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Sakura

Settsu no Kami
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May 1, 2001
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Warning: this ended up being kind of long.

One of the best things about CK was it's character-driven approach to dynastic politics. Here are some family elements that I'm hoping to see incorporated into Sengoku:

  • Hostages: the heirs of vassals would often be raised in their liege's household as a guarantee of their loyalty. Tokugawa Ieyasu is one such examples; as a boy he lived with Imagawa Yoshimoto. When he later switched allegiance from the Imagawa to the Oda, he had to do so carefully as his wife and son lived in the Imagawa capitol.
  • Wives as hostages: to a limited extent the same system applied towards wives. By marrying the sister or daughter of a rival a daimyo could reduce the likelihood of that rival attacking (only to a certain extent, of course).
  • Wives as spies: Wives from different clans served as informal spies, passing on information about their husband's household to her own family.
  • Concubines: Japanese daimyo were just as concerned with heirs as their European counterparts. Fortunately, they didn't have to worry about the limitations imposed by Christianity. As such, while a daimyo would have only one wife (正室), they would have multiple concubines (側室). In extreme cases, these would become virtual harems: Ieyasu had 15 concubines and Hideyoshi 21. The wife's children would generally take precedence, but the other children were accorded official status.
  • Large number of children: as a result of the concubine system, a daimyo could have an impressively large number of children. Nobunaga, for example, had 22. This provided a daimyo with a wide capability to intermarry with his vassals or to send daughters to the Kyoto provide connections with the nobility. Of course, it could also prove a double-edged sword as it made succession disputes common.
  • Adoption: Despite the above, families would sometimes find themselves short of heirs (especially as battles became common and sons died on the battlefield). As such it was also common to adopt sons. Vassals would also offer younger children up to be adopted in order to strengthen ties. On the flip side, a liege could "suggest" that a vassal without an heir adopt one of his own children. This could also be offered to allies.
  • Engagements: Since all marriages were arranged, underage/infant children would get engaged through the machinations of their fathers.
  • Divorce: Again, without the Church, divorce was easy. If a wife became inconvenient, she could be easily sent packing back to her original family. This often happened when the husband decided to go to war with his wife's clan.