History of Raiko: Overview

Long ago, Raiko was a land ruled by demon gods. Humans lived in fear of them, at the mercy of their power. Only the Ninshu sought to live among them, to learn the art of harnessing the natural energy of the world to perform feats like theirs, even drawing up contracts to bind their clans together, and for this, they were shunned, held apart as half-demon themselves. The people of Raiko fought against the demon gods, drove them into the deep forests and the wilds, even beyond the borders of the spirit world and the mundane, and spread out over the land. The Ninshu, abandoned by their patrons, were left to roam from place to place, unwelcome in the cities and towns.

For a time, there was peace; a glorious peace unlike any in the world have known, or that will likely ever be seen again. The imperial court grew more and more detached from their subjects, sinking so deeply into art and philosophy that they neglected governance. The people grew restless, and the daimyo, regional lords whose forefathers who had been granted their fiefs in service against the demon gods, turned to the capital. In a succession crisis, the imperial line failed at last, and Raiko fell into ceaseless conflict as the daimyo battled endlessly amongst themselves for the right to rule. The once-proud nation fell to an ever-changing mass of shifting borders and regional conflicts – an age of warring states.

It was in this age that the Ninshu found a niche for themselves: their abilities, once considered fearsome and unnatural, became prized by the daimyo and their samurai troops. Ninshu mercenaries were employed as spies, saboteurs, and assassins, performing the deeds of war that were considered beneath the honour of the samurai. They became known, even amongst themselves, as Shinobi, “to endure”.

Amid these years of turmoil, the sons of two of the most powerful shinobi clans in the centre of Raiko met and formed an unlikely friendship. Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were torn apart by their families, but reunited years later – their historic truce formed Konohagakure, the first of the shinobi villages, on the banks of the Naka River. After Senju Tobirama’s constitution established Konoha’s bargaining power, much greater than that of any single shinobi clan, villages began to spring up across Yonaka, eager to copy Konoha’s example. It is here that our story begins...

Early Raiko: The Foredawn Period

In the Foredawn Period, the ancient precursors to the Raiko-jin lived in early hunter-gatherer societies before developing agriculture and becoming sedentary. The Ninshu began to diverge from the majority Raiko-jin society; it is believed by some historians that the Ninshu may have originated from a priestly role in ancient Raiko society. It is unclear what prompted the split; the Ninshu maintained a more mobile lifestyle and established fewer and more far-flung settlements, much smaller and within the wilderness than their Raiko-jin counterparts. By the time of written record, the Raiko-jin and Ninshu were clearly separate societies, with the Raiko-jin looking on the Ninshu as different and strange for their direct consorting with spirits. In these early years, however, there was not nearly as much animosity, and some problems would even warrant seeking a Ninshu out for their guidance.

Towards the end of the period, the various kingdoms of Raiko began to jostle with one another for supremacy. Asahi, the prince of Tenmei, expanded his territory through military conquest and politicking. The period closes with the Morning War, the conquest which united Raiko beneath Asahi's rule.

Most noble Raiko-jin attempt to link their lineage to the Asahi dynasty, but some Ninshu clans claim even older bloodlines: the Senju trace theirs to the legendary Sage of Six Paths, thought to have been born nearly a century after Asahi’s ascension. The Uchiha clan, who also claim relation to the Sage, hold that the first Iburi ancestor was born roughly 1500 years before the ascension of Emperor Asahi, making them claimants to one of the oldest dynasties in Raiko. The Himishi, though they tend not to widely advertise the fact, have records, in various forms, that stretch back nearly fifteen thousand years.

The Birth of a Nation: The Dawn Period

In the Dawn Period, Raiko was gradually transformed from several disparate provinces to a unified nation. Asahi bestowed noble titles upon the rulers and nobility of the kingdoms that had bowed before his conquest; these lords maintained much of their regional power and their military, so long as they paid fealty to the emperor in Tenmei. The various provinces of the country thus maintained many of their regional differences – however, quality of life improved dramatically beneath the empire. No longer caught up in regional wars, the population grew and began to live longer. Roads and infrastructure were put in place, and Tenmei dedicated many officials to the improvement of the lives of citizens, solidifying the emperor's popularity and ensuring that a desirable, cosmopolitan central culture spread outward from the capital. Despite this, Raiko was not fully unified, with the reach of the court extending to the modern border with the North and Southwest regions – these areas remained sparsely-settled, often by Ninshu and spirits.

Raiko was troubled during this time by the frontier: as the population attempted to expand into this previously-untouched wilderness, demon gods (malevolent yokai or kami) awaited, guarding their wilds with jealous fury. Tensions culminated in the emperor’s death in battle with spirits – his widow, reigning as empress-regent, appointed generals to fight against this threat. The beginning of the wars with the demon gods is universally considered to mark the beginning of the Mononoke Period.

The Days of Gods and Demons: The Mononoke Period

Plagued by the calamitous power of the demon gods, the imperial dynasty built a military force capable of standing against them. The capital and other major cities swelled during this time, as people fled outlying settlements on the frontier, terrified of the spirits and the fighting. There was a notable counterculture movement, led by those who believed that war with the spirits would bring about misfortune and suffering. Nonetheless, the wars continued, with updates on certain forces' progress being read aloud in public squares. The throne played up victories and concealed losses in order to keep morale high and ensure the populace remained willing to continue contributing to the high cost of the war – the eventual economic gains of being able to settle more land was considered a worthwhile cause.

During this time, the Ninshu, the ancestors of modern Shinobi, were caught in a difficult dilemma. Many clans were obligated by their contracts with the spirits to fight on their side against the encroaching Raiko-jin. To do so, however, was to make very powerful enemies within a society that they were already outsiders to. Many Ninshu broke their contracts and laid low through the conflict, prioritising their own survival. Others abandoned their lifestyle entirely to join mainstream Raiko-jin society, and still others fought and fell alongside their spirit allies, solidifying the Raiko-jin's contempt for the Ninshu (aided by vicious propaganda campaigns by the throne). Ninshu who attempted to seek refuge amid the Raiko-jin, and even those who had the gall to simply exist near society, were targeted in violent pogroms. Alone, the Ninshu retreated into the remote corners of Raiko and trained extensively in the martial arts, using their skill in moulding natural energy to develop powerful supernatural attacks. Around this time, they began to refer to themselves as Shinobi, those who endure, a term which eventually superseded Ninshu.

The warrior class, which had previously held no special status within society, grew in influence as their victories won them renown and adoration from the people. Called by a name that literally translates to “servant”, the samurai gradually forced the spirits into the far reaches of the wilderness, clearing space for the people of Raiko to settle. The wars of the Mononoke Period ebbed and flowed; as a region would be cleared, settlers flowed out, the demon gods counterattacked, the samurai defended, and then pushed forward again. Eventually, the demon gods were forced to the furthest wilderness of Raiko, with the whole of the country open to settlement.

As the population of the cities had grown with migration in the beginning of the period, they now fell as the prospect of new land and imperial incentives drew settlers out to the frontiers. The heroes and generals of the War of Gods and Demons were awarded with fiefs out on the frontier to rule as regional governors, or daimyo. The rise of the samurai class was thus solidified, creating a new warrior aristocracy. As the post-war boom took off, the Monokoke Period gave way to the golden age of Raiko.

Holy Peace: The Golden Period

During the Golden Period, the nation enjoyed an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity. The economy grew substantially, with huge swaths of new territory now open for development. New farms and communities grew overnight, and the highways were expanded into the North and South to connect them to the ‘old country’ in the Centre. Trade with nearby nations took off as Raiko opened ports on the western coast. The capital became the centre of an explosion in art and culture, seeing revolutions of technique and style across mediums; notably, watercolour painting became popular and the novel emerged as a form, with many classics being published. The characteristic culture of Raiko is thought to have emerged during this time, with now-recognizable styles of fashion, architecture, food, and many other things coming in vogue.

It was not to last. The popularity that the warrior aristocracy had won during the War of Gods and Demons had unbalanced the social order. As the nobility amassed fabulous wealth in their estates, there was little order on the roads: highway robbery was exceedingly common, so much so that the people of the time would often travel with “toll money”, if their means allowed it (there was no toll or tax collected by the government on the roads). A daimyo could order his men to keep order in his own province, but there was no centralised military force maintaining national safety.

The imperial court had, over time, lost much of its power. The practice of conferring noble titles to sons who would not inherit the throne had created several powerful noble houses, which now jockeyed with each other for influence. Several of these houses had only furthered their status with victories in the War of Gods and Demons, creating powerful samurai houses with blood ties to the emperor. These families, many of them more popular and influential than the imperial house, began to exert their pressure on the throne. The court became more and more sheltered from the public, falling out of touch with their citizenry, who grew increasingly frustrated as their needs went ignored.

Eventually, things came to a head with a succession crisis in the imperial bloodline. The emperor, who had long been childless, persuaded his brother to leave his life as a monk in order to succeed him. Unexpectedly, the emperor fathered a son, throwing the line of succession into question. A civil war erupted within the nobility, as various families took either side of the conflict. The emperor’s brother died during the conflict, leaving the emperor's infant son to succeed him. The boy’s mother was an exceedingly unpopular regent, and was unflatteringly characterised, in turns, as a sorceress, temptress, and enemy of the people. The last emperor of Raiko died in his childhood, with no clear heir to succeed him, and the country – still fractured from the earlier civil war – fell into chaos.

The Days of Steel and Fire: The Warring States Period

With the failure of the imperial bloodline came the Warring States Period. The capital burned, and the traditional nobility fell from grace as the warrior aristocracy rose to take their place. Almost immediately, the daimyo began warring amongst themselves for supremacy. No clear winner emerged, and the country fell into an era of unending battle as each warlord vied for regional power over his neighbours.

The Shinobi reappeared in this time; having spent centuries honing their martial skill, they became favoured mercenaries and spies for the samurai, being hired for infiltration, information gathering, assassination, and otherwise as support for the armies of the daimyo. About a century ago, the clan society of Shinobi changed with the foundation of Konohagakure, the first hidden village – the creation of settlements forged by alliances between clans increased the bargaining power of Shinobi in obtaining and negotiating contracts, allowing them to begin carving out sociopolitical power of their own. By the thirteenth generation of war, unification is considered to be a distant dream of young, ambitious warriors who haven't yet had their idealism tempered into realism. Ceaseless war has become the resigned reality of the people of Raiko.

Timeline

Dawn Period

1: Traditionally-held date of the ascension of the first emperor, Asahi, the victor of the Morning War.

97-180: The Sage of the Six Paths is thought to have been born around this time.

c. 730: An unknown calamity in the ancestral homeland of the Iburi (rendered in Himishi records as イヴリ; ivuri) leads them to flee to the east.

735: The Iburi arrive in Raiko. The first person they encounter is a Himishi nomad; the leader introduces himself as a stranger in a strange land and asks the Himishi where they’ve arrived. The Himishi answers that they have come to Raiko. The leader asks what Raiko means, and the Himishi explains that it is the place where the sun rises. Having heard this, the Iburi declare that their long journey has come to an end. The Himishi eventually marries the Iburi leader; the mingling of their bloodlines creates the Sharingan. In their early days in Raiko, the scholarly Iburi primarily earn their living via their skill in working with paper, and come to be called ‘Uchiha’ after one of their most common products (the Iburi ancestral language has no ‘w’ sound, and so they struggled with the more common ‘uchiwa’ pronunciation).

⇐ Map of Raiko and Konohagakure | Table of Contents | The Shinobi System ⇒