Newsfile Setting
The world in our setting is in a period of radical flux, both socially and technologically. The formation of the great ninja villages represents the first major consolidation of ninja military power in history, but it is not the only major change taking place in our time. New technologies and new social, political and economic paradigms are being born or introduced to the Continent at a frightening pace, and like the great ninja villages, there are many opinions on all the change.
Roughly speaking, NarutoMUSH is set in a period similar to the late Taisho/early Showa periods of Japan, which took place between the 1920s and 1930s. Ideas and technologies 'from the west' that have been circulating around the continent for a few decades - things like steam technology (trains in particular), basic electronics like radio wave transmitters, telegraphs, flashlights and even some electric household appliances - have begun to gain more currency, and are a more common sight in the previously very traditional setting.
Needless to say, this is not yet the Naruto of Kishimoto's manga. Our setting represents a period of considerable conflict and flux in the lives of most people. Ideas from the west clash with traditional concepts about life, family and station. Many have called for 'civilization and enlightenment', but just as many others recoiled from these new approaches, and clung to the traditional ways of life which had existed on the Continent for centuries.
By way of example, consider the kimono, which had up until very recently in our setting been literally the standard dress for all citizens, regardless of station, all across the continent (kimono means 'thing to wear' and it truly was). With the modernization decades ago, many began to abandon or modify this traditional garb, however. At first, men in power began to wear things like bowler hats along with their kimono, and women in high stations donned high-buttoning boots with updated garments, like loose fitting hakama adapted to wear over kimono.
By now, many have fully abandoned the traditional mode of dress, in favor of current western fashions. Men don trousers, top hats and jackets, while ladies wear gowns. The 'moga' subculture has emerged - the Japanese equivalent to American flappers - as a symbol of modern women stepping outside their traditional roles in Continental society.
Of course, in the ninja world fashions and practices are ruled by their own bizarre conventions, but they are still very much a reflection of the time. Instead of complex metal buckles one is more likely to be confronted with bows or laces, and instead of sunglasses one should not be surprised to see spectacles or even a monocle! That said, ninja have always been a strange and eclectic lot, so if you do not want to base your character too heavily on the 1920's aesthetic, that is fine. Simply please do not exceed technological or social limitations.
A word on technology: It exists, but it is clunky and typically unreliable. The short-band throat microphones popular in later ninja tactics, for example, have yet to be invented or introduced to the Continent. Most ninja still rely on a combination of hand signs, nonverbal cues, and a lot of practice to coordinate their movements. Horses are still the dominant mode of conveyance, although steam powered trains which stretch from village to village have grown in popularity considerably in the last twenty years, with the laying of many new lines.
| Villages | Konohagakure - Sunagakure - Kirigakure - Kumogakure - Iwagakure - Other |
| Countries | Land of Fire - Land of Wind - Land of Water - Land of Lightning - Land of Earth - Other |
| Other | Characters - Jutsu - Narutography - Diplomacy - Factions |
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