OYASHIMA: BACHI SHOTŌ 鉢諸島

[Islamadon 4565]

BACHI SHOTŌ 鉢諸島

 

 

Bachi Shotō, or the Bowl islands is an archipelago surrounding the main island of Himajima and making up one of the eight great islands of Oyashima. It differs from most of the other islands bearing a subtropical climate where rice, soy, tea, sweet potatoes and lemons can all grow within the vicinity of volcanic activity. Life is generally slower on these islands considered the gateway into Oyashima. Kaolinite collected from the smaller islands around Himajima has resulted in porcelain wear being a notable export from these islands with iconography made both to the kami and Creatorist iconography of that of the Aeldenic Church of the True Faith. 

 

A propagated legend around the islands is that in life after the Exodus, Saint Lucien came to the Bachi Shotō and performed miracles of the Creator amongst the people who were unfamiliar with this ‘Kamisama’. Saint Lucien is said to have given the ruling clan sunflower seeds which have since grown throughout the islands. As a result the ruling clan would take on the name Himawari and name their seat of power in the Bachi Shotō “Himajima” where the sun would never set. Sunflowers have become an important symbol to the inhabitants of the Bachi Shotō which has led to the significant rise of converts to the Aeldenic True Faith, The Church of Gaekrin and the Church of Canon over the following centuries. 

 

Lemon orchards, tea, soybean and rice fields also scatter the islands with much of the region being developed towards agriculture instead of urbanization. Bachi Shotō, besides the shape of the island chain, also derives its name from being a figurative rice bowl to the other islands and providing them sustenance. In recent years though as some of the other islands look into self sustaining farming methods, the Bachi Shotō’s key to power is threatened leaving them further to the will of the shogunate.

 

The Himawari Clan stands out from the other Daimyo clans of the Oyashiman islands as they have abandoned their Kamist roots for the foreign inspired True Faith, welcoming the foreign trade and spread of non-Oyashiman ideologies into his lands. In the island’s capital of Aminishi, one may find a shrine dedicated to the kami Tamo-Tamo alongside what would look reminiscent of rural Imperial chapel. 

 

 

This diversity is not without its consequences though. The Shogun Yorinobu distrusts the Himawari Clan and believes the True-Faithers to be conspiring against him and his agenda. He frequently sends his Shinohasu agents to the Bachi Shotō to rile up religious infighting amongst the Bachi Shotō inhabitants. In response to the violence, groups of Warrior Monks, or Sohei, have taken up arms to protect their Kamist temples and mountain dwellings from the crossfire of True Faith Missionaries and that of the Shogunate. Neutral by nature, the Sohei adorn themselves in white cloth and will engage in battle with any faction that poses an immediate threat. That said, they most often clash with the Missionaries who blame the Kamists for the acts of the Shogunate. Though the Himawari Clan often attempts to impose monetary and martial retribution upon those who engage in violence, the Sohei are a thorn as they are more than capable of meeting the Samurai in battle. As a result, the once peaceful coexistence of Bachi Shotō 鉢諸島 has since become fractured and volatile.

 

 

Aminishi, capital of Himajima, is the place most often seen by gaijin in Oyashima and is very accessible and accompanying to them with Churches and missionaries being present to help guide foreigners around. The influx of tourists and trade is a great boon to the local economy. The local izakayas have become renowned for the lemon shochu brewed and sold at them. An entire entertainment district has been dedicated to mimicking the exaggerations and businesses of the Middle Layer of Yamatai, becoming known as “Little Yamatai” as a result. The patron kami of this city and for Bachi Shotō Kamists as a whole is Tamo-Tamo, the patron of Fraternity and Brotherhood. Traditionally during festivals in Aminishi, Creatorists and Kamists alike have usually celebrated together before the spikes of violence between the two religious groups.

 

Since the events of the Red Eclipse and the rise of Shogun Yorinobu, a small rebellion discreetly funded by non-leading members of the Himawari clan and sympathetic Sohei has begun to brew and seeks to reinstall the Emperor under the divine will of Kamisama, or the Creator, as the true leader of Oyashima. Their True-Faith leaning ideology and extremist tactics however has left the rebellion with much to be desired from other clans outside of Bachi Shotō who are compelled by their Shogun to tariff and rely more on home-island farming to the detriment of the Himawari clan whose Daimyo is forced to walk a middle ground between faith, his power and for the empire.