Dawn in the East--A Japan AAR

[fj44]

I miss chess. I suppose the local equivalent would be Go, or something. I used to be reasonably good, and could think 3-4 moves ahead.

The Great Game was originally Chinese, known as Wei-chi. It was imported by the Japanese, and named igo. The Anglicized version is called Go. It's actually already made an appearance in this AAR, and not that far back. I am a novice at Go, however, I'm working with the Chinese-American Student Association at my school to find someone who is good to learn from.

It's good that the young Prince knows to think ahead. Course... I'm rather fond of the Shogun. Perhaps accomodations can be made.

Perhaps, but is it likely that the two most powerful men in Japan (excluding Date) will merely come to an accomodation? More bloodshed! Gore! Destruction! Violence!

Anyways your question shall be answered in due time, as I reveal elements of the story. It's gonna get REAL interesting soon.

EDIT: Just realized this AAR has past 3600 views. Shocking considering this is my first AAR. Thanks to all my readers, both vocal and non-vocal. Perhaps I'll find the time to update again this weekend.

 

[stnylan]

I have just read through this AAR and it is brilliant work. A masterful tale you have here fj44. The pictures are stunning also.

 

[Rensslaer]

EDIT: Just realized this AAR has past 3600 views. Shocking considering this is my first AAR. Thanks to all my readers, both vocal and non-vocal. Perhaps I'll find the time to update again this weekend.

No surprise to me! You've got a lot of talent at writing and characterization! Like Stnylan, I also like your photos (especially the Dutch Grandmother! :rofl: ).

I voted in the AARLand Choice Awards for Tanaka as my favorite of your "Tan-Ten-Taka-Take Brothers" and for a couple other categories, too!

And my votes are not the first that this AAR (i.e. you!) has generated in this round! Great work!

Rensslaer

 

[unmerged(35685)]

Certainly an AAR that should stand the test of time. Great job.

 

[fj44]

Certainly an AAR that should stand the test of time. Great job.

I have just read through this AAR and it is brilliant work. A masterful tale you have here fj44. The pictures are stunning also.

No surprise to me! You've got a lot of talent at writing and characterization!

Thanks for the encouragement, gentlemen. The problem is, I don't view myself as a great writer like yourselves. I suppose this is because I judge my work too harshly, but who knows a writer's weaknesses more than himself?

Like Stnylan, I also like your photos (especially the Dutch Grandmother! :rofl: ).

You're never going to let me forget that, are you?

I voted in the AARLand Choice Awards for Tanaka as my favorite of your "Tan-Ten-Taka-Take Brothers" and for a couple other categories, too!

And my votes are not the first that this AAR (i.e. you!) has generated in this round! Great work!

Rensslaer

There aren't that many of them...wait...never mind.

That reminds me:

Vote in the AARland Choice Awards 2006, Q1, if you haven't done so already. There are only five days left until voting closes. Be sure to make your voice heard.

Again, gentlemen, I'm fairly swamped with schoolwork, and with exams coming up, I'll likely go underground until school is finished. Perhaps some update will escape the dungeon...

 

[stnylan]

Put slightly different, a writer is his/her own worst critic. Trust me, whatever rough edges you may have will be smoothed over by practice. This is great stuff.

 

[fj44]

Put slightly different, a writer is his/her own worst critic. Trust me, whatever rough edges you may have will be smoothed over by practice. This is great stuff.

Alright, I can accept that rewording.

Update will hopefully sneak out sometime this weekend.

 

[Rensslaer]

Thanks for the encouragement, gentlemen. The problem is, I don't view myself as a great writer like yourselves. I suppose this is because I judge my work too harshly, but who knows a writer's weaknesses more than himself?

I look back and think thusly... I felt much the same way when I started Fire Warms. Even now, I look back at the early writing and think I could do far better today. The style and writing has come into its own, and not to mention the characters! I am sure you will find the same.

These forums -- you readers! -- have helped my writing alot! Not just the practice of writing, but the impressions of what readers want and enjoy seeing. Again, I am sure you will find the same!

But you are clearly very talented. I could tell that from your first post! You have a gift for dialogue, and pace, and scene setting, etc. Your story flows! These are things I don't see in beginning writers. It shows refinement.

And, besides all this, different people have different gifts. I avoid the "great writer" tag and all the categories that compose such a title, because different writers have different skills to apply. Of my several favorite writers, each is better than the others at something, but perhaps not overall.

I am reading (listening to) Asimov's "I, Robot," and I can already tell you that, while he is good at the scientific concepts and interesting ideas on which he writes, YOU are a better writer than HE! Some of his stuff seems stilted, contrived and unrealistic. Yours -- No!

And I also see areas where you are already a better writer than I. There are many people here whose skills I respect over and above my own -- Stnylan is one also -- and I learn from you. Naturally, I hope there are others who have the same respect of me!

That's the great thing about this writers forum -- the interplay and mutual support we offer as we all learn more about our craft!

Rensslaer

 

[coz1]

Agreed - only practice will make for better work, and yours started off pretty darn good to begin with.

I see more set up to an eventual clash above. So when shall we see the clash itself?

 

[Mettermrck]

You set up the tensions quite well, fj44. I enjoy this historical period immensely. As for 'great writer', I wouldn't worry...the best writers are the ones who don't view themselves as great. You've got great skills, sir!

 

[Von Lippe]

Great!

I have just read through from the start on this, and all I can say is YEAH, BABY!

As I read, I kept having scenes from the miniseries "Shogun" pop into my head. For any of you not familiar w/ it, it was written by James Clavell, and the show starred Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune.

Keep it up! You've got the talent (and the interesting subject matter) to make this one of the best of the AAR's (along with Rens' "Fire Warms", of course)

Von Lippe

 

[Cinéad IV]

Aye, I've just started reading it too, and I'm liking what I see.

Subscribed.

CMcU

 

[fj44]

Rensslaer: You win.

coz1: Thanks.

The clash will show up as soon as I get there.

Mettermrck: Many Thanks.

Von Lippe: Welcome aboard. Glad you like it.

Cinéad IV: Thanks for reading.

All: Sorry I've been a bit vague about what's coming up. There are three reasons for that.

1) I haven't finished coding all the events yet. I have most of them, but not all. These are just the ones for the next three or so years of gameplay.

2) I haven't played far enough yet. In the game, I'm only in August, 1841. Only a year or so ahead of my updates.

3) Because dropping hints, like that paragraph that sent "shivers of expectation" through Rensslaer, is all too much fun.

Thanks for reading, all. I'll try to update tonight, but no more for the next week. Finals take precedence.

Btw, anyone who's following my CK AAR, you will have realized that it is on the back burner, and has been for a couple weeks now. I have no intention of abandoning it.

Again many thanks.

 

[fj44]

November 17, 1840—Hiroshima, the Kiro District

“Yes, my man, I’m the best out there.” Too boastful to be an effective spy. Osahito waved a hand of dismissal.

“I will contact you again if you’re the man I need.” The cloaked figure across from him nodded at him. Only the bottom half of his face was visible in this low light. It revealed a smile. “So, Tanaka. It’s been a long time since Fukuyama, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed it has, old friend. How’s that soldier friend of yours? What’s the name?”

“Yamata.” The two men smiled at each other, recalling the great campaigns of the past. “I haven’t seen him in a while, but last I saw, he was doing well. A subcommander now, so I hear.”

“Amazing what Ieyoshi’s reforms have done. Before Ieyoshi, would you have thought that any peasant would ever make the rank of underofficer, let alone, subcommander?”

“Indeed, he has done well for Japan. However, I am here to ask you to be my conscience.”

“Oh? What troubles you, my friend?”

“Ieyoshi tried to have me killed.”

“What!?”

“Keep your voice down, Tanaka. I’m the supposed to be the overexcited youngster here.” Tanaka barked a laugh.

“He did, eh?”

“It didn’t work.”

“I had assumed that.”

“I know Ieyoshi is good for Japan in the long run, in that he brings in liberalizing ideas, and is breaking the power of the Daimyo. However, he also seems to seem more distant than he used to. I fear the great power he wields, and the near constant rebellions has hardened him and made him no longer a friend of progress.”

“And what are the alternatives, as you see them, Osahito?”

“His removal by revolution will destroy all progress he has made. That cannot be allowed to happen. He is one lost battle away from mass mutinies from the levies. That must not happen either. The best solution is for someone to convince him to grant more power to the Emperor, or in this case, the Crown Prince. Me.”

“He will only see ambition in that proposal.”

“I know. He will likely make sure I am killed after that. So, I must decide. To do the right thing, and die for it. Or remain in hiding, and live with my shame.”

“There is another way.”

“Is there? Have I missed a more obvious solution?”

“Perhaps. You know we have an agreement with the Dutch where they take four sons of Daimyo for two years back to their homeland, and teach them the arts of the foreigners?”

“Yes…”

“If you go, it will be a way to avoid this dilemma of yours. Learn the ways of the foreigners, and come back with the knowledge to fix Japan.”

“It feels a bit like desertion, Tanaka.”

“Depending on your sense of honor, it can be. This certainly is a time of great need for the Empire. However, you can also think of this as a tactical withdrawal, much as you did before Sendai. A maneuver calculated to buy time to muster more forces before being forced to confront a superior foe.”

“I must think on this, Tanaka. You have close contacts with the Dutch?”

“You could say that.”

“I need some time alone. I will return here with my answer next week, same time. And have a ship ready in Nagasaki.”

“Don’t do anything rash, Osahito.”

“Don’t worry about that, old friend. I’m just going to settle some accounts before I leave.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

 

[stnylan]

"Depending on your sense of honour, it can be" - some delightful possibilities inherent in that line. The unspoken 'depending on your sense of honour, it is nothing of the sort', or myriad other implicit possibilities. It all depends on Osahito's honour, and Tanaka's, and although I am sure that both believe they will act for the greater good of Japan I have no doubt that, you have to wonder how selfless they truly are.

 

[fj44]

stnylan: Very good point. You shall see in the next few updates.

Rensslaer: You remember back on the first page, where you caught me on the typo on the date in the first update? Well, I just realized what you were talking about. o Fixed.

All: Well, I have a minor confession to make. When I started this AAR, I thought it was under 1.03c + my modifications. Well, it seems that it was only 1.03.

This shouldn't make any sizeable differences, however, quirky things happening can also be put down to an older patch.

Thanks for reading, all. I will now submerge back into the Georgia Tech abyss. I'll see you on the other side.

 

[Rensslaer]

Only one teency-weency nit: Your first update is still dated 1936.

Rensslaer: You remember back on the first page, where you caught me on the typo on the date in the first update? Well, I just realized what you were talking about. o Fixed.

:rofl: Don't worry... happens to the best of us!

I haven't slept... I just saw a typo in my last update, and I'm too tired to fix it. Oh well...

“Ieyoshi tried to have me killed.”

“He did, eh?”

“It didn’t work.”

“I had assumed that.”

:rofl:

This Osahito is a very even-tempered and practical man! I really like what I see of him, so far. And I'd bet he has the wherewithall to make Japan a world power once his lessers are finished squabbling!

Going away serves the additional purpose of distancing him from all the screwy happenings, and the bitterness they engender!

Great work, FJ!

Rensslaer

 

[coz1]

Very nice, fj44. That sense of honor is very strong, I see. Thathe would be willing to die for what he believes in strikes very real. And also suggests what an impossible situation your Japan is in at present. Interesting that rebellion destroyed the hope of actually gaining some liberal reforms.

Good luck on finals.

 

[unmerged(35685)]

The crown prince embarking on a trip to Holland. Rest assure he is always welcome to stay in my 'Holland'

 

[FlorisDeVijfde]

This is dangerous for the Shogun. If he is allowed to go to Holland he will get enough knowledge to destroy the Shogun and make Japan most powerful