Land of Fire

The Land of Fire (火の国, Hi no Kuni) is said to be the most prosperous of the five Great Shinobi Nations. Its government leader is the Daimyou. The Land of Fire was the first country to adopt a ninja village, Konohagakure, a custom other countries are adopting, if just for self defense. The Land of Fire is appropriately oriented towards the element of fire, typically having very bright and warm weather.


History

The foundation of the land of fire is hidden in the mists of the past, with multiple legends about how it came to be, but the most accepted history is that through a series of alliances and wars, the ancestors of the current Daimyo forged the land from collection of smaller holdings. Many of these smaller holdings are now provinces of the land of fire, ruled by lesser lords who report directly to the Daimyo.

The recent history of the land of fire is written in blood, with years of wars with its neighboring lands, having fought with every single border land at one time or another over the years. The use of ninja in these wars had become more and more common leading to an escalation of conflict. Only recently, with the foundation of the village hidden in the leaves, and the formation of semi-permanent ninja defense forces has the land come to an uneasy peace.

Geography & Climate

The land of fire is one of the largest lands, and contains a wide variety of geography because of its size. However the primary geography consists of large forests mixed with mountainous territories. Areas around towns and villages often have been cleared for farming, but there are still vast tracts of less tamed are, usually owned nominally by the local lord and tended to by woodsmen of various types either used for lumber or game.

The climate in the land of fire is usually on the warm side, with days more on the sunny and warm side than not. Summers can be particularly hot in the land of fire. The winters are a time for rain, and very rarely a snow fall or two. Such snows never last long and melt quickly. The rain in the mountains feeds several large rivers and lesser tributaries which keep the land lush and green even during the hotter dryer times of year.

Politics

With the creation of the village hidden in the leaves, the historic political structure in the land of fire has undergone a rather significant change. While some of the lords in the land of fire have been ninja clan heads in the past (Hyuga, Nara, etc…), the creation of the village hidden in the leaves with the position of Hokage has dramatically shifted power. The current dominant clans in the land of fire are the Uchiha and Senju clans. This has upset the existing power structure and created a backlash of political intrigue that will play out over the next 60+ years.

Many of the lords of the land of fire who are not ninja are worried that the new change will lessen their roles and power in the land of fire in general, and seek to undermine the new structure from within. Meanwhile families such as the Hyuga wish to increase their own roles while lessening those of the clans such as the Uchiha and Senju clans. This makes the current situation tenuous at best, with some fearing that the newly formed hidden village may be the kernel of unrest that could result in a civil war within the land of fire.

Meanwhile with the line of succession of the current Daimyo being something in question, there are those who hope to snuff out the last remaining heirs in order to create a civil war between the lesser lords when there is no clear successor, or hope to manage to place themselves in a role where the few remaining heirs will be in the control of their own factions, ensuring the future of the land of fire will be guided in the direction that each faction desires. In short, while things are on the surface more peaceful than they have been in decades, with few active full out wars with other nations, the internal strife has recently taken a new urgency.

Daimyo

The current Daimyo for the land of fire is Toyotomi Hideyori, a man in his late 50s. He is referred to simply as Daimyo in formal contexts. In Naruto’s time the Daimyo’s position has become more one of administrative duties. In the current era, the Daimyo is a military leader, leading thousands of non-ninja troops and historically hiring ninja clans to aid in battles leading to the ninja wars. Only recently, with the advent of the hidden villages has the change started, but at this point the Daimyo is the single most powerful person in his land, across most lands, and Toyotomi Hideyori is no different. He is a wise man who knows military strategy and has both lead armies to battle in his youth and lead his land successfully. Some fear the changes with the hidden villages, or think that the death of the Daimyo’s sons has colored his view, making concessions to peace he should not make.

The Daimyo is married (name unspecified) to a woman who is in her early 50s. The Daimyo had to sons, twins, who died approximately 10 years ago. He has a brother, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who is in his early 50s. Hideyoshi had a wife, now deceased, and has one daughter. The Daimyo’s two sons and sister-in-law were all killed in the same ambush during the ninja wars. The daughter of Hideyoshi was supposed to be in the same caravan, but was ill and could not travel. Her name is Toyotomi Hiroko.

In the line of succession, since by tradition the Daimyo must be male, if the current Daimyo were to pass away the next in line is his brother, Hideyoshi. Since Hideyoshi never remarried and only has a daughter, the next in line would be whoever is married to Hiroko, by tradition. Hiroko is currently unmarried, and would be about 15, almost 16. Since the attack on the caravan that lead to Hiroko’s death, she has not been seen in public. Rumor has it she has been hidden away to ensure a sure line of succession. No arranged marriages have been announced, however. There are some other rumors that Hiroko either actually died in the ambush that killed her cousins and mother, or that she was kidnapped and never recovered. She would almost be of age to marry now, which has raised tensions about where the girl has gone.

Without an heir the land of fire could fall into civil war, as after the brother and neice, the current Daimyo has no direct descendants and the line of succession becomes a murky point, leaving several existing lords to feel they have claim to the throne of the land of fire.

Interesting Notes

It is an open question if the land of fire is called such because of the prevalence of those within its borders who have the ability of fire manipulation or if, historically, it simply drew those with this ability. The cause and effect is unknown but what is known is that ninja of the land of fire are far more likely to have fire manipulation than any other elemental manipulation.

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
Misc. News Files - Mission Logs - Upload Files - Contact Us - Sandbox - Category List - Template List


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License