Miyadaka

The Constitutional Monarchy of Miyadaka, also commonly called Miyadaka, (Miyadakan Traditional: 宮高の立憲帝国; Miyadakan Standard: Miyakō no rikken teikoku), is an island nation in eastern Asania. It has no land borders, but is close to the nation of Xinhao to the west, Xei Sea to the east, Gyoko Sea to the north, and the Astorian Ocean to the south. Miyadaka covers LAND AREA square kilometers and has an estimated population of 137,763,847 people. Miyadaka comprises of 70 prefectures and 6 island territories. The capital of Miyadaka is the city of Otsu, though other major cities include Yakasuki, Shimamoto, Kumarori, and Honsato.

Miyadaka experienced its first human habitation in the 17,000s BCE according to archeological evidence. It is believed that most of these humans resided in the island chain's valleys, foraging off of the many nuts and berries which grew throughout the region. It would not be until 3000 BCE when agriculture, in the form of rice farming, would make its way to the islands, and allow for the formation of the first villages and cities. Shortly thereafter, many small kingdoms and principalities formed up and down the southern islands, with rich land owning families becoming a new upper class called the Deyūku. Between 1900 BCE - 100 CE a series of conflicts emerged as smaller Deyūku were absorbed into larger groups, with the Aso clan emerging as the largest, uniting the other clans under their leadership in 511 CE, beginning the Aso Period. During their rule, the culture around the imperial court began to emerge, and the Haoist faith became the largest religious group in the country, implementing many strict social laws based on Haoist customs in a legal framework called the Hirotane Code. After unifying the south, the Aso Emperors managed to bring about the first Miyadakan Golden Age, bringing about new methods of art and silk creation. This golden age came to an end with the death of Narikazu II, as his infant son's privy council took control under Arikore Fuji, beginning a period of wars between other clans. In 1392, the Itsu clan overthrew the Arikore clan and installed their own emperor, moving the capital to Yakasuki in 1401. Their new government instituted a strict social code, and imposed harsh punishments. Their reign saw the invention of the Miyadakan script, further innovations in Miyadakan art, the official unification of the north, and expansion of imperial authority to islands throughout the Gennet Ocean. Civil war between the Itsu and the Gou clans broke out in the 1600s for control of the country, with the Gou emerging as the victors in 1751, opening the country to trade and foreign influence. Their rule ended the system of feudalism, and the clans, forming instead a more centralized government under the authoritarian rule of the Emperor in Otsu. It would be Emperor Nijumi VI that ended the authoritarian system in 1820 as industrialization led to many changes in Miyadakan culture, with his government introducing the first written constitution in Asania. His government became increasingly hostile to Xinhao, who was attempting to extend their influence abroad in this time, with Miyadaka occupying Myeon in 1855 to prevent Xin occupation of the area. With the Xin invasion of Myeon in the Great War, Miyadaka became involved during the Invasion of Myeon and the War in Tanguan, defeating Xinhao in the war and signing the Treaty of Yakasuki and Alscheid Accords. The country rapidly industrialized and liberalized throughout the post war period, becoming a centre for manufacturing in what became known as the Asanian Miracle in the 1880s and 1890s.

Miyadaka is a constitutional monarchy with the world's third largest economy, with strong civil liberties, and high levels of political freedom and engagement. Miyadaka is a parliamentary democracy, and is a strong ally of the central world, while also being a strong independent Great Power in its own right, capable of power projection across the globe. The nation's cities such as Yakasuki, Otsu, and Kumamori are some of the largest financial and economic hubs in the eastern hemisphere, with the Yakasuki Stock Market being the largest stock exchange in Asania. Miyadaka has low levels of unemployment and relatively high living standards, with the world's lowest crime rates, making it one of the most desirable places to live in the world.

Etymology
Describe etymology...

People from Miyadaka are called Miyadakans.

Prehistory
The Miyadakan peninsula was once a land bridge connected to the Asanian mainland beginning with the decline in sea levels following the last ice age. During this period, many of the species of fauna and animals that would call Miyadaka home managed to make their way onto, what was at the time, a rocky peninsula. As temperatures began to rise, further migrations of animals made their way into the cooler, coastal, region. As the peninsula became an island, humans began migrating via boats to the islands beginning in the 17,000s BCE.According to archeological evidence, it is believed that two distinct prehistoric cultures began forming on the island chain: the Mio in the northern regions, and the Yadakans in the southern regions. In the north, many of the peoples in the area began forming small villages and fishing communities, which harvested fish in the extremely mountainous and rocky region. In the southern region, where the terrain was more fertile and less mountainous, a population of foragers and harvesters emerged, likely inhabiting the many valleys and hills, foraging for berries, nuts, and other fruits, as well as hunting the various game of the islands. It is believed that, despite the beneficial terrain, the Yadakans also fished along the coast, though archeological evidence has pointed to evidence that the Mio has superior maritime capabilities.

It would not be until 3000 BCE that proper agricultural practices would make their way onto the island chain. Scholars believe that rice farming first began with the Yadaku in the south, due to a more beneficial climate and terrain for rice farming, which allowed for a significant population growth in the 3000s and 2000s BCE, allow for the formation of the first villages and cities on the islands. Many of these new farmlands came under the control of larger families or groups of families, who soon became the new noble class of the south, called the Deyūku (デューク). While the northern regions remained rural fishing areas, the southern regions began to wage war on one another, with the many clans attempting to exert control over one another for dominance. It was also during the 2000s BCE that the first bronze sculptures in Miyadaka appeared, mainly in the southern Yadaku regions.

Numerous wars were waged between 1900 BCE - 100 CE, as the smallest Deyūku were absorbed into larger clans and territories were established. By and large, these were called the Miyadakan Rice Wars, as often, the Deyūku would fight over plots of land for agricultural and taxation purposes.

These wars would come to an end as one clan - in particular the Aso clan - managed to unite the other southern Deyūku under their leadership in 511 CE.

The Aso Period
As Miyadakan clans were absorbed into one another during the Rice Wars which spanned from the 1900s BCE to the 100s CE, one clan managed to secure numerous victories. Emerging from the southern regions of the country, specifically the city of Kumarori, they waged numerous wars until they had successfully integrated the southern Yadaku regions into their rule, beginning what is known as the Aso Period of Miyadakan history. The Aso Period began with the ascension of Aso Ujinao to the throne in 514 CE, after his clan conquered the last Yakio clan in what is now Yakasuki. His coronation in Kumarori began what is known as the Aso Dynasty. Despite many historians referring to this period in Miyadakan history as the Aso Period, many also refer to the period as the Kumarori Era, due to the imperial court and government being centralized in this city.

It was during the Aso period that many Miyadakan traditions and cultural aspects first came about. The Aso Dynasty is responsible for the emergence of imperial tradition and culture, that being, the traditions surrounding the imperial court, during their reign - such as the divine blessing of the emperor from the heavens, as well as the Emperor's position as the final authority in law. The nation was largely isolated from the rest of Asania, though beginning in the 800s CE, Haoist missionaries from the continent, mainly coming from Xinhao, preaching the Haoist tradition. Hirotane III, who took the imperial throne in 919 CE, fully embraced the teachings of the Haoist faith, and implemented its religious code on the country known as the Hirotane Code.

These rules implemented strict punishments for greed, theft, and other heinous crimes, a criminal code which would drastically cut down on crime in the country, but would install fear of the authorities in many places. These laws brought more and more of the Miyadakan population towards the Haoist faith, while also providing the country with its first institutional laws, being the country's first legal code.

Meanwhile the Aso Emperors began expanding southwards in a series of protracted conflicts between 1065-1086. Despite the strict laws implemented at the time, the southern realms remained stable, allowing for a golden age of sorts to begin in the 1100s. New art styles such as the Yakasuki Style were developed, and new methods of weaving silk made the island chain's silk trade boom like it never had before.

Despite this Golden Age, the islands did face an invasion by the newly crowned Blue Emperors in 1181, as the two empires fought at the Battle of Yakasuki, where the Xin were driven back to the sea three times, with Miyadaka remaining unconquered. However, with the increased trade in this period, a new disease called the Scarlet Plague broke out across the southern islands beginning in 1201 - killing thousands and going into remission several times before outbreaking again, killing more people. The plague would go on to ravage Miyadaka four times: with an outbreak between 1223-1225; another outbreak between 1231-1232; a smaller outbreak in 1257; and another outbreak between 1287-1290. This plague killed millions over the course of the century, and caused mass instability for the Aso Dynasty, who also struggled with a drought between 1291-1296, instability which culminated in a succession crisis when Emperor Narikazu II died with only his infant son, Yoriyuki III, as his heir in 1316.

Warlord Period
As Narikazu II's privy council met on the night of his death to discuss his succession. The lead councilor was Arikore Fuji, who, with the support of the rest of the Councilors, who were from his clan, locked the Emperor away in the imperial palace in Kumarori. He declared himself to be acting in the name of the emperor, and the populace rejoiced the new administration, as many had come to blame the many plagues and invasions of the late Aso period on the Aso's mismanagement.

This rejoicing at the new administration did not last long, however, as soon after assuming power, Arikore and his privy council began the institution of the Fuji Regime in 1316, and instituted the Arikore Laws, a series of imperial decrees made in the emperor's name by his privy council to benefit the Arikore clan at the expense of other clans, as well as imperial coffers, giving the Arikore clan special exemptions on taxation and tributes to the emperor that were unprecedented in law. This led to mass unrest, and eventually revolt, in 1319, as families from across the country attempted to retake the capital from the Arikore Clan, who maintained control of the emperor - marrying him to Arikore's daughter to ensure the imperial line merged with their family.

Despite the Emperor claiming to be the true authority of the kingdom in this time, he was only a figurehead. Many of the laws and edicts issued from the imperial court of the time were written and often passed without imperial consultation by the Arikore privy councilors, who kept the emperor in line through various means of intimidation. Despite this, the authority of the Arikore, and by extension their series of puppet emperors, was extremely limited, as more and more families and clans throughout the kingdom rose in rebellion against Arikore rule. The Arikore family had lost all control of the country outside of the imperial capital by the mid 1350s, and soon the warring clans united behind the Itsu Clan under Humoru Itsu in 1389.

Soon, the Itsu had united the south behind them, and marched on the imperial capital in 1399, declaring Ujiko I as the first emperor of the new Itsu Dynasty in 1400. After a two year long seige, the Arikore surrendered the capital city and the emperor, with their entire clan were mascaraed by Itsu forces, and the former emperor was forced to remove his own banners from the walls of the capital, before being lit afire with pitch, and burned alive on the palace walls, while the Itsu banners were raised over his capital, in 1401.

Itsu Period
After the fall of Kumamori in 1401, the new Itsu Dynasty moved their imperial capital to the city of Yakasuki in the south, centralizing authority in the city. Their governance, however, did not bring peace to the war ravaged countryside. At first, the Itsu Emperor Ujiko I attempted to reconcile the opposing clans with financial and legal concessions, though when this failed, he waged several campaigns against the forces of other clans to subdue them to Itsu rule. These several wars, called by and large the Itsu Wars, lasted between 1401 and 1420, and did manage to unite the southern realms, before finally deciding to bring the northern Mio regions under his rule, invading the northern islands in 1425, beginning the Northern Wars in 1430. It would take another five years to subdue the northern regions, but it by the time Ujiko I died in 1441, the entire Miyadakan archipelago was united under a single emperor for the first time.

With the country unified, under the Itsu monarchy, the period of fighting gave way to a period of art and culture. During the Itsu period, the finer points of Miyadakan art, literature, and poetry were refined, and with the imperial government sponsoring the construction of public art houses, writing schools, and theatres. The Itsu became known throughout the eastern world for their love of art and theatre, with the Itsu even passing several edicts to protect the distinct cultural elements of regional theatre and art. The Yakasuki National Theatre building was constructed in the Itsu period, and remains the largest theatre house in the eastern world to this day, and the oldest continuously used theatre in the world. It is unknown how much the government expanded on the arts, though some scholarly estimates place the approximate value of government expenditure at around 10 percent of the country's GDP at the time.

Despite their love of the arts, the Itsu were also infamous for their strict legal code. The imperial government instituted what is referred to now as the Yakasuki Code, due to the government having been relocated to Yakasuki at the time. The new legal code implements strict punishments for the violation of law, including introducing hanging as the new legal method of execution for crimes such as murder and sexual violence. The code reinforces the traditions of Haoism as standard imperial policy, though the Yakasuki code is less strict on religious law as the former Aso code was.

The country soon made contact with the first Avanoran explorer, a Nalorene sailor named Alaion Carthyra in 1535. Despite Carthyra not establishing a colonial outpost in the area, he met with the Miyadakan emperor in Yakasuki, and opened up trade links between Miyadaka and Nalore, introducing firearms into the Miyadakan imperial culture, as well as Avanoran mathematics, medicine, art, and religion. The introduction of Avanoran scholarship into Miyadaka prompted many Miyadakan scholars began to expand on the foreign teachings, and the government further funded the opening of Miyadakan universities, such as the Imperial School of Art in Otsu and Yakasuki University in Yakasuki. This introduction of scholarship also resulted in the creation and standardization of a new written alphabet called the Miyadakan Script.

It would be during the 1550s that Miyadaka would make contact with other Avanoran powers, as these countries made their way into the Gennet Ocean. Gelenia, Caliane, Augustine, the Lowlands, and Nalore all provided Miyadakan markets and traders with their goods procured around the world, though one of the most vital of these was the introduction of shipping technology from the Nalorene. Miyadakan scholars poured over charts of Nalorene ship designs, while maritime experts at Yakasuki University introduced Miyadakan changes and improvements, eventually constructing its own naval fleet of military and merchant ships in 1593. Miyadakan explorers soon went on to establish island territories throughout the Gennet Ocean, such as the Genji Islands, the Reiju Islands, and Oe Archipelago throughout the 1500s and 1610s. The introduction of these islands under imperial authority allowed for colonies to be established throughout the Gennet Ocean, with many of these islands being mined for resources such as gems, gold, and silver. One clan who benefited off of colonial trade was the Gou clan, who began to use their newfound wealth to challenge imperial authority in Yakasuki throughout the mid 1600s. The Imperial government began to crack down on wealthy clans, instituting several stringent tax policies which angered the nobles in 1660, and in 1662 the Gou launched their rebellion against the throne.

The rebellion of the Gou clan would be called the Miyadakan Civil War, or sometimes is called the Hundred Year War. It is unknown how many people died in the fighting, as thousands of millions of people marched to their deaths to fight across the islands between the 1660s and 1750s. The period became a period of stagnation in the empire, with many people starving to death, dying in warfare, and dying to disease - as long sieges of cities and people flocking to the cities for protection from countryside raiding parties led to overcrowding and the swelling of disease.

The Gou, marching from their home in the centre of the islands, marched southwards, besieging city after city, burning farms and villages in the countryside, and causing mass death across the country for over a century. The Imperial forces managed to keep them subdued throughout the first two decades of the war, though as the war dragged on, this increasingly became not the case, as imperial forces lost enthusiasm, and stricter imperial policies to deal with the rebellious factions in the country drove more peasants and nobles to their cause. By the 1740s, the country had been devastated by nearly a century of conflict, and mass deaths across the country, the Gou launched their attack on the capital of Yakauski in 1751, and took the imperial capital, deposing the imperial court and imprisoning the emperor, ending the civil war.

Early Modern Period
The Gou clan immediately imprisoned the former privy council and government officers, and replaced them with Gou loyalists. The Itsu emperor was imprisoned on the orders of the Gou leader, Gou Morosane, and a month later, the emperor was found poisoned in his chambers. According to experts at the time, the emperor was likely poisoned with Oji Berries, a berry native to Miyadaka which, when digested, can cause blindness, the shutdown of the digestive tract, and eventually death. Despite the poisoning death largely being blamed on the Gou leadership, many today actually believe the emperor took the berries himself as a form of honourable suicide, with the berries likely snuck into his chambers by a sympathetic guard.

The new Guo leadership appointed Sumori I as the first emperor of the Gou Dynasty in 1753. Their administration quickly reestablished trading posts throughout the Gennet Ocean, and established a mercantile fleet to match even that of Gelenia and Caliane. These new measures were funded by increased taxes on the nobility, which, while unpopular, after a century of war largely went unopposed. This increase in foreign trade brought large amounts of wealth to Miyadaka, with cities such as Yakasuki, Shimamoto, Kumarori and Otsu seeing the expansion of their mercantile classes, as well as of their populations in general. Colonies were further populated with new mercantile towns, with new colonists and prisoners being shipped to island territories to establish functioning settlements for trading, as well as refueling stations for the new mercantile fleet. The Gou's military reforms brought a new modernization to the imperial military - centralizing its command under the Emperor and his advisors, rather than under that of individual clans and lords throughout the country. This reform was implemented in the military, as well as the country's new naval force. The Otsu Armament Yard, was established in 1810, and became the hub for the production of imperial military equipment. With these reforms, Miyadaka's military went from being a decimated force, and one of the weakest in Asania, to being a powerhouse, capable of domestic production, with power on par with Avanoran power of the time.

These reforms were apart of a wider set of reforms brought about by Ichijo Nagakata and Emperor Ukejo III, aimed at bolstering the power of the emperor and the central government. As such, in 1813, the government officially moved imperial administration to Otsu, the Gou clan's former capital, and began a reforming of the imperial system. The privy council was replaced by a professional Imperial Cabinet, with Ichijo appointed as the first Chancellor of Miyadaka in 1816.

Despite this reform, the government remained largely autocratic, largely under the legal authority of the emperor. Emperor Ukejo III dispatched numerous legal experts to Avanor, such as to cities like Rosair, Calise, Ansberg, Wellington, Endsbury, Augustine, and others to learn how Avanoran administration operated in 1820. This led to his government meeting and creating the first Miyadakan Imperial Constitution, sometimes called the Constitution of the First Empire in legal circles, to allow for better representation - the first written constitution in Asania. A new Imperial Parliament was established, with each province of the nation invited to allow every land owning male above 26 years of age to elect members to parliament to represent them. Further, the emperor was required to submit his proposed chancellor candidate to the Assembly for approval, before they could take office, in effect making the cabinet responsible to the Assembly. The constitution further ended the system of feudalism in the country, and established a basic set of civil rights for citizens of the country, the first document enshrining civil liberties for people into Miyadakan law. This change in policy in effect ended the system of clans across the country, and allowed for the country's peasantry to experience economic and personal freedoms on par with Avanor for the first time.

Meanwhile, the country was undergoing massive industrialization throughout the countryside. The country soon became nicknamed the "workshop of the east", as Miyadakan companies sprung up almost overnight throughout the 1820a and 1830s, giving millions employment and attracting them to the country's larger cities. Yakasuki soon was regarded as the largest city in the world in 1830, a position which it still holds to this day, while the city also opened the eastern world's first stock exchange in the Yakasuki Stock Exchange, in 1841. This growing power soon led to conflicts with Xinhao, who continuously challenged Miyadakan power in the region, and continuously threatening Myeon. This led to Miyadakan Chancellor Matsui Naomochi in 1853 to declare Myeon "the most significant geopolitical location to Miyadaka in the world".

Fear of a Xin invasion of Myeon, an area which supplied Miyadaka with many of the resources used in its industrial revolution, led to Chancellor Matsui to announce an occupation of Myeon in 1855. The occupation of Myeon led to outcry by Avanoran powers, as well as a diplomatic crisis with Xinhao and the Myeonese government, who did not sanction the Miyadakan invasion. Myeon's administration was dissolved, with the nation's emperor removed, and a military administration loyal to Miyadaka installed. After the invasion, Xinhao began the build up of its imperial forces along the Wu River, the border between it and Miyadaka, in what many believed was a likely invasion after the country joined the Coalition in 1870. International suspicions were soon proven correct, as imperial forces moved into Myeon in Highwinter of 1871, initiating what was named the Battle of the Wu. This led to the official declaration of war, and Miyadaka's joining of The Alliance in 1872. This also led to Miyadaka deploying troops to Larania to fight Xin troops in Tanguan, and the general mobilization of troops through conscription in 1873.

With the Xin invasion of Myeon in the Great War, Miyadaka became involved during the Invasion of Myeon and the War in Tanguan, defeating Xinhao in the war and signing the Treaty of Yakasuki and Alscheid Accords.

Government and Politics
Miyadaka is a constitutional monarchy located in eastern Asania, governed under the provisions found within the Constitution of Miyadaka, which organizes the federal government into three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial; while also laying out clear checks and balances between the three to prevent corruption.