Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Something of an Afterword

Thank you once again for your company.

I know these words may sound cliché, but how was this time?

As always, I wonder if it's just my imagination, but I can hear the loud cheers of criticism, haha. However, when it comes to pursuing the optimistic development of the Japanese people, it's somewhat of a promise not to let them be discouraged as much as possible, so I hope you can forgive me. Or, perhaps, you could look at it as always with "warm eyes."

. . .

In addition, this time I chose the victory of the Western Army in the "Battle of Sekigahara" as the turning point, but I think there were many who were dissatisfied, expecting a prolonged Sengoku period or a second round. However, as I tried to build the Sengoku period and early Edo period, I keenly felt my own lack of knowledge, which made it inevitable for me to handle it on a smaller scale.

Furthermore, I think it was quite unusual for me to bring about both conflict and the establishment of a new nation in Japan at the end of the 18th century. However, when it comes to making significant changes to the world, it becomes quite challenging to introduce proper nouns such as historical figures and military commanders. If you overdo it, it can turn into a "fairy tale," after all.

Still, I think it was a good thing that there was some change this time, rather than the usual trend of modern nation-building at the same time.

. . .

In addition, there is also an homage to the Empire of the Sun on this site, so I intentionally made the expansion locations and immigration flows somewhat similar. However, the only significant difference in this context is that I didn't include a distinct ethnic group like the Ainu.

Furthermore, looking back, I think I should have emphasized the use of "gold" as a gadget (prop) more fitting for the "Age of Toyotomi."

In actual history, the vast gold mines in the Circum-Pacific region, western North America, and the Australian continent were rapidly developed after the mid-19th century. In total, they yielded nearly 3.000 tons of gold. As a result, a significant drop in the value of gold occurred, and Britain gathered this gold to establish the gold standard.

I intended to accentuate the "what if" element of finding this vast amount of gold in Japanese hands about two hundred years earlier.

The image of people reveling in boundless wealth and pursuing their desires on top of this immense gold fortune seems appropriate for the spirit of the Age of Toyotomi.

One of the characteristic elements often attributed to the Japanese in our world is the attitude (style) of modesty, frugality, perseverance, and simplicity, akin to the abstemious Kamakura samurai, which I believe only emerged with the rise of the Tokugawa government under the great figure, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Even during the peak of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was considerable opulence.

Moreover, in this world, with Japanese people setting out into the Circum-Pacific region quickly, lured by conflicts with the Dutch and the Gold Rush, the insular mentality of being an island nation gradually fades away. Desires overwhelm everything. The culture here may center on "extravagance" rather than "wabi-sabi" ("beauty in imperfection"). In this world, the 17th and 18th centuries might be filled with red lacquer and gilded interiors.

The fact that the Toyotomi regime was easily crushed was simply because the government formed by a coalition of desires became disinterested in those who would carry the next desires. It disappeared because it was no longer necessary in the world of the Japanese.

And the Japanese who built modern nation-states continued to live faithfully according to their desires.

Then, as they were leisurely and optimistically developing, the Europeans unilaterally launched an attack in the "Good Route" world war. I allowed them to retaliate in anger. The people in this world are not patient or enduring, but they are quick to seize the opportunity when it comes their way. I assumed they might have a somewhat Latin temperament.