- "Quite a few people belonging to the generation of our Grandparents, my own hardly qualifying for being called an exception, believed, that it is a Divine Law of the Four Souls to choose Their own Lands as the one that prevails, that dominates, and that will once unite a gargantuan prosperity sphere between the Rivers of Rengawa and Rathe under their guardianship. Of course, their imaginations turned out to be fairly utopian, and even more so from a modern perspective. This, however, does not exclude the possibility of reaching higher goals by the means of diplomacy and trade, and it is certainly not too audacious to anticipate, that someday, this country will be able to show its old pride and strength again."
- "If there is one particular thing I admire about the Island of the Four Souls, then it is its people's all but unique dedication to achieving their goals, no matter how utopian they might seem, while trying not to stand in anybody's way. This surely tells them apart from other peoples, many of which tend to either fall down once they get too relentless, or to never get to stand up due to hesitance. Shikonjimanese, however, have an amazing art of being relentless on their own behalf, but, at least seemingly, at nobody else's expense."
- "In both history and present, the most popular mistake realms, regardless of size and cultural affiliation, tend to make is to try way too hard in way too short a span of time. A globally widespread proverb says, 'Friends come and go - enemies accumulate', and it bears more truth than many would accept to believe. If you make no one feel safe, you will ultimately just unite everyone against you."
Treaty on the Reincorporation of the Seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago into the Shikonjimanese Realm.
Given to paper on the 6th of February, Wakaijidai 10, in Nashinya.
In the name of Shikonjima and her Greater Realm, as well as under the Divine Will of the Four Souls and the Ryoukami, We, the Magnificent Lineage of the Principality and the associated Duchies, gathered in a convocation on order to cement the reincorporation of lands ruled by the Shikonjimanese Dynasties and considered established and rightful Shikonjimanese territory. As a consequence, the Principality of Shikonjima and the Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma hereby disclose their agreement of a political and territorial merger, as well as agree and commit to the following statute:1. The Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma cease any claim on full national sovereignty and consider themselves full and integral parts of the Shikonjimanese Realm. The sovereignty of the Shikonjimanese Realm fully extend to its entire territory, including the Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma, which, as a consequence, the jurisdictions of all Royal authorities operating on a nationwide scale will extend to as well. All legal citizens of the Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma will be considered Shikonjimanese citizens and are granted the same rights and duties of other citizens, including, but not limited to, freedom of movement and business. The territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma will be considered territorial waters and EEZ of the Shikonjimanese Realm.
2. The Sovereigns of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma, Signatories of this very document, will remain Sovereigns of their respective territories under the right and law of the Shikonjimanese Realm, within which they will be granted the right to their own established orders of succession and Royal Marriage laws, in addition to any rights the Sovereigns of their Mainland counterparts, namely of Counties and Baronies, would have as well.
3. The Duchies of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma will be fully integrated into the prevailing tributary system of the Shikonjimanese Mainland. Details will be clarified in separate documents.
4. This document will step into effect by the day it is announced to Shikonjima and the world.
Signed,
Yamura no Kyouko, Princess of Shikonjima, Viscountess of the Oui no Tochi, Highest Servant of the Four Souls, Highest Lady of the Kazoku.
Gonda no Daisuke, Duke of Akizuki.
Tamori no Hiromasa, Duke of Kongou.
Yamura no Kurenai, Duchess of Taihou.
Sageshima no Jinzaburou, Duke of Mutsu.
Hanada no Shumpei, Duke of Nagato.
Tamori no Miori, Duchess of Yayoi.
Yamura no Shihori, Duchess of Mikuma.
Royal Palace, Nashinya, Shikonjima.
Princess Kyouko was entirely satisfied - the little signing ceremony of the Reincorporation Treaty had been a full success, not only for her distant relatives in the Seven Duchies, but also for Shikonjima as a whole. Finally, Shikonjima was reunited with the territories it considered its core lands, despite being a tiny bit off, but that didn't matter, at least not a lot, and not from Kyouko's end.
The seven Duchies in the Ferinan-Archipelago quite had different histories, but they had a few important points in common - they had been parts of the Shikonjimanese Colonial Empire ever since the late 17th century, and until the 1980s; they were currently ruled by Royalty of Shikonjimanese origin; their populations were mostly ethnically Shikonjimanese, with ethnic minorities being present to varying degrees; they had tried to unite as a state for the Ferinan-Archipelago, which had failed for various reasons, including objections coming from neighboring states without an ethnically Shikonjimanese majority; they all had kept good relations to Shikonjima, at least as long as Shikonjimanese Royalty had ruled them, and had been in reunion negotiations for quite a bit of a time - the most obvious sign for that would be the currency in use, which, in most instances, would be the Shikonjimanese Ryou. In fact, Kongou, Mikuma, Nagato, and Taihou even had kept using 'SJ' as an international license plate code in their vehicle registration systems.
However, there were also differences - there had been coups in a few of these states after 1988, with Akizuki even being ruled by a socialist government until 2003, after which Shikonjima-based Royals had overthrown that government. Mutsu had tried a democracy, which had failed, and, as a result, got overthrown by Royals of Shikonjimanese origin as well. Since then, ethnic minority protection laws had been passed to varying degrees, most of which going further than the current Shikonjimanese ones. Economically spoken, Shikonjima had profited from the rich natural resources on the one hand, and tourism on the other - in fact, they had been some of the most important colonies for the old Shogunate, only being outperformed by the Sharulsi Khanate when it came to the extraction of natural resources, and by the Moana Nui Islands when it came to tourism.
Nonetheless, Shikonjima considered these territories its core lands, and since they were quite dependent on the former Motherland, anyways, and ruled by the same Magnificent Lineage, this step was surely a logical thing to go with.
It would be interesting to see what the international community would say. Out of hand, Kyouko could easily make some predictions as to who would recognize the Shikonjimanese Realm in its current borders without further ado - she was sure, that President Silas Flemming of the Federation of Lillorainen would hardly hesitate; President Arafat Ismaili would ensure diplomatic recognition from the side of the Federal Republic of Shamsiyya as well. Atakheer Khan, Lord of the Sharulsi Khanate, wouldn't make the Shikonjimanese wait too long, either … Febriyanto Manganang, of Democratic Semporna, would need a bit more of time, though. Or maybe not? It was pretty hard to predict …
"Kyouko-Koushaku!" - she got torn out of her thoughts.
Kyouko was well aware of the visitor to the Palace who had announced himself, and she knew him too well - logically, for she had appointed him. Seishirou Odagiri, Minister of Interior Affairs - or, much rather, the man who kept most of the everyday threats from her. She had awaited the man in his mid-30s, who wore glasses, had short dark hair and brown eyes as well as a slight 'wealth belly'. He did not only run an important government ministry, but also was in charge of reporting any possible threats to either Kyouko, or her relatives. He was fairly thorough when doing his job, which was why Kyouko appreciated his presence, and while rumors had it, that he had a crush on her, this remained unconfirmed as of lately, and even if so, it didn't play any role in his job altogether.
There wasn't much left of the sense of humor he had - the visitor to the Throne looked very serious now.
"Odagiri-san" - Kyouko said, bowing her head lightly.
Odagiri only indicated a light bow, which would normally be considered a violation of the etiquette, but this seemed to be an emergency, and Kyouko was substantially less concerned with matters of ceremony than most other Shikonjimanese Royals.
"Kyouko-Koushaku, it seems, as if the little border expansion of the Shikonjimanese Realm isn't exactly viewed a great thing to do by everyone who is concerned by it."
"Wherever you look for some complainer and grievance-monger, you usually don't need to search for a long time" - Kyouko replied. "That can barely pass as news."
"While I'm generally inclined to agree" - Odagiri began, "the case is a bit different now. According to your orders, several groups of the Oukeikyoku were deployed to the new territories in order to support local police forces with letting parades and peaceful demonstrations proceed while keeping troublemakers off the street."
"Which is the job of any police force" - Kyouko countered.
"Who should know better than I do?"
"Indeed, who should."
"What I'm trying to tell you, Your Majesty, is that the whole thing seems to have escalated a bit. There is evidence beyond reasonable doubt, that Officers of the Oukeikyoku and Mikuma Police forces have broken up a Natives' demonstration forcefully without any obvious reasons. There are videos on WhoTube showing how Officers tell a group of demonstrators to go home. Some started attacking them with batons, and one even repeatedly shot in the air with his gun."
"Videos on WhoTube?" - Kyouko repeated. "Odagiri-san, everyone can fake amateur videos, or edit them in a way, that they don't show the complete truth. This is hardly what I would call 'evidence beyond reasonable doubt'."
"All of that happened on the promenade of Samboushiro, with dozens of uninvolved people around, watching the proceedings going on - some of them might even be tourists" - Odagiri said. "Thank the Shikon and the Ryoukami, that nobody got severely injured … or worse. But if further incidents follow, this might change easily."
"I suppose, the area wasn't secured properly … is Captain Toyomura informed?" - Kyouko inquired.
"She is, Your Majesty" - Odagiri confirmed, "and she is already on the way to Samboushiro, to analyze the situation." A beat passed. Odagiri had to smile. "And I know how accurate Airi-tan is. We'll gain enough evidence in no time!"
Kyouko snorted. "Is she aware of you calling her Airi-tan?"
Odagiri's grin turned a bit sheepish. "It might certainly be better, if she weren't …"
Kyouko shook her head. Guys really never grew up …
"We are certainly going to have to give an official statement on it" - she said, then.
Odagiri nodded. "What I'm just wondering about, that's the sudden opposition against this merger, considering we have always been fairly open about it, and in all territories, it gained overwhelming support, especially since it makes trade and travel between them and Shikonjima a lot easier. So I struggle to understand why now …"
"There is no need to panic, Odagiri-san - not due to one small incident" - Kyouko tried to reassure him. "I'm sure, there is an explanation for that, and I don't think, any need for further action will arise." She let a beat pass. "Better safe than sorry, though."
Odagiri nodded. "I agree with you, Your Majesty … I just have a bad feeling about this."
While Kyouko kept trying to reassure Odagiri and, to a degree, herself, a Lady named Jitsuko Sageshima, who was nobody lesser then the Royal Minister of Foreign Affairs, already launched the official press release on the Reincorporation and the reactions thereupon:
Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Official Press Release
February 7, Wakaijidai 10 (2020).
Yesterday, Princess Kyouko Yamura and the Dukes and Duchesses of Akizuki, Kongou, Taihou, Mutsu, Nagato, Yayoi, and Mikuma officially signed the Treaty of Reincorporation into the Shikonjimanese Realm. With this important document being signed, the sovereignty of Shikonjima now extends to particular territories that have generally been considered Shikonjimanese core lands, not only by the people in the Mainland, but also by most inhabitants of the Ferinan-Archipelago. The formal independent status in the last three decades is widely considered a historical peculiarity, which ran counter to the political, economic, cultural, and social reality, as well as a historical mistake which we now can gladly announce to have corrected.
As there are rumors of a few minor incidents in some of these territories, the Royal Police Bureau (Oukeikyoku) has immediately been sent to Samboushiru, Mikuma, for investigations. Further information will follow, but we can already guarantee, that we have everything well under control.
For any concerns you might have, we will be available permanently. For maximum efficiency, we ask you to make sure to send your messages to the appropriate recipient address.For all official state communication: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.
For all non-state and press communication: Royal Press Office, Kurogawa 02, Furushima/Akebono, UB63DB38, Shikonjima.