitment of units and agents of the traditional, Japanese kind. \n\nAfter 250 years of peace, the traditions of the samurai had become a little set in their ways under the Tokugawa Shogunate. It had suited the Shoguns to keep the samurai busy with mastering the old skills of swordsmanship, but they had put an equal emphasis on the more “gentlemanly” skills of the arts. The samurai, as a class, were still influential but it is a fair judgement to say that their war skills had been blunted by disuse, even as individuals mastered their weapons skills. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_95_traditional_4_desc \n\nA legendary dojo is the home of the samurai tradition of service and duty. It enables the recruitment of better, more experienced units and agents of the traditional kind. \n\nFor many samurai, a new Japan represented a terrible, cruel challenge. By training and tradition they were entirely unsuited to earning a living in trade or, worse still, manual labour. Centuries of peace had not changed their essential nature as warriors, first, foremost, and exclusively. Even with nearly 250 years of peace, their training had not altered much; they were expected to have the accomplishments of gentlemen, and to fight. This was why so many stuck to the ways they had learned in the dojo, and why so many rebelled against the future. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_96_artillery_1_desc \n\nA cannon range allows the training of artillery units. \n\nDuring the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, artillery was the main killer of men in battle. Infantry might take and hold ground, cavalry pursue enemies and lend a touch of class to the vulgarity, but it was artillery that did the heavy work when destroying the enemy. This truth remained, even as infantry were given rifles rather than smoothbores: even though infantrymen could now kill their foes at great distances, artillery had developed too. Rifled artillery barrels and explosive shells had become standard issue. Artillery remained the most “technical” of the branches of army service, and the one that, arguably, benefitted most from modern industrial practices. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_97_artillery_2_desc \n\nA field artillery school allows the training of artillery units. \n\nArtillery can be divided into two broad categories: garrison and field artillery. Fortress guns were usually too large to be moved once in position. With the Victorian era obsession with the new, novel and bigger-as-better, artillery rapidly became larger and larger. However, there was a constant design compromise to be made between better firepower, and that meant an increase in size, and the need to be able to move guns to, and on, the battlefield. It was possible to make field guns in enormous calibres, but completely pointless as no horse team would ever be able to move them into action! True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_98_artillery_3_desc \n\nAn artillery academy allows the training of artillery units. \n\nArtillery was an aspect of military technology that benefitted from the rapid industrialisation of almost everything during the 19th Century. Industry put new tools into the hands of artillery officers: better guns, new ammunition, cheap telescopes, revolvers for personal defence and, best of all, new ways of reliably using artillery. It was now possible to use indirect fire with a good deal of precision. Direct fire was the traditional way of using heavy guns: firing at enemies that could be seen in front of the artillery position. With indirect fire, the guns fired blind into an area where the enemy were, and had their aim adjusted by a forward observer. This demanded new techniques of co-operation, and a good deal of training for all the soldiers involved. True
building_description_texts_long_description_bos_99_artillery_4_desc \n\nAn arsenal allows the training of artillery units. \n\nAn arsenal is a store and manufacturing centre for all manner of large weapons and stores needed by a modern army. It was in the middle of the 19th Century that the great arms makers of Europe really industrialised the business of making and selling guns. The great arsenals at places like Woolwich in England continued to be important, but it was the engineering works of men like William Armstrong and Alfred Krupp that revolutionised the building of guns. In 1847 Alfred Krupp of Essen, Germany, made his first cast steel gun. Four years later, he was exhibiting weapons at the Great Exhibition in London. \n\nThe French, as is so often the case with new technology, had been masters of artillery for years; their Gribeauval system of standardised barrels and carriages had contributed to the success of French artillery a hundred years earlier. It had also helped Napoleon Bonaparte nearly conquer the whole of Europe. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buddhist_1_Description \n\nA place of refuge from the burdens of the world, a sanctuary gives the faithful a chance to understand the true meaning of the Buddha’s teachings. A sanctuary can bring an air of contentment to a whole province, and train monks to spread the faith. \n\nMany Buddhist sanctuaries in Japan were built next to older Shinto shrines. In this, Japanese Buddhism was different from many other religious invasions across the world, which tended to build their new buildings on top of the wreckage of the old religion and its shrines. The new would nearly always replace the old, often with the aid of a builder’s mattock. Buddhism, though, was quite content to leave a space for the kami, and even adopt some spirits as tutelary examples for the faithful. The resulting fusion of faiths lasted for hundreds of years, until the Meiji Restoration. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buddhist_2_Description \n\nConstruction of a temple enables the advanced training of monks. The temple itself is a place of solitude and contemplation, the perfect place to consider the world and a man’s place in it. The calming influence of the temple and its adherents spreads far beyond the walls. \n\nEveryone turns to the gods in an hour of need. In the sixth century, when Prince Shotoku of the Soga needed help to banish anti-Buddhist elements from Japan, he called on the fearsome Bishamon to aid him in his efforts. Prince Shotoku’s appeals were apparently answered. Originally the protector of the north, Bishamon became the protector of the law who also guarded people from illness and demons. He was a war god, and was one of the Shichi Fukujin, the seven deities of happiness and good luck. He normally appeared as a blue-faced warrior with a spear and a pagoda representing his dual personality, warrior and monk, but always a protector of the faithful. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buddhist_3_Description \n\nThe construction of a monastery is a tangible commitment to Buddhism, and it increases the happiness of all people in a province. As might be expected, a monastery is a place of quiet contemplation, removed from the worries of daily life. The monks are free to reach a better understanding of Buddha and his teachings, and to hone their skills as part of their contemplative exercises. \n\nIn the 8th century, Buddhist monasteries were subject to significant interference from the imperial government. Regulations controlled all aspects of monastic life, and religious leaders found themselves acting as bureaucrats rather than contemplating their own spiritual development. Driven from the monasteries to escape such interference, the monks went out into the country and took the teachings of Buddha to the population as a whole. It was not long before new monasteries, free from Imperial and Court control, were founded. It was, however, useful for the monasteries to have patronage from the great families, and to offer religious respectability in return. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buddhist_4_Description \n\nA great temple serves as a focus for religious devotion and a place of pilgrimage. Its monks are men of enormous faith, entirely devoted to their work. At the heart of such a temple there is often a reliquary, a focus for pilgrims. More usefully, for the temple’s noble sponsors, are the training halls and scholastic facilities that produce learned and enthusiastic monks, eager to spread the word. \n\nThe building style of the earliest Buddhist temples was not particularly Japanese, as they copied Chinese and Korean patterns. Over time these changed to become more distinctively Japanese to cope with the local climate, and to withstand earthquakes. There was also less distinction than might be expected between Buddhist and Shinto buildings. It was not unusual to find that Buddhist temples included Shinto shrines within them, so that the local kami would not be disturbed. Likewise, larger Shinto shrines would have Buddhist temples somewhere within the shrine complex. It was only after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 that a stricter division was introduced into Japanese religious life. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buff_1_Description \n\nAll armies need to have somewhere for new recruits to gather and do at least a little training. An encampment can be as simple as a line of tents or have the air of a semi-permanent military town, but it has one purpose: to turn undisciplined and scared civilians into something resembling soldiers. Having one makes it easier and cheaper to recruit units, and to send casualty replacements where they are needed. \n\nEncampments have always allowed commanders to keep their men where they can be watched. Given half a chance, civilians will do their best to separate young men from their money with drink, women and gambling. All of these can cause trouble in the military, particularly as soldiers are often happy to indulge in such pleasurable alternatives to drill and training. Encampments have to be well organised, otherwise illness could sweep through them, and this gives a practical reason for learning the disciplines of a soldierly life. A man who has dug latrines for a few hundred of his comrades is likely to see battle as a pleasant alternative! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buff_2a_Description \n\nAn armoury centralises the supply of arms and armour, and guarantees that all equipment will be of a given quality. It is not just a store, but usually includes workshops for craftsmen to repair and create military items. It therefore improves the defensive strength of any unit recruited in the same province. \n\nNearly all armies of the medieval period relied on looting the dead to provide weapons and equipment for the living. Sometimes this was even an organised business. This, however, was discovered by many to be a ramshackle way to run a war. By centralising armour under the control of noble families, they could also introduce a level of uniformity into their armies. A medieval European army would be a riot of colours, liveries and heraldry, while a Japanese army would have a calm uniformity to it. This has a practical benefit for a warrior: anyone not wearing the same armour as you in a battle is almost certainly an enemy! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buff_2b_Description \n\nHunting teaches men to fire accurately and quickly against swift-moving targets. To miss is to go hungry or be eaten by something inedible! Therefore, a hunting lodge improves the firing accuracy of missile-armed troops recruited in this province. \n\nArchery has always been about food as well as warfare. An arrow does care whether it strikes a deer or a man. Shooting and stalking skills honed in providing food always transfer to a martial context. The hunter who misses with his first shot usually never gets the chance to take a second one. \n\nDespite their poetic names, the narrow willow-leaf, willow-leaf and dragon’s tongue were all lethally sharp arrow heads designed to kill the target by causing massive bleeding. Anything hit by one of these would soon bleed to death. On the other hand, archers used the blunt, turnip-shaped whistling signal arrows against their targets when dog hunting. This, presumably, allowed them to make it more of a “sport” as each dog would require several hits before it was disabled or killed. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Buff_2c_Description \n\nThese proving grounds will improve the attacking strength of any unit trained in the province. An army is more than a collection of individuals, no matter how personally brave they may be. It needs discipline, good order and confidence in its tactics and commanders if it is to work to full effect. This includes an understanding of exactly how its weapons are best used in action. When a unit fights as one, not as a mob, using its weapons properly, its strength is magnified and fully utilised. \n\nEvery soldier needs to understand and trust in the weapons he carries. This is why drill has always been an important part of training. A soldier becomes completely familiar with what he is supposed to be doing, without even the need for conscious thought. He also comes to grasp the full potential of the weapons he has been given by his commanders. Practice does pay off in combat: men trained to fight together will always be better than a mass of individuals each seeking their own petty glory. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Bushi_1_Description \n\nBushi training grounds allow the recruitment of basic sword- and bow-armed troops.\n\nThe way of the warrior, later called bushido, lay at the heart of everything that a samurai could be, or hoped to become. While a samurai was expected to be a master of sword and bow, there was a moral element to his training as well, a core set of ethics that guided his life in every waking minute. More than just a code of chivalry or a set of martial arts for using weapons with surpassing skill, bushido was a guide to living and dying with honour. It was the “dying” part that made bushido different from many other warrior systems: death had no bearing on whether a course of action could be considered failure. The only failure was not to carry through an action when it was the right thing to do as a warrior. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Bushi_2_Description \n\nThis school allows the training of samurai infantry, and improves the expertise of other bushi (warriors). \n\nLong years of training are required to understand the way of the warrior, and to train mind and muscles to the point where a stroke or shot can be made without conscious thought. A warrior needs to empty his mind of everything – even, or perhaps especially, fear, hope and anger – if he is to fight to his full potential. The thousands of hours spent with sword and bow empty the man of everything except the need to perform the perfect act. In that moment of still perfection, he can defeat any opponent without considering anything other than victory. Such training is necessary, but expensive for the warlord who wants his men to be the best. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Bushi_3_Description \n\nThis dojo allows the training of mounted samurai, and reduces the time needed to train all sword- and bow-armed samurai and attendant troops. \n\nNearly every warrior culture on the Eurasian landmass defined its warrior elite as fighters on horseback. The word for “cavalryman” is often synonymous with a ruling, higher social caste within a society. They quite literally look down on the peasants. This is not surprising: apart from anything else, the expense of buying and owning a horse meant than anyone who had a warhorse was, by definition, an important man in the community. \n\nThe samurai began as mounted warriors. As a child, a samurai was put in the saddle almost as soon as he could walk. His weapons training emphasised battle from horseback, although the earliest samurai fought as mounted bowmen, using their horses to move swiftly away from any threat before returning to harass their enemies once again. Early samurai armour, for example, is perfect for this fighting style; it will keep out arrows rather effectively, but not sword cuts. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Bushi_4_Description \n\nThis legendary dojo allows the training of samurai heroes, and greatly increases the experience of other units trained here. The quality of instruction is second to none. \n\nSamurai warfare was, at least initially, an affair of individuals who acted independently on the battlefield. Men would advance towards their enemies, calling out their names and achievements in the hopes of finding a worthy opponent to fight. This kind of affair is not so much a battle as a massive series of duels between brave men. A warrior tagged the head of his slain enemy, and these were displayed after the battle to determine each man’s contribution to victory. It was, by the way, a very bad idea to take the head of a friend in the confusion of battle. However, the idea of individual heroism is a powerful one, and one that the way of the warrior embodied in many ways. Every warrior on the battlefield would regard a truly heroic warrior, even an enemy, with admiration. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Castle_1_Description \n\nA town allows an extra specialist building to be constructed. New buildings increase the value of a province through, for example, trade, or allow a greater selection of troops to be recruited. \n\nThere was a certain ambiguity in the attitude of Japanese society to the idea of towns. It was nice to have somewhere with a veneer of civilized living, but there were the people who lived in towns as well. Chonin, or townsmen, were a class that included merchants and many craftsmen not directly tied to agricultural production. While there was a certain back-breaking respectability to being a member of the peasantry, the chonin had a slightly lower status. However they earned their livings, it certainly wasn’t by honest graft in the fields. Wise rulers, however, recognised that towns were vitally important to their provinces, and could be a source of considerable pride as they grew and, hopefully, flourished. It was only in a good size town that certain skilled craftsmen, goldsmiths, say, would ever find enough customers to be able to survive. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Castle_2_Description \n\nA stronghold is a sign to the peasants of exactly who is in charge of their lives, a reminder of where loyalties should lie, and obeisance be made. It is a good base for the troops of the local garrison, enabling them to keep order in the surrounding province, and attract new recruits to their cause. Although not expected to hold out for long when besieged, a stronghold can act as a stumbling block for any invader. \n\nJapanese fortifications always had to be built to meet two conflicting priorities. Firstly, there was the obvious need to be a defensive structure that kept out enemies and was sufficiently impressive to keep the locals awed. Secondly, Japanese castles and strongholds had to survive earthquakes, a problem that most of the rest of the world did not have to consider. Japan sits on top of one of the most geologically active areas in the world, and castles could not be lumpen, monolithic structures if they were to survive a quake. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Castle_3_Description \n\nThis solid structure can be garrisoned to defend a province and slow down invaders, even though it will not withstand a prolonged siege. No attacking general, however, would sensibly leave troops at his rear as he advances into enemy territory. A fort therefore costs time to reduce, a precious commodity in warfare. It also reminds the local peasantry of their overlord’s power, and helps that lord recruit new troops. \n\nEarly Japanese fortifications were usually very practical structures, made from wood and without layered defences of walls and towers. They were intended to draw in and delay attackers rather than withstand them. Early castles were located on rivers, at ports and at other important strategic chokepoints. The builders always took full advantage of the natural landscape: mountainous positions were favoured, and nearby streams were diverted to become as moats where possible. It was common for the defenders to not lurk behind their walls when attacked: the defenders would, more often than not, sally forth to meet the enemy rather than rely on the walls. If the attackers tried to bypass the castle, the defenders would not sit idly behind their walls, but would instead raid supply lines and harass the invaders until they either retreated, or decided to take the fort. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Castle_4_Description \n\nA castle is a sign of absolute ownership, stamped onto the landscape like a family seal, documenting power. It is a strong defence against enemy incursions, and a centre for administration within a province. With such an impressive structure looming over their homes, people feel secure, but they also understand that they must keep to their allotted stations in life. It also allows the province to develop further with new building. \n\nA castle was not only a military fixture in the life of a noble family, even though it was cunningly designed to make it as difficult to take as possible. It was also a celebration of their status and wealth. The effort of building and maintaining even one castle was almost crippling, so it became public statement of confidence, power and good taste. Beautiful craftsmanship and luxurious details made life in a castle anything but austere for the nobles. Such quiet ostentation also served to ram home the point that the owners were not to be trifled with, or ignored. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_1_Description \n\nA clan estate improves the collection of taxes within its province. It also provides entertainments for the nobility and gentry, and shirabyoshi are trained there. \n\nAlmost regardless of time and place in human history, powerful men have made a point of controlling large tracts of land, often depriving farmers of ownership in the process. Before the arrival of industry, and without craftsmen working in large groups, land and wealth were inextricably linked. A lord’s landholding defined his status with his peers, his underlings, and at the Imperial Court; enough land and enough wealth could even overcome any doubts or uncertainties about family or personal honour. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_2_Description \n\nThe shinden improves clan influence and tax rate effects. Primarily concerned with land and financial oversight, this is an organisation that oversees all government business. The day-to-day issues of running people’s lives, collecting taxes and making sure that criminals are brought to book are left to lesser departments. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_3_Description \n\nA mandokoro gives the owning family more influence, and a better tax effect. \n\nLaw and order are important in any stratified and authoritarian society. Everyone has to know their place in the system, and the penalties for transgression. It is a practical solution to the problem of having many people live in a relatively small space, if not very attractive to those at the bottom of the social heap. In this, Japan was no different to many other parts of the world in the medieval period. “Social mobility” or moving from one social class to another was almost completely unknown. A man would be born, live and die a samurai, peasant or townsman. He could fall into poverty as a samurai and be unable to earn a living because it was socially beneath him, or rise to tremendous riches as a townsman, and remain lower in the social pecking order than the humblest peasant. The law, however, existed to protect those who behaved themselves and stayed within the bounds of acceptability. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_4a_Description \n\nThis palace increases Fujiwara family influence immensely. It also improves tax collection, and converts neighbouring provinces into supporters of the Fujiwara, if only by overwhelming them with grandeur and elegance. Additionally, shirabyoshi trained in this province are more experienced, simply because they have such a demanding audience to satisfy at the palace. \n\nHistorically, the Fujiwara survived the various disturbances of the Imperial order and the Gempei War, but their influence was greatly reduced. In-fighting among the Fujiwara themselves almost certainly hadn’t helped their cause. They kept some Court positions, but the rise of the Minamoto and the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate made these positions honorary rather than useful. They did, however, indirectly get a taste of power because the fourth and fifth Kamakura Shoguns were members of the Kujo clan, a branch of the Fujiwara. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_4b_Description \n\nThis palace increases Minamoto family influence immensely. It also improves tax collection, and converts neighbouring provinces into supporters of the Minamoto cause, if only by overwhelming them with grandeur and might. Additionally, shirabyoshi trained in this province are more experienced, simply because they have such a demanding audience to satisfy at the palace. \n\nHistorically, the Minamoto were the winners in the Gempei War, although the earlier “disturbances” very nearly wiped out the entire family. After the Taira grew overly mighty by putting a Taira grandson on the throne, many flocked to the opposition lead by the Minamoto and the disinherited Prince Mochihito. The struggle was indeed fierce, but with the final and catastrophic defeat of the Taira at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, the Minamoto instituted a new period of military rule in the Emperor’s name: the Kamakura Shogunate. The last Minamoto Shogun was assassinated in 1219, so their triumph was not long lived. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Clan_4c_Description \n\nThis palace increases Taira family influence immensely. It also improves tax collection, and gradually converts the people of neighbouring provinces into supporters of the Taira, if only because of its overwhelming grandeur. Additionally, shirabyoshi trained in this province are more experienced, simply because they have such a demanding Taira audience to satisfy at the palace. \n\nHistorically, the Gempei War ended disastrously for the Taira family. Arrogance, understandable perhaps, and excessive ambition eventually brought a reaction from the other great families. The Taira were usually outmatched in battle, even with the person of the Emperor to inspire their warriors. Eventually, most of the Taira drowned at the Battle of Dan-no-ura; those who were aboard ships not sunk by enemy action threw themselves into the sea, along with the six-year-old Emperor Antoku. The Taira also attempted to throw the Imperial regalia into the deeps, and may even have done so with the sword and the mirror, although these may have been ceremonial copies rather than the originals given that the regalia is still in use today. The remaining Taira were executed. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_1_Description \n\nA barter exchange allows farmers, fishermen, traders, indeed anyone, to swap goods they produce for other items they need. It improves the wealth of a province because people can specialise and become experts if they can swap their surplus for someone else’s surplus. If, for example, a farmer can barter he can spend all his time farming, rather than wasting time trying to be an indifferent weaver. \n\nBarter is probably the oldest and most universal form of trade in the world. Anyone can understand the simple idea of swapping one thing, or pile of things, for another. Anyone with a surplus of something can become “richer” by trading that surplus away for other goods: his new possessions are his for less overall effort than if he had made them himself. It is, however, quite difficult to calculate fractional values for goods, or to organise complicated swaps involving more than a couple of goods or traders. Trade in kind is a very simple “spot market”, and really rather hard to tax in a practical way. Is a tax of a bag of grain the same as taking a goat, a chicken or a bullock? And where does the taxman keep all these chickens and rice bags he has taxed? True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_2a_Description \n\nFood stores improve the amount of food available in a province, and the province’s growth. No more food is grown, but less of what is produced is lost in storage. \n\nIn the medieval world, including Japan, the harvest was the vitally important time of year. Only the very brave or the very thoughtless campaigned when there was a harvest to be gathered in. The amount of food gathered and then stored over winter determined exactly how many people would be alive come spring. Even then, poor storage conditions could result in the crop mouldering away in damp conditions. In a good year, everyone in a village would have enough to eat. A bad year, either because of poor weather or, worse still, rapacious bandits or the lord’s tax collectors, would mean starvation and death. The elderly and the children would be the first to die, then the weak and sick among the adults. Even the lord in his castle could feel the pinch of hunger in his belly if the crop failed. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_2b_Description \n\nA market adds substantially to a province’s taxable wealth. A market has cash in circulation: there are prices, often controlled by the lord, expressed in monetary terms, not in the number of chickens that must be swapped for so many rice sacks. Once people can sell their surplus, they will always seek out goods to buy, and that can add substantially to the economic activity in a province. \n\nDespite the need for trade, the activity was considered rather improper in medieval Japan. Merchants, like many townsmen, had a lower status than hardworking peasants. Whatever the merchants were doing to earn a living, it was obviously not quite as honest or straightforward. And, despite the fact that the nobles enjoyed spending the taxes they gathered, they certainly considered trade to be utterly beneath any proper gentleman. Merchants and cash have their uses, though: it is easier to transport wealth around in the form of coin and treasure than as rice sacks! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_3a_Description \n\nA goods exchange adds significantly to a province's wealth. Merchants, traders and craftsmen can specialise, and buy or produce in bulk making their wares more profitable. \n\nIt is the ability to specialise and find a market for your works that allows great craftsmen to flourish. A single very rich patron can create his own personal market for craftsmen, of course, but a marketplace with many customers is more profitable and stable in the long run. After all, the death of a lordly patron means the money and trade he created disappears. It takes a significant disaster to wipe out a complete province full of customers! Market forces in the form of the natural aspirations of people to want better, nicer things soon bring wealth. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_3b_Description \n\nA granary increases the food available in a province, and greatly improves province growth. \n\nFood storage until the next harvest is very important to the functioning of any community. If no one can think beyond where their next meal might come from, there is no incentive to do very much other than look for that next meal. Once there is a reasonable degree of certainty that people will be able to eat tomorrow, the next day, next week and beyond, they can start planning for a future, and working towards it. It becomes worthwhile to improve your land, build a new workshop, or learn a new skill: you will live long enough to see the benefits of your efforts! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_4a_Description \n\nA grain warehouse adds to the amount of usable food produced in the province, adds to growth and also adds to the province’s wealth. A legendary building, it is possible to have just one throughout your entire domain.\n\nBetter food storage means that fewer people starve, and that more survive the lean years when they inevitably come. It is also possible to create enough of a food surplus so that it can be traded, bringing wealth into the province and making people’s lives better in that way. Once a community has the spare time and capacity over and above feeding itself, creativity and hard work can bring further rewards, other than just living for a few more hungry years! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Economy_4b_Description \n\nA merchants’ guild adds to the amount of wealth in a province. By forming a guild, the merchants gain control of trade with other provinces, and have a cosy cartel that fills their purses at the expense of others. This wealth can then be taxed by its overlords. After all, it is fair that the merchants, with so much to protect, should end up paying a substantial amount for their safety. \n\nGuilds were often granted trade concessions in return for knowing their place in the scheme of things, and paying their taxes promptly. While merchants could become extremely rich, socially they were regarded as being lower than humble peasants: they did not labour honestly in the fields to feed people, but somehow made money in unnamed, but undoubtedly unsavoury, ways. It was, of course, completely beneath any warrior to actually work for a living, so merchants and other townsfolk remained an unfortunate necessity. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_1_Description \n\nFields physically organise the work of villages, making sure that everyone has enough good land for their crops. \n\nAgriculture is one of the oldest organised human practices. However, subsistence farming means everyone has to work hard just to have enough to eat. A field system allows a little more sophistication in the way that food is produced. Land can be left fallow, to recover its fertility, on an organised basis; or different crops can be planted each year to maintain the goodness of the soil. None of this organised activity is possible without a system of fields, and the extra food grown allows people to spend their lives on activities other than farming. It is only when there is a food surplus that potters, smiths, weavers, and a host of other craftsmen can live. A food surplus also means enough for valuable bureaucrats and important tax collectors to eat. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_2a_Description The division of a village’s lands into fields means that crops can be sensibly managed over the course of the year, and land sensibly used to good purpose. Life as a peasant remains hard, because in a world without machinery all labour is backbreaking and monotonous. There is, however, the satisfaction of a slightly fuller belly in most years, and a slightly more varied diet. Dry fields crops include soybeans and other crops depending on the climate. This might only seem like a small improvement in farming methods, but the steady accumulation of such changes makes a huge difference to the lives of ordinary people, the amount of food available, and to the general economic activity of an area. The more food there is, the more time there is for skilled craftsmen to ply their trades. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_2b_Description \n\nHorses are vital to samurai warfare, and strong, brave animals are preferred as mounts. Samurai are horsemen, by tradition mounted archers first and foremost. The ability to ride is as important as any skill at arms. \n\nIt was only during the Sengoku Jidai period that samurai habitually fought as infantry. For much of history “samurai” was a term synonymous with “cavalry” to the Japanese. A samurai was expected to fire his bow accurately from horseback. Given that shooting needed two hands, and the samurai had to stand up in the stirrups, this required the horse and rider to be superbly trained, as the man would have to control his mount only with his knees. A good horse, then, was highly sought after and highly prized. Not only did it have to be tractable and obedient, it also had to be quite hardy to survive on campaign. It is little wonder that horses were prized possessions, just as much as good armour. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_3a_Description \n\nHorse breeders improve the quality of cavalry trained in this province. Improving the horse stock leads to better mounts for all cavalry. \n\nMounted combat defined the early samurai, and good horses were naturally valued for their stamina, strength and courage: a warhorse had to be tough as its rider to survive a campaign season, and not flinch from the stress of battle. They also required nearly as much training as the men. A mounted cavalryman had to control his mount, at the gallop, using only his knees so that his hands were free to use a bow. In turn, this required the horse to have spent just as much time being taught to obey absolutely and precisely. Good horses were therefore valued for their potential offspring as well as their immediate use. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_3b_Description \n\nPaddies are artificially flooded fields where rice is grown. Rice is the staple of all Japanese people, from the lowly peasant harvesting the crop to the mightiest lord enjoying his dinner in exquisite luxury. Even taxes are measured and collected in koku, or measures, of rice. Each province’s basic wealth and therefore potential tax yield is determined by its rice output. \n\nThe unit of tax, the koku, was defined as the amount of rice needed to feed one man for one year. For a lord, then, a koku taken in tax directly represented one basic soldier added to his army; higher ranks would be paid the equivalent of many koku for their services. That it was possible to collect enough surplus rice to support large armies is a tribute to the efficiency of Japanese farmers over many centuries. Starvation was always a harvest away, but it was not as regular or as severe as in, say Europe, during the same period. Relatively speaking, Japanese farmers were far more productive in their work. The constant demand of rice to be paid as taxes, however, could be a terrible burden in lean years but the disloyalty of not paying tax could kill as surely as hunger. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_4a_Description \n\nGood farmers always try to get the most of the land that they are working. By using water cleverly, and making sure that it is not wasted, marginal land can be cultivated, effectively increasing the size and effectiveness of farms. The end result is that a province will produce more food and wealth. \n\nJapan is a very, very hilly country. It was also densely wooded, and that left little good flat land for food production. By cleverly diverting streams, and using terraced paddy fields, almost every patch of ground in Japan that could be used for growing food was eventually cultivated. The result was a very large, relatively well fed population by medieval standards. There were probably more people in Japan at the time of the Gempei War than in the whole of western Europe. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Farming_4b_Description \n\nThe stud enables the training of mounted hero units, and greatly increases the experience of all units trained in this province. \n\nFor all their power and grace, horses are surprisingly delicate creatures and need a great deal of expensive care and attention. They also need a great deal of space if they are to be healthy and content. In medieval Japan this second requirement was something of a problem. A warlord who had an impressive stable of horses was not only demonstrating his military power, but he was also showing the world that money was no object to his ambitions. Stables and studs need good land and that, in Japan, has always been at a premium. The man who could afford to turn productive farmland into luxurious accommodation for his horses really was rich, important and going to impress his neighbours. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_1_Description \n\nThe tadokoro has many important functions in a province. It allows the recruitment of naginata and bow-armed levies. It also allows the more efficient administration of an area, meaning that more units can be recruited at the same time, and acts as a base for law enforcement. \n\nBefore the Gempei War, central authority in Japan was not strong. Individual provincial governors had every reason to keep an eye on their people, watching for signs of unrest: trouble could always be used by a jealous rival to oust a ruling family. The correct relationships between different classes in society also had to be maintained, and this is where the very public presence of an inspector, or junsatsushi, could be very useful. He alone could make sure that malcontents stayed silent. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_2a_Description \n\nA muster field improves the number of men who are toughened up for military service, meaning that more units can be recruited in a province: a little discipline among civilians is no bad thing. This also helps with sending replenishment troops to understrength units. \n\nA town watch traditionally keeps the lower classes in order and watches for fires. It is also an excellent training for warriors: they learn to obey orders as well as fight. At the very least, the town watch learn such military skills as obedience, how to form ranks, stand to arms, and prepare to receive an attack. All of these are useful: if men do not act as a well-ordered unit, they will die as a disorganised mob. They may well kill many of the enemy as they die, but they will act ineffectively, not as a piece of the whole army and adding to its collective strength. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_2b_Description \n\nThe town watch serves to act as a central point to mobilize the people in defence of their homes, and as a potent reminder of the power of the local rulers over those same people. \n\nLocal defence was a necessity, but peasants were never really expected to stand for long against samurai or other trained warriors. Peasants also could not be used for offensive actions, or sent away from their homes. At best, they could swell the numbers in an army, or the enemy would get tired out killing them before reaching the real defenders. This sounds harsh, but it was a foolish lord who allowed his entire population of strapping peasants to be slaughtered in battle. If this happened, who would gather the harvest? True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_3a_Description \n\nA barracks separates soldiers from the general populace, making it easier to train them and instil discipline, if only because civilians have funny ideas about deciding things for themselves. Ordinary men can be drilled and moulded into fighting warriors away from the comforts and distractions of any kind of home life. As well as recruiting new units, replacements for existing units can also be efficiently mustered and despatched to where they are needed. \n\nEvery organised army in history does its best to keep its soldiers away from civilians, if only to keep desertion, drunkenness and debauchery at manageable levels! Even though life as a soldier is harsh, and never harsher than during training, it is often better than a life spent labouring in the fields. The work is hard, but then so is farming, and there is probably more chance that the new soldier, rather than the farmer, enjoys a hot meal at the end of his labours. There is danger, but then the same is true of working the land. A soldier, though, unlike the peasant, has a chance of making his fortune and changing his fate. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_3b_Description \n\nA militia hall adds to the repression of the local people by reminding them that the military power of their overlords is all around them. It also acts as a gathering place for local defence forces, when they are needed as invaders approach. \n\nBy having locals defend their own homes when his officers decide it is necessary, a warlord can also make sure that weapons only get into the hands of men who are regarded as trustworthy or, at worst, are not actively hostile to his rule. Those who are disloyal will have to face any invaders alone, and armed only with whatever implements they can find on their farms. This alone can influence the behaviour of troublemakers, because who wishes to risk his wife and children dying because they cannot be defended? True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_4a_Description \n\nThis building allows firebomb throwers to be recruited in a province. An arsenal also adds greatly to the organisation and efficiency of military activities in the province. Men can be swiftly equipped and allocated to new units, or sent as replacements to understrength forces. \n\nThe arsenal also houses specialist smiths, weapon workshops and stores. The various demonic mixtures needed to make firebombs can be stored here, and men trained in their safe handling, if the word “safe” can ever be applied to such hellish devices! An arsenal is often a substantial investment for any warlord, if only for the enormous quantities of armour and weapons stored there. It does, however, significantly increase military power by allowing armies to be raised quickly and easily. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Gov_4b_Description \n\nThe kondeidokoro fulfils two functions. Firstly, it acts as a military post, a rallying point for the many local militia who can be called into service to defend their home province. Secondly, it is a clear sign to all that the local lord and his agents are watching, all the time, and it significantly increases repression in a province. It also boosts the experience of any junsatsushi trained there. \n\nThe need for people to behave themselves was always paramount in Japan: there simply wasn’t the room for troublemakers, or the opportunity to send them abroad to cause trouble for someone else. This had been the European solution: open up new lands, or invade someone. At the time of the Gempei War neither plan was an option for the Japanese, as almost every usable bit of land in Japan was already being used for something, and the nearest neighbours were China and Korea. A rigid social system was therefore a practical solution to having so many people needing to live together. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Infrastucture_1_Description \n\nTrails aid movement in a province. They are little more than the tracks to and from the fields, linked by the rough paths blazed by particularly adventurous peasants.\n\nMost peasants rarely left their home village except to visit a market once or twice a year, or to go to war. Most non-warrior folk lived and died within a few miles of their birthplace. Moving on was pointless, unless there was some kind of natural disaster. Day-to-day life at the end of a road would be exactly the same as home: largely spent in a soggy field. And after all, fear of the dangers beyond the hills and forests is not conducive to casual exploration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Infrastucture_2_Description \n\nRoads improve the movement extent of armies and agents in a province. Everything moves faster thanks to roads actually having a surface, not being a dusty track or muddy stream depending on the weather. Improved transport links also help the replenishment rate for army casualties. All comings and goings are carefully watched, of course, by officials and paid informers, meaning that line of sight is also better along roads. \n\nWhile roads improve the ability of people to move around this was not always what the great families wanted. It was one thing to be able to move an army swiftly, but quite another to have peasants be able to move around freely. Land without workers was, and is, entirely worthless. It generates no taxable income. If the peasants could simply leave, they might just do so! Traders, being people who did not work the land, were free to use them, because they were considered to be worth less than useful, hard working peasants. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Infrastucture_3_Description \n\nPost roads improve communications, allowing armies to march quickly and more replenishment troops to reach the front lines. They also allow agents to pass freely, and aid in trade. Because roads and travellers are quite closely watched and monitored, they also improve line of sight and the chance of spotting a rival’s nefarious agents. Travellers can only use them if they have the proper written authorisations. \n\nPost stations were roughly a day’s travel apart, and were supposed to be used by official travellers, offering rest and remounts as required. Because everyone had to report to the stations, it was relatively easy for provincial authorities to keep an eye on who was using the roads, and whether or not they could justify their journeys. Innkeepers, on the other hand, soon realised that where there were weary travellers there was a profit to be made. Historically, the close monitoring roads by central government only came about under the Tokugawa Shogunate, but from the first, only very foolish provincial lords would allow anyone to tramp across their domains. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Infrastucture_4_Description \n\nThese magnificent roads and their watchtowers significantly improve the movement of armies and agents, economic growth in a province and the replenishment rate for units at the front. Guard stations monitor every traveller, so that the chances of detecting unwelcome enemy agents are greatly increased. As long as the right paperwork exists, travellers can make excellent time. A wrong or falsified internal passport, however, can mean death! \n\nThe very best medieval Japanese roads were the five great routes created by Tokugawa Ieyasu, radiating out from Edo, long after the end of the Gempei War. They were entirely military in origin: to make sure he could get armies anywhere, quickly. While this was a sensible way of controlling the country, it had the added benefit of improving internal trade. The roads were so sensibly surveyed that the same routes are still in use today. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Intellectual_1_Description \n\nA school gives a basic education to those who can learn and have enquiring minds. This helps with research into the arts, as students experiment with their new-found wisdom. \n\nAn educated class is also the sign of wealth and spare productive capacity in a province. It is only when there is spare time to look up from the daily grind of trying to feed yourself and your family that any kind of organised, formal education becomes possible. And when that tipping point is reached, the world opens up. With education a man is no longer limited only to learning from his experiences, and he can move beyond the accumulated folk wisdom of his fellows. Existing knowledge can be studied, commented upon, and used as a basis for further thought. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Intellectual_2_Description \n\nWritten records are important for both for government purposes and for intellectual pursuits. Without books, ideas are lost as men die; an idea written down has more power than any sword. A calligraphy school creates the scribes that are needed to record everything that occurs in a lord’s domain. Thinkers need to record their thoughts, and these can then be widely promulgated. \n\nFine calligraphy is one of the arts that Japan has made its own. A written language that is based on ideograms rather than an alphabet almost demands that scribes produce beautiful texts just as artistic achievements. The act of writing became an act of meditation, and the artistic sincerity and beauty of the finished product only added to the meaning of a document. The recipient of a message could easily be swayed by the perfection of the calligraphy, as much as by what the document actually said. It was respectful to the reader, not to mention honourable, for the writer to put his heart and soul into his skilled calligraphy. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Intellectual_3_Description \n\nBy gathering the very best scholars together in one place, a provincial academy becomes a power-house for new ideas and for reviewing age-old wisdom. The challenging of older ideas may not always be encouraged, but in such an atmosphere of learning, development of the arts proceeds apace. \n\nThe ideas of Confucius (551 - 478BC) were hugely influential across Asia, including Japan. Confucius valued education as a way of bettering people and society, and his ideas encouraged a meritocratic approach to education. Those who could learn should learn as far Confucian philosophy was concerned. At the same time, the growth of Japanese Imperial influence required more courtiers and administrators: these men had to be educated to a high standard if they were going to be capable of doing their jobs. A strong man with a good sword arm was not enough to run a province properly. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Intellectual_4_Description \n\nA Confucian academy aims to improve its students by teaching a philosophical system that embraces political, ethical, moral, and even religious elements. The teachings of Confucius give the students a deep understanding of the world, and greatly aid the development of the arts in the process. \n\nThe Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-478 BC) is one of the most influential figures in world history. Confucian teachings are, at heart, optimistic and humane, holding that men can be taught and made better by their own efforts. There is an emphasis on honesty and righteousness, at all levels of society, and towards all others in society. Confucianism holds that a ruler should act correctly towards his subjects; in turn the social elite were expected to behave with benevolence and to set a good example for the rest of society. It is not particularly egalitarian, but then such an idea would probably have been inconceivable at the time. Confucianism did, however, have an appeal across much of Asia, including Japan; its emphasis on righteousness and honesty meshed with much of the best elements of the samurai ethos in bushido. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Koryu_1_Description \n\nThe training grounds have space enough to allow the training of naginata attendants. The naginata is a long weapon, and it is advisable to stand well away from any trainee swinging it with gusto! \n\nThe weapon itself can be used as a spear or as a cutting blade, but it requires considerable strength as well as skill. \n\nThe origins of the naginata are obscured by time. It may have developed from an agricultural implement like the English mediaeval bill developed from the farming billhook but, given its association with the samurai this seems unlikely. Samurai were gentlemen, not farmers. It is more likely that the weapon is a Japanese reinterpretation and refinement of a traditional Chinese glaive, the “yan yue dao”, which translates as the rather poetic term “reclining moon blade”. This does, however, quite clearly describe the shape of the business end of the weapon. The Japanese naginata’s blade is slightly straighter and closer to a sword in overall form. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Koryu_2_Description \n\nThe koryu school adds to the experience of any naginata units trained there. It also allows the training of naginata monks and bow monks if there is a Buddhist temple in the same province. \n\nWarrior monks or “sohei” are often depicted in Japanese art as carrying the naginata: it was a weapon of noblemen (and all monks had a certain nobility of purpose because of their calling) and one that needed skill to use. After all, any fool can swing a staff or club. The weapon seems to have come into relatively common usage for samurai and sohei during the Gempei War itself. The association with warrior monks was not always accurate, but became a convention of artistic depictions of monks in battle. Japanese artists even drew the weapon being carried by monks who had probably never even seen a naginata, let alone held one. This, however, was to emphasize the martial tradition of monks, who were far from being quiet contemplative types like their Christian contemporaries. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Koryu_3_Description \n\nThis koryu dojo allows the training of powerful naginata monk hero units if there is a Buddhist temple in the province. It also reduces the time needed to train other naginata units because of the excellence of teaching on offer. \n\nNaginatajutsu is, as the name suggests, the skill of fighting with a naginata. However, this is a modern style and roughly the equivalent of kendo, or Japanese fencing. It is a formalised sporting style rather than a set of practical combat techniques. Naginatajutsu still requires skill, of course, and a good deal of courage to face an equally-skilled opponent armed with a practice naginata. Koryu, on the other hand, probably translates best as “old school”, and it is likely the techniques taught for battle with the naginata were different from today's kata. If nothing else, koryu would be entirely concerned with the practical business of chopping an opponent into quivering chunks, rather than trying to show proper form and impress tournament judges. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Koryu_4_Description \n\nA legendary koryu dojo allows the training of onna-bushi, but this also requires a provincial headquarters in the same province. The weapon masters here also give naginata-armed units a very impressive experience bonus when they are recruited. \n\nSaito Musashibo Benkei was an almost-mythical sohei, or warrior monk, of the Gempei War period who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune with some distinction. Although his life and acts have been much embellished over the years by legend, Benkei does seem to have been an exceptionally strong man. He is also credited as a cunning fighter, and is supposed to have collected 999 swords from his defeated opponents, a number that looks suspiciously convenient when telling a good yarn! He is also credited with defending the bridge during the Battle of Koromo River, giving Minamoto no Yoshitsune enough time to commit suicide with dignity. Benkei’s death was suitably heroic: the enemy were too scared to approach the huge monk, and then realised that he wasn’t moving. He had died standing up, keeping the enemy at bay even in death. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Port_1_Description \n\nFarmland is precious and relatively scarce in Japan. Any and every other source of food has to be exploited to the full, and the seas provide a rich bounty for those brave enough to go and get it. A coastal village is also a good foundation for all sea-related activities as they are often placed on natural harbours or in sheltered inlets. They provide work and income in a province and can be expanded later. \n\nFishermen and farmers were not quite at the bottom of the social structure in medieval Japan. They were vital if everyone, even the mightiest lord, was going to eat, and had status as a result. They were, however, tied by a hereditary principle that linked social status and employment. Jobs were passed from father to son, and there was little chance of “bettering yourself”. Europe had sumptuary laws that limited what people could wear according to social position, but the Japanese discouraged rising above one’s station in life by copying any aspect of a higher social class. It was equally unthinkable for higher status individuals to get their hands dirty with manual labour, such as fishing. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Port_2a_Description \n\nBuilding a harbour, or improving on what nature has already given, provides basic warship building capabilities. The harbour can also handle more maritime trade, encouraging the local economy. \n\nSurprisingly for an island nation with such a long coastline, the Japanese never developed into a maritime power. Sea battles never really evolved beyond boarding actions, but this did give Japan an advantage when it came to piracy. Booty and loot are no use at all at the bottom of the sea. Japan developed both a pirate tradition and a pirate problem. Japanese pirates were the bane of Chinese coastal shipping for centuries, something that bothered the central and provincial governments not one jot. This provoked severe reprisals from the Chinese from time to time, but without ever solving the piracy issue. There was simply too much money to be made as a pirate. As always happens, some pirates eventually managed to become rich enough that they were seen as respectable. Gold washed away all sins in the end, and remade the pirates as “sea lords”. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Port_2b_Description \n\nA military port builds and repairs warships, a specialised task that requires specialised yards and specialist craftsmen. Warships must, of course, be built to withstand not only the power of the sea, but everything the enemy can throw at them. \n\nJapanese warships were not the same as those of most other medieval navies. Rather than attacking a an enemy ship’s structure with large weapons, Japanese ships acted as floating platforms for boarding actions. The crew were the targets of any attacks. The intention in any naval engagement was always to close with the enemy, grapple, and then fight a land battle across the lashed-together ships. This meant that a relatively large crew of soldiers was required, resulting in horrendous casualties in most naval engagements. The losing side simply could not run away from a sea battle; what few prisoners were taken would often be tossed overboard at the end of the battle, or the losers would throw themselves into the sea. This happened at the decisive Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185, that brought the Gempei War to a close. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Port_3a_Description \n\nAlthough few nobles would ever admit it, trade is vital to a family’s success in war and politics. Trade pays for the strength and influence needed for other two activities. A busy port encourages growth in the rest of the province’s economy. \n\nDespite the wealth that merchants created, they were not well-regarded in medieval Japanese society. Warriors and nobles were, of course, at the top of the social structure. Farmers and fishermen were commoners, entitled to respect for their work, but without power or status. Merchants, however, had a much lower position because they did no useful, honest “proper” work. Their money was very welcome of course, but not the merchants themselves. The money men would eventually have the last laugh, though, when Japan opened up to the modern world. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Port_3b_Description \n\nA drydock is a basin that can be drained for shipbuilding work, and then flooded when a vessel is completed. This allows very large ships to be built safely and then gently floated out when complete. The process of draining and flooding the dock is dependent upon the tides, with lock gates being left open at particularly low tides, and then closed just as the tide turns. This minimises the work to get any remaining water out of the dock. Although slow and cumbersome to operate, a drydock lets shipwrights construct and repair the most powerful vessels invented to date. \n\nHistorically, it was not until the Sengoku Jidai that the Japanese started building large warships, and even then not for any national fleet. Most Japanese vessels resembled nothing so much as floating castles, probably because of a lack of credible long range anti-ship weaponry such as cannons. Instead, Japanese naval battles nearly always came to be large scale boarding actions, where individual valour and aggression mattered more than seamanship. Unfortunately, this also meant that casualties in naval battles tended to be severe, as ship’s crews often had little choice but to fight to the death. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_1_Description \n\nBy investing in artisans it is possible to help the economy grow steadily or to improve the accuracy of archers. Craftsmen add to the quality of life for all the people. Everyone, from the simplest peasant to the mightiest warlord, can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses a well-made object. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. A calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke to write a scroll, and a potter who makes a perfect bowl are valued. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem effortless. Such work never is; technique has demanded dedication. \n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind this bureaucratic language is a remarkable and worthy idea: to preserve the best by honouring these highly skilled people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2a_Description \n\nBy investing in artisans it is possible to help the economy grow steadily or to improve the accuracy of archers. Craftsmen add to the quality of life for all the people. Everyone, from the simplest peasant to the mightiest warlord, can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses a well-made object. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. A calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke to write a scroll, and a potter who makes a perfect bowl are valued. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem effortless. Such work never is; technique has demanded dedication. \n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind this bureaucratic language is a remarkable and worthy idea: to preserve the best by honouring these highly skilled people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2b_Description \n\nBy investing in artisans it is possible to help the economy grow steadily or to improve the accuracy of archers. Craftsmen add to the quality of life for all the people. Everyone, from the simplest peasant to the mightiest warlord, can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses a well-made object. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. A calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke to write a scroll, and a potter who makes a perfect bowl are valued. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem effortless. Such work never is; technique has demanded dedication. \n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind this bureaucratic language is a remarkable and worthy idea: to preserve the best by honouring these highly skilled people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3a_Description \n\nBy investing in artisans it is possible to help the economy grow steadily or to improve the accuracy of archers. Craftsmen add to the quality of life for all the people. Everyone, from the simplest peasant to the mightiest warlord, can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses a well-made object. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. A calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke to write a scroll, and a potter who makes a perfect bowl are valued. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem effortless. Such work never is; technique has demanded dedication. \n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind this bureaucratic language is a remarkable and worthy idea: to preserve the best by honouring these highly skilled people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3b_Description \n\nBy investing in artisans it is possible to help the economy grow steadily or to improve the accuracy of archers. Craftsmen add to the quality of life for all the people. Everyone, from the simplest peasant to the mightiest warlord, can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses a well-made object. \n\nCraftsmanship of all kinds has always been admired in Japan. A calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke to write a scroll, and a potter who makes a perfect bowl are valued. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem effortless. Such work never is; technique has demanded dedication. \n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind this bureaucratic language is a remarkable and worthy idea: to preserve the best by honouring these highly skilled people. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_1_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_2_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_3_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province and it is easily worked thanks to surface deposits. However, by investing in bigger and deeper mines, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated by this province. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any warlord because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth. \n\nGold mining is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing the wealth lying all around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_1_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, more experienced monks can be trained as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and bring happiness to all the people of the province. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People may appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that makes it holy. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. \n\nToday many shrines in Japan are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2a_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, more experienced monks can be trained as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and bring happiness to all the people of the province. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People may appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that makes it holy. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. \n\nToday many shrines in Japan are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2b_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, more experienced monks can be trained as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and bring happiness to all the people of the province. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People may appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that makes it holy. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. \n\nToday many shrines in Japan are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3a_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, more experienced monks can be trained as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and bring happiness to all the people of the province. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People may appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that makes it holy. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. \n\nToday many shrines in Japan are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3b_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, more experienced monks can be trained as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and bring happiness to all the people of the province. \n\nA shrine is not just important because of a building, but because of the place’s spirit. People may appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but it is the fundamental sanctity of the place that makes it holy. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength. \n\nToday many shrines in Japan are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and many have been listed as World Heritage Sites. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_1_Description \n\nThe state academy allows the training of many scholars and Imperial bureaucrats. While this is a worthy thing in itself, it is not the whole story. The masters and students also add significantly to the cultural and intellectual attainments of the whole country. Philosophy, the arts, and more practical thinking can flourish here. \n\nConfucianism sees all education as a good thing for all people, and this idea was adopted by the Japanese. Indeed, from an early point in Japanese history a samurai was expected to be a Confucian “gentleman” as well as a warrior: the idea of “pen and sword in accord” was not just a pretty, poetical metaphor. It was meant to be exactly what it said. A samurai should be able to express his thoughts with a calligraphy brush as readily as he could dismember an opponent with his sword. A clear head and a steady hand were useful in peace and war, at home and on the battlefield. The great families of the Gempei War certainly valued educated cunning as much as swordsmanship as they manoeuvred for power at Court. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_1_Description \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced, and the province’s underlying wealth is also improved. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any great family. Without iron, there are no swords, naginatas, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of good iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_2_Description \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced, and the province’s underlying wealth is also improved. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any great family. Without iron, there are no swords, naginatas, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of good iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_3_Description \n\nThis province will produce very good quality iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced, and the province’s underlying wealth is also improved. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by any great family. Without iron, there are no swords, naginatas, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of good iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_1_Description \n\nThis small village boosts the trade income of the province, and its people can be recruited as experienced crews for any ships. Unfortunately, where there is money there are usually bad people trying to take that money. Trade and piracy are often linked more than honest warlords would like to think, for who is to say who owned a particular cargo, and when? \n\nPiracy was a curse to all of Japan’s neighbours, and often to Japanese merchants as well. What central government there was in Japan did not feel all that inclined to do anything about piracy, if only because the pirates were often the only source of Chinese goods. The Chinese had banned trade with Japan in the hope of starving the pirates of targets; the result was to make the pirates the only importers of stolen Chinese merchandise. From time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and killed everyone they could. Often that stopped the piracy anything up to a few days. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_2_Description \n\nThis small village boosts the trade income of the province, and its people can be recruited as experienced crews for any ships. Unfortunately, where there is money there are usually bad people trying to take that money. Trade and piracy are often linked more than honest warlords would like to think, for who is to say who owned a particular cargo, and when? \n\nPiracy was a curse to all of Japan’s neighbours, and often to Japanese merchants as well. What central government there was in Japan did not feel all that inclined to do anything about piracy, if only because the pirates were often the only source of Chinese goods. The Chinese had banned trade with Japan in the hope of starving the pirates of targets; the result was to make the pirates the only importers of stolen Chinese merchandise. From time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and killed everyone they could. Often that stopped the piracy anything up to a few days. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_3_Description \n\nThis small village boosts the trade income of the province, and its people can be recruited as experienced crews for any ships. Unfortunately, where there is money there are usually bad people trying to take that money. Trade and piracy are often linked more than honest warlords would like to think, for who is to say who owned a particular cargo, and when? \n\nPiracy was a curse to all of Japan’s neighbours, and often to Japanese merchants as well. What central government there was in Japan did not feel all that inclined to do anything about piracy, if only because the pirates were often the only source of Chinese goods. The Chinese had banned trade with Japan in the hope of starving the pirates of targets; the result was to make the pirates the only importers of stolen Chinese merchandise. From time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and killed everyone they could. Often that stopped the piracy anything up to a few days. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_1_Description \n\nAlthough assassins and criminals are dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, great leaders must sometimes use such people for the greater good. Victors get to dictate histories to scribes and scholars, and the enemy killed in darkness is just as dead as one killed honourably in battle. Equally useful to a clever warlord are the informal business practices of such men: wealth is wealth, after all, and all wrongdoing melts away in the warm glow of gold. \n\nAlthough the killers were not strictly “ninja” at the time of the Gempei War, all sides employed assassins to remove troublesome enemies. Politics, as the Taira demonstrated to the Minamoto, was not so much about defeating your opponents as having them all killed as quickly as possible. Any and all weapons, including human ones, were therefore deployed and used. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2_Description \n\nAlthough assassins and criminals are dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, great leaders must sometimes use such people for the greater good. Victors get to dictate histories to scribes and scholars, and the enemy killed in darkness is just as dead as one killed honourably in battle. Equally useful to a clever warlord are the informal business practices of such men: wealth is wealth, after all, and all wrongdoing melts away in the warm glow of gold. \n\nAlthough the killers were not strictly “ninja” at the time of the Gempei War, all sides employed assassins to remove troublesome enemies. Politics, as the Taira demonstrated to the Minamoto, was not so much about defeating your opponents as having them all killed as quickly as possible. Any and all weapons, including human ones, were therefore deployed and used. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3_Description \n\nAlthough assassins and criminals are dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, great leaders must sometimes use such people for the greater good. Victors get to dictate histories to scribes and scholars, and the enemy killed in darkness is just as dead as one killed honourably in battle. Equally useful to a clever warlord are the informal business practices of such men: wealth is wealth, after all, and all wrongdoing melts away in the warm glow of gold. \n\nAlthough the killers were not strictly “ninja” at the time of the Gempei War, all sides employed assassins to remove troublesome enemies. Politics, as the Taira demonstrated to the Minamoto, was not so much about defeating your opponents as having them all killed as quickly as possible. Any and all weapons, including human ones, were therefore deployed and used. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_1_Description \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. The silk weavers in this province can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in their enterprise. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. From Asia it travelled all the way along the fabled Silk Road - a series of caravan routes in reality - all the way to Europe. There it was treated as an almost magical material, its sheer cost meaning only the richest and most powerful could possibly wear it. Sumptuary laws governing the clothes of every social class made the punishments for wearing high-status clothes singularly unpleasant. Oddly, wearing silk was also controlled by Japanese versions of sumptuary laws: clothes made the man in every part of the world. And in every part of the world, nothing said wealth, opulence and power like silk. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_2_Description \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. The silk weavers in this province can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in their enterprise. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. From Asia it travelled all the way along the fabled Silk Road - a series of caravan routes in reality - all the way to Europe. There it was treated as an almost magical material, its sheer cost meaning only the richest and most powerful could possibly wear it. Sumptuary laws governing the clothes of every social class made the punishments for wearing high-status clothes singularly unpleasant. Oddly, wearing silk was also controlled by Japanese versions of sumptuary laws: clothes made the man in every part of the world. And in every part of the world, nothing said wealth, opulence and power like silk. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_3_Description \n\nSilk has always been a wondrous commodity, no matter where the cloth was traded. The silk weavers in this province can bring in a great deal of wealth to the lord who invests wisely in their enterprise. \n\nFrom the most ancient of times silk was a symbol of power, luxury and mystery. From Asia it travelled all the way along the fabled Silk Road - a series of caravan routes in reality - all the way to Europe. There it was treated as an almost magical material, its sheer cost meaning only the richest and most powerful could possibly wear it. Sumptuary laws governing the clothes of every social class made the punishments for wearing high-status clothes singularly unpleasant. Oddly, wearing silk was also controlled by Japanese versions of sumptuary laws: clothes made the man in every part of the world. And in every part of the world, nothing said wealth, opulence and power like silk. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_1_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the hand-to-hand combat strengths of units, or in armour, improving units’ defensive values. \n\nDuring the Gempei War, swordsmiths were not producing the katana, which is now regarded as typical of the samurai. Its predecessor, the tachi, was still beautifully made, as might be expected of Japanese craftsmen. Armourers were lower down the social order because their craft used leather. Almost without exception around the world, tanning was always a low-status job. Tanners had to handle carcasses, and the tanning process was unbelievably smelly and horrid. The attitude in Japan to tanners took all this into consideration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2a_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the hand-to-hand combat strengths of units, or in armour, improving units’ defensive values. \n\nDuring the Gempei War, swordsmiths were not producing the katana, which is now regarded as typical of the samurai. Its predecessor, the tachi, was still beautifully made, as might be expected of Japanese craftsmen. Armourers were lower down the social order because their craft used leather. Almost without exception around the world, tanning was always a low-status job. Tanners had to handle carcasses, and the tanning process was unbelievably smelly and horrid. The attitude in Japan to tanners took all this into consideration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2b_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the hand-to-hand combat strengths of units, or in armour, improving units’ defensive values. \n\nDuring the Gempei War, swordsmiths were not producing the katana, which is now regarded as typical of the samurai. Its predecessor, the tachi, was still beautifully made, as might be expected of Japanese craftsmen. Armourers were lower down the social order because their craft used leather. Almost without exception around the world, tanning was always a low-status job. Tanners had to handle carcasses, and the tanning process was unbelievably smelly and horrid. The attitude in Japan to tanners took all this into consideration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3a_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the hand-to-hand combat strengths of units, or in armour, improving units’ defensive values. \n\nDuring the Gempei War, swordsmiths were not producing the katana, which is now regarded as typical of the samurai. Its predecessor, the tachi, was still beautifully made, as might be expected of Japanese craftsmen. Armourers were lower down the social order because their craft used leather. Almost without exception around the world, tanning was always a low-status job. Tanners had to handle carcasses, and the tanning process was unbelievably smelly and horrid. The attitude in Japan to tanners took all this into consideration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3b_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. With the right investment they can specialise in weapons, improving the hand-to-hand combat strengths of units, or in armour, improving units’ defensive values. \n\nDuring the Gempei War, swordsmiths were not producing the katana, which is now regarded as typical of the samurai. Its predecessor, the tachi, was still beautifully made, as might be expected of Japanese craftsmen. Armourers were lower down the social order because their craft used leather. Almost without exception around the world, tanning was always a low-status job. Tanners had to handle carcasses, and the tanning process was unbelievably smelly and horrid. The attitude in Japan to tanners took all this into consideration! True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_1_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests here will flourish. Lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed and, through the lumberyard and sawmill, the future cost of ships will be greatly reduced. Extra lumber is useful as a source of wealth too. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_2_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests here will flourish. Lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed and, through the lumberyard and sawmill, the future cost of ships will be greatly reduced. Extra lumber is useful as a source of wealth too. True
building_description_texts_long_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_3_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests here will flourish. Lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed and, through the lumberyard and sawmill, the future cost of ships will be greatly reduced. Extra lumber is useful as a source of wealth too. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Archery_1_Archery_Dojo_Description \n\nThe ability to shoot accurately should be prized in all archers, but it requires training and dedication to achieve. An archery range allows basic archery to be taught, and bow-armed units to be recruited. It does not, however, teach the advanced skills of archery: it is sufficient here to hit the target and do so in the proper manner. Combat will teach men how to keep firing when under threat!\n\nThe bow was not solely used for war. Recreational archery and hunting played an important part in the art. The bow itself was a beautiful and complicated piece of equipment, with an unusual asymmetric shape: the grip was well below the mid-point. This unusual design came about because horse archery was the first skill of all samurai: a bow with the grip in the middle would have been completely unmanageable on horseback and become entangled in the saddle furniture. The short lower section meant it could be swung over the horse’s neck and back quickly. The bow itself was a composite, made of bamboo, wood and leather and was often much taller than the user. The design was extremely strong, and it was not uncommon for bow strings to snap under the strain of being fired. Archers would carry at least one spare string at all times for such emergencies. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Archery_2_Foot_Archery_Description \n\nThis range allows the training and recruitment of more advanced and skilful bow-armed units. In times of warfare the single archer must use his strength in company. Knowing how to use a bow requires refinement if it is to be used as an effective weapon of war. There are the extra skills of releasing volleys and reloading at speed as part of a group to learn and, hopefully, master.\n\nAs warfare grew in scale and ferocity, it was no longer enough for individual samurai to fight singly and in search of personal glory and honour. Larger, and cheaper, forces were needed too. Although the bow had been a traditional samurai weapon, and jealously guarded as such, it became sensible to train common ashigaru to use it effectively. They would fire massive volleys at the enemy, rather than try to pick off targets. Arrow bearers would accompany them into battle to carry the huge numbers of arrows required by these tactics. It was also their job, as explained in the “Zohyo Monogatari” written in 1649, to pick up enemy arrows and make sure they were used again! Even after the introduction and use of the arquebus by ashigaru, archers remained an important component of Japanese armies because they could unleash more destruction in a given time than the same number of gunners. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Archery_3_Bow_Master_Dojo_Description \n\nAll archers trained at a master dojo have a high level of expertise thanks to their superb teachers. A true master is always willing to share his understanding with his pupils, as their skills add to his honour and reputation. When men learn from the best, they cannot help but reach levels of skill that they might have thought impossible. \n\nThe bow, or yumi, required a great deal of care if it was to work properly and reliably on the battlefield. Indeed, a yumi was considered to have part of its maker within it, and was therefore worthy of respect. Ideally, according to the masters, a bowman should treat his bow with the same kind of care as he would treat himself: it should not be left in the cold, or wet, or excessive heat. A lack of care weakened and warped the weapon, thanks mostly to its composite construction from many different materials. The different elements needed to work in harmony, not against each other. A bow was also under tremendous tension when in use; unstrung, it would actually curve the other way! It was not considered a bad thing to leave a bow relaxed in such a fashion, but it was extremely bad form to use or even touch another man’s bow without his permission. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Archery_4_Legendary_Dojo_Description \n\nA master will always train the finest students to a pitch little short of perfection. Here, kyudo, the art of the bow, has been brought to a point where the seemingly impossible is attainable. This famous school allows the training and recruitment of elite archer units, including hero units. \n\nJapanese history often shades into legend where feats of arms are concerned. The famous archer Minamoto Tametomo is credited with sinking a ship using a single arrow, and it was reputed that his bow arm was significantly longer than the other as a result of his constant practice. Unfortunately, he came to a tragic end: he was trapped and captured by the Taira clan, who cut the tendons in his arm so that he could no longer hold a bow. Unable to fight on, or ever use his beloved bow again, Tametomo committed suicide. Some think that his death may be the first recorded example of suicide by seppuku. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buddhist_1_Temple_Description \n\nConstruction of a temple enables the training of monks. These Buddhist agents can spread the faith, or comfort and inspire believers; they can also spread revolt and despair among enemies. The temple itself is a place of solitude and contemplation, the perfect place to consider the world and a man’s place in it. \n\nEveryone turns to the gods in their hour of need. In the sixth century, when Prince Shotoku of the Soga needed help to banish anti-Buddhist elements from Japan, he called on the fearsome Bishamon to aid him in his efforts. Originally the protector of the north, Bishamon became the protector of the law who guarded people from illness and demons. He was also worshipped as a war god, and was one of the Shichi Fukujin, the seven deities of happiness and good luck. He normally appeared as a blue-faced warrior with a spear and a pagoda. These items represented his dual personality, half warrior, half monk, but always a protector of the faithful. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buddhist_2_Monastery_Description \n\nThe construction of a monastery is a tangible commitment to Buddhism, and it increases the happiness of all Buddhists in a province, although Christians will feel some resentment. The monastery also helps to convert non-Buddhists to the faith. As might be expected, a monastery is a place of quiet contemplation, removed from the worries of daily life. The monks are free to reach a better understanding of Buddha and his teachings. \n\nIn the 8th century, Buddhist monasteries were subject to significant interference from the Japanese government. Regulations controlled all aspects of monastic life, and religious leaders found themselves acting as bureaucrats rather than contemplating their own spiritual development. Driven from the monasteries to escape such interference, the monks went out in the country and took the teachings of Buddha to the population as a whole. It was not long before new monasteries, free from government control, were founded. The introduction of Zen in the 12th century saw an upsurge in those seeking to retire from the world and become monks but, as Pure Land Buddhism was promulgated, monasteries went into decline. Pure Land Buddhism reduced the importance of meditation, making it less vital to withdraw from the world. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buddhist_3_Temple_Complex_Description \n\nThe beautiful gardens and tranquil surroundings of a temple complex bring peace and harmony to all who dwell there. No one in the province can fail to be moved by the spirituality of the place. Each building in the complex is carefully constructed to meet the religious needs of its occupants. In turn, this helps to increase the happiness of all Buddhists in the province and allows the recruitment of new units.\n\nTemples played an important role in Japan, as many great advances happened within their walls and many great people sheltered in them, away from the dangers and troubles of daily life. Some great men chose temples as their final resting places: the remains of Oda Nobunaga, the unifier of Japan, rest at Daitokuji, in the Murasakino section of Kyoto. A little earlier, this temple had been home to Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), the man who is credited with the development of the tea ceremony. He built tearooms and gardens within Daitokuji to continue the cultural development of the temple, and encouraged his brothers to devote themselves to mastery of the tea ceremony. It came to embody the key principles of Zen, and became popular with the mighty Shoguns of Japan. A man who could perform the tea ceremony was a formidable individual indeed. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buddhist_4_Legendary_Temple_Description \n\nThis awesome temple increases the happiness of all Buddhists in a province. It also increases the rate at which converts flock to the faith. The monks of this complex are especially blessed and worthy, and demonstrate considerable expertise. The whole is a magnificent act of faith, given solid form.\n\nMount Koya, in Kii province, is home to a monastic complex that even the most vicious of daimyo feared to desecrate. Toyotomi Hideyoshi came close to destroying the temples when the monks chose to support Tokugawa Ieyasu, his great rival, but even he feared the power of the place. When he visited, he was cautious enough to cross the third bridge leading to Kobo Daishi’s tomb during the night before his official visit. Legend has it that no man with morals that Kobo Daishi would find unacceptable could cross the bridge and live. Hideyoshi’s caution paid off, and he was not struck dead. On the following day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi repeated his crossing, now certain that he would survive in public as well. Perhaps he had reason to worry: the tomb of Akechi Mitsuhide, the usurper who rebelled against Oda Nobunaga, on Mount Koya was struck by lightning, perhaps as a warning to others to live and die in a moral and honourable way! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_1_Encampment_Description \n\nAll warriors need somewhere to be gathered during recruitment, and somewhere to live whilst they are being trained. An encampment can have the air of a permanent military town, with bustle and apparent confusion all around. It does, however, make it easier and cheaper to recruit new units and organise regular drafts of replacements for existing units.\n\nEncampments had to be well organised, otherwise so many people in close proximity to each other would not stay healthy for long. The discipline of camp life had a secondary benefit - it was always wise for rulers to keep their fighting men separate from troublesome civilians. Apart from anything else, civilians have at least one awkward idea: they like to make a profit from bored soldiers through drink, women and gambling. Most soldiers are entirely happy to go along with these schemes, but discipline can suffer as a result. During the Sengoku Jidai, the number of ashigaru in all armies grew (no clan dared be left behind with a numerically small army) but recruiting commoners meant an inevitable departure from the high disciplinary standards of the samurai, with their code of bushido. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_2_Armoury_Description \n\nThis store of arms and armour is an important investment by a clan. By purchasing arms and armour in large quantities, the clan’s warmasters have leverage with their suppliers. Because they are spending a lot of money they can insist on good quality items, and not just take anything and everything that is produced. An armoury, therefore, improves the armour rating of any unit recruited in the province. \n\nIt was not unusual for ashigaru to take weapons from the dead after a battle. All kinds of weaponry would end up in use by commoners, including some rather excellent blades that had once belonged to samurai families. However, during the Sengoku Jidai it became obvious that such informal arrangements were not enough when thousands of ashigaru troops had to be equipped. The various clans took pains to issue standardised arms and armour to their troops, for both protection and recognition purposes. Armour was usually painted or stained in clan colours, and prominently displayed the clan mon, or heraldic symbol, on the breastplate. Standardised equipment was only standard to the issuing clan: each clan had its own preferences over such matters as spear length, and even helmet shape! The enormously tall Date clan gold dress helmets were, perhaps, the most extreme items issued. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_2_Barracks_Description \n\nA permanent barracks can give soldiers a home throughout the year, including living space, training areas and all the stores required for their equipment and movables. By keeping warriors in barracks, it is easier to instil discipline and solidarity with the group. They can be kept away from the distractions of the civilian world. A barracks, therefore, makes it much easier to organise recruiting efforts, keep the recruits in order, and either assign them to new units or send them to an army as replacements for the dead. \n\nAll armies across the world have always needed to keep their soldiers physically separate from the general population: it stops them running away before battle! Life in barracks is also totally organised around the business of turning men into warriors, something which is not easy for the raw material to endure. However, quite often, the attractions of not labouring in a field, regular meals, a bed and a roof were enough to keep peasants in the ranks. Life in the ranks might be dangerous, but it was a good deal less arduous than working on a farm and, on balance, the dangers were relative. A peasant faced death by accident and starvation; a soldier at least had a chance to make his own fate. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_2_Hunting_Lodge_Description \n\nHunting teaches men to fire accurately and quickly against swift-moving targets. To miss is to go hungry! Therefore, a hunting lodge improves the firing accuracy of missile-armed troops recruited in this province. \n\nArchery in Japan was not only about warfare but also about hunting, both for pleasure and for food. The stalking and shooting skills needed to bring down prey with the minimum amount of fuss were directly transferable to warfare, as a man who could put an arrow cleanly into a deer could do the same to another man.\n\nHunting and war also used exactly the same equipment. Despite their poetic names, the narrow willow-leaf, willow-leaf and dragon’s tongue were all lethally sharp arrow heads designed to kill the target by lacerating flesh and causing massive bleeding. Any animal, or man, for that matter, would soon bleed to death after being hit. On the other hand, archers used the blunt, turnip-shaped signal arrows against their targets when dog hunting. These made an eerie whistling sound as they flew. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_2_Jiujutsu_Dojo_Description \n\nJujutsu is a collection of martial arts, involving both armed and unarmed techniques. Because there is little point in striking an armoured opponent with bare hands, jujutsu techniques often involve grappling and throwing an enemy. In particular, there is an emphasis on using an enemy’s weight and energy against him. A jujutsu expert almost appears to help his opponent miss an attack, and then fall over painfully, and often fatally. The jujutsu dojo therefore improves the close combat abilities of any units recruited in the province, as the troops receive training from the masters here.\n\nMartial arts have a long history in Japan, but during the Sengoku Jidai the ability to fight with whatever was to hand could be the difference between life and death. Jujutsu at this time was not a purely unarmed form of combat. Indeed, if a short weapon was available, there was almost certainly a school of jujutsu that took advantage of it. The tanto, or knife, was often used, along with the manrikigusari, a weighted chain and a whole class of nasty objects called kakushi buki, or hidden weapons. This old-school jujutsu was not a sport, but a serious method of self-defence. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Buff_2_Proving_Grounds_Description \n\nIt is not enough for a warrior to know how to fight. The individual hunting personal glory is useless unless he contributes to the overall victory. He must learn to fight alongside his comrades as part of a unit, adding his strength to theirs. This involves drill, practice and faith in your brothers-in-arms. When all in a unit fight as one, their strength is magnified. These proving grounds will improve the charge bonus of any units recruited in the province. \n\nDrill has always been part of the soldiers’ lot. While it may seem pointless to a new recruit, the habit of instant obedience and being able to move to the right place within the unit without thinking are vital. Quick and co-ordinated action saves lives on the battlefield, at least among those who master the concept. Disciplined men stop being a rabble and become a single creature with many weapons. This becomes obvious on the charge: a single mass makes the shock of impact so much greater than a rag-tag gaggle of men arriving a few at a time. The disciplined mass will do more damage to the enemy, and individuals within the unit have a better chance of survival. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Castle_1_Fort_Description \n\nA fort is a basic defence against attackers, and can be garrisoned with troops to slow down and hinder any enemy incursions. Even the smallest castle can be difficult to take, and leaving the garrison unmolested and behind an advancing army is not always an option. A fort is also a symbol to the locals to remind them of their overlord’s power, and it can be used as a recruiting centre for some basic types of warrior.\n\nHistorically, the castles of the early Sengoku Jidai were a good deal less majestic than what is now considered to be the classical Japanese castle. The first castles were practical structures, made of wood and without multi-storeyed towers and stone walls. They were used for the defence and surveillance of the surrounding region, where the grand later buildings were also lordly mansions and seats of government, often with entire towns built around them. Early castles were located on rivers, at ports and other strategic points, and cunningly took full advantage of the natural landscape: mountainous positions were favoured, and nearby streams were diverted and dammed as moats. It was common for the defenders to not lurk behind their walls when attacked: the defenders would, more often than not, sally forth to meet the enemy rather than rely on the walls. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Castle_2_Stronghold_Description \n\nA stronghold looms above the people in their villages, a reminder from dawn to dusk of where their loyalties should lie, and to whom they must pay their taxes. It is a strong base for the local garrison troops, enabling them to control the area, and act as a barrier to any invader. The stronghold also acts as a centre for recruiting new troops to serve in the daimyo’s armies, and helps increase the clan’s fame.\n\nStone was introduced as a construction material for Japanese castles to provide protection against the elements and create sturdy foundations, always a problem in a nation so beset by earthquakes. Stone foundations also allowed the building to have more storeys. A large, sloped foundation platform was first carved out of the earth, which was then clad in stone to make a very strong bastion. These foundations could support impressive multi-storeyed towers, a sign of wealth and power. The bastions were also obstacles for any enemy attack, and were perfect for the defenders to rain arrows down on besiegers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Castle_3_Fortress_Description \n\nTo properly defend and govern a province, a daimyo requires a strong base. That a fortress also inspires respect, even fear, among his people is no bad thing either. A fortress represses a province by its presence, helps the tax yield, and increases the fame of a clan, as rivals and enemies are awed by its construction. Any garrison can hold out against enemy attacks, and the castle acts as a centre for recruiting troops. \n\nThe development of castle design coincided with the rise in importance of the warrior classes in Japan. Warfare grew in scale, and the castle also grew so it could withstand prolonged sieges; the traditional wooden fortifications could no longer be expected to hold out against large armies with siege engines. The Hojo clan was responsible for the defences of Odawara, built in 1416. The castle survived two sieges before it finally fell in 1590 to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Odawara was actually the central defensive position of a network of castles, as it was surrounded by smaller, satellite fortresses. Some of them, in turn, had their own ring of satellite forts. The entire system provided a layered defence that was extremely difficult and time-consuming for an enemy to reduce. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Castle_4_Castle_Description \n\nBuilding a castle is a sign of absolute ownership, as it provides a strong defence against enemy assaults and a centralized administration for the province. It is a clear sign of the builder’s prestige and wealth. With such a massive structure to defend them, the people will feel secure, but they will also understand that they must keep to their allotted stations in life. Tax income is also improved for the owning clan.\n\nThe Sengoku Jidai saw castles develop far beyond mere military strongholds and into being the central hubs for entire towns. The castle was where the daimyo lived, had his government, and encouraged the arts and culture. For the daimyo’s reputation, it was important to impress and intimidate guests in equal measure. The inner layout was designed to force the enemy along complex, exposed routes to the central citadel, so that they could be under fire every step of the way.\n\nThe cost of building and maintaining even one castle was almost crippling, so it became a measurable and public example of wealth, power and good taste. A great deal of prestige was gained by a daimyo’s patronage of the arts, and special pieces were commissioned often portraying beautiful landscapes or the clan’s victories, all designed to subtly display the clan’s virtues! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Castle_5_Citadel_Description \n\nThis awe-inspiring building is intended to make all who see it marvel, or tremble, at its scale and the power it represents. It is a monument to the untrammelled wealth and military might of a daimyo and his clan. Cunningly built to confuse and confound attackers, it also serves to intimidate the local people who live, work, pay taxes and die in its shadow. It is of such magnificence that it also increases the prestige of its builders.\n\nTowards the end of the Sengoku Jidai, castles became even larger and more elaborate, as they evolved from military fortresses to cultural and economic centres for the surrounding provinces. The castle at Himeji was one such structure, built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1581 on top of Himeyama as a three-storey tower and then completely reworked by Ikeda Terumasa, his son-in-law. The hill position made it a formidable defensive site, and the inner citadel compound was a maze of courtyards and compounds to frustrate any enemy who gained entry. The rebuilt castle was all of that, but remains even today a spectacular and refined palace. It is still a popular tourist attraction. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Cavalry_1_Stables_Description \n\nAn army of peasants will fight as peasants. An army of foot soldiers will be ponderous. An army with horses will be fleet and deadly! Stables allow the training of light cavalry, who can quickly move across a battlefield to exploit a weakness or hold a line.\n\nMythology has it that the monkey protects horses and stables. This belief has its roots in the Chinese story “Journey to the West” about a monk and his companions, a monkey, a pig and a water spirit travelling to India. The monkey is making the trip as penance for disobedience to the Jade Emperor, who appointed him protector of horses to calm his desire for power. The monkey image is often found on stables, and a particular fine “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” set of images can be seen at the Toshuga Shrine, built to honour Tokugawa Ieyasu. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Cavalry_2_Warhorse_Stables_Description \n\nWhere horses are available these stables allow the recruitment of a wide range of cavalry units. Battle tests the spirit of horses as surely as it tests their strength. Some are better suited to the clamour and din than others, and accept the training required of them. Warhorses must be able to ride headlong into an angry crowd, ignore flames, and keep going even when every natural instinct tells them to run.\n\nAs might be expected, cavalry furniture for horses in Japan developed in a somewhat different fashion compared to the rest of the world. Japanese saddles were traditionally made of wood, and carefully designed to give the rider a stable platform for archery. Such considerations made them unsuitable for use over long distances, or at speed, as they were heavy and uncomfortable. The reins and bridle, however, were light and made of silk. The strangest pieces of equipment, to outside eyes, were the umagutsu. These straw sandals were shoes for the horses, and very similar to human footwear. The umagutsu provided extra traction in wet conditions, and this alone was no small matter when battles were often fought across paddy fields and farmland. They also helped quieten the sound of the horses’ hooves. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Cavalry_3_Bajutsu_Master_Description \n\nCavalry units trained in this dojo will always be better and cheaper than units trained elsewhere. Bajutsu, or the skill of horse riding, is as much about training the man as the horse. A master is not just a horseman, he is also a warrior, scholar and teacher. He can read a battle, understand a horse and teach even the most unpromising student.\n\nThere were many schools of horsemanship in medieval Japan. Each had its own style and specialities, but all agreed that it was the bond between rider and horse that made a cavalry warrior. Students were expected to know everything about their mounts. They were also expected to stay in the saddle no matter what happened, be able to guide the animal with their knees, and fight with spear, bow and sword. Most schools favoured tractable animals for easy training, but on the Kanto plain high-spirited horses were preferred. These mounts took more breaking in, but were thought to make better battle steeds. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Cavalry_4_Legendary_Bajutsu_Dojo_Description \n\nRiders and horses trained at a legendary school have skills and expertise that far surpass those of any other cavalry. But to become a legend is not easy, to say the least. The masters here have moved beyond understanding their skill to a state where they embody their skill. They are at one with their horses, weapons and comrades-in-arms, and can perform acts of martial skill that are almost unrivalled.\n\nHorses, according to myth, are much hunted as prey by kappa, or water spirits, who try to pull them down to a watery death. Stories tell of kappas being caught and forced to promise never to attack horses again, usually with positive results in that the promises are kept. A horse-headed warrior, rather than a spirit, also serves the ruler of Hell, Emma-O. This guard, along with an ox-headed warrior, bring the dead before Emma-O and his magic mirror that reflects all the sins of a deceased man so that Emma-O may judge them fairly. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_1_Chapel_Description \n\nThe humility of this structure belies its spiritual power. The missionaries that go forth from here are capable of converting the people to Christianity, and of spreading sedition among enemies. The building itself is more than a meeting place: like all churches, the design formally codifies the details of the faith. \n\nThe Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan in 1549. Despite language difficulties, he was modestly successful in communicating Christian ideas to his new flock. The Jesuits were a relatively new, vigorous order within the Catholic Church, formed to fight the Protestant ideas of Martin Luther. As “shock troops” of the Reformation, they had both a martial and scholarly air to them that was undoubtedly appealing to samurai sensibilities. However, Christianity faced much hostility because it did not honour ancestors. Indeed, missionaries told their Japanese audience that their ancestors were damned or, at best, virtuous pagans. Despite these problems, the Christian community probably numbered around 100,000 people by 1579. Francis Xavier would eventually be canonized as a saint for his efforts in the far-flung foreign lands. He is still a Catholic patron saint of missionaries. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_2_Hospital_Description \n\nA hospital will aid the conversion of the Japanese to Christianity, also increasing unit replenishment, economic growth and the happiness of the Christian populace. It will improve the rate at which the arts are mastered and allow a besieged army in the same castle town to hold out longer. \n\nThe Society of Jesus, commonly called the Jesuits, was founded in 1534. Taking vows of poverty and celibacy, and with a fanatical devotion to the Catholic faith, the early Jesuits soon began to proselytise in the new Portuguese settlements of the Far East. Following the first appearance of Portuguese traders at Tanegashima in 1543, the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived on Japanese soil with the intention of converting Japan to Catholicism. Unfortunately, the largely Shinto and Buddhist faithful did not easily accept Catholic ideas. Arriving during the most serious civil war in Japan’s history meant that many daimyo were disinterested in Xavier’s work, and, once Buddhist monks realised that Catholicism was a rival faith, they spoke out against him. However, Catholicism did flourish in the domain of the Otomo, who saw both economic and military benefits in trade with Portugal. Their daimyo, Otomo Sorin, was willing to allow his people to choose their own religion if it meant easier access to guns. Eventually Xavier was successful after he drew parallels between Jesuit Catholicism and the spiritual world of his Japanese students. Although he eventually learned Japanese, Xavier initially found the language impenetrable, and spread his message through Catholic iconography. His success eventually led to the appearance of Jesuit hospitals, seminaries and colleges across Otomo territory. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_2_Mission_Description \n\nA mission will aid the conversion of the Japanese to Christianity, but it will also add to the unease of Buddhists. It is a home and spiritual fortress for the missionaries who spread out across the land, bringing the Word to new flocks. \n\nThe Tokugawa Shoguns considered Christianity to be a great threat to the good order of Japan. Centuries-old traditions, including in matters of faith, were considered to be a unifying force. In 1636 Dutch traders, the last Europeans in Japan, were confined to Dejima Island in Nagasaki harbour, effectively barring foreign influences, including foreign religions. The Jesuits had already gone home with the Portuguese, and the Dutch were more interested in profit than proselytising. Dejima was forbidden territory to the Japanese, save for the few allowed to live there and service Dutch needs. Japan remained largely closed to outsiders and their alien ideas for over 200 years. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_3_Church_Description \n\nThis fine structure allows the recruitment of missionaries, and aids the conversion of the province and its neighbours. It also, however, significantly increases the unease and unhappiness of the Buddhist population in the area. The building itself is a mark of how seriously a province’s rulers take their Christian faith. \n\nHistorically, there was little agreement between daimyos as to the best way to deal with Christians and Christianity. Some saw it as a way of increasing trade with the outside world and, of course, getting more European guns; others saw it as a different path to God; still others viewed the faith with hostility as being un-Japanese. In 1597 Toyotomi Hideyoshi made his position perfectly clear when he had 26 Japanese and European Catholics rounded up, tortured and publically crucified. This horrible fate had its intended effect: warning his people against the risks inherent in the new, foreign faith. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_3_Jesuit_Seminar_Description \n\nA Jesuit seminary increases the rate of conversion to Christianity, as well as improving economic growth, the happiness of Christian populace in its province, unit replenishment, and mastery of the arts. It also enables a besieged force in the same castle town to hold out longer against their attackers. \n\nThe Society of Jesus, commonly called the Jesuits, was founded in 1534. Taking vows of poverty and celibacy, and with a fanatical devotion to the Catholic faith, the early Jesuits soon began to proselytise in the new Portuguese settlements of the Far East. Following the first appearance of Portuguese traders at Tanegashima in 1543, the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived on Japanese soil with the intention of converting Japan to Catholicism. Unfortunately, the largely Shinto and Buddhist faithful did not easily accept Catholic ideas. Arriving during the most serious civil war in Japan’s history meant that many daimyo were disinterested in Xavier’s work, and, once Buddhist monks realised that Catholicism was a rival faith, they spoke out against him. However, Catholicism did flourish in the domain of the Otomo, who saw both economic and military benefits in trade with Portugal. Their daimyo, Otomo Sorin, was willing to allow his people to choose their own religion if it meant easier access to guns. Eventually Xavier was successful after he drew parallels between Jesuit Catholicism and the spiritual world of his Japanese students. Although he eventually learned Japanese, Xavier initially found the language impenetrable, and spread his message through Catholic iconography. His success eventually led to the appearance of Jesuit hospitals, seminaries and colleges across Otomo territory. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_4_Cathedral_Description \n\nA cathedral is a mighty structure, demonstrating the profound faith of their builders to the world. It is a major investment of time, money and craftsmanship, a hymn to God given physical, almost intimidating reality. The sheer size and magnificence of this building impresses people and converts them to Christianity across a wide area. The cathedral brings in a large number of worshippers, increasing the province’s income, and adds to the happiness of the local Christian population.\n\nOoura Cathedral in Nagasaki is Japan’s oldest wooden cathedral, but it is a building from the Meiji Restoration, almost 300 years after the Sengoku Jidai. Constructed in 1865 under the oversight of Frenchman Bernard Petitjean, it is now recognised as a national treasure. Earlier structures on the main islands did not survive under the Tokugawa Shogunate: in 1614 an edict banned the practice of Christianity and forced the faith underground. Ooura Cathedral was constructed in part to honour the hidden Christians of Japan, the “kakure kirishitan”, who did not renounce their faith when ordered to do so by the Shoguns. Life became easier for them once the Tokugawa Shogunate ended, and Japan opened up once again to the outside world. In the space of a few decades, Japan went from a quiet backwater to an industrialised society, capable of taking on, and beating, the mighty Russian Empire in 1905. Foreign ideas were still foreign, but they were no longer forbidden. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Christian_4_Jesuit_College_Description \n\nThe presence of a Jesuit college within a province increases the rate that the population are converted to Christianity, and greatly improves happiness among Christian subjects, unit replenishment, economic growth and the research when mastering arts. In addition, it increases the number of turns through which an army in the same location can withstand a siege. \n\nThe Society of Jesus, commonly called the Jesuits, was founded in 1534. Taking vows of poverty and celibacy, and with a fanatical devotion to the Catholic faith, the early Jesuits soon began to proselytise in the new Portuguese settlements of the Far East. Following the first appearance of Portuguese traders at Tanegashima in 1543, the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived on Japanese soil with the intention of converting Japan to Catholicism. Unfortunately, the largely Shinto and Buddhist faithful did not easily accept Catholic ideas. Arriving during the most serious civil war in Japan’s history meant that many daimyo were disinterested in Xavier’s work, and, once Buddhist monks realised that Catholicism was a rival faith, they spoke out against him. However, Catholicism did flourish in the domain of the Otomo, who saw both economic and military benefits in trade with Portugal. Their daimyo, Otomo Sorin, was willing to allow his people to choose their own religion if it meant easier access to guns. Eventually Xavier was successful after he drew parallels between Jesuit Catholicism and the spiritual world of his Japanese students. Although he eventually learned Japanese, Xavier initially found the language impenetrable, and spread his message through Catholic iconography. His success eventually led to the appearance of Jesuit hospitals, seminaries and colleges across Otomo territory. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Crafts_1_Market_Description \n\nA market adds to a province’s wealth and growth, and also allows a clan to recruit metsuke as agents. When two peasants barter, there is a market. When many come to do the same, there is wealth to be made and probably taxed. A permanent market can offer many services and goods for everyone in the province, and allow people to sell their surplus goods. Once people can trade, they can specialise, even a little, produce more and then trade for what they lack. A wise ruler encourages this.\n\nIt was, of course, beneath any samurai to engage in anything as common as trade. Wealth came from rents, land ownership and in rewards for loyal service. Often, wealth was accumulated in the form of rice koku, as taxes in kind. It was left to others to do business, and live as merchants in towns. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, the merchants did gain a certain practical influence, because they were the only people that the rice-rich daimyos and samurai could sell their koku to. The rice bartering system was never able to compete with a proper cash economy, if only because of the difficulty of moving mountains of rice sacks around! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Crafts_2_Rice_Exchange_Description \n\nA rice exchange significantly improves a province’s wealth and growth. Rather than each village relying on its own crops and living from harvest to harvest, an exchange allows merchants to buy up rice crops, and ship them to market as needed. Overall, the effect is to even out the good and bad harvests at some cost to the peasants, who may not always be able to afford the food they have grown.\n\nMerchants were part of the social class of chonin, or townsmen. This gave them few privileges compared to the samurai warrior class. However, they were able to amass considerable wealth. This helped them survive the transition from an age of warfare to an age of enforced peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Business went on as usual and, if anything, improved. In the long run, the samurai were not so fortunate: their social caste meant that they could not work and retain their honour as samurai. The strict social edicts of the Tokugawas didn’t help either, and many samurai were reduced to penury when there was no longer constant warfare. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Crafts_3_Merchant_Guild_Description \n\nA merchants’ guild greatly improves a province’s wealth and growth. Rather than competing with each other, a town’s merchant class work together, pool their resources and information, and look forward to enlarged profits. They can at last start to plan beyond the next harvest, or for the arrival of the next shipment of trade goods. \n\nAssociations of merchants were useful for collective risk-taking and collective bargaining. One merchant alone had little chance of getting any concession from his samurai overlords, but an entire town’s worth of merchants could present a united, if still respectful, front. Guilds were granted trading rights within a lord’s territory, in return for certain considerations. From a lord’s point of view, he could influence trade, tax it effectively, take a share of the wealth and still not actually sully his hands in the dirty business of trade. By acting together, the merchants could help finance major trade enterprises when one man alone would have difficulty raising the required working capital. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Crafts_4_Kanabukama_Description \n\nThis is a merchants’ association or mutual trading company, where the powerful manage trade both for themselves and others. The kabunakama even controls the trade activities of smaller merchants’ guilds, can set prices on goods, and can even bar dishonest or immoral merchants from trade altogether. The kabunakama does not exist to promote competition among merchants, but cooperation and, as a result, it boosts a province’s wealth and growth enormously and also improves the quality of metsuke who are recruited as agents.\n\nHistorically, kabunakama had much in common with the merchant adventurers and great trading companies of Europe. Often, they were granted trade rights in a town or over a particular commodity, but were then expected to pay substantial taxes to the Shogun or daimyo for the privilege. Selling monopoly rights was something that all ruling classes did, as it was profitable and did not involve nobles in any of the sordid money-grubbing of common trade. Merchants did not, however, trade overseas with foreigners, except in very carefully controlled ways. Despite their enormous wealth, the merchants of the kabunakama did not improve their social status: as trading townsmen they were still far lower in the social pecking order than honest, hardworking peasant folk. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Farming_1_Rice_Paddies_Description \n\nPaddies are the artificially flooded fields where rice is grown. Rice is the staple foodstuff of all Japanese people, from the lowly peasant growing the crop to the mightiest daimyo enjoying his rice from an exquisitely elegant bowl. Taxes are measured in koku, or sacks of rice. Each province’s basic wealth and therefore potential tax yield is measured by its rice output. \n\nWorking in rice paddies has always been long, exhausting work. The preparation of small dikes and channels to manage the water supply is a huge task for any farmer. Once the fields are properly laid out and flooded, the individual rice plants have to be hand-planted one at a time, a backbreaking task for anyone. The work was often communal, as most villages were self-governing and self-sustaining. A successful crop was not guaranteed, and a poor harvest would be doubly devastating as the peasants starved and their taxes to the local daimyo, often in taken rice, went unpaid. The violent repercussions of such disrespect and failure were rightly feared. Where the ruling clan was too weak or ineffective to impose taxes things were often no easier, as bandits would quite happily impose their own “taxes” on villagers. From the villagers’ perspective, there was little to choose between taxmen and bandits. In this, at least, the Japanese peasants were identical to others all across the world. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Farming_2_Irrigation_Description \n\nFarmers must use every scrap of land as efficiently as possible to grow enough food to survive and pay their taxes. By using water intelligently, more land can be cultivated and to better effect. The result is that the wealth of a province is improved, along with its potential to be taxed.\n\nThe landscape of Japan was, and is, dominated by mountains, volcanoes and densely wooded areas, leaving very little good, level farmland. To overcome this, farmers had to exploit the numerous small rivers by diverting and damming them to irrigate their lands. In addition, wet farming overcomes the acidic soils produced by volcanic activity and keeps the growth of weeds to a controllable minimum.\n\nOrganised irrigation in Asia can be traced back to ancient China where, in 256 BC, a system was constructed at Dujiangyan to divert water from the Min River. This not only prevented flooding and watered crops but also allowed the river to be used for military transports. As with many other ideas, the Japanese copied the idea from the Chinese and cleverly refined it over the centuries. Dujiangyan is still impressive today. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Farming_3_Terraces_Description \n\nTerrace farming increases the amount of land that can be cultivated, and so adds to the wealth and potential tax income of a province. Eventually farmers will use every square inch of level land available, at which point they must make more. By carefully shaping the hills into a series of giant steps, new land can be created that is suitable for farming. Each step becomes a new, ribbon-shaped paddy field that hugs the contours of a hill. If this is done cunningly – and there is little point doing otherwise – water is used and re-used as it flows downhill over the terraces.\n\nTerrace farming is used in many parts of the world with mountainous landscapes. The landscape is carefully formed into a system of contour-following platforms, with water cascading down from the highest level to the lowest. The result is an extremely efficient use of available space, even where paddy fields are not used; in the Andes of South America terraces were used for virtually all crops, for example. The result is also extremely picturesque, and an impressive piece of human, manual landscaping. The technique still finds favour today because it can stop heavy erosion and help prevent landslides as well as being an effective agricultural method. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Farming_4_Consolidation_Description \n\nLand is the source of all wealth, and the ownership and control of land is vital to the success of any lord. By consolidating land holdings, more and more land is put into the ownership of fewer and fewer people. While this does deprive the peasantry of lands, it does enable proper investment in agriculture, making the land more profitable, just not equally profitable for everyone!\n\nWhen the Tokugawa Shogunate was established in 1603, a powerful centralized government once again existed in Japan. Most of the other, lesser daimyo were allowed to retain their lands, but were answerable for their good behaviour to the new Shogun. A new era of peace allowed the daimyo to reorganise their own lands; villages that had become a little too independent were brought back under control. In this, Japan was not much different from other parts of the world, such as Europe, where peasants were having their commons confiscated by the gentry and nobility. The Tokugawa ruled until 1868, when the Meiji Restoration restored power to the Emperor and his Court. The daimyos of 1868 were ordered to turn all their lands over to Emperor Komei, and Japan was formally reorganised into a series of prefectures. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_1_Jodo_Shinshu_Temple The temple is the centre of the community. From within its walls, monks spread the teachings of Buddha to the people, converting many and inciting others to revolt. The temple monks bring a message of hope too, spreading happiness and, in war, their presence is an inspiration. Unlike other Buddhist sects, Jodo Shinshu Buddhism placed great importance on the lives of those who followed its teachings. Followers were not expected to devote their entire lives to study. Instead, their faith was to be part of their ordinary, everyday lives. It was these principles that brought about the Ikko Ikki. As well as strong religious beliefs, the Ikko Ikki had equally strong political beliefs, desiring an end to feudal government, the Shoguns and the whole state. Instead, the people would rule themselves, and the Ikko Ikki were willing to die to bring about their aims. Naturally, this pitted them against the great lords of the time, including Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga. It would be Nobunaga who eventually brought destruction to the sect at the brutal battle of Nagashima.\n\nThis building can only be constructed by the Ikko Ikki and cannot be used by any other clan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_2_Jodo_Shinshu_Monastery A monastery allows the masses somewhere to gather so they may honour the teachings of Buddha. This is a solid symbol of local commitment to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism; it increases the happiness of all the faithful and spreads the word too. Christians, however, may feel threatened by, and unhappy because of, the presence of this vigorous and forceful sect. In a determined rejection of the old style of Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu buildings differ greatly from other Buddhist structures. They are not built with the main hall, the hondo, facing southwards; rather, the hall faces east to honour Buddha who looks eastwards from his western Paradise. Unlike other sects, a Jodo Shinshu hondo is always dedicated to Shinran Shonin, as a goeido, or “founder’s hall”. Other Buddhist temples dedicate the main hall to one of the many Buddhist gods. A second hall for mass worship is also dedicated to Buddha, and there are few training areas and dormitory blocks for the monks. There are even quarters set aside for married monks in the style of private homes and gardens, quite separate from the temple’s public spaces.\n\nThis building can only be constructed by the Ikko Ikki and cannot be used by any other clan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_3_Jodo_Shinshu_Fortified_Monastery This is a safe haven for religious reflection, worship and, most importantly, training. The people can also be protected from surrounding clans as they vie for power and land. The monks here can concentrate on spreading the faith, converting the uneducated, and acting as a focus for the already faithful. The construction of a fortified monastery will inspire peasants in neighbouring provinces too: there is another way, rather than submitting to the cruelty of the daimyo and their samurai armies! Jodo Shinshu, or Pure Land Buddhism, was an inclusive set of teachings which proposed that anyone could be guaranteed salvation and rebirth. There was no need to become a monk, or spend hours in meditation. Such activities simply weren’t an option for the ever-toiling peasantry, so a faith that gave them hope and the promise of freedom had a definite appeal. The common people were often trapped between warring clans, and Jodo Shinshu offered them the chance of something better, the chance to be without warlords. The Ikko Ikki were the direct result of Jodo Shinshu and the violence of the times, the chance for non-samurai to have a better life for themselves.\n\nThis building can only be constructed by the Ikko Ikki and cannot be used by any other clan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_4_Jodo_Shinshu_Honganji This massive complex of temples and halls is dedicated to the Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and is open to every monk, peasant or samurai who wishes to worship and learn. The old doctrines are set aside, as the teachings of Jodo Shinshu hold that anyone can attain enlightenment, and that solitary meditation is not the only path. Construction of this magnificent shrine brings happiness to the Ikko Ikki, and improves unit replenishment as followers volunteer their services. The Ishiyama Honganji was built in 1496, a huge temple complex that housed the headquarters for the Ikko Ikki. It was constructed in Settsu after Rennyo (1415-99), the priest responsible for rejuvenating the faith, retired. His followers settled around him, building homes and eventually a mighty, self-contained fortress protected by its own moat and guarded by hundreds of Ikko monks. In 1570 and 1576 Oda Nobunaga laid siege to the fortress, only to be seen off by the Ikko Ikki and their allies. A second attempt in 1576 was successful, as Nobunaga gradually strangled the fortress, cutting off its outlying areas and isolating it from any help. After four years of the siege, the Honganji capitulated in 1580.\n\nThis building can only be constructed by the Ikko Ikki and cannot be used by any other clan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Infrastructure_0_Trails_Description \n\nTrails aid movement in a province. They are little more than the tracks to and from the fields, linked by the rough paths blazed by particularly adventurous peasants.\n\nHistorically, most people rarely left their home village. Most folk lived and died within a few miles of their birthplace. There was simply no point in travel for most people: moving somewhere else would merely bring them under the control of a different warlord. Day-to-day life would be exactly the same, and largely spent labouring in a soggy field. Also, wrinkly feet are not conducive to travel! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Infrastructure_1_Roads_Description \n\nRoads improve the movement extent of armies and agents in a province. Everything moves faster thanks to the improved surface. This also improves the replenishment rate of casualties. The comings and goings along the road are also carefully watched, meaning that line of sight is improved also.\n\nWhile roads improve movement, this was not necessarily what the rulers of Japan wanted. Although they may not have realised it, the daimyo relied on their people to maintain their power and wealth. While trade might be welcome, the population could not be allowed to move freely, otherwise they might simply leave in search of a better lord. Such a turn of events was unthinkable. Travel, therefore, was made more difficult than might be expected, to keep the people in their proper place. The free movement of armies was one thing, the free movement of farmers quite another! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Infrastructure_2_Post_Stations_Description \n\nPost roads and stations significantly improve the movement of armies and agents, economic growth in a province and the rate at which replacement troops reach their units. All travellers are carefully monitored at each station, so that line of sight is increased and there is also a better chance of detecting enemy agents. Along each of these roads are a series of post stations, where officials can rest on their journeys but, more importantly, where all other travellers must present the correct documentation before they can travel onwards. The roads are rather good and allow swift passage, but only to those with the right paperwork. \n\nPost stations were places where travellers could rest during their journeys. Lodgings were constructed for officials and government agents, but all kinds of taverns could be found there too. Of course, anyone who stopped at a post town or station would be seen and recorded, so as well as helping travel, the post stations also served as a warning system if unwelcome or shady characters came through. These were first established under the Tokugawa Shogunate, a regime which had every interest in maintaining peace and social control after the chaos and wars of the Sengoku Jidai. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Infrastructure_3_Imperial_Roads_Description \n\nImperial roads and watchtowers significantly improve the movement extent of armies and agents, economic growth in a province and the replenishment of losses in distant units. The post stations monitor all travellers, so that line of sight and the chance of detecting enemy agents are greatly increased. As long as the right paperwork is presented whenever requested, a traveller can make excellent progress along one of these fine roads. The wrong documentation, however, can spell disaster!\n\nTokugawa Ieyasu, the eventual victor of the Sengoku Jidai and Shogun of Japan, created five great land routes through the country, all leading from Edo. These roads were intended primarily to secure his control over the country, as they allowed his armies to move swiftly to confront any troublemakers. Immensely useful as this was to the Tokugawa Shogunate, the roads were also too useful for internal trade and travel not to be used for civilian purposes. Ieyasu’s successors built a network of post stations along these roads so that travellers could rest. The roads remained in use until after the Meiji Restoration when, along with many other foreign ideas, railways arrived in Japan. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_0_Coastal_Village_Description \n\nA regular haul of fish can help sustain and grow a community, supplying a source of both fresh food and income. It is also the foundation for a larger construct, which can be expanded to specialise as either a trading or military port. A good coastal village can become the heart of a community, providing jobs for the populace and the money needed to start families, growing as the fishing business grows.\n\nHistorically, the divisions between social classes in Japan were very clear and seen as vital for the maintenance of good order in the country. Social status and employment were often tightly intertwined, and most jobs had a hereditary element to them: sons followed fathers into the same trade. As well as restrictions on weaponry, the clothes and housing of classes were also laid down in law and custom. Fishermen and farmers had to work hard for little money, but their status was certainly higher than townsmen and merchants. When, under the Tokugawas, some commoners attempted to improve their homes with features copied from the warrior classes, the Shogunate discouraged the practice almost immediately. Everyone had to know, and keep to, their place. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_1_Harbour_Description \n\nBuilding a harbour provides a province with basic ship building capabilities, useful in keeping up with rival clans and their maritime ambitions. The harbour also creates new work opportunities for local people, encouraging economic growth.\n\nAll Japanese lords were acutely aware of the danger of invasion from the sea. The Mongols had tried to do this in both 1274 and 1281, and it was only divine intervention that had saved Japan. Though an island people, the Japanese did not really develop into a naval power when compared to other nations with long coastlines. Sea battles never really evolved beyond a series of boarding actions. The idea of attacking and sinking a ship was never really pursued with vigour.\n\nJapan did, however, have a pirate tradition and a pirate problem. The Japanese government seemed either unwilling or unable to bring their pirates to heel, and this created tensions with nearby nations. Eventually, the pirates became rich and powerful enough to become respectable “sea lords” and carved out territories for themselves, or worked for the richest clans! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_2_Trading_Port_Description \n\nTrade and warfare are vital to the success of a clan, and each supports the other. Warships built here can protect the port’s trading vessels, which in turn earn money to buy more warships. A busy port encourages growth in the province too.\n\nHistorically, Japan was organised along strict social divisions, with fishermen and farmers classed as commoners, while samurai warriors and daimyos were the superior class. Because they did no honourable work, merchants had a lower status than the peasants. The merchants, however, were wealthy, as the samurai considered trade to be a necessary evil, but one that could be left to others. This snobbishness was all very well, but the samurai eventually found themselves unsuited to a peaceful Japan or a modernising Japan after 1868. The merchant classes had, in effect, eclipsed them, leaving the samurai with few honourable ways of making a living. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_3_Military_Port_Description \n\nA military port specialises in the construction and maintenance of warships. These vessels are built for battle, and are not just floating platforms for warriors. This makes them expensive, and means that special yards are needed ashore, but also means that vessels can be properly repaired here too.\n\nHistorically, the Japanese had no warships to speak of until the Sengoku Jidai. Though they had fought at sea, the ships were floating platforms for archers and warriors who would board enemy vessels to fight a land battle at sea. Ships were simply armoured with the same kind of wooden screens foot soldiers carried into battle, and so were vulnerable to fire arrows and bombs hurled from the decks. The intention, however, was to always close with the enemy and fight honourably in close combat. Sinking an enemy vessel might have been more effective, but it was not a proper way to conduct warfare. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_3_Nanban_Trade_Port_Description \n\nForeign visitors bring strange and unsettling ideas with them, and rarely wash, but they also have interesting cargoes and a hunger for Japanese goods. A nanban trade port opens up a province for trade with these foreign fellows, and allows the recruitment of matchlock-armed troops. The trade growth is, of course, a welcome extra benefit. \n\nNanban means “southern barbarian” and was the term used for European traders who came to Japan in the 1540s: they approached from the south, after all, and were barbarous by local standards. They certainly had few manners, precious little understanding of the proper way of doing things, and brought a strange religion with them. They were, however, welcomed because of the new matchlock firearms that they brought with them from Europe. The Japanese soon realised that ashigaru could be trained cheaply and quickly to use these new weapons, and it was not long before local makers were producing guns every bit as good as, and in some cases superior to, the European arquebuses. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_4_Drydock_Description \n\nA drydock is a basin that can be drained for shipbuilding work, and then flooded when a vessel is completed. This allows very large ships to be built and then gently floated away. With such a yard shipwrights can construct the largest and most powerful ships to add to a clan’s navy.\n\nHistorically, it was not until the Sengoku Jidai that the Japanese started building warships, but not for any national fleet. Once shipbuilding did get underway, the vessels produced were huge and resembled nothing quite so much as floating castles. Only six of the largest ships, the almost-legendary O-ataka bunes complete with iron armour, were ever built, probably because they were cripplingly expensive to build, man and maintain. Oda Nobunaga commissioned them and they were used at the Battle of Kizugawaguchi in 1578, where a fatal weakness was revealed. If they were boarded and the fighting meant that one side of the ship was too heavy, they had a nasty tendency to roll and capsize, taking everyone to the briny depths! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Port_4_Nanban_Quarter_Description \n\nA nanban quarter allows foreigners greater trade rights in a province, and a new trade route is there to be exploited. This relatively free exchange of goods and ideas can be profitable, and allows the construction of European ship designs in the local yards.\n\nThe nanban trade between the “southern barbarians” and the Japanese existed from 1543 until the Tokugawa Shoguns closed the country to foreign disturbances in 1641. The Portuguese, who had first opened trade with Japan, were also the first to be excluded. They had, after all, brought a fairly aggressive form of Catholicism, in the form of the Jesuits, to Japan. The Dutch managed to hang on, but their presence was circumscribed and barely tolerated. Eventually they were confined to Dejima, an artificial island in Nagasaki Bay, although their guns were still welcome. Japan remained isolated from the outside world until the Convention of Kanegawa in 1854, a piece of not-quite-gunboat diplomacy by Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the US Navy. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Portuguese_Land \n\nThis land can be handed over to foreign, Portuguese control for them to do with as they wish. In return, the clan gains a large amount of money. However, there is a loss of respect among all right-thinking Japanese who see no need to give any of Japan to foreigners. \n\nThat it was the Portuguese rather than the Spanish getting involved in Japan during this period was the result of the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, brokered by the Catholic Church. This treaty had divided the whole world between Catholic Spain and Catholic Portugal, without any reference to any other European powers. While the Pope, a Spaniard, had not been directly involved, he was certainly happy to endorse the arrangement. Any thought for the natives who might not want to be colonised or exploited was, of course, completely lacking. Japan fell in the Portuguese sphere of influence, so the Spanish stayed away. Quite how happy the Shogun and his daimyo would have been if this treaty had been made known to them is an interesting bit of speculation. The chances are that the implicit arrogance of the European Catholics would have scuppered any chance of trade, let alone anything else. It might have cost many Europeans their heads, too. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_1_Description \n\nBy investing in the artisans of this province it is possible to help the economy grow through paper production and other craft industries or, by specialising in fletchers, you can improve the accuracy of the clan’s bow-armed units. Craftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for all the people. Even the simplest peasant can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses something.\n\nCraftsmanship has always been admired in Japan, and no matter how it is expressed: from the calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke, to the potter who makes a perfect bowl. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem easy.\n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind the formalised bureaucratic language is a simple and worthy idea: to preserve what is best among these highly skilled men and women. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2a_Description \n\nBy investing in the artisans of this province it is possible to help the economy grow through paper production and other craft industries or, by specialising in fletchers, you can improve the accuracy of the clan’s bow-armed units. Craftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for all the people. Even the simplest peasant can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses something.\n\nCraftsmanship has always been admired in Japan, and no matter how it is expressed: from the calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke, to the potter who makes a perfect bowl. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem easy.\n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind the formalised bureaucratic language is a simple and worthy idea: to preserve what is best among these highly skilled men and women. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2b_Description \n\nBy investing in the artisans of this province it is possible to help the economy grow through paper production and other craft industries or, by specialising in fletchers, you can improve the accuracy of the clan’s bow-armed units. Craftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for all the people. Even the simplest peasant can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses something.\n\nCraftsmanship has always been admired in Japan, and no matter how it is expressed: from the calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke, to the potter who makes a perfect bowl. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem easy.\n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind the formalised bureaucratic language is a simple and worthy idea: to preserve what is best among these highly skilled men and women. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3a_Description \n\nBy investing in the artisans of this province it is possible to help the economy grow through paper production and other craft industries or, by specialising in fletchers, you can improve the accuracy of the clan’s bow-armed units. Craftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for all the people. Even the simplest peasant can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses something.\n\nCraftsmanship has always been admired in Japan, and no matter how it is expressed: from the calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke, to the potter who makes a perfect bowl. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem easy.\n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind the formalised bureaucratic language is a simple and worthy idea: to preserve what is best among these highly skilled men and women. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3b_Description \n\nBy investing in the artisans of this province it is possible to help the economy grow through paper production and other craft industries or, by specialising in fletchers, you can improve the accuracy of the clan’s bow-armed units. Craftsmen of all kinds are vital to a province, and add to the quality of life for all the people. Even the simplest peasant can appreciate good workmanship when he sees and uses something.\n\nCraftsmanship has always been admired in Japan, and no matter how it is expressed: from the calligrapher who produces the perfect brush stroke, to the potter who makes a perfect bowl. What is required from all of these men and women is absolute dedication to their craft and, eventually, the ability to make the remarkably difficult seem easy.\n\nToday the Japanese government recognises great craftsmen as ningen kokuho “living national treasures” or, more properly, juyo mukei bunkazai hojisha which translates as “preservers of important intangible cultural properties”. Behind the formalised bureaucratic language is a simple and worthy idea: to preserve what is best among these highly skilled men and women. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_1_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province. By investing in bigger and deeper mines, and the associated smelters above the mine tunnels, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated here. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any daimyo because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth.\n\nGold mining, however, is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing any of the produce! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_2_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province. By investing in bigger and deeper mines, and the associated smelters above the mine tunnels, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated here. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any daimyo because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth.\n\nGold mining, however, is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing any of the produce! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_3_Description \n\nThere is gold in this province. By investing in bigger and deeper mines, and the associated smelters above the mine tunnels, it is possible to greatly increase the wealth generated here. Gold is, of course, always welcome to any daimyo because all wise commanders know that wars cannot be fought, let alone won, without wealth.\n\nGold mining, however, is a dirty and dangerous business for the miners and surface workers. Their lives are likely to be short and brutal, and woe betide anyone who even thinks about stealing any of the produce! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_1_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, better monks can be produced for use on the battlefield as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and be inspirational to all the clan’s warriors, increasing their morale on the battlefield. This more contemplative approach also allows monk agents to be trained to a high standard.\n\nA shrine is important not because of the building or marker, but because of the spirit it houses. People may need and appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but they do not alter the fundamental sanctity of the place. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength.\n\nToday many shrines are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and some have been listed as World Heritage Sites. Some 103 shrines and buildings in Nikko, in the modern Tochigi prefecture have been given this status; the structures belong to a Buddhist temple and two Shinto shrines. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2a_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, better monks can be produced for use on the battlefield as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and be inspirational to all the clan’s warriors, increasing their morale on the battlefield. This more contemplative approach also allows monk agents to be trained to a high standard.\n\nA shrine is important not because of the building or marker, but because of the spirit it houses. People may need and appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but they do not alter the fundamental sanctity of the place. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength.\n\nToday many shrines are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and some have been listed as World Heritage Sites. Some 103 shrines and buildings in Nikko, in the modern Tochigi prefecture have been given this status; the structures belong to a Buddhist temple and two Shinto shrines. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2b_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, better monks can be produced for use on the battlefield as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and be inspirational to all the clan’s warriors, increasing their morale on the battlefield. This more contemplative approach also allows monk agents to be trained to a high standard.\n\nA shrine is important not because of the building or marker, but because of the spirit it houses. People may need and appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but they do not alter the fundamental sanctity of the place. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength.\n\nToday many shrines are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and some have been listed as World Heritage Sites. Some 103 shrines and buildings in Nikko, in the modern Tochigi prefecture have been given this status; the structures belong to a Buddhist temple and two Shinto shrines. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3a_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, better monks can be produced for use on the battlefield as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and be inspirational to all the clan’s warriors, increasing their morale on the battlefield. This more contemplative approach also allows monk agents to be trained to a high standard.\n\nA shrine is important not because of the building or marker, but because of the spirit it houses. People may need and appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but they do not alter the fundamental sanctity of the place. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength.\n\nToday many shrines are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and some have been listed as World Heritage Sites. Some 103 shrines and buildings in Nikko, in the modern Tochigi prefecture have been given this status; the structures belong to a Buddhist temple and two Shinto shrines. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3b_Description \n\nThis province has a site of religious significance. By developing this site, better monks can be produced for use on the battlefield as fanatical warriors. Alternatively, the site can be developed along less martial lines, and be inspirational to all the clan’s warriors, increasing their morale on the battlefield. This more contemplative approach also allows monk agents to be trained to a high standard.\n\nA shrine is important not because of the building or marker, but because of the spirit it houses. People may need and appreciate the buildings around a shrine, but they do not alter the fundamental sanctity of the place. As long as the kami are respected and honoured, the shrine remains a source of spiritual strength.\n\nToday many shrines are revered historical monuments as well as shrines, and some have been listed as World Heritage Sites. Some 103 shrines and buildings in Nikko, in the modern Tochigi prefecture have been given this status; the structures belong to a Buddhist temple and two Shinto shrines. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_1_Description \n\nThis province is ideally suited to horses and animal husbandry. By investing here, the quality of the horse stock improves, leading to better mounts for all cavalry in the clan’s armies. This improves the charge bonus of all cavalry too.\n\nHorses were always vital to samurai warfare, as nearly all of them fought as cavalry before the Sengoku Jidai. The animals were highly valued, judging by the elaborate harnesses and trappings that their riders bought. Warhorses also had to be hardy to withstand the rigours of campaigning. Horses used by mounted archers were so well trained that the rider could control them while standing in the stirrups and firing his bow with both hands.\n\nMost samurai were good horsemen, and some were recognised by their fellows as exceptionally good: Tokugawa Ieyasu was widely regarded as a superb horseman. He obviously knew the value of a good horse, because a grave marker at Nikko in Tochigi prefecture shows the burial place of the horse he rode at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_2_Description \n\nThis province is ideally suited to horses and animal husbandry. By investing here, the quality of the horse stock improves, leading to better mounts for all cavalry in the clan’s armies. This improves the charge bonus of all cavalry too.\n\nHorses were always vital to samurai warfare, as nearly all of them fought as cavalry before the Sengoku Jidai. The animals were highly valued, judging by the elaborate harnesses and trappings that their riders bought. Warhorses also had to be hardy to withstand the rigours of campaigning. Horses used by mounted archers were so well trained that the rider could control them while standing in the stirrups and firing his bow with both hands.\n\nMost samurai were good horsemen, and some were recognised by their fellows as exceptionally good: Tokugawa Ieyasu was widely regarded as a superb horseman. He obviously knew the value of a good horse, because a grave marker at Nikko in Tochigi prefecture shows the burial place of the horse he rode at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_3_Description \n\nThis province is ideally suited to horses and animal husbandry. By investing here, the quality of the horse stock improves, leading to better mounts for all cavalry in the clan’s armies. This improves the charge bonus of all cavalry too.\n\nHorses were always vital to samurai warfare, as nearly all of them fought as cavalry before the Sengoku Jidai. The animals were highly valued, judging by the elaborate harnesses and trappings that their riders bought. Warhorses also had to be hardy to withstand the rigours of campaigning. Horses used by mounted archers were so well trained that the rider could control them while standing in the stirrups and firing his bow with both hands.\n\nMost samurai were good horsemen, and some were recognised by their fellows as exceptionally good: Tokugawa Ieyasu was widely regarded as a superb horseman. He obviously knew the value of a good horse, because a grave marker at Nikko in Tochigi prefecture shows the burial place of the horse he rode at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_1_Description \n\nThe people of this province are noted for their cultural and intellectual attainments. Their skills may be developed along one of two paths: firstly, they can be encouraged to contemplate and develop the many arts and techniques a clan needs to stay ahead of their rivals. Secondly, their skills can be used for the more prosaic business of espionage and counter-espionage. In this case, the quality of metsuke training will be markedly improved.\n\nThe Chinese philosophy of Confucianism sees education as a good thing, and this idea percolated across to Japan. A samurai was expected to embody the idea of “pen and sword in accord” and be equally able with his katana or a calligraphy brush. Clear and clever thinking was a good thing, whether in peace or war. Learning was worthy in itself, and improved a man. There was also a sense that cultured men made better, more civilized rulers and administrators, and could deal with the lower social orders in a more just and equitable fashion. Of course, the practical day-to-day administration of a daimyo’s territory required a large number of literate, intelligent agents and ministers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_2a_Description \n\nThe people of this province are noted for their cultural and intellectual attainments. Their skills may be developed along one of two paths: firstly, they can be encouraged to contemplate and develop the many arts and techniques a clan needs to stay ahead of their rivals. Secondly, their skills can be used for the more prosaic business of espionage and counter-espionage. In this case, the quality of metsuke training will be markedly improved.\n\nThe Chinese philosophy of Confucianism sees education as a good thing, and this idea percolated across to Japan. A samurai was expected to embody the idea of “pen and sword in accord” and be equally able with his katana or a calligraphy brush. Clear and clever thinking was a good thing, whether in peace or war. Learning was worthy in itself, and improved a man. There was also a sense that cultured men made better, more civilized rulers and administrators, and could deal with the lower social orders in a more just and equitable fashion. Of course, the practical day-to-day administration of a daimyo’s territory required a large number of literate, intelligent agents and ministers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_2b_Description \n\nThe people of this province are noted for their cultural and intellectual attainments. Their skills may be developed along one of two paths: firstly, they can be encouraged to contemplate and develop the many arts and techniques a clan needs to stay ahead of their rivals. Secondly, their skills can be used for the more prosaic business of espionage and counter-espionage. In this case, the quality of metsuke training will be markedly improved.\n\nThe Chinese philosophy of Confucianism sees education as a good thing, and this idea percolated across to Japan. A samurai was expected to embody the idea of “pen and sword in accord” and be equally able with his katana or a calligraphy brush. Clear and clever thinking was a good thing, whether in peace or war. Learning was worthy in itself, and improved a man. There was also a sense that cultured men made better, more civilized rulers and administrators, and could deal with the lower social orders in a more just and equitable fashion. Of course, the practical day-to-day administration of a daimyo’s territory required a large number of literate, intelligent agents and ministers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_3a_Description \n\nThe people of this province are noted for their cultural and intellectual attainments. Their skills may be developed along one of two paths: firstly, they can be encouraged to contemplate and develop the many arts and techniques a clan needs to stay ahead of their rivals. Secondly, their skills can be used for the more prosaic business of espionage and counter-espionage. In this case, the quality of metsuke training will be markedly improved.\n\nThe Chinese philosophy of Confucianism sees education as a good thing, and this idea percolated across to Japan. A samurai was expected to embody the idea of “pen and sword in accord” and be equally able with his katana or a calligraphy brush. Clear and clever thinking was a good thing, whether in peace or war. Learning was worthy in itself, and improved a man. There was also a sense that cultured men made better, more civilized rulers and administrators, and could deal with the lower social orders in a more just and equitable fashion. Of course, the practical day-to-day administration of a daimyo’s territory required a large number of literate, intelligent agents and ministers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_3b_Description \n\nThe people of this province are noted for their cultural and intellectual attainments. Their skills may be developed along one of two paths: firstly, they can be encouraged to contemplate and develop the many arts and techniques a clan needs to stay ahead of their rivals. Secondly, their skills can be used for the more prosaic business of espionage and counter-espionage. In this case, the quality of metsuke training will be markedly improved.\n\nThe Chinese philosophy of Confucianism sees education as a good thing, and this idea percolated across to Japan. A samurai was expected to embody the idea of “pen and sword in accord” and be equally able with his katana or a calligraphy brush. Clear and clever thinking was a good thing, whether in peace or war. Learning was worthy in itself, and improved a man. There was also a sense that cultured men made better, more civilized rulers and administrators, and could deal with the lower social orders in a more just and equitable fashion. Of course, the practical day-to-day administration of a daimyo’s territory required a large number of literate, intelligent agents and ministers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_1_Description \n\nOnce a mine has been constructed, this province will produce iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by the daimyo. Without iron, there are no swords, spears, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_2_Description \n\nOnce a mine has been constructed, this province will produce iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by the daimyo. Without iron, there are no swords, spears, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_3_Description \n\nOnce a mine has been constructed, this province will produce iron, a vital resource for weapons. As the mine is developed and expanded, the training cost of units will be greatly reduced. Iron is, perhaps, the most important war-making commodity needed by the daimyo. Without iron, there are no swords, spears, or dreams of glory. Gold is all very well, but wealth can always be squeezed from the peasants through taxes. The same is not true of iron. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_1_Description \n\nThis small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships.\n\nPiracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_2a_Description \n\nThis small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships.\n\nPiracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_2b_Description \n\nThis small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships.\n\nPiracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_3a_Description \n\nThis small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships.\n\nPiracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_3b_Description \n\nThis small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships.\n\nPiracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_1_Description \n\nAlthough ninja may be regarded as dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, there is no denying their usefulness to a daimyo. An enemy who meets a knife in the dark will be just as dead as one killed in battle. The ninja here can be encouraged along two paths: to become better killers, or to act as smugglers, and improve the income of the province.\n\nNinja “clans” were not uncommon in Japan, as families tended to pass the secrets of ninjutsu between father and son. The matter was never openly talked about. Much of what is commonly believed about ninja is largely movie invention: even the ninjato, the ninja sword, has no proven historical basis. A ninja almost certainly carried a katana, the finest sword he could, if he carried a sword at all. Shuriken (darts, stars and other projectiles) were also carried and used.\n\nOne, possibly apocryphal tale, illustrates the dedication and danger of the ninja. Having been hired to assassinate a lord, the ninja allegedly waited down a toilet, surrounded by faeces, for the bottom of his target to appear in the appropriate place, then thrust home his blade. The victim’s death must have been surprising, agonizing and swift! The ninja must surely have been blessed with a strong stomach, or no sense of smell, to spend days in such hideous conditions. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2a_Description \n\nAlthough ninja may be regarded as dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, there is no denying their usefulness to a daimyo. An enemy who meets a knife in the dark will be just as dead as one killed in battle. The ninja here can be encouraged along two paths: to become better killers, or to act as smugglers, and improve the income of the province.\n\nNinja “clans” were not uncommon in Japan, as families tended to pass the secrets of ninjutsu between father and son. The matter was never openly talked about. Much of what is commonly believed about ninja is largely movie invention: even the ninjato, the ninja sword, has no proven historical basis. A ninja almost certainly carried a katana, the finest sword he could, if he carried a sword at all. Shuriken (darts, stars and other projectiles) were also carried and used.\n\nOne, possibly apocryphal tale, illustrates the dedication and danger of the ninja. Having been hired to assassinate a lord, the ninja allegedly waited down a toilet, surrounded by faeces, for the bottom of his target to appear in the appropriate place, then thrust home his blade. The victim’s death must have been surprising, agonizing and swift! The ninja must surely have been blessed with a strong stomach, or no sense of smell, to spend days in such hideous conditions. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2b_Description \n\nAlthough ninja may be regarded as dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, there is no denying their usefulness to a daimyo. An enemy who meets a knife in the dark will be just as dead as one killed in battle. The ninja here can be encouraged along two paths: to become better killers, or to act as smugglers, and improve the income of the province.\n\nNinja “clans” were not uncommon in Japan, as families tended to pass the secrets of ninjutsu between father and son. The matter was never openly talked about. Much of what is commonly believed about ninja is largely movie invention: even the ninjato, the ninja sword, has no proven historical basis. A ninja almost certainly carried a katana, the finest sword he could, if he carried a sword at all. Shuriken (darts, stars and other projectiles) were also carried and used.\n\nOne, possibly apocryphal tale, illustrates the dedication and danger of the ninja. Having been hired to assassinate a lord, the ninja allegedly waited down a toilet, surrounded by faeces, for the bottom of his target to appear in the appropriate place, then thrust home his blade. The victim’s death must have been surprising, agonizing and swift! The ninja must surely have been blessed with a strong stomach, or no sense of smell, to spend days in such hideous conditions. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3a_Description \n\nAlthough ninja may be regarded as dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, there is no denying their usefulness to a daimyo. An enemy who meets a knife in the dark will be just as dead as one killed in battle. The ninja here can be encouraged along two paths: to become better killers, or to act as smugglers, and improve the income of the province.\n\nNinja “clans” were not uncommon in Japan, as families tended to pass the secrets of ninjutsu between father and son. The matter was never openly talked about. Much of what is commonly believed about ninja is largely movie invention: even the ninjato, the ninja sword, has no proven historical basis. A ninja almost certainly carried a katana, the finest sword he could, if he carried a sword at all. Shuriken (darts, stars and other projectiles) were also carried and used.\n\nOne, possibly apocryphal tale, illustrates the dedication and danger of the ninja. Having been hired to assassinate a lord, the ninja allegedly waited down a toilet, surrounded by faeces, for the bottom of his target to appear in the appropriate place, then thrust home his blade. The victim’s death must have been surprising, agonizing and swift! The ninja must surely have been blessed with a strong stomach, or no sense of smell, to spend days in such hideous conditions. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3b_Description \n\nAlthough ninja may be regarded as dangerous, troublesome and underhanded, there is no denying their usefulness to a daimyo. An enemy who meets a knife in the dark will be just as dead as one killed in battle. The ninja here can be encouraged along two paths: to become better killers, or to act as smugglers, and improve the income of the province.\n\nNinja “clans” were not uncommon in Japan, as families tended to pass the secrets of ninjutsu between father and son. The matter was never openly talked about. Much of what is commonly believed about ninja is largely movie invention: even the ninjato, the ninja sword, has no proven historical basis. A ninja almost certainly carried a katana, the finest sword he could, if he carried a sword at all. Shuriken (darts, stars and other projectiles) were also carried and used.\n\nOne, possibly apocryphal tale, illustrates the dedication and danger of the ninja. Having been hired to assassinate a lord, the ninja allegedly waited down a toilet, surrounded by faeces, for the bottom of his target to appear in the appropriate place, then thrust home his blade. The victim’s death must have been surprising, agonizing and swift! The ninja must surely have been blessed with a strong stomach, or no sense of smell, to spend days in such hideous conditions. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_1_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. They may be ordered to follow one of two paths: that of the sword, or the way of the armourer. These specialists will greatly improve the melee attacks of the clan’s units, or their armour in battle.\n\nIron working has always been a much-appreciated skill in Japan. The art of forging swords is a delicate and time-consuming business, and skilled swordsmiths were both honoured and sought after as retainers. Armourers, on the other hand, sometimes fared less well in terms of social status because their craft used leather, and tanning was a job for social outcasts as it involved handling dead animals. Some armourers would sign their work, and produce complex family histories to elevate their status. Nevertheless, the products of their labour, such as the elaborate and beautiful o-yoroi, are still valued today. King James I of England was sent gifts of samurai armour by the Tokugawa Shogunate; the armour is still in the Royal Armouries collection. \n\nFinally, armour was expensive, and this often meant that suits of armour re-used pieces from older sets. This makes dating particular pieces of armour tricky, because it was not uncommon for older maker’s marks to be erased and the refurbisher’s mark to be put on instead. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2a_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. They may be ordered to follow one of two paths: that of the sword, or the way of the armourer. These specialists will greatly improve the melee attacks of the clan’s units, or their armour in battle.\n\nIron working has always been a much-appreciated skill in Japan. The art of forging swords is a delicate and time-consuming business, and skilled swordsmiths were both honoured and sought after as retainers. Armourers, on the other hand, sometimes fared less well in terms of social status because their craft used leather, and tanning was a job for social outcasts as it involved handling dead animals. Some armourers would sign their work, and produce complex family histories to elevate their status. Nevertheless, the products of their labour, such as the elaborate and beautiful o-yoroi, are still valued today. King James I of England was sent gifts of samurai armour by the Tokugawa Shogunate; the armour is still in the Royal Armouries collection. \n\nFinally, armour was expensive, and this often meant that suits of armour re-used pieces from older sets. This makes dating particular pieces of armour tricky, because it was not uncommon for older maker’s marks to be erased and the refurbisher’s mark to be put on instead. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2b_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. They may be ordered to follow one of two paths: that of the sword, or the way of the armourer. These specialists will greatly improve the melee attacks of the clan’s units, or their armour in battle.\n\nIron working has always been a much-appreciated skill in Japan. The art of forging swords is a delicate and time-consuming business, and skilled swordsmiths were both honoured and sought after as retainers. Armourers, on the other hand, sometimes fared less well in terms of social status because their craft used leather, and tanning was a job for social outcasts as it involved handling dead animals. Some armourers would sign their work, and produce complex family histories to elevate their status. Nevertheless, the products of their labour, such as the elaborate and beautiful o-yoroi, are still valued today. King James I of England was sent gifts of samurai armour by the Tokugawa Shogunate; the armour is still in the Royal Armouries collection. \n\nFinally, armour was expensive, and this often meant that suits of armour re-used pieces from older sets. This makes dating particular pieces of armour tricky, because it was not uncommon for older maker’s marks to be erased and the refurbisher’s mark to be put on instead. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3a_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. They may be ordered to follow one of two paths: that of the sword, or the way of the armourer. These specialists will greatly improve the melee attacks of the clan’s units, or their armour in battle.\n\nIron working has always been a much-appreciated skill in Japan. The art of forging swords is a delicate and time-consuming business, and skilled swordsmiths were both honoured and sought after as retainers. Armourers, on the other hand, sometimes fared less well in terms of social status because their craft used leather, and tanning was a job for social outcasts as it involved handling dead animals. Some armourers would sign their work, and produce complex family histories to elevate their status. Nevertheless, the products of their labour, such as the elaborate and beautiful o-yoroi, are still valued today. King James I of England was sent gifts of samurai armour by the Tokugawa Shogunate; the armour is still in the Royal Armouries collection. \n\nFinally, armour was expensive, and this often meant that suits of armour re-used pieces from older sets. This makes dating particular pieces of armour tricky, because it was not uncommon for older maker’s marks to be erased and the refurbisher’s mark to be put on instead. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3b_Description \n\nThere are specialist blacksmiths in this province. They may be ordered to follow one of two paths: that of the sword, or the way of the armourer. These specialists will greatly improve the melee attacks of the clan’s units, or their armour in battle.\n\nIron working has always been a much-appreciated skill in Japan. The art of forging swords is a delicate and time-consuming business, and skilled swordsmiths were both honoured and sought after as retainers. Armourers, on the other hand, sometimes fared less well in terms of social status because their craft used leather, and tanning was a job for social outcasts as it involved handling dead animals. Some armourers would sign their work, and produce complex family histories to elevate their status. Nevertheless, the products of their labour, such as the elaborate and beautiful o-yoroi, are still valued today. King James I of England was sent gifts of samurai armour by the Tokugawa Shogunate; the armour is still in the Royal Armouries collection. \n\nFinally, armour was expensive, and this often meant that suits of armour re-used pieces from older sets. This makes dating particular pieces of armour tricky, because it was not uncommon for older maker’s marks to be erased and the refurbisher’s mark to be put on instead. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_1_Description \n\nGood quality stone can be found in convenient places in this province, and the local stoneworkers are reasonably expert in getting it out of the ground. As the stonemasons are given more equipment, they can improve the amount of usable stone they extract, and so improve the defensive value of any castle that is constructed.\n\nThis kind of development also includes the transport system needed to ship stone to where it is required. Before the advent of powered transport, moving masonry and stone was often more work than actually extracting the stuff, and it is no coincidence that many quarries were near either the coast or a navigable river: boats were often the only way to transport heavy items over any distance. Final shaping and any detail work is, and was, nearly always done on the building site. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_2_Description \n\nGood quality stone can be found in convenient places in this province, and the local stoneworkers are reasonably expert in getting it out of the ground. As the stonemasons are given more equipment, they can improve the amount of usable stone they extract, and so improve the defensive value of any castle that is constructed.\n\nThis kind of development also includes the transport system needed to ship stone to where it is required. Before the advent of powered transport, moving masonry and stone was often more work than actually extracting the stuff, and it is no coincidence that many quarries were near either the coast or a navigable river: boats were often the only way to transport heavy items over any distance. Final shaping and any detail work is, and was, nearly always done on the building site. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_3_Description \n\nGood quality stone can be found in convenient places in this province, and the local stoneworkers are reasonably expert in getting it out of the ground. As the stonemasons are given more equipment, they can improve the amount of usable stone they extract, and so improve the defensive value of any castle that is constructed.\n\nThis kind of development also includes the transport system needed to ship stone to where it is required. Before the advent of powered transport, moving masonry and stone was often more work than actually extracting the stuff, and it is no coincidence that many quarries were near either the coast or a navigable river: boats were often the only way to transport heavy items over any distance. Final shaping and any detail work is, and was, nearly always done on the building site. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_1_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests in this province will flourish. With the right investment, the lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed. As the lumberyard and sawmill are developed, the costs of ships will be greatly lessened. Not all timber taken from a forest will be suitable for shipbuilding: for some European designs, for example, quite specific trunk-and-bough shapes are required for certain parts of the vessel, but wastage can be minimised. \n\nIt also takes time for cut timber to dry out and season properly for use in shipbuilding. While green timber can be used, it tends to warp and distort as it dries, making it difficult for shipwrights, or any other builders, to work straight. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_2_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests in this province will flourish. With the right investment, the lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed. As the lumberyard and sawmill are developed, the costs of ships will be greatly lessened. Not all timber taken from a forest will be suitable for shipbuilding: for some European designs, for example, quite specific trunk-and-bough shapes are required for certain parts of the vessel, but wastage can be minimised. \n\nIt also takes time for cut timber to dry out and season properly for use in shipbuilding. While green timber can be used, it tends to warp and distort as it dries, making it difficult for shipwrights, or any other builders, to work straight. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_3_Description \n\nIf the kodama are properly respected, the forests in this province will flourish. With the right investment, the lumbermen will be able to harvest enough good trees to reduce the cost of any vessels constructed. As the lumberyard and sawmill are developed, the costs of ships will be greatly lessened. Not all timber taken from a forest will be suitable for shipbuilding: for some European designs, for example, quite specific trunk-and-bough shapes are required for certain parts of the vessel, but wastage can be minimised. \n\nIt also takes time for cut timber to dry out and season properly for use in shipbuilding. While green timber can be used, it tends to warp and distort as it dries, making it difficult for shipwrights, or any other builders, to work straight. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Siege_1_Workshop_Description \n\nThis building allows the construction of basic siege engines. Sooner or later a castle will need to be reduced or breached, and then taken from the enemy. The defending commander may even decide that his best course is to sit out the siege. It is at this point that an attack needs a really big weapon to break down the enemy walls.\n\nSieges often required quite advanced military engineering on the part of the attackers. At Noda Castle in 1573, when a corps of miners with the attacking Takeda army drained the moat, the defenders lost their water supply too. It was only the shooting of Lord Takeda Shingen by a sniper that halted the attack. However, there was also a notable tendency for Japanese garrisons to leave their castles and attack their besiegers. It was not always considered honourable to cower behind the walls when there was a clean fight to be had with your tormentors outside! It was quite possible for the besieging army to capture a castle almost intact, because the defenders had been terribly obliging and come out into the field to be killed in an honourable way. On the other hand, some garrisons were remarkably tenacious: at Odawara in 1561, the castle held out for two months, despite the town around it being burned to the ground. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Siege_2_Powder_Maker_Description \n\nThis building allows the training of horoku units. Gunpowder is notoriously tricky stuff to make safely, and there is more art to it than many would suspect. The ingredients used, their individual preparation, and the proportions needed for the final mix are all jealously guarded secrets. The final stages, when the powder is mixed with water, dried out, and then carefully ground to the correct size are particularly dangerous. One spark will spell disaster, particularly in Japan where so many buildings are made of wood!\n\nAlthough the Japanese had been on the receiving end of gunpowder weapons in the 13th century, courtesy of the Mongols, they chose not to use them in warfare. This was unusual, as the Japanese had not been particularly reticent about taking Chinese ideas of all kinds, refining them, and producing a distinctly excellent local version of all kinds of things. Striking down enemies at a distance with little chance of reply did not, however, easily sit within the samurai concept of bushido. It was one thing to shoot someone with an arrow, quite another to blow an enemy to small pieces. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Siege_3_Gunsmith_Description \n\nThis building allows the recruitment of matchlock-armed samurai units. By breaking the reliance on European guns, a lord can add considerably to his war-making potential. Given a suitable place to work, a Japanese gunsmith can be every bit as clever, cunning and productive as a gaijin on the other side of the world! \n\nOnce Japanese weapon smiths had seen European firearms and understood what they were about, it did not take long for local examples to be manufactured. Indeed, Japanese craftsmanship quickly improved on the imported examples of matchlocks, making them more practical battlefield weapons: Japanese gunsmiths added a foresight to guns years before Europeans thought of doing the same thing. Later they also invented a way of shielding the burning match from the rain. Needless to say, the locally made guns often displayed high quality workmanship and materials, and those guns intended for samurai users were well made and beautifully finished. The brown colour of many gun barrels was not the metal going rusty but a finish that would resist corrosion. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Siege_4_Arsenal_Description \n\nA large store of weapons, armour and other necessaries is vital to warfare. A general worth his sword knows that his men cannot march without shoes, fight without weapons or live without food. To command warriors is meaningless unless they have what they need to carry the fight to the enemy. The arsenal allows the recruitment of rocket units. In addition, an experienced force of matchlock samurai will always be present in the province for defensive purposes. The first clan to construct an arsenal will also benefit from improved reloading times for all matchlock-carrying troops.\n\nAs the wars of the Sengoku Jidai increased in ferocity and armies increased in size, weapons and armour became less a matter of choice for individual samurai, and more of a logistical nightmare. A samurai might well provide all his own war gear, but the thousands of ashigaru being recruited into the clan armies needed everything from helmets to socks and sandals. This lead to standardisation of equipment by all clans, and a literally uniform appearance in their respective warriors. In this, the Japanese warlords were well ahead of their European contemporaries. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Stealth_1_Sake_Den_Description \n\nA sake den makes people happy, after a fashion. There is much to be said in favour of a flask of sake at the end of a long, hard day, and many troubles look much smaller after a convivial evening. In the shadows, however, and hidden behind smiles, darker business can be transacted: secrets exchanged and arrangements made. Among other dangerous types, ninjas are to be found here.\n\nOne of the most popular beverages in Japan, sake was originally only produced in small quantities for personal consumption. In the 1300s, however, mass production began in larger distilleries, often near temples and shrines. In later years, the main producers kept to the same places thanks to the availability of good sake rice and good, clean water. Sake was often used in Shinto rituals, and today barrels of sake are still left at shrines as rather splendid offerings to the spirits. Sake is also central to the Shinto ceremony of “kagami biraki”, performed at weddings and festivals. Wooden casks of sake are smashed open with a mallet, and the drinks are then served to all the guests to bring them good fortune. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Stealth_2_Gambling_Hall_Description \n\nThe chance to gamble, with some small chance of winning, is a good way to keep people occupied and happy. The gambling hall helps to improve a province’s wealth and, additionally, attracts ninjas looking to sell their skills to the highest bidder. There is always a darker side to something that is, after all, less than entirely respectable.\n\nSocial standing was of utmost importance in feudal Japan. The gentry and warriors were at the top of the system, peasants below them, followed by artisans and merchants. There were, however, groups even lower than merchants, outcastes who did not even belong to society. These people included burakumin, the hinin, and the bakuto. The burakumin had jobs that were held to be taboo, such as undertakers and tanners: people who worked with the dead, human and animal (although, to be fair, tanning was a disgusting process and no one who had any sense of smell could stand being anywhere near). Hinin were almost non-human, defined as such by their actions: criminals and those such as actors and entertainers. The bakuto were gamblers, who did not earn an honest living. This did not stop them becoming rich and relatively powerful, although without status. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Stealth_3_Criminal_Syndicate_Description \n\nA town with no crime is too poor to have anything worth stealing! Crime syndicates, however, are not about theft: they provide all kinds of illicit and enjoyable services to the local people, even as they intimidate troublesome individuals into keeping quiet. The syndicate has a positive effect on wealth, give or take, and it aids in procuring the services of a dangerous class of men: battlefield ninjas. \n\nJapanese crime syndicates, the yakuza, have a long tradition and can trace their origins back to the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate and earlier. The name is deliberately ironic: a portmanteau of the Japanese for eight, nine and three, a losing hand at cards. From their start as gamblers, the yakuza became a mirror of samurai society, with their own codes of honour. Yakuza are famed for their tattoos, the elaborate designs showing that the wearer has the strength to take the pain of his decorative work. Other than yakuza, the only Japanese group to regularly carry tattoos are firemen. Tattoos are a reason for ordinary Japanese to be suspicious of strangers. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Stealth_4_Mizu_Shobai_Description \n\nThis whole city quarter given over to every kind of entertainment does much to increase the wealth of the province, as many are drawn to sample its pleasures. Even though much is relatively harmless fun, there is also a darker side where other business can be transacted away from watchful eyes. The district allows the recruitment of geishas.\n\nThe concept of ukiyo or the “floating world” became formalised during the Edo period. Red light districts were not uncommon in great cities, but the one in Yoshiwara in Edo became the most elaborate and famous. Within its boundaries almost any form of entertainment was available for those with money. Visitors to the quarter were expected to leave their weapons behind, one of the few occasions when a samurai would willingly be disarmed!\n\nThe “water trade” or mizu shobai had its own rules, strictly defined hierarchy and did not necessarily involve sex at all. Entertainers, comedians, dancers and others were all part of the trade, but not sexually available. There was also a very clear distinction between a prostitute or courtesan and a geisha. A geisha was unlikely to become sexually involved with any of her customers, and especially not for pay. She was a highly skilled entertainer and escort, not a bed companion. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Sword_1_Sword_School_Description \n\nThe sword school allows the recruitment of katana samurai units. Use of the sword is a serious business, and the teaching and practice of sword fighting is equally serious. Students are expected to approach the subject with the deepest reverence. This is not unsurprising, given that a katana, or long sword, can easily sever a limb if handled carelessly!\n\nSamurai were the only people allowed to wear a pair of swords, the daisho (literally “long and short”) of a katana and a wakizashi. Constant practice was required to use a sword properly, and many schools taught the art of kenjutsu. Iaijutsu was also taught, but this was the specialised skill of drawing and striking with a sword away from the battlefield, a useful thing for self-defence in dangerous times. The emphasis in all teaching, however, was on combat, not on sport or fun. Style mattered, but only as long as it aided the serious business of beating an opponent. Teaching also concentrated on the katana, although a few practitioners, such as the famous sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi, favoured a two-sword style. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Sword_2_Nodachi_Description \n\nThis dojo allows the recruitment of no-dachi samurai units, armed with fearsome greatswords. The use of these swords is a specialised art, and not all samurai are suited or able to use no-dachi. The weapon is also one that requires considerable space, even for practice. However, the men who can use the swords command considerable respect among their peers.\n\nThe term “dojo” means “the place of the way”, or a formal training setting for a particular martial art. Often these would be large halls built in temple grounds, but courtyards could also be used. In the case of a no-dachi, training would have to be in the open air.\n\nA no-dachi was instantly recognisable when carried because it was worn slung over the shoulder, but its great length meant that it could not be drawn from that position. It was a weapon for the open battlefield, and rarely used indoors or in confined spaces because it needed a lot of space to use effectively. Of most use against cavalry, the no-dachi was not a common blade, as it was harder to make than a shorter sword and required a strong man to swing it! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Sword_3_Master_Dojo_Description \n\nThe sword master school both improves the quality of sword-armed units recruited here and reduces the amount of time needed to train them. A sword takes many weeks of patient labour to forge, but the swordsman takes even longer. The sword is the soul of the samurai, and long hours of practice are necessary to master this apparently simple weapon.\n\nA kenjutsu school was more than a building: it was also the philosophy and ideas of its teachers and leaders, and each had its own style of combat and teaching. Although all schools shared the idea of kata, or forms, for practice, how these were used could vary greatly. Rivalry between schools was, at times, quite fierce, almost bordering on feuds, and duels to settle which school had the best style were not uncommon. The sword saint, Miyamoto Musashi, was, at one point in his career, particularly given to duelling with adepts from different schools. In his most famous duel he used a bokken, or wooden practice sword, against a man armed with a no-dachi. Accounts differ as to how his opponent, Sasaki Kojiro, died (and even as to why they fought) but all agree that Musashi beat him with a wooden blade! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Sword_4_Legendary_Dojo_Description \n\nThe legendary kenjutsu school allows the recruitment of hero units. It also greatly improves the quality of all sword-armed units recruited here. An experienced unit of katana samurai will always be present to defend their school. Finally, the first clan to construct this legendary school will gain a useful close combat bonus for their units. The correct use of the sword is one of the traditional marks of the samurai warrior class; the other is skill with the bow. A kenjutsu school of this quality is therefore a mark of great honour for a clan, as well as a practical benefit.\n\nMany martial arts, including kenjutsu, the art of swordplay, are based on a set of kata, or codified forms, meaning both moves and stances. These actions help the martial artist learn and perfect his skills in combat, to the point where he no longer has to think about his next move or response to an opponent. A particular school of martial arts can often be distinguished by the kata that it expounds, as well as by its underlying spiritual philosophy. \n\nIaijutsu, the “art of immediate reaction”, relies almost entirely on kata because its fast-draw sword techniques are usually practiced alone. Apart from anything else, it would be supremely dangerous to practice iaijutsu with a partner unless both participants were supremely skilled. Even then, death or dismemberment would come all too easily. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Yari_1_Drill_Yard_Description \n\nThe drill yard allows the recruitment and training of yari-armed samurai units. Using a spear effectively in battle requires training, discipline and trust.\n\nThe art of using a spear, sojutsu, is one of many Japanese martial arts, and probably among the oldest. The spear was, with the bow, one of the traditional weapons of the samurai. The spear also has its place in Japanese mythology, because drops falling from the tip of ame-no-nuboko, the “Heavenly Jewelled Spear” formed the islands of Japan. This spear, however, is also referred to as a naginata, a slightly shorter slashing pole arm.\n\nThe spear came to be seen as a very cost-effective weapon for troops during the feudal wars of the Sengoku Jidai. Combined with bow and matchlock armed troops, spearmen formed the core of most clan armies. Spear fighting in Japan was a good deal more aggressive than the “push of pikes” that went on in European battles of roughly the same period. This probably reflected the more honour-bound and glory-hungry nature of Japanese warfare, as many European armies were full of mercenaries who could only be paid if they were still alive! True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Yari_2_Naginata_Dojo_Description \n\nThis dojo allows the recruitment of naginata-armed samurai units; if there is a large enough temple in the province, naginata-armed monks can also be trained. The naginata itself is a fearsome weapon, and requires considerable training to use effectively in battle. It is also a weapon favoured by samurai women for “home defence” when their men are on campaign. It should not, however, be considered in any way effeminate because of that!\n\nTo the untrained eye, the naginata looks like a spear with a wickedly sharp sword instead of a point. It can be used as a spear, of course, to thrust into an enemy or braced to receive a charge, but it is at its most effective when an adept uses it to cut and parry. Anyone facing a naginata has to deal with something that can cut and slash at a greater range than any sword, and be used to block any counterattack: the shaft is as much a part of the weapon’s strength as the blade itself! Traditionally, it was considered an extremely useful weapon against mounted enemies. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Yari_3_Master_Dojo_Description \n\nThis dojo speeds up the training of spear-armed troops. It also improves the expertise and experience of spear units trained in this province. Spears are traditional weapons and have been for centuries, but skilled men are needed to get the best from the weapons. Samurai spearmen bring their single-minded dedication to the weapon, but still need training.\n\nSojutsu, the art of the spear, is no longer a popular martial art in Japan, possibly because of the large amount of space needed for practice: kenjutsu, the art of the sword, needs far less room. Considered one of koryu, the traditional martial arts, the origins of sojutsu are lost in time, but it ceased to be taught on even a modest scale during the Meiji Restoration in 1866-9. Many schools were forced to close at that time, often after hundreds of years of continuous existence. The masters had relied on a rice stipend from the provinces to stay in business, and once that was gone the schools could no longer continue. True
building_description_texts_long_description_SHO_Yari_4_Legendary_School_Description \n\nThis legendary school greatly increases the expertise and experience of spear-armed samurai units trained in this province. It also allows the recruitment of yari-armed hero units. An experienced unit of yari-armed samurai will always be present in the province to defend their famous school. Finally, if a clan constructs the first legendary sojutsu school in Japan all its yari-armed units receive a defensive bonus in battle.\n\nArming troops with spears reached the height of its popularity during and after the Mongol invasions of Japan. The Mongols themselves made extensive use of spearmen, and the Japanese were not slow to adapt and copy this style of warfare. During the Sengoku Jidai, spears were issued to the thousands of ashigaru troops in clan armies, as it was relatively easy to drill ashigaru in simple spear tactics: they need only hold together, brace their spears, and then push the enemy back! The samurai, however, continued to use sojutsu, and the best samurai spearmen were indeed a force to be reckoned with: brave, skilled, and committed to victory or death under the code of bushido. The same could not always be said of the ashigaru. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_1_region_specialty_gold_mining_1_desc Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_10_region_specialty_coal_mining_2_desc Skies are darkened as tomorrow takes root. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_100_modern_1_desc There is much to learn before battle. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_101_modern_2_desc A roof. Regular food. Regular pay. Glory and honour! True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_102_modern_3_desc Military academies can only be built in Kyoto itself.\n\nGood breeding is a start, but thought is also useful. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_103_modern_4_desc War is too serious to be left to brave amateurs. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_104_buff_1_desc The army that does not train neglects its duties. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_105_buff_2_desc One man with a pen commands ten thousand rifles. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_106_buff_2_desc The wounded have sacrificed much for their cause. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_107_buff_2_desc Let an enemy fight himself. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_108_buff_2_desc Battles are started on the parade ground. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_109_buff_2_desc “Squeeze the trigger! You great foolish lump! Squeeze!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_11_region_specialty_coal_mining_3_desc Skies are darkened as tomorrow takes root. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_110_region_specialtea_1_desc Tea is a civilized thing. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_111_region_specialtea_2_desc Tea is a civilized thing. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_112_region_specialtea_3_desc Tea is a civilized thing. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_113_propaganda_4_desc The loyalty of the loyal refreshes the people. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_12_region_specialty_copper_mining_1_desc There is wisdom in foreigners: the copper-bottomed guarantee for a start! True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_13_region_specialty_copper_mining_2_desc There is wisdom in foreigners: the copper-bottomed guarantee for a start! True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_14_region_specialty_copper_mining_3_desc There is wisdom in foreigners: the copper-bottomed guarantee for a start! True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_15_region_specialty_copper_mining_3_desc There is wisdom in foreigners: the copper-bottomed guarantee for a start! True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_16_region_specialty_iron_mining_1_desc The earth gives power in unexpected ways. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_17_region_specialty_iron_mining_2_desc The earth gives power in unexpected ways. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_18_region_specialty_iron_mining_3_desc The earth gives power in unexpected ways. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_19_region_specialty_iron_mining_3_desc The earth gives power in unexpected ways. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_2_region_specialty_gold_mining_2_desc Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_20_region_specialty_silk_1_desc Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_21_region_specialty_silk_2_desc Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_22_region_specialty_silk_3_desc Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_23_region_specialty_holy_site_1_desc When the spirits move them, mortal men can achieve the miraculous. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_24_region_specialty_holy_site_2_desc When the spirits move them, mortal men can achieve the miraculous. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_25_region_specialty_holy_site_3_desc When the spirits move them, mortal men can achieve the miraculous. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_26_region_specialty_smithing_1_desc The smith forges many destinies, not just his own. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_27_region_specialty_smithing_2_desc The smith forges many destinies, not just his own. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_28_region_specialty_smithing_3_desc The smith forges many destinies, not just his own. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_29_region_specialty_smithing_3_desc The smith forges many destinies, not just his own. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_3_region_specialty_gold_mining_3_desc Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_30_region_specialty_clay_1_desc What will the artisan discover within the clay? True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_31_region_specialty_clay_2_desc What will the artisan discover within the clay? True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_32_region_specialty_clay_3_desc What will the artisan discover within the clay? True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_33_region_specialty_clay_3_desc What will the artisan discover within the clay? True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_34_region_specialty_smugglers_1_desc Crime does pay, and gold will wash away all stains. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_35_region_specialty_smugglers_2_desc Crime does pay, and gold will wash away all stains. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_36_region_specialty_smugglers_3_desc Crime does pay, and gold will wash away all stains. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_37_region_specialty_railroad_1_desc Wires and rails bind a country together. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_38_region_specialty_railroad_2_desc Wires and rails bind a country together. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_39_region_specialty_railroad_3_desc Wires and rails bind a country together. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_4_region_specialty_gold_mining_3_desc Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_40_foundation_1_desc The village is not the world. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_41_foundation_2_desc For some, a glimpse into a larger world. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_42_foundation_3_desc Any street holds mysteries, delights and dangers. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_43_foundation_4_desc An easy place to become lost among the crowds. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_44_foundation_5_desc Some cities are harsh mistresses. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_45_criminal_1_desc “More sake! Now!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_46_criminal_2_desc Everything has its price. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_47_criminal_2_desc “Bet now! Bet now! Betting ends!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_48_criminal_3_desc Everyone has their price. It is a question of finding the right coin. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_49_criminal_3_desc The twittering of sparrows can be costly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_5_region_specialty_silver_mining_1_desc Silver armour can stop any bullet. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_50_criminal_4_desc Money eases all problems. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_51_criminal_4_desc Men of chivalry do much for the people. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_52_propaganda_1_desc Order frees men from fear. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_53_propaganda_2_desc When law governs, only the guilty go in fear. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_54_propaganda_2_desc “Ssshhhh. Wrong question. Wrong place.” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_55_propaganda_3_desc “Ssshhhh. We ask the questions, not you…” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_56_propaganda_3_desc Own the past; own the future. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_57_propaganda_4_desc Sometimes the wolf at the door is within. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_58_propaganda_4_desc “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_59_industry_1_desc The weaver, the potter, and the smith at his forge work for the good of all. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_6_region_specialty_silver_mining_2_desc Silver armour can stop any bullet. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_60_industry_2_desc Tomorrow always comes in a stranger's garb. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_61_industry_2_desc The kiss of the breeze upon the skin. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_62_industry_2_desc True skill is expressed with sublime elegance. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_63_industry_3_desc The ticking clock, not a falling blossom, measures a man's life. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_64_industry_4_desc A loom can weave a new future. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_65_industry_4_desc A loom can weave the story of the past. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_66_castle_2_desc Beneath high walls, all understand the value of obedience. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_67_castle_3_desc It takes many stones to crush hopes. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_68_castle_4_desc A statement of mastery in stone. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_69_castle_5_desc The power of great men casts a long shadow. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_7_region_specialty_silver_mining_3_desc Silver armour can stop any bullet. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_70_castle_6_desc Buried in the earth, and surrounded by death. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_71_port_1_desc “If this is a port, one wall and a roof tile make a house!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_72_port_2_desc The sea-roads lead everywhere for the adventurous. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_73_port_3_desc Honour at sea requires hard work ashore. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_74_port_3_desc Fortunes flow with the tides. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_75_port_4_desc The shipwright who commands the waves can build wonders. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_76_port_4_desc “Not the Home Counties, or even Liverpool, but jolly British, by Jove!” True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_77_port_4_desc America is a nation that means business. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_78_port_4_desc French engineering and style, all in one place. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_79_farming_1_desc A bowl of rice offers nothing for the future. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_8_region_specialty_silver_mining_3_desc Silver armour can stop any bullet. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_80_farming_2_desc Money can grow on trees, sometimes. (OBSOLETE) True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_81_farming_2_desc Money can grow on trees, sometimes. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_82_farming_3_desc Without the farmer, all will hunger. (OBSOLETE) True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_83_farming_3_desc Without the farmer, all will hunger. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_84_farming_4_desc Empty bellies grumble. Hungry bellies work. (OBSOLETE) True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_85_farming_4_desc Empty bellies grumble. Hungry bellies work. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_86_defenses_1_desc No Defences (OBSOLETE) True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_87_defenses_2_desc Archery Towers (OBSOLETE) True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_88_defenses_3_desc Fire and death are the rightful reward of foolish attackers. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_89_defenses_4_desc Even dying can follow modern fashion. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_9_region_specialty_coal_mining_1_desc Skies are darkened as tomorrow takes root. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_90_defenses_5_desc Guns are the final argument in war. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_91_infrastucture_1_desc Many steps complete a journey. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_92_traditional_1_desc Ancient wisdom should guide a sword. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_93_traditional_2_desc Sometimes the sword is more useful than the pen. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_94_traditional_3_desc Skill is the first step towards mastery. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_95_traditional_4_desc The sword is the soul of the samurai. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_96_artillery_1_desc Honour can be lacking in modern ways of warfare. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_97_artillery_2_desc Demolition is a delicate art. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_98_artillery_3_desc Mastery of the dark arts of ballistics brings many benefits. True
building_description_texts_short_description_bos_99_artillery_4_desc The sword must be kept sharp, the powder dry. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buddhist_1_Description The cherry tree blossoms from the right seed. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buddhist_2_Description Quiet should not be mistaken for "peace". True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buddhist_3_Description A man may contemplate much, including the sword's edge. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buddhist_4_Description Fame is a mayfly hovering above the unchanging water. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buff_1_Description There must be a first step in every march. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buff_2a_Description The empty scabbard is useless; beautiful lacquer mocks the owner. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buff_2b_Description A wise tiger is wary of a rabbit with a bow. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Buff_2c_Description One man can become an army. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Bushi_1_Description A man fights; a warrior goes to battle. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Bushi_2_Description Bow and sword demand discipline from warriors. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Bushi_3_Description To strike the mark cleanly is a sign of mastery. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Bushi_4_Description A master writes his poetry in the blood of others. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Castle_1_Description High walls and closed doors conceal many treasures. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Castle_2_Description High walls and higher towers impress the lowly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Castle_3_Description Walls are lessons in subjugation. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Castle_4_Description To look out from a tall tower is mastery. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_1_Description A wise family honours the kami of the land. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_2_Description The good earth is the source of all power. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_3_Description If law fails all else burns. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_4a_Description Everything, even grandeur, has its seasons. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_4b_Description Nobility proclaims itself. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Clan_4c_Description The courtier is nothing without a court. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_1_Description Fair exchange is not robbery. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_2a_Description The hungry belly consumes all thoughts of anything else. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_2b_Description When two men meet in honesty, both may profit from the day. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_3a_Description Unlike rice, wealth is not found in every bowl. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_3b_Description Only a fool eats everything after the harvest. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_4a_Description Gold pays many debts; rice pays them all. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Economy_4b_Description Wealth buys comfort, but will it buy peace? True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_1_Description The peasant's back is bent; the rice grows tall. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_2a_Description Lands flourish when they are ordered. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_2b_Description No horse goes willingly to battle. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_3a_Description Like a cherry blossom, perfection is fleeting. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_3b_Description Order and chaos are only a chopstick's length apart. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_4a_Description Empty bellies are never found in loyal men. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Farming_4b_Description The warrior should strive to be worthy of his noble steed. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_1_Description The land is the clay that makes men. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_2a_Description The man who defends his lord also defends his home. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_2b_Description They also serve who watch and wait. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_3a_Description Fighting is not enough. There must be obedience. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_3b_Description Many are called when the land is menaced. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_4a_Description One arrow snaps; the sheaf is not so easily broken. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Gov_4b_Description Desperate men are the land's courage given flesh. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Infrastucture_1_Description The well-worn way leads the traveller home. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Infrastucture_2_Description Where one foot has trodden, another may follow with certainty. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Infrastucture_3_Description Bad news flies on falcon's wings; the good dawdles at every inn. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Infrastucture_4_Description Only the last step completes a journey. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Intellectual_1_Description The dull mind must be sharpened. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Intellectual_2_Description The ink reveals inner strength, and every weakness. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Intellectual_3_Description An idea can cut deeper than a sword. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Intellectual_4_Description A gentleman is a lesson to others. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Koryu_1_Description There is wisdom in picking up a weapon before a battle. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Koryu_2_Description Mastery seems a distant target to the novice. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Koryu_3_Description There is little skill in slashing; one must strike cleanly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Koryu_4_Description The unexpected act is always devastating. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Port_1_Description The waves give riches to the fisherman, and take them away. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Port_2a_Description The sailor takes ship, eager to be away from a wife in this port. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Port_2b_Description The wave spirits wash away the cowardly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Port_3a_Description The sea-road is wide, and leads everywhere. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Port_3b_Description A good shipwright travels in his own ship. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_1_Description In the hands of a master everything is simple. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2a_Description In the hands of a master everything is simple. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2b_Description In the hands of a master everything is simple. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3a_Description In the hands of a master everything is simple. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3b_Description In the hands of a master everything is simple. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_1_Description Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_2_Description Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_3_Description Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_1_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2a_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2b_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3a_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3b_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_1_Description Ignorance is a belly hungry for wisdom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_1_Description The earth has riches for those who respect her. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_2_Description The earth has riches for those who respect her. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_3_Description The earth has riches for those who respect her. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_1_Description A rich meal will bring the wolves. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_2_Description A rich meal will bring the wolves. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Naval_3_Description A rich meal will bring the wolves. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_1_Description Darkness is always deepest furthest from the light. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2_Description Darkness is always deepest furthest from the light. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3_Description Darkness is always deepest furthest from the light. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_1_Description Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_2_Description Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Silk_3_Description Heaven's grace created on a mortal loom. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_1_Description The iron master forges the destiny of many. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2a_Description The iron master forges the destiny of many. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2b_Description The iron master forges the destiny of many. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3a_Description The iron master forges the destiny of many. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3b_Description The iron master forges the destiny of many. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_1_Description A careful woodsman always respects the kodama. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_2_Description A careful woodsman always respects the kodama. True
building_description_texts_short_description_GEM_Region_Specialty_Timber_3_Description A careful woodsman always respects the kodama. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Archery_1_Archery_Dojo_Description The target is nothing without the arrow. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Archery_2_Foot_Archery_Description A bow holds the spirit of its maker. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Archery_3_Bow_Master_Dojo_Description Strength is not enough: there must be form as well. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Archery_4_Legendary_Dojo_Description The shot should honour the target with its sincerity. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buddhist_1_Temple_Description Quiet should not be mistaken for "peace". True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buddhist_2_Monastery_Description A man may contemplate much, including the sword's edge. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buddhist_3_Temple_Complex_Description The whole world lies within the garden for one who cares to see it. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buddhist_4_Legendary_Temple_Description Legends feed the soul of a people. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_1_Encampment_Description There must be a first step in every march. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_2_Armoury_Description The empty scabbard is useless; beautiful lacquer mocks the owner. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_2_Barracks_Description Fighting is not enough. There must be obedience. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_2_Hunting_Lodge_Description The tiger hunts where he will. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_2_Jiujutsu_Dojo_Description The open hand does not need a weapon. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Buff_2_Proving_Grounds_Description One man can become an army. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Castle_1_Fort_Description A reminder of lordly might is more than mere walls and towers. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Castle_2_Stronghold_Description High walls and higher towers impress the lowly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Castle_3_Fortress_Description Without sure footing, the sword stroke will go amiss. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Castle_4_Castle_Description Absolute mastery, expressed in stone, is also a message. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Castle_5_Citadel_Description Lesser men should quail in the shadows of the great. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Cavalry_1_Stables_Description When the horse and man are as one, all else follows. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Cavalry_2_Warhorse_Stables_Description Who is braver: the cavalryman, or his horse? True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Cavalry_3_Bajutsu_Master_Description A wise man listens to his horse. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Cavalry_4_Legendary_Bajutsu_Dojo_Description A horse has a great heart, and need only be reminded of it. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_1_Chapel_Description Hear the Word of the Lord. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_2_Hospital_Description With the arrival of western weapons comes the experience of western medicine. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_2_Mission_Description Sheep require shepherds. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_3_Church_Description A church is not built with stones, but in men's hearts. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_3_Jesuit_Seminar_Description A centre for the training of Jesuit novices. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_4_Cathedral_Description "A mighty fortress is our God..." True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Christian_4_Jesuit_College_Description Pious students must learn theology, morality, and man’s place in God’s universe. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Crafts_1_Market_Description When two men meet in honesty, both may profit from the day. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Crafts_2_Rice_Exchange_Description There is much to be learned from the prattle of merchants. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Crafts_3_Merchant_Guild_Description Wealth may buy comfort, but will it buy peace? True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Crafts_4_Kanabukama_Description To price everything is to value nothing. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Farming_1_Rice_Paddies_Description Order and chaos are only a chopstick's length apart. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Farming_2_Irrigation_Description Empty bellies are never found in loyal men. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Farming_3_Terraces_Description The foundation of wealth is a full rice bowl. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Farming_4_Consolidation_Description When the bowl is bigger it holds more rice. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_1_Jodo_Shinshu_Temple One word, one people, one way. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_2_Jodo_Shinshu_Monastery Faith does not always bring inner peace. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_3_Jodo_Shinshu_Fortified_Monastery Training sharpens the wits and hardens the spirit. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Ikko_Temple_4_Jodo_Shinshu_Honganji Faith can build mountains. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Infrastructure_0_Trails_Description The well-worn way leads the traveller home. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Infrastructure_1_Roads_Description Where one foot has trodden, another may follow with certainty. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Infrastructure_2_Post_Stations_Description Bad news flies on falcon's wings; the good dawdles at every inn. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Infrastructure_3_Imperial_Roads_Description Only the last step completes a journey. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_0_Coastal_Village_Description The waves give riches to the fisherman, and take them away. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_1_Harbour_Description The sailor takes ship eager to be away from the wife in this port. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_2_Trading_Port_Description The sea-road is wide, and leads everywhere. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_3_Military_Port_Description Beyond the gulls' cries, the waves test men's courage. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_3_Nanban_Trade_Port_Description Foreign gold is still gold. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_4_Drydock_Description A good shipwright travels in his own ship. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Port_4_Nanban_Quarter_Description Even the unwashed, unmannered and unwelcome can be useful. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Portuguese_Land The foreigners offer wealth, and all they ask is the use of a little piece of land. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_1_Description The simplest thing is worthy of respect. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2a_Description An arrow does not hate its target. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_2b_Description Ink and blood are both easily spilled. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3a_Description The man who adds beauty to the world is blessed. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Craftwork_3b_Description The master's spirit guides every arrow. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_1_Description Wealth is never dishonourable. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_2_Description Gold is more powerful than steel, for steel obeys gold. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Gold_Mining_3_Description A mountain has deep roots, and hides its riches well. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_1_Description When the spirits move, men should be still. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2a_Description Mountains and gods are unforgiving. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_2b_Description As long as a man travels, he may arrive. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3a_Description To withdraw from the world is not to forget the world. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Holy_Site_3b_Description At journey's end, understanding awaits. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_1_Description No horse goes to war willingly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_2_Description Like a cherry blossom, perfection is fleeting. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Horses_3_Description The warrior should strive to be worthy of his noble steed. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_1_Description Before the word is written, the brush must be held correctly. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_2a_Description Learning sharpens the wits, sometimes to killing effect. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_2b_Description The fool looks; the educated man sees; the wise man understands. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_3a_Description There is harmony in perfect order. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Intellectual_3b_Description Law is heavier than any sword. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_1_Description The earth has riches, for those who respect her. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_2_Description Iron-hearted men are needed to win iron from the earth. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Iron_Mining_3_Description The earth does not yield its treasures easily. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_1_Description Where men gather, purses grow fat. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_2a_Description In another life, any man might be a pirate. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_2b_Description Trade is a question of timing. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_3a_Description One day, the pirate may call himself "Sea Lord". True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Naval_3b_Description Trade is a river, and it waters all the land. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_1_Description Death and profit are also found in darkness. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2a_Description The best place to hide is out in the open. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_2b_Description Thought is the sharpest blade of all. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3a_Description Shadows are the best defence. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Ninja_3b_Description What an excise man misses, others may value. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_1_Description As the iron is forged so too is bravery, but in a hotter fire. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2a_Description Armour is prudence, forged in iron, bound in leather and silk. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_2b_Description When even one spear is blunted, the army is weakened. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3a_Description A coward in beautiful armour is still a coward. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Smithing_3b_Description The sword gives form to the master's wit. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_1_Description The mason asks the stone what it wants to be. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_2_Description The quarryman who ignores the kami does not live long. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Stone_3_Description No stone wants to be unfinished. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_1_Description The careful woodsman always respects the kodama. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_2_Description There is a season to all things. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Region_Specialty_Timber_3_Description Beauty and strength await the saw blade. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Siege_1_Workshop_Description The smith bends iron to his will; the gunner, the enemy. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Siege_2_Powder_Maker_Description Hellfire confined is not hellfire tamed. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Siege_3_Gunsmith_Description "...Power comes from the barrel of the gun." True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Siege_4_Arsenal_Description A loaded cannon often discourages dissent. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Stealth_1_Sake_Den_Description "Oi! Are you looking at my geisha, you bastard?" True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Stealth_2_Gambling_Hall_Description "An eight. A nine. And… a three!" True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Stealth_3_Criminal_Syndicate_Description Respect, honour and profit drink at the same inn. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Stealth_4_Mizu_Shobai_Description Both happiness and sorrow burden the soul. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Sword_1_Sword_School_Description A sword is never safe, but the swordsman is dangerous. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Sword_2_Nodachi_Description Swords do not permit insolence. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Sword_3_Master_Dojo_Description The edge is the dividing line between life and death. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Sword_4_Legendary_Dojo_Description The true master does not draw his sword to show mastery. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Yari_1_Drill_Yard_Description An action does not require thought. The body will learn. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Yari_2_Naginata_Dojo_Description Fear stabs at the enemy before the spear. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Yari_3_Master_Dojo_Description He who has the longest spear wins on points. True
building_description_texts_short_description_SHO_Yari_4_Legendary_School_Description When the soul is quiet, the spearpoint is steady. True
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