Kazoku was the capital planet of the Kazokan system located in the galaxy's Inner Rim Territories. It's sun was known as Nikko and had two natural satellites Tsuki I and Tsuki II, and was home to the Human race Kazokan. It was the homeworld of Jedi Master Viius Thane, whose Kazokan ancestral name was "Kawamura Yuzuru". In the Galactic Senate, the planet was represented by Kamisato Tsuna, appointed by Emperor Nakamura Takanari.
It was believed that Annabelle Nakamura of Corellia was a descendent of the Nakamura Clan because of her family name, however, many remained skeptical of this theory due to Kazokan customs of its people adopting off-world names once leaving the planet.
Description[]
Kazoku was the first planet from the star Nikko in the Kazokan system within Inner Rim Territories. A beautiful world, the planet was home to Edo, and was one of the earliest planets discovered by the Old Republic. Its days lasted 24 standard hours while a year consisted of 356 standard days.
As a terrestrial world, Kazoku possessed a breathable atmosphere with a temperate climate, standard gravity and a hydrosphere. Its weather system was characterized by sunny, cloudy and sometimes cold days, separated by occasional rainstorms and thunderstorms, which severely affected maritime vessels. The planet surface had a diverse landscape that consisted of plain and grass fields, swamps, forests and deep forests, vast seas, beaches and dangerous mountain ranges that were considered hazardous to traveling merchants and citizens.
There were two large continents on the surface, Azuma and Nishi, along with two smaller islands, Nihon and Heiwa. The planet's capital city Aratana Hajimari was located on Azuma within the Nakamura Shogunate, on the western coast and was considered to be the main port and starport of the region, receiving many ships, both orbital and aquatic. There was also many small towns and villages as well as sacred points of interests. In every shogunate, there was at least one city focused on the development of weapons, armour and other military equipment utilized by the Kishi warriors. Besides the weaponry, armour and military equipment industries, there were many other industries that existed as well, these included music, agricultural, luxury goods. The Shogunate Commission also exported in goods through off-world companies to accommodate the lack of resources for other goods needed by citizens to survive, and for reactional activities. These also included service droids that assisted businesses. Out of all inhabited land masses, Heiwa was the least developed, having only been settled by the Shogunates for the purpose of organizing meetings and conferences between the Shoguns. Nihon was the only land mass with contested territories, as the three Shogunates were in a stalemate conflict with each other over their past.
History[]
Early history[]
The Old Republic settled and colonized the planet and did not have a name at the time. These settlers eventually evolved into the Kazokans, who created their own unique language, its alphabet and systems of government and culture. Because these farmers did not operate blaster weaponry, this technology became a foreign concept to future generations that led to Kazokan warriors using sword weaponry.
Kazokan Wars[]
Prior to the Owari Reformation, the Kazokans were in constant warring periods against one another. Shoguns existed as military dictators, leading armies and ancient shogunates, and were the sole authority figures in politics. Daimyos served as vassals of the shoguns that appointed them and answered only to them, they served primarily as military officers, effectively second-in-commands to a shogun. This state of war prevented Kazoku a seat in the Galactic Senate. These periods of war were generally referred to as the Kazokan Wars.
Owari Reformation[]
In 18,690 BBY, Yahata Shogun of the Nakamura Clan vowed to reform their planet's government and sought to bring about a new age of governance and world peace, to end the constant warring states of the shogunates. To this end, Yahata used their clan's political power and formed an army and gained enough influence to challenge the power of other shoguns. Yahata, however, would be killed in battle in 18,684 BBY before they could complete their mission, but their death did not stop their followers and their circle of daimyos, who continued to fight in their honour and were led by Daimyo Seiwa Yoshiie as Regent-Shogun and completed their goal in 18,680 BBY after the last shogun of the old age was killed in Aratana Hajimari, back then known as Meiji, named after its shogun. The Nakamura Clan, still mourning the death of its shogun, appointed a new shogun who formed and molded the new governmental systems, reorganizing the Nakamura Shogunate and became the Emperor, a title that became prevalent in Kazokan politics going forward.
This new age allowed the Kazokans to usher in an era of peace that would be maintained for millennia onward, although there were remnants of the old age that existed and fought against the Nakamura Shogunate's global power. These remnants were eventually defeated by 18,650 BBY. Eventually, in the new age, the Nakamura Shogunate appointed an individual as the planet's Senator to represent them in the Galactic Senate.
Nihon Civil War[]
By 1,880 BBY, tensions of global civil war and instability were high on the planet, which was especially evident on the island of Nihon where the Imperial Faction, Arima and Nakayama Shogunates were involved in a civil war between each other. This civil war began in 1,868 BBY when the Gushiken Shogunate wanted to return the Imperial Faction's status as the ruling authority of Kazoku, as it was usurped during the Kazokan Wars. When the Wars were brought to an end in 18,680 BBY, the Imperial Faction's leader expected power to return to them, though the Nakamura Clan opted for a more newer form of government and created the Shogunate Commission, in which the Faction was incorporated as a Shogunate, and the Gushiken Clan held bitterness against the Nakamura Clan.
The civil war would be brought into active warfare in 1,603 BBY when the Arima Clan had assassinated the Daimyo of the Kono Clan to the Gushiken Shogun and founded the Arima Shogunate which became recognized in the Shogunate Commission as a legitimate political entity. This angered the Gushiken Clan who distanced themselves from the Commission and eventually broke away in 1,586 BBY and reformed the Imperial Faction, with its leader known as the Emperor of Kazoku. However, the goals of the Gushiken Clan clashed with the goals of the Nakayama Clan, as they wished to unite the island of Nihon as the Empire of Nihon and usher in a new age of unification, and naturally were enemies with the Arima Shogunate. Border skirmishes on the Arima Shogunate's Koga Province and the Imperial Faction's Katsura, Kuki and Mizutani Provinces and the Nakayama Shogunate's Izumi and Kuroki Provinces were common.
Government[]
The Shogunate Commission was the planetary authority led by the Emperor of the Nakamura Clan. This organization was effectively the planetary government and consisted of Shoguns, leaders of each of the shogunates that existed on the planet. Each Shogun held a considerable amount of power while part of the Commission and could only be appointed and dismissed by the Emperor only. In ancient Kazokan history, it was known that shoguns were in fact de facto leaders of their territory, unaffected by outside local law, however this practice died after the Owari Reformation. In provincial politics, each Kazokan clan within a shogunate had to appoint a Daimyo to represent that clan in their shogun's provincial council, these appointed Daimyos could be anyone from the clan or closest allies, however, if a clan was unable to appoint a Daimyo or there were no suitable candidates, their shogun would instead appoint this individual from their own department as Regent Daimyo. In local politics, clans held power and authority over territory known as provinces, which were named after the clan that controlled them, however in situations that exceeded their authority, clans looked to their Daimyo to resolve these problems.
The Nakamura Clan was located in the planetary capital of Aratana Hajimari and was the central seat of power in the Nakamura Province and was bordered by the Kamisato Province to the north, the Tachibana Province to the south and the Sanada Province to the east. Although it was the ruling clan on the planet, the Nakamura Clan still appointed a Daimyo for its province, whom not only handled and dealt with issues where the Emperor couldn't due to global and off-world politics, but also to preside over their shogunate's Provincial Council as High Daimyo. As the ruling clan, the Nakamura Clan was protected by the Imperial Guard, an order of elite Kishi warriors.
Military[]
The military forces of Kazoku weren't unified in a planetary military, but instead each clan within a shogunate were responsible for the requirement of soldiers called Kishi, which not only contributed to the clan's military power, but also to the power of their shogunate and in turn were local defense forces. Kishi, which translated from Kazokan to Basic as "knight", were bound to a code of strict rules and regulations and fought using sword weaponry, forged from the planet's deposit of Tachi, a type of metal. Kishi wore armour forged from Yoroi, another type of metal used by the Kazokans. Early on in Galactic Republic, Kazokans did not adopt blasters as mainstream weapons and were entirely foreign to the concept of utilizing them in combat.
Behind the scenes[]
The planet's name means "family" in Japanese. Furthermore, many of the planet's aspects are based on/inspired by Feudal Japan, including the naming convention.