Toshi-bu
 Streetview of Nansei Street, one of the 8 main corridors of Toshi-bu. | |
| File:Exampleflag.png Flag |
File:Examplecoa1.png Coat of arms |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| File:Examplemap.png | |
| Country | Sokoku |
| Region | Mirei |
| Foundation | unknown |
| Founded by | Exemplar Gacha |
| Government | |
| Type | Meritocratic |
| Body | Kanzen-sei |
| Mayor | Miseru-ne |
| Physical | |
| Elevation | 410 meters |
| Total area | 75 km2 |
| Urban area | 8 km2 |
| Time zone | UTC-10 |
| Population | |
| Total | 20,440 |
| Density | 2,550/km2 |
| Demonym | Kakuri |
Toshi-bu is a town on Carl's Island (Kakurijima in Kakuri, Jimen Pulau in Bahaso) in Mirei, Sokoku. It is the seat of government for the Kakuri community, one of the three communities of Mirei. As absolute heartland for the Kakuri people and Kakuri culture, it is restricted for visitors from outside the Kakuri community, special permits are needed to visit it. Despite its huge geographical size of 10 by 15 km it only is home to about 21,000 inhabitants.
History
The exact founding date of Toshi-bu is unknown, but it dates back to the Tsuki Integrality that ruled the Julian Sea around the 71st century. When the Julian Event wiped out all civilisation around the coasts, the highly located mountain village preceding Toshi-bu as organised settlement was one of the few remaining places with a Tsuki population. For 450 years, this small civilisation lived in complete isolation, avoiding contact with first the Izto settlers on the coast and later the Anarian settlers from Fisks.
The town got its typical form (see below) during this era. Buildings were carefully integrated into the tropical vegetation, where the Kakuri people were able to conserve their culture through autarky in food production and mechanised workshops. Trades like paper making and the construction of complicated musical instruments were developed or maintained without outside help. At the first contact with Anarians it turned out that the Kakuri secretively had established contact with neighbouring native populations like the Chi, Izto and Shuuen, as well as colonisers from Hallis, Helreich, Livarya and Fisks (Vittmark) without getting detected. Although there were almost mythological stories going around about a Kakuri town where all the buildings were made of gold.
In 7575 the leadership Nokumo Nobono reached out to the recently established Vittmarker federal representative on the island half occupied by Fisks' settlers. A special envoy in the form of then Princess Tovemor led a first official foreign visit to the town. The half of the island under Kakuri governance was declared a Crown Domain of Vittmark and declared off-limit for visits. In 7578 the Kakuri people gained statehood within Vittmark, entering as a landless entity. The neighboring town of Nushudarawa was founded as government center and meeting point for the Kakuri and Vittmarker communities, keeping Toshi-bu strictly Kakuri.
In 7XXX war with The Bind broke out, upon which Kamura occupied the northern Fisks islands. This way, the Kakuri community lost its physical connection to Vittmark by airship, while sea routes were already interupted due to the conflicts between Vittmark and the Häverist states and their colonies. The Nokumo Nobono started cooperating closely with the new Fisks leadership with the common goals for both societies to survive the geopolitical turmoil. The process resulted in the formation of Sokoku as a nation state, of which the Kakuri-Fisks cooperation became a founding member. The status of Kakuri-only settlement was guaranteed in the new set-up as well.
Today, about a quarter of the Kakuri community live and work in Toshi-bu.
Demographics
The town is entirely populated by Kakuri people. Many of them are Guso, about equally many Mellanhand Orkanan (Fjällsta Stift) and a large proportion is member of both religious organisations. Historically, population growth has been just over 1%, but the last decades the population size has stabilised around 20,000. More Kakuri are moving out than moving in, but even today the number of births is higher than the amount of deaths, creating this demographic status quo.
Townscape
The town shows sign of careful planning on all levels, from the macro structure of the urban area to the way the buildings, landscape and vegetation are integrated. Toshi-bu consists of eight roads fanning out from a central point in all directions. These roads are all about 5 km long, or an hours walk, except for the southern road leading to Nushudawara. There are no road connections to other settlements on the island, even walking paths are scarce. This makes the town car-free by definition, because it can't be reached by cars. There are however plenty of bicycles and cargo mopeds for internal transportation and the link to Nushudawara.
The town center is formed by the kotan, which serves as government center and center for higher education at the same time. The pavilion iaku on the central square serves as focal point for the Kakuri society. This is where the Kakuri community gathers for cultural rituals, official events and artistic performances.
Most buildings in this central area are built from a local yellow sandstone, often cubical in shape with small square windows. These buildings have double roof constructions, trapping the tropical heat between the two layers. Rain water is gathered by a drainage system and used locally for vegetable gardening. Side buildings are made out of wood, these are often used for storage but many have been transformed to residential dwellings.
On the eight roads, the building density quickly decreases, creating an agricultural townscape with small rice fields, fruit plantations and vegetable production. Small perpendicular paths lead to carefully hidden agricultural patches, where most fruits grow on pruned trees in the shadow of natural jungle vegetation. As such, the settlement has been hidden from outside influences for 450 years, even when Fisks started surveying the island from the air in the 7530's.
Public transport is completely privatised and individualised, based solely on voluntary ride-sharing. Given the town's structure with 8 main roads, transportation is all going to or from the center, making it easy to offer ride-share. With one change near the kotan one can reach the entire town. It is custom that the passenger pays a small compensation to the driver, but there are no fixed fares. Even cargo can get transported by this on-demand system. All vehicles are tested every year in order to secure transportation safety.
Government
The town is governed directly by the leadership of the Kakuri community. In Kakuri culture, a group of skilled performers and musicians are appointed to register current events (and as such write history) and communicate acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. As such, these songs serve as local, informal legislation. A new group of leaders is proposed by the current and can be accepted or denied by popular vote, but only residents of Toshi-bu are eligible to vote. Even though the leadership is a group of people, it does not mean that changes in its line-up are impossible.
Former leadership groups function as judicial after their leadership era.
The following leadership groups have governed Toshi-bu and the Kakuri community during the last 150 years:
- 7552-7555 Kyusa
- 7555-7570 Oto
- 7570-7606 Nokumo Nobono (first fully female leadership)
- 7606-7614 Usugi
- 7614-7622 Metara
- 7622-7630 Chibishu
- 7630-7638 Hanatera
- 7638-7646 Ashi
- 7646-7652 Sougo Kakushou Hakai
- 7652-7660 Gia no unmei
- 7660-7669 Kesshite suberiochinaide kudasai (or Kesuku)
- 7669-7676 Aoi Kansei (single person leadership)
- 7676-7679 Chika Kaho (single person leadership)
- 7679-7684 Kyouki
- 7684-7687 Kajiya
- 7687-current Miseru-ne