Takemikazuchi Empire (OU)

The Takemikazuchi Empire is a powerful military and economic force. Unlike most factions in the BZPB Multiverse, it possesses a majority human population. The Takemikazuchi Empire echoes Japanese history in its aesthetics, culture and laws. The most blatant example of this is the existence of the Samurai; a warrior caste, who are the only members of the Takemikazuchi Empire who are allowed to carry weapons - other than enlisted soldiers.

The Empire is headed by Sefer Yetzirah, though the Prime Minister, Rokubungi Gendo, oversees most of the day-to-day administration.

Government
Functionally, the governance of the empire is overseen by the Prime Minister, with key decision making being done by the democratically elected parliment. The parliament is highly devolved, and the eight individual colony clusters, as well as the three inhabited worlds of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar are given key decision making powers and are primarily ruled by their own local governments. The legal system is based upon a written constitution, the original document of which is kept in the capital colony Yamato. The constitution consists of 108 articles, with the seventh being especially noteworthy for banning the carrying of weapons by anyone who is not a Samurai.

The Takemikazuchi government experiences very low levels of corruption, and has a high level of transparency. It's theorized that this is because the government makes no attempt to obscure the fact that Sefer Yetzirah is an autarch.

Society and Culture
The Empire has a very low rate of crime, as a result of a highly effective Gendarmerie, a nearly-complete ban on all weapons, and a high Spacenoid population where socialistic thinking is emphasized. The Empire also has complete gender equality and racial equality, an excellent LBGTQ rights record, a nationalized healthcare system and free higher education. However, there is very little economic freedom within the Empire; for example, people living in the SL-07 or SL-08 colony clusters are effectively destined to become gas miners, or join the military. There is very little entrepreneurship within the Empire.

The Takemikazuchi have a very low birth rate, to the extent that no new colonies or habitats have been needed to be constructed in nearly a century. The majority of the population are Spacenoids who live in space colonies; the three habitable worlds of the Shangri-La system are also home to extensive surface populations.

Though the Empire is a Secular government, possessing no state religion, there is complete freedom of religion. Multiple religions are practiced throughout the Empire, including a small, but noteworthy amount of Sefer Yetzirah worship, though the government and Sefer herself have publicly disapproved of any idolization. The most common religion, understandably, is Shinto.

The overwhelming majority of the population of the Empire approves of Emperor Sefer. However, common criticisms put forth by her opponents include her age (21), the fact that she is an apparent homosexual and therefore unable to produce an heir, and her unorthodox style of leadership, whereby she is absent from Shangri-La for the majority of the time, conducting political missions accompanied only by the Shinsengumi. There are also those who disapprove of her on a purely sexist or homophobic basis.

Technology and Economy
The Empire is approximately 50-100 years ahead of the majority of the rest of the universe, technologically. This is a direct result of Emperor Sefer's teachings. The Takemikazuchi generally do not export their technology; instead, it is put to use refining the resource gathering of the empire - for example, the Dendrobium mining operations on SL-08. The exports of this element are partly responsible for the incredibly strong economy of the Empire. Occasionally, the Empire may produce down-scaled export variants of their technology, though they are hesitant to sell weapons technology which may be used against them.

The majority of industry within the Empire is nationalized.

Military
The Takemikazuchi has a strong military, bolstered by its technological developments. Unlike most militaries, the Takemikazuchi rarely engage in all-out battles - instead, they prefer to use surprise attacks, traps and evasion to accomplish their goal without taking any losses. They prefer to use superweapons such as nuclear devices, orbital lasers or black hole bombs to wipe out huge swathes of an opposing force, without ever engaging them in combat. Takemikazuchi ship design reflects this; their ships lack noteworthy amounts of hull-based weaponry, instead focusing on powerful engines, large powerplants and integrated WMDs allowing for hit-and-run maneuvers.

In a straight-up fight, the Takemikazuchi are still to be feared. There is no such thing as drawing the Takemikazuchi into an infantry battle; their forces are always supported by light and heavy armor, air support, and often mech forces. Infantrymen use power armor, cybernetic augmentations and automated drones to mitigate risk to themselves and effectively neutralize enemy combatants. Takemikazuchi weapons and armor technology is second to none. It is military tradition for all infantrymen to carry a katana into battle; this tradition is usually adhered to. Modern military katanas are made with advanced technologies - usually, a standard-issue katana will be of a vibroblade variety, though katanas with laser- or plasma-cutting edges are not an uncommon sight on the battlefield.

The Takemikazuchi Navy, known formally as the Dai-Takemikazuchi Teikoku Kaigun, is especially noteworthy. Due to the Takemikazuchi having no outposts outside of the Shangri-La system, Naval fleets are designed to operate autonomously for years on end. Fleets often carry large numbers of non-combat vessels, such as food production hulks. These are rarely a burden on the fleet due to their standard strategy - instead of engaging an enemy fleet head-on, it will warp from system to system, individual vessels breaking off to perform hit-and-run attacks before fleeing to rejoin the fleet. This strategy requires intense planning and co-ordination, but done correctly, the core of the fleet is never exposed to enemy attack.

The flagship of the Navy, the Divine Providence, is an example of a new class of ship designed to incorporate the functions of an entire fleet into one vessel. The ship can operate autonomously for a theoretically infinite period of time, whilst still performing hit-and-run attacks. However, the Divine Providence is a true dreadnought, and is one of the few Takemikazuchi vessels that can hold its own in a line battle.

Shangri-La
The Shangri-La system is the home system of the Takemikazuchi Empire. It is notable for being located within a hollow nebula of Dendrobium gas - the same substance the planet SL-08 is composed of. The Shangri-La system is the only known location of this system. Dendrobium is incredibly unstable - it is impossible to travel through it, even to the extent that teleportation is impossible - even Emperor Sefer, who is renowned for her incredible teleportation abilities, cannot pass through it. The only way through this field is a small tear, the diameter of which is equivalent to Earth's moon. This tear is heavily patrolled and guarded, as it is the only way in and out of the Shangri-La system. Due to the fortress-like nature of the system afforded by this wall, and the fact that anyone attempting to force their way through the tear will be met with a triggered gamma ray burst from the system's sun, the Shangri-La system has never been conquered in recorded history. The cloud is known for its incredible beauty, resembling a great, pink fire. Though very few non-Takemikazuchi are ever permitted entry to the system, the sight of it even from the exterior is regarded as one of the many wonders of the Multiverse.

Shangri-La has ten planets, of which three are habitable. These planets are all earthlike. The planet Malchior has a low landmass, whilst Caspar has a high landmass, and Balthazar is situated between the two extremes. The primary use of the planets is for their gravitational pull, which allows for the stable positioning of space colony clusters. The outmost planet, SL-10, is home to the largest concentration of colonies, as it is closest to the tear, and therefore a key location for ships entering or departing the system.

Organizations

 * The Shinsengumi - a secretive, elite organization which is lead by, and directly serves, Emperor Sefer.
 * The Dai-Takemikazuchi Teikoku Kaigun - The Takemikazuchi Navy, responsible for the Empire's space fleet. Responsible for millitary activities outside of the Shangri-La system.
 * The Dai-Takemikazuchi Teikoku Guntai - The Takemikazuchi Army, responsible for the protecting the Shangri-La system. Unlike traditional armies, the DTTG can fight on land, inside colonies or in space, and possesses its own carrier fleets independent of the DTTK for these purposes. Also responsible for maintaing the Gendarmerie - the primary police force.
 * The Dai-Takemikazuchi Teikoku Tokubetsu Butai - Takemikazuchi Special Forces. They are often charged with deploying the WMDs and Superweapons critical to Takemikazuchi millitary strategy, though outside of wartime, they serve a crucial role in an anti-terrorism function. Each colony possesses its own DTTTB units dedicated to protecting it from sabotage.
 * The Defense Industries Organization - A nationalized manufacturing collective responsible for producing export variants of military technologies.
 * The Integrated Design Bureau - A nationalized manufacturing collective responsible for producing military technologies for internal use.