Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
Interesting! It reminded me a tiny bit of the Taipings, but hopefully this will turn out to be more peaceful.
Is God to him synonymous with Eternal Buddha in Mahayana? With Shakyamuni similar status of Jesus as prophet?
What is his stance regarding shinto and Buddhist deities?
What is his relationship with Nichiren Buddhism?
Does according to him he'll and Heaven permanent or is it possible to escape from both?
What is his stance regarding shinto and Buddhist deities?
What is his relationship with Nichiren Buddhism?
Does according to him he'll and Heaven permanent or is it possible to escape from both?
@Ambassador Huntsman I really like the new religion that has popped up! I love how it is essentially a mix of the new and the old, which is very much how Japan is at this point in time, and is very much in tune with the tl. This stuff is the stuff I live for! I really love how it really contextualises the cultural differences this Japan is going through, and it gives us a peek into what this ittl Japan is like.
I wonder how far the religion would spread. I think it would find solid ground in China, with how the region will be influenced by Japanese thought throughout the centuries, and I would be surprised if there isn't a few revolts around the religion in general.
I wonder how far the religion would spread. I think it would find solid ground in China, with how the region will be influenced by Japanese thought throughout the centuries, and I would be surprised if there isn't a few revolts around the religion in general.
Last edited:
Aside from China, I wonder if it'll spread to other places like Joseon Korea, or even the Philippines via their territory in Luzon
Last edited:
The God he describes is pretty Abrahamic although he doesn’t really talk about anything
regarding the Old Testament.
At this point, Takeshiro/Takemaro hasn’t established a clear place for Shinto-Buddhist deities other than that they’re not of divine status. Maybe closer to minor spirits below that of the “Messengers” but Salvationism is still in development like any religion in its incubatory stages.
Takeshiro/Takemaro basically is viewed antagonistically by all faiths, and Nichiren Buddhism is no exception.
Hell and heaven are permanent in the creed.
Thank you!!
You know I’ve never thought of it that way and you make a good point.
I feel like something like this was gonna be inevitable considering the presence of the Yamato Church and Buddhism’s ability to synchronize itself with other schools of thought in some form like Confucianism, Hinduism, and Shinto. Not to mention Manichaeism, whose founder is also the 4th prophet after Jesus, Gautama Buddha, and a regional figure (Zoroaster in this case), also happened.
I'm not surprised that God is like this, considering that Nirvana is similar to heaven.
Speaking of, is Salvationism's god somewhat similar to Enma as the one who judges souls and sends them on to be reincarnated?
I defo see ppl seeing similarities, but Manichaeism is a lot more gnostic than salvationism, and other than scholars debating about the similarities I don't think normal everyday ppl would even remember such a religion (and from what we know the provinces closer to Central Asia are the ones which had manichaeists). I do wonder how far the religion would spread though. I do think we'd still see Buddhism and shintoism survive, but with their faiths become more and more fragmented in majority salvationist areas. For example I don't see the traditional cleansing rituals and the sensibilities of Buddhism and shintoism disappearing any time soon.
I hope we see salvationism spreading through most of Japan and being the majority religion of the home islands, and alter southern Chinese politics (like cantonese being more ascendant due to the religious dimension). I'm not sure if Joseon would have a serious minority, but it is a possibility, especially for people who want to move beyond confucianism.
I think it'd be more likely for people to just be christian in Luzon, since it is the majority before the conquests, and I don't see it changing any time soon. beiritou is honestly a tossup, but I could see them switching due to the home islands.
It’s hard to describe considering Shintoism isn’t exactly a formalized religion and there’s no implementation of anything like state Shinto at this point. In terms of people going to shrines and engaging in Shinto-related activities and festivals, there was a small dip in disengagement with the growth of Catholicism. That reversed when the Yamato Church became the predominant and legal branch of Christianity because while Christianity in general rejects Shintoism, the Jesuit priests were much more hardline against churchgoers engaging in Shinto stuff whereas the Yamato Church is more soft in its “opposition” in an effort to not come off as “foreign” or “Western”so in practice many of its members continue to engage in Shinto stuff.
To some extent yes.
It’s only similar in the sense that it’s a faith with Christian and Buddhist influences, that was the extent of a comparison. Its Zoroastrian influences distinguish it heavily of course.
Luson province is majority Christian (Yamato and Catholic combined) but has significant Muslim, Buddhist, and animist minorities. Bireitou is plurality Buddhist from the Japanese, aboriginal, and Chinese populations with significant minorities of Yamato Christians, Calvinists, Daoists, and animists.
hmm when you say that it makes me think of Japanese christian exorcism practices being very interesting, since they'd use a bunch of shinto/buddhist stuff in there too, which would be very interesting.
Japanese occult stuff would be even more of a mix than otl.
ye, Manichaeism is a very interesting religion in it of itself.
ah that makes sense.
Would Luson have their own myths that get spread to Japan? Philippine monsters and the such could very easily become yokai that are feared by the Japanese population.
With Beiritou being majority Buddhist I think they'd probably be rather stable (except when the headhunters come down from the mountains), and I'd think a lot of Japanese who're becoming more and more wealthy to be able to move to the region.
Last edited:
Chapter 118: John Sobieski Attacked On All Sides
Chapter 118: John Sobieski Attacked On All Sides
Going into the war, John III Sobieski of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was confident. His realm had never been stronger, having defeated all of its neighbors at least once in the 17th century and regaining access to the Black Sea. Conflict with the Sublime Porte and their Crimean vassals had tethered the Cossacks tightly to Warsaw while the factional bickering that had defined the reign of Christian had largely subsided under the reign of John so far. Tymofiy Khmelnytsky and Lithuanian Field Hetman Michal Kazimierz Radziwill mobilized Cossack and Lithuanian magnates respectively in anticipation of an invasion by George II Rakoczi of Transylvania while the king’s older brother Marek Sobieski [1] guarded the capital and John’s heir Alexander [2].
Nevertheless, Sobieski’s uncompromising confidence made him underestimate his first foe on the battlefield, Brandenburg elector and rival claimant Frederick William. Frederick William had ruled Brandenburg-Prussia over the last 36 years, centralizing the administration and pushing through domestic reforms that expanded his military and strengthened his dual realms’ economies. As a result, his realm would be able to punch above its size and weight in this conflict. The elector and his son Charles [3] departed from Berlin at the head of an army numbering 15,000 shortly after declaring war on the Commonwealth and would attract the support of nobles who supported Frederick William’s claim, especially those in the more heavily German-speaking Lower Silesia. John Sobieski left Legnica amidst a struggle to neutralize dissenting nobles with an army of 25,000, leaving 10,000 throughout the rest of the duchy. The two armies clashed near the town of Glogau just north of Legnica on May 14th. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Frederick William’s infantry and artillery had superior firepower and held back the cavalry charges of the Polish and Cossack cavalry. Although John Sobieski was able to organize an orderly retreat, Polish forces had begun to lose control of Legnica in the king’s absence and Frederick William’s victory had a significant psychological effect on many Silesians. The Polish-Lithuanian army was subsequently forced to abandon Legnica and retreat into Upper Silesia.
Nevertheless, Sobieski’s uncompromising confidence made him underestimate his first foe on the battlefield, Brandenburg elector and rival claimant Frederick William. Frederick William had ruled Brandenburg-Prussia over the last 36 years, centralizing the administration and pushing through domestic reforms that expanded his military and strengthened his dual realms’ economies. As a result, his realm would be able to punch above its size and weight in this conflict. The elector and his son Charles [3] departed from Berlin at the head of an army numbering 15,000 shortly after declaring war on the Commonwealth and would attract the support of nobles who supported Frederick William’s claim, especially those in the more heavily German-speaking Lower Silesia. John Sobieski left Legnica amidst a struggle to neutralize dissenting nobles with an army of 25,000, leaving 10,000 throughout the rest of the duchy. The two armies clashed near the town of Glogau just north of Legnica on May 14th. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Frederick William’s infantry and artillery had superior firepower and held back the cavalry charges of the Polish and Cossack cavalry. Although John Sobieski was able to organize an orderly retreat, Polish forces had begun to lose control of Legnica in the king’s absence and Frederick William’s victory had a significant psychological effect on many Silesians. The Polish-Lithuanian army was subsequently forced to abandon Legnica and retreat into Upper Silesia.
Depiction of the Battle of Glogau
As the Commonwealth’s forces were forced back in Silesia and those of Brandenburg-Prussia pushed forward, the Swedes also made their move, advancing from both western Pomerania and Livonia with king John IV Sigismund entering the Commonwealth from the former. The Swedish armies, composed of some of Europe’s most lethal infantry, breezed through the Polish-Lithuanian defenses and with the help of Prussian troops were able to quickly occupy much of Royal Prussia and Courland. Warsaw now lay within striking distance of the Swedes, thrusting John Sobieski into action. Leaving temporary command of Commonwealth-occupied Silesia in the hands of Crown Hetman Dymitr Jerzy Wisniowiecki, the king mobilized more troops from Poland in addition to his personal army from Silesia and confronted his Swedish counterpart at Klecko. At the bloody affair that followed, only through Sobieski’s personal valor at the head of the winged hussars did the Commonwealth snatch victory and halt the Swedish advance towards Warsaw. However, the heavy casualties prevented Sobieski from following up on his victory. Worse, in the absence of the king, the Brandenburgians made further gains in Silesia. By the end of the year, most of Silesia was in the hands of Frederick William and the entire Baltic coast had been lost to the anti-Commonwealth coalition.
However, 1677 would see a sort of reversal of fortunes. Firstly, the Danes entered the war on the side of the Commonwealth at the behest of the latter’s diplomats, eager to regain Jamtland, Halland, and Bohuslan from the Swedish Empire. This created a second front behind the backs of both the Swedes and Brandenburgians. Secondly, George II Rakoczi succumbed to dysentery while on campaign against his Cossack and Lithuanian foes. As his son Francis had died the previous year, this theoretically left his 1 year old grandson as the heir to the Transylvanian princedom. By now, however, Constantinople viewed the Rakoczi princes as a problem who too often risked renewed conflict between themselves and the Habsburgs or the Commonwealth and swiftly placed Francis Rakoczi and his family under house arrest, installing Michael Apafi as the new ruler of Transylvania and tightening its grip over its Balkan vassal states. This effectively took Transylvania out of the war, freeing up manpower in the south. All of this was bad news for the Swedish-Brandenburgian coalition which up until now had held the upper hand on the Silesian and Baltic fronts against Poland-Lithuania. During the second year of the war, John Sobieski pushed Frederick William’s forces out of Lower Silesia completely and retook most of Royal Prussia as John Sigismund was forced to return to Stockholm and oversee the defense of his realm from Denmark-Norway’s unexpected invasion.
The third year of the war would yet again see a major shakeup as seemingly out of nowhere, Russia invaded the Commonwealth’s eastern borders that had been relatively under-defended during the course of the war. As the previous tsar Alexei had only recently died and his son and successor Feodor III was just 17, it had been assumed that Russia would not involve itself in any foreign wars until the latter was older. However, nobles like Artamon Matveyev and Grigory Romodanovsky were eager to take advantage of the Commonwealth’s preoccupation to the west and expand Russian borders into Lithuania and Ukraine. In July, an Russian army of 30,000 led by Romodanovsky entered Lithuania and immediately began besieging Smolensk. In response, a combined force of Lithuanians and Ukrainian Cossacks led by Michal Kazimierz Radziwill advanced upon the Russian position twice at Shklow and Shepeleviche but were rebuffed due to the latter’s sheer manpower. This paved the way for the fall of Smolensk in September 1678 and Muscovy was on course to march on the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius as Orthodox magnates began to waver. However, Radziwill was able to regather his forces and incorporate Cossack reinforcements and at the battle for the capital, the Commonwealth force decisively defeated the Russians.
Portrait of Lithuanian Field Hetman Michal Kazimierz Radziwill
The rest of the conflict over the future of Silesia was largely marked by stalemate, with Sweden dispatching an army to its home turf against the Danes and Poland-Lithuania sending armies in all directions. Denmark’s offensives initially went well, its sizable fleet successfully blockading the Baltic Sea and defeating the Swedes at sea while Dano-Norwegian armies under king Christian V retook Halland and Jamtland with little pushback. The Swedish king, however, soon returned with his army and immediately began reversing Dano-Norwegian gains in Halland and even encroached upon Scania. John Sigismund’s land campaign culminated in the Battle of Landskrona, where his army of 13,000 decisively defeated a similarly sized force under Christian V. The Swedish king now embarked upon an invasion of Scania but was hindered by sturdy Dano-Norwegian defenses, continual enemy supremacy on the seas, and the necessary reconquest of Jamtland.
Up until now, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I had stayed out for fear of triggering a French intervention in favor of the anti-Commonwealth coalition or an opportunistic invasion of Habsburg Hungary by the Ottomans. As both sides began pondering peace amidst the relative stalemate, however, he presented himself as a neutral mediator and ended up overseeing negotiations between both sides. Through these talks, a treaty was signed in Legnica in 1680. This treaty split Silesia between Frederick William and John Sobieski, the former taking Lower Silesia and the latter taking Upper Silesia. Additionally, ducal Prussia would no longer be a vassal of the Commonwealth, meaning that Brandenburg-Prussia now stood completely sovereign. However, if the male Hohenzollern line were to become extinct, ducal Prussia would revert to Commonwealth control. Additionally, Poland-Lithuania would officially recognize Swedish domain over Riga and western Livonia, areas taken by the Swedes in the 1620s but never de jure accepted by the Commonwealth. Although the conclusion of the War of the Silesian Succession did not end in the full assimilation of Silesia into the Commonwealth, John Sobieski had conducted himself admirably even when attacked from all sides and managed to minimize the concessions he made, the Commonwealth losing no significant territory.
Orange = Lower Silesia, Yellow = Upper Silesia
The Commonwealth now turned its attention onto Russia. Although Russian military success had been halted at Vilnius, Muscovy had begun to turn many of Sobieski’s Orthodox subjects and magnates against the Catholic monarch, destabilizing parts of the Russo-Lithuanian border. They even covertly triggered and supported an internal Cossack rebellion led by Demian Mnohohrishny in the Ukrainian lands. This Russo-Polish conflict wouldn’t last long though, for the death of the tsar in 1682 triggered a brief but bloody power struggle between boyar factions behind co-tsars Ivan V and Peter I that saw both Matveyev and Romodanovsky murdered [4]. Regime change in Moscow, together with murmurs of military buildup in the Ottoman Empire, pushed both sides to the negotiating table and in the spring of 1683, a truce was signed in Smolensk that returned Russo-Lithuanian borders to the prewar status quo. After 7 years of conflict caused by John III’s own expansionist ambitions, Poland-Lithuania now returned to peace at least for the moment.
Amidst the raging conflicts in northern and eastern Europe, the Dutch Republic took advantage of Sweden’s diverted attention and the successful Dano-Norwegian naval blockade, invading New Sweden from its New Netherlands colony in 1679. Having always been the larger and more populated of the two colonies, New Netherlands eventually conquered the entirety of Sweden’s slice of North America. Although Stockholm did not immediately make any attempts to retake New Sweden’s former lands from the Dutch, its loss would go unrecognized, opening the door for yet more conflict as the brazen move by the Republic worried both France and England.
[1]: Marek did not die in battle in 1653 ITTL.
[2]: Jakub Louis Sobieski is known as Alexander Louis Sobieski ITTL, as Marek being the older brother gets to name his son Jakub Sobieski.
[3]: Charles was the first son of Frederick William, not Frederick, but died in 1674 of dysentery while on a military campaign IOTL.
[4]: Basically what happens IOTL.
Last edited:
In regards to the buildup to and the occurrence of the War of the Silesian Succession, I did retcon the rival claimant to be Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, instead of Frederick, duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg due to the 1537 inheritance treaty between Frederick II of Legnica and Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg as it made more sense, especially considering how IOTL Frederick the Great utilized that claim to invade Silesia.
Good chapter as always, even surrounded by enemies the Poles were able to resist but for how long that can last is up for debate
Speaking of New Netherland, I hope the Dutch build up defences in New Amsterdam so the English can’t take it by simply sailing ships into harbour and saying “gimme” in a threatening tone of voice.
This timeline so far has been so good! Will there be potential Japanese interest in North America in this timeline?