Naruto Headcanons: Kirigakure Wordbuilding pt.3 - A Thick History Lesson.
(take out your pens & notebooks, its a full course meal)
Hello we are back with the meat and potatoes so buckle up! Again a deep dive into the history of the country of water relating to my Naruto Modern/Celebrity AU. As i mentionned before, Kiri Basketball Team recently came into the international scene. It is interesting because their country have been closed off from the rest of the world for the longest. Let's see why and what let up to Kiri to finally open its borders.
KIRI HEADCANONS PT.2 : HISTORY & THE HOSHIGAKI CLAN.
(XXX YEARS AGO.)
For the longest, the country of Water has always been occupied by various clans/ethnicities. They had their respective islands and territories. Like any other countries with a diverse population, they lived in “harmony” under the rule of the Hoshigaki clan who occupied the mainland and capital.
Keep in mind, their bloodline made most of the cultural references of the country of water due to their historical dominance they had over the territory for centuries. Music, laws, structures, policies and more were entirely based on the map of their community.
The Hoshigaki has always been the region’s clan of royalty because of their questionable origins. It is displayed in their tall height,“marine-like” features, culture housing infinite knowledge and a government system in harmony with nature. This clan was drowned in limitless amount of resources/minerals especially raw diamonds, gold, platinum and silver. Knowing their resources would potentially be sought after by outsiders, the country of water remained isolated from the outside world, not only geographically but (socially from other countries) as it was self reliant.
Like mentioned before, all member of the basketball team of Kiri are from different clan/ethnic groups adjacent to each other, but the population of the country of water is divided as following:
Only the Hoshigaki and Yuki clans occupied a (slightly) superior position on the social hierarchy compared to the rest. Despite this, the land of water operated under an egalitarian system because the two clans never gave themselves the title or acted as a monarchy or oligarchy. Everyone revered these two clans for their immense sacrifice for the stability and protection of the entire country. The hereditary supernatural abilities of these families set them apart so the social structure looked like this:
INVASION OF THE COUNTRY OF WATER Renzo Karatachi (Yagura’s father) decided to invade the country of water. The previous domain of his clan was located in the southern region of the country of Fire. They were once a noble clan but got demoted from its title after Hashirama created Konoha. The new political system instated by the Senju was soon applied to most countries, no matter their previous political system. Many went from chaotic oligarchies to a more regulated “hokage” system. This process got rid of large clan/families who only sought after personal interests and refused to make compromises for “the greater good”.
Regardless their so-called noble status, Renzo’s family didn’t compare in size to other clan like the Hyuugas or Aburame and found out to be geographically isolated from the newly formed city, Konoha. The truth is that they were purposefully left behind because of their irrelevance in the ninja world (no supernatural powers) and their documented history of dubious military practices especially tied to how they acquired their land centuries ago.
To add salt to injury, their headquarters formed the largest city and capital of the country of fire but suddenly lost its prestigious status when Hashirama replaced it by Konoha. All important operations, political systems and businessmen left for the new great city, leaving the Karatachi clan domain desolate. Bitter and scorned at the sight of his fallen empire, Renzo was left to take a decision; merge into the new “kage” system or barely survive. He firmly refused out of pride. Time passed but after years of research and planning, he concocted a plan to give justice to his clan.
His idea? COLONIZATION & DICTATORSHIP. A vision he will pass down to his son Yagura. His objective was to seek a new land they would rule over and call their “home”, finally dissociating from the country of fire who “betrayed” them. Their target? The country of water. The Karatachi patriarch had this land in mind for many reasons.
1.Proximity & Isolation. Not only their target was super close, but it was isolated by the sea. Trying to invade any other part of the country of fire or adjacent regions would have enacted an immediate reaction from neighbouring allied countries. Also, the last thing Renzo wanted was to go against Hashirama in ANY WAY. So, let’s go after this country who is socially, geographically and politically severed from the rest of the world (did not operate under the “kage” system until recently). Renzo invested a fortune into the naval industry, an unexplored territory because all other nations were connected by land. It reached such level of technological/engineering advancement that it would have taken decades for other countries to catch up if they ever decided to come to the country of water’s aid. (It never happened).
2.Resources. The endless resources the land offered goes from large sources of fresh water, metals and precious stones to feed their military and naval industry. Renzo was planning to make all this fortune his and use as a bargaining chip against other countries.
3.Feelings of Superiority. Above all, Renzo thought of the country of water’s population as less then. This is where the caste system will come from, according to his own opinions and characteristics he thinks are more valuable. Like many people around the world, he believed the Hoshigaki (and all associated with them) were sub-human. Their features (shark teeth, pointy eyes, face markings, etc.) are present because a degenerate had intercourse with a mermaid centuries ago (theory widely accepted around the world at the time). So earthly things and resources belong to “real humans” they are not deserving of all this gold and diamonds. Why would fishes need precious metals?
4.Lust. He lusted after the first lady, Sheba Hoshigaki. He wanted to negotiate to have her by his side (arranged/political marriage) as his clan invaded the country. On top of trying to set himself as the leader of the Country of Water, Renzo tried to take her by force but miserably failed. What he ignored was that Sheba descended from a strongly protected lineage of female spiritualists (outsiders call them witches). Forcing himself on her couldn’t end well and he passed away 1 year after stepping foot in Kirigakure.
THE SEEK OF REVENGE Absolutely outraged, his son, Yagura Karatachi, picked where he left and took out his flaming rage on the Hoshigaki clan as he blamed them for the death of his father. He accessed the throne as a teenager and swiftly ordered the Hoshigaki to be exterminated, even if it was not part of the original plan. He contaminated most of the clan’s sacred water sources, destroyed their temples, statues and artifacts knowing their attachment to nature and how it would greatly affect them (poisoning their life source). Yagura, along with a well-equipped naval army, took the capital after contaminating the Hoshigaki’s water sources and planting disease on them.
Many members of the ruling clan were eliminated in war. It was an invader armed with a mighty naval power against a relatively peaceful nation unequipped with this level of technology. When the Hoshigaki was pushed closer towards complete extinction, it forced the remnants of their bloodline into hiding. The entire social and political balance was thrown off. The country of water slid into chaos leaving it open for complete subjugation.
THE CASTE SYSTEM In the ashes of the past, Yagura formed a new caste system based on: - lineage/appearance: features, skin tone & blood purity. ⁃ if you denounced the past system governed by the Hoshigaki and swears loyalty to Yagura's
YAGURA The ruler of the country (Dictator)
KARATACHI CLAN All the Karatachi Clan member who immigrated from the Country of Fire.
REMNANT OF THE YUKI CLAN (who sold out) All the men from the Yuki Clan who swore their loyalty to Yagura’s father after their clan leader’s death. They were sought after, for their paler complexion, facial features, culture & customs Renzo wanted to breed into the Karatachi clan.
TERUMI CLAN (& relative clans/families) Clans & families, elevated to middle/upper middle class for their appearance closer to the residents of the Country of Fire. They are the only caste untouched by social pressure and a lot of investors and businessmen reside in this caste. All they worry about is maintaining their position in the system and living their “regular” little lives. This layer of society created a lot of animosity because their wealth/social advantages was gifted to them overnight. Certain lands and territories blossomed into wealthy villages and cities for them while others turned into literal wasteland for others.
SOLDIERS OF HONOURS (often police officers, governmental employees, etc.) Those from lower caste who sold out to escape a sorry fate and attempted to achieve a “higher caste”. Those men of any background who denounce their allegiance to the past system for a “high paying corporate job”. They are seen as traitors by the rest and unfortunately most of them are still treated like the lower caste they came from by this system and everyone above them regardless their “sacrifice”.
CLANS & FAMILIES DISTANTLY RELATED TO THE HOSHIGAKI All remotely or genetically related to the defeated Hoshigaki clan were relocated to poorer areas/islands of the country. A huge part of them had to move to the mainland to find work, mostly harsh manual labour. Gangs of all types recruit here and, in the underclass, because both are financially indistinguishable from each other. They are the most taxed and located within the areas with the most environmental damages.
UNDERCLASS/BOTTOM FEEDERS/SLAVERY This class includes anyone perceive as “useless” like small clan and families, prisoners, orphans, slaves and anyone with any form of debt/under the thumb of a loan shark. They are doing the hardest jobs. They are either wanderers or occupy the many slums in the country. The elderly or disabled are left to their own devices, they are considered of no utility because of their physical or mental limitations. For example, Haku belonged to this class after his father abandoned him very young because he was “too feminine looking” since being associated with or being a woman is among the worst thing to be in the caste system.
WOMEN Women are the bottom of this society; they were never perceived to have any form of autonomy outside of being married. Women of lower caste have it twice as hard as the men of the same caste. They are often encouraged into being a maid, nanny, s. worker or hostess under the misleading promise of finding a man who will financially provide for them. Most women were denied education in this system, many are kept at home waiting to be married off (arranged marriage). This was immediately abandoned after the coup on Yagura’s life. Some defied the standard and pursued an education regardless the odds. Nothing was worst perceived than a woman stepping outside of the norm and social expectations (who does she think she is?!).
“CRIMINALS” & ANYONE GOING AGAINST THE SYSTEM Since freedom of speech has been shaky/unavailable and the definition of what constituted a “crime” varied from a caste to another, many people fitted this category. Triple your sentence if you are not backed up by a gang. They could plead for your case and even bribe the jury in your favour for less time. Those same crime lords behind a lot of the chaos paid monthly retributions to the government to evade unnecessary jail time for themselves but anybody else? Not even in your wildest dream. Many people were arrested for having an “undesirable” opinion or do lengthy time for a very petty crime. If you survived jail, there was nothing for you when you came back. Along this, any government officers who fell short or betrayed the king became an amputee and homeless if he didn’t get executed.
There was a clear difference between every caste definition of what was acceptable and valued. All layers of society valued marriage but for different reasons.
For Lower castes, it’s kinda tricky because infidelity was as present as salt in the sea but many did not play about their gf/bf (or side piece) and could’ve kill you for it.
For Higher caste, they hid behind their financial standing to cover their bad deeds. They loved to play the morality police, looking down on others was a sport and the obsession with marriage was based on the ideology of economic purity/conservation.
There was an issue with age gap relationship all over the country as it was heavily normalized, even more when it’s for a come up or arranged marriages. Those practices were officially banned after Yagura’s death.
THE MODEL MINORITY & THE FUTURE PROMISE. When proposed to integrate into the Karatachi Clan for their “good genes” , the Yuki Clan leader, Aizawa-han Yuki stood his ground and refused to sell out his people regardless the promise of luxury and a high position in the imposed caste system.
He wanted to see his clan survive without getting corrupted and the country has always been wary of outsiders. He knew the ultimate goal was for the Karatachi clan to put their hands on the Yuki bloodline’s ancestral powers and make them give up their autonomy to merge both bloodlines together.
It is known that if “the life source” of the country of water stayed intact and out of the invaders’ hands, the country will survive whatever comes its way and preserve its food and water supply. Hence why Koffi Hoshigaki had to make the difficult decision of temporary give up his position as a leader to make sure his clan survived the active genocide against his people. Their extinction would have brought the largest & deadliest drought over the country killing most of its population.
Aizawa-Han respected his friend’s decision. Unfortunately; after relentlessly fighting the invading army for 30 days nonstop, Yagura savagely murdered him. For refusing to betray his loyalty to the Hoshigaki clan and for boldly refusing the invader’s “mercy” offer of a comfortable position for the Yuki clan under the Karatachi leadership. After his death, 90% of his clan were dispersed all over the country to be wanderers and to feed the newly made underclass as a punishment for standing with their leader in his death. “Hold On my people, Dark times are ahead of us... Always remember, the Hoshigaki clan who watched over us for centuries will always be in control of this nation but their physical absence will be difficult. I understand every single one of yours confusion and frustration... but I implore every soul to not forget the past, it’s where you will find the strength to continue walking... Above all, thank you for putting your thrust in me........” (Aizawa-Han’s last words)
Regardless of all the pressure and disrespect, Aizawa-Han choose death over betrayal and was violently executed by beheading for standing on this position and refusing to give in. His clan not only had to watch him get murdered but those who refuse to sell out after his death (90% of the entire clan) were forcefully displaced all over the country of water to feed the under class.
All Yuki clan members who mocked his death (by swearing their loyalty to the invaders) to save their lives or out of greed became high ranking officers under Yagura. These same individuals revealed vital secrets to the new dictator helping him subjugate the country of water further. Till this day, The Yuki clan is fighting to keep their community and culture alive as authentically as possible. Being dispersed all over the country and far away from their original homes made this task nearly impossible. Many customs and traditions had to be modified overtime because many aspects of their culture were outlawed. Relocating to winter islands allowed them to rebuild their old traditional system because a lot of these territories are more isolated (fearing invasion once again).
After the death of Aizawa-Han, his wife Thao Nhi was among those relocated. She made her life mission to assure the remnants of the Yuki clan and its culture survived. Thanks to her continuous and strong-willed work with the help of her clan back in the land of Waves. Even if she spent most of her life running and hiding, she is still alive (53 yo) and could witness the abolition of the caste system. She is now the leader of the Yuki clan.
On the other hand, both Sheba and Koffi Hoshigaki died during the reign of the bloody mist while their clan was hiding from execution and rebuilding their clan’s life force/artifacts.
THE POWER BALANCE Since the old days, the Yuki Clan could only operate at its best under the leadership/dominion of the Hoshigaki. When they were forced out of their leadership position, it was impossible for the Yuki clan to function properly. The great relationship between both clans and leaders always showed that they operated as dual leadership (president/vice president) maintaining a balance of power and leadership over the country:
ABOUT AIZAWA-HAN’S DEATH.... Following the death of the leader of the Yuki clan, a very slick slander was spread about him. The goal was to defame his character and make an example out of him for refusing/defying the new system under Yagura, so many people could look back at his unfortunate demise and be scared. The Karatachi clan, known for being vengeful, took great offense to this turn of event because history would have been different if both clans joined forces.
1.BLAME He was blamed for the dispersion of his clan and its retrogression to the bottom class. At first, the Yuki clan stood in their loyalty for their dead leader but as time passed (from parents to grand-children) basic necessities were scarce and horrible work/living conditions weight on all these people. A lot of justified resentment settled among Yuki clan members on top of the never-ending mourning of losing their original land. To add salt to injury, Yagura built an enormous fortress over the small house occupied by their deceased leader. It went against Aizawa-Han’s values, because he always lived modestly among the general population. Overnight the invaders along with traitors made the clan’s land their home.
2.DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER Yagura’s administration started a smear campaign against both previous leaders. After one’s death and the other disappearance, the claimed both were secret lovers and living the promiscuous life. Till this day this statement divides the country of water. The goal of spreading all types of misinformation was to brainwash the youth and generations to come. It’s why you can find hidden propaganda braided into children stories, fables & more. At the same time, journalists and artists working with the dictator drew disgusting and explicit portraits of the two men to support these egregious allegations.
Many historians will lie and pass them as historical facts instead of caricatures of the old days. Keep in mind it was used in symbiosis with the belief of the Hoshigaki were sub-human (many SERIOUSLY taught they were aliens). Both clan leaders will forever be polarizing figures the entire world is divided on (50/50 honestly)
3.INFAMOUS PROPAGANDA EXAMPLE The tales of the Naive Boy is a decades old “fairy” tale telling the story of a foolish boy who eventually drown himself in a shallow river after disobeying his parents and disregarding everyone’s warnings. He became obsessed with the Koi fishes in the river (a remix of the story of Narcissius)
The story is loved to be used by elders to teach younger generations about discipline and the heavy cost of disobeying authority: “Focus or you’ll end up like the naive boy in the river!”
This story is a cultural reference at this point but the writer is unknown. Many children were taught this story at an early age by oral tradition. There is a problem, 98,5% of people ignore this story was written after the Yuki’s clan death to mock his act of courage against Yagura by painting it as unjustified disobedience. No wonder the boy in the story has a phenotype similar to the deceased leader to tarnish his legacy further.
4.IN KIRI MEDIA Till this day, villains in media will carry a certain phenotype especially in soap operas (the most watched media in the country of water).
The example below was a popular teen movie with those exact archetypes and stereotypes. Notice how it is a movie catered towards a young female demographic and set-up in a boarding school because it was the only “education” available to girls (you mean training to become a wife, not traditional education).
The most popular and longest running soap opera in the country of Water: Pride & Prejudices, followed a married couple’s never-ending life’s ups and downs. At some point, the husband had an affair with one of his colleague's brother. As expected, the side lover had black hair /fair skin with arrogant/possessive tendencies. To add salt to injury, he was a marine spirits worshipper (connect the dots). It shocked the country when it came out.
Not only it portrayed the character with utter desperation and promiscuity, but it displayed explicit homosexual scenes (nothing new under the sun). Nobody batted an eye at the character of the husband for his infidelity (that happens many times during the series)
“He must have manipulated him! WITCH!”. Unfortunately, the toxic cheater always avoided criticism from the audience for his bad decisions because of the patriarchal/male centred mindset and misogynistic spirit who took over the country of water during Yagura’s rule. As expected, everyone had nothing but excuses when the husband in the show murdered his secret lover in cold blood fearing being discovered because similar scenarios were common occurrence in real life.
THE WAR & THE AFTERMATH During his 25-year reign, Yagura could not completely get rid of the Hoshigaki no matter what he did, hence why he heavily relied on the caste system. All this structure and oppression to enact “revenge” for what happened to his clan and to barely mimic the power/dominion the Hoshigaki had over their own land.
There’s still disparities among classes and inside of them. The gap between many layers of society was greatly reduced once the Hoshigaki came back to power, and the economy, driven by slave labour was abolished. How it happened? The descendants of Koffi rebuilt their strength and army to finally come out of hiding and stage a coup against the dictator.
Those who benefited from this system were not pleased when it was abolished by Yagura Karatachi sudden assassination. They were businessman like Gato and other high cast members who could not stand those who sit beneath them. The social pyramid being levelled out and raising most of the population to middle class infuriated them. Which is ironic because it doesn’t strip the rich of their wealth. Regardless of their absence, members of the Hoshigaki clan are still upper class/royalty after temporarily losing the ruling position, this seat will always be reserved for them because they are the only family capable of maintaining peace in the country of water Bitterness and opposition inside the heart of those who had a great time in the caste system is still present. Their ideas are disguised as criticism on globalization or how the country’s culture changed for the worse in order to imitate bigger (sinful) nations. You cannot come across people who think like that in large numbers, they are mostly among the elderly who had the luxury of even mourning the past while everybody else couldn’t wait for this dictatorship to end.
They are now following the leadership of Koji Hoshigaki, the 20th pure blooded son who was quickly elected to power after Yagura's defeat. He is not only young but symbolise hope and a promise of change after a such long period of darkness. Finally, his nation can enter a new era. For the first time, the country of water will open itself to the rest of the world…
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