Greater Akitsukuni Empire
The Greater Akitsukuni Empire is displayed in the dark, burgundy red.
Emperor Kichirou meeting with a diplomatic party from Edoniras, surrounded by his aides.
The Greater Akitsukuni Empire is a Constitutional Monarchy, headed by an Emperor or Empress depending on gender. Their power is checked by the Imperial Diet, which is in turn split into the House of Representatives (Made up of officials elected by all males of native Akitsukuni birth and blood) and the House of Peers (Made up of the Kazoku, a class analogous to the nobility of Edoniras). Despite this, the government swears up and down that the Emperor (Or Empress, though there has never been one yet) has absolute power. In practice, however, the Imperial Diet tends to make decisions for the Emperor; he just pushes his seal down on the paper when they tell him to. This is because, if one digs through the constitution enough, they will find that the Emperor has absolute power because the Imperial Diet allows it. It could be argued that this means the Imperial Diet is capable of overthrowing the Emperor on a whim, and it is likely that they have used that interpretation to keep the Emperor in their pocket. However, the people of Akitsukuni love their Emperor and see members of the Imperial Diet as his servants-thanks to Imperial propaganda saying just that.
An Akitsukuni 1 Enkei banknote, circa 2440 Suizei (1860 in Common Era)
The economy of Akitsukuni is very much maritime in nature, due to their location. They have a long history of trade-and war-with mainland Algaesia. Such interactions have, over the years, closely intertwined the economies of Akitsukuni and the rest of Algaesia. Of particular importance is the economy of the land known as Samhan, which is located on the peninsula to the northeast of Akitsukuni. Ever since Samhan was conquered after the introduction of flintlock weapons to Akitsukuni, the more industrial economy Akitsukuni has relied heavily upon Samhan food imports. As a result, Samhan-despite their early introduction to the Empire-is by far the least advanced.
The part of the Empire above Samhan-known as Jurchea-is exploited heavily much like Samhan and other Akitsukuni Imperial conquests. However, its inhabitants are "favored" by the Emperor and Imperial Diet alike due to the high concentrations of Blue Coal (Not to mention normal coal) that are found in the Hing'an Mountain Range. Akitsukuni itself is very resource-poor, and relies entirely on the mineral resources extracted from the Hing'an Mountains to fuel its industry and military. Were they to be cut off from this supply, they would effectively be thrown back into the pre-industrial age.
Akitsukuni itself is heavily industrialized in some places, while others are still very much agricultural areas. The area surrounding the capital city of Wakagami is the most industrialized part of the whole land, with the southern area being covered in farmland. Ezochi, the area at the very north of Akitsukuni, is the only part of the seat of the Empire that has any kind of important resources besides food or industry. Before the acquisition of the Hing'an Mountains, it was the only (rather meager) source of blue coal-and coal in general-in the Empire. It also happens to have an extensive economic relationship with Jurchea, and Jurchean miners are reqularly brought to Ezochi mines. Furthermore, native Ezochi-known as the Ezo-are considered on-par with pureblood Akitsukuni, and are often brought to Jurchea to supervise mines there.
The Empire attempts to stay as self-sufficient as possible, but has to import a sizable amount of blue coal in order to keep its industry running, as the vast majority of domestically-produced blue coal is used up by the military. This has, of course, led to members of the Imperial Diet calling for the acquisition of more lands rich in the resource.
The Emperor has taken three wives at this point in an attempt to produce a male heir to ensure his family's continued rule. This is not uncommon knowledge in the Imperial Diet, and it is starting to split between the elected officials and the Kazoku. Both know that, if the Emperor fails to produce a male heir, they will have a chance to take full control. However, while they are competing against each other, they are also fighting themselves. After all, there cannot be a dozen Emperors.
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