Mizu no Kuni



A breathtakingly beautiful nation that hides a violent and ugly underbelly, Mizu no Kuni can easily be likened to a black widow. Here, clans wrestle for control over the misty country, and black markets are rampant. Though it is a tiny island nation, Muzi no Kuni still boasts a hidden village, cloaked by the perpetual fog that dominates the gently hilly landscape. Most buildings here have more than one story, in an effort to conserve space, and the countryside is thin and sparse, though not barren by any means. A mysterious and somewhat isolated nation, Mizu no Kuni has often been the center of many horror stories and monster folklore. As expected, the chief export here is fish, closely followed by both shipbuilding and pearls.

= Mizu no Kuni; The Country of Water  =

Mizu no Kuni, or as it is referred to by many whom are not from it, 'The Country of Water', is one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, and has traditionally been seen by people of the world as a chaotic and beautiful place, and one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, because it holds both a normal military (Many swordsmen and Samurai come from this country) but also it's own Hidden Village, Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mists. It is an island country, and the only one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, but it's terrains are varied, because it spans over a number of islands, as opposed to a singular island.

Because it is a complex and diverse nation, in nearly every aspect of itself, and very much like water, each subject important to a great country is discussed here.

Economy
As one would assume of an island nation, or archipelago nation, the Country of Water's primary exports are fish. As it's tradition has shown for over one hundred years, with its decided underinvestment in ties with other countries or their hidden villages, and it's seeming 'isolationist' policies, the country of water is for the most part self sufficient, and strives to be so. The economy produces huge surpluses in the industries of fishing, shipbuilding, and pearl hunting.

Because of the country's strong warrior tradition and long history of civil wars, another 'export' of the country are trained warriors, soldiers, and Samurai. Plants of nearly every variety are grown on one of the islands or another, and the maritime trading and shipping industry is very important to the Country of Water. Finally, because of the strong tradition of warriors in the country, there is also a strong tradition of smiths of every breed.

The Country imports only certain things at times, and it has a strong tradition of recycling broken materials into new materials. Before the war, Mizu no Kuni gained a lot of it's ores from Tsuchi no Kuni, but after the invasion, more ores were gained from afar, or from Rai no Kuni. Steel working and Construction are also bustling fields in the country, as many towns, even small villages, prefer their buildings to go at least more than one story, to give more space for the amount of space taken up upon the ground.

That said, there is still a good deal of 'individual' and 'unique' to that portion of the country industries in various areas of the country.

Architecture
Going off what we saw in the anime and the manga, (though those were flashbacks) and role playing by our own selves, the Country of Water has no particular major 'leaning' in architectural styles, but it's older buildings are distinctively Japanese and eastern Asian. Most common buildings and fortresses are made of brick with wood accents, but the opposite is true of major and important buildings. Though not yet role played, it's also very likely that the Itsukushima Shrine is somewhere in the Country of Water.

Terrain
The Country of Water is dominated primarily by of course, water. It's Islands have various bays and the country is also slightly mountainous, at least in it's mainland. Valleys carved out by the force of water, as well as a river which crosses the entire country's mainland are all very likely. Because of the fact that despite it's status as a 'great country' or 'great shinobi country', it is the smallest of the five great countries, the Country of Water is also very protective of it's waters, and likely considers all of the waters between it's various islands as its sovereign territory as well.

In the series and our role play, the country is particularly 'rustic' and at the same time urban. Like the element it is named for, it is hard to predict what you might see in Mizu no Kuni in regards to uniformity, and several small towns and villages exist in the various shires of the country, with some areas populated heavily, and others with a sole farmer for a standard man's han or two (Or about a mile). The country has a number of villages and settlements on all five of it's larger islands, and those town's primary industries are normally farming, or working in a local industry or craft field.

Waters which are walkable between two islands are likely to have that exact movement done, they are walked. The Country of Water has a number of natural wonders and at least two sizable forests, primarily because the country is well into the understanding of the importance of keeping and sustaining important things such as the forests.

Culture
The Country of Water's culture is a mixture of traditionalists and inventive people, with it's primary cultural background being the Clans of Ancient Japan, and the Celtic Warriors of Scotland and Ireland, as both countries had a lot of clan war at one time and another and the latter were known to be extremely proud of their countries and their people and fit almost exactly with the way the people of Mizu no Kuni have been played, down to a fierce independent streak.

Warriors and battle take a heavy precedence in the culture of the country throughout its islands, and it is very likely that children fighting in childhood is not even discouraged or punished. Young men and women of Mizu no Kuni are expected in most cases and most of the groups of the country to 'embody' the country's mentality, being as self-sufficient as possible and as unfearful as possible. The encouragement of bravery and pride is likely the cause for situations where the populace of the Country of Water would react as they would, even against nature.

Despite the level of independence and strength of will attempted to be built into the children of the Country of Water, it is still a very traditional place, and as a result children are expected to listen to their parents every order, and likewise when they join their profession are they to follow their master's every order. Independence in not scorned, but arrogance and spite to your teacher is looked down upon and likely would result in a caning. In part because of it's isolationist policies, and tends to do whatever it feels is right, even if the other countries would object. As a result, the likelihood of pirating and prostitution being 'unofficially' condoned is not very unlikely.

It should also be noted that fighting by older people would not necessarily be stopped, so long as they didn't destroy someone else's property in the process and stopped themselves before killing if it was over something little.

In the Countryside, it is likely Samurai Clans or Shinobi Clans who are the direct lords, with the Daimyo acting as the King or Emperor, and the Leader of the Clan considered equivalent to a lord or 'Daimyo', and the members of it considered noble as well. Despite the fact that many clans own lands and farmable lands at that, many of these clans do no inhabit the hans primarily, but instead allow their han to be farmed by commoners. Hans are often referred to as Hans, or as 'Shires'. Regions and 'states' are considered improper to use within the Country's subdivisions, though the Islands each have their own individual names.

Honor killings are also not likely to be rare, though pity is.

Weather
As one would expect of a country which is named 'the Country of Water', and which has a hidden village known as 'the village hidden in the mists', Mizu no Kuni has a lot of precipitation. Mists, Fogs, Rains, Snows, and Hails are not uncommon depending on which portion of the country you are in. In the middle of the mainland summers, springs, falls, and winters are pretty balanced out, though winter and fall are slightly shorter than in other countries, because of the high level of precipitation in the country and the warm winds from the coast which surrounds the country. In the Southern Island the Summers are slightly longer than in other countries, and the same could be said of the Southern Islands before the Southern Island and the Southeastern coast of the Country.

Extremes of temperature are common in the Country of Water, and as such most of the people within it do not care one way or another, just as they don't care about getting wet in the rain, mist, or fog.

Transit
As has been previously stated as a primary industry of the country, and would be fairly obvious for a country which is composed of several islands, the primary mode of transit of a singular person is either a small canoe or swimming, but bigger groups, important items, or large amounts of goods are transported by boats of all sorts, including some of the rare 'steel' boats, which run on steam. Seeing a horse in the Country of Water would be a rare sight, and likely only ridden by someone who was apart of the Daimyo's court of personal retinue.

Avalon, Capital of Mizu no Kuni
The mercantile and governmental capital of the Country of Water is a beauty to behold, and though considered apart of the mainland and main island of the country, is technically not apart of it, and is off the eastern coast. It is much like our world's City of Venice, Avalon is situated on many small islands of varying sizes, and has extensive road work, foundation work, and canal work, to make it a beauty to behold, and have few problems that such an island city would have. It's canals, foundation work, and roads are considered better than those of Venice. Most of the Capitol's land is under the direct ownership of the Daimyo and rented out to those who live there or use the land. The exception of course are those noble family's who own lands on one of the larger islands and have palatial estates, as the Daimyo himself has. The Noble Family's who own land are some of the few who are not expected to pay any rents to the Daimyo.

Throughout the world or the shinobi continent in the least, Avalon is known primarily for it's typical position as 'last launching point' to points eastern. It has deep water docks which are the best in the world, and it has a number of warehouses on the land and built into the hillside of the islands where the Docks are primarily situated. Much of the capital's buildings are built with extremely white stones, and it is a tourist trap for it's oddities and the fact that in most cases anyone who wants to hire the Shinobi-nin of Kirigakure no Sato are given instructions to meet in Avalon.

The city's name originates from the fact that much of the Country of Water is covered by Mist at least one point in time in the day, and because the Daimyo whom was the ruler of the Country in the time when Avalon as designed and built was in love with romantic ideals of the sort and had heard the story of 'Avalon', the Island hidden in the mist which held the heroes of the world who did not die but might be needed later.

It also sprouted from the Daimyo at the time's love for his country's hidden village, Kirigakure no Sato, and was a slight homage to that name. Despite the slight xenophobic nation some of the natives of Mizu no Kuni are type-casted as being, the citizens of the 'Royal Island City of Avalon', are some of the most friendly in the country, and it is spoken of being the single place in the continent where you can get nearly anything.

Avalon is like the rest of Mizu no Kuni, and a conundrum of the old and new, the friendly and the hateful, and though not a technological backwater, is not known particularly for any advanced technology, more over for it's skill with living in harmony with it's environs and the beauty of it's buildings. It is also the place where the most innovation of the Maritime field is often birthed, as the Daimyo and the Umikaze Naval Alliance both support inventors researching such technologies.