The Federal Kingdom of Kozan is a constitutional monarchy ruled by the Kirisame Dynasty. But did you know there are a number of non-reigning dynasties residing in Kozan? The Kirisame Dynasty recognizes a number of formal royal families that once reigned over their own piece of land on the Gensokyo continent. They’re allowed to remain in power as monarchs over the province they’re based in.
Let’s begin during the Edo Period. At the beginning of the 18th century, two new countries sprung at both ends of the Gensokyo continent: democratic Eastern Kozan, and Tokugawa-controlled communist Western Kozan. Their first monarchs were female, and King Kourin was the consort of not one, but three countries on the continent. They were part of a larger organization known as the Gensokyo Confederation. King Kourin was the head of that.
What happened to the other kingdoms when they folded into the Federal Kingdom of Kozan? In the latter half of the 17th century when King Kourin and Queen Marisa were both born, there was only one kingdom located on the continent: the Aetherworld kingdom ruled by the almighty Goddess Shinki. A couple of years later, another kingdom that would eventually become the People’s Kingdom of Central Kozan was founded by the beautiful Empress Kaguya Houraisan. Another couple years thereafter, another kingdom showed up, ruled by the Queen Satori Komeiji who was also beautiful as well.
After Queens Marisa and Yukari founded their respective kingdoms, signs of royal dissolution began to appear. The first kingdom to dissolve was the Aetherworld kingdom when its ruler at the time, Goddess Luna, wanted to join the Federal Kingdom of Eastern Kozan. The kingdom voted to dissolve in 1709, and when that happened, the Aether Province of Eastern Kozan was formally established. That meant Goddess Luna’s territory would be ruled by Queen Marisa instead, refining the way wealth and resources would be distributed to the newly acceded province. This would mark a turning point in Eastern Kozan.
After the Scarlet Devil War concluded in 1716, the economy of Eastern Kozan began to falter. The territories that were liberated from the Gensokyo Socialist Order’s rule were looking to join the Federal Kingdom of Eastern Kozan in recovery efforts. Even though their formal reigns would come to a close, Queen Marisa needed to find a way to maintain their relevance. Her husband King Kourin attended several ceremonies when any kingdom would join the Federal Kingdom of Eastern Kozan, including the one in 1723 when the People’s Kingdom of Central Kozan formally joined the Federal Kingdom of Kozan as Chikurin Province.
The kingdoms that joined were given a choice to remain as monarchs for their respective provinces. Queen Marisa designated them as non-reigning dynasties. Many provinces chose to keep their monarchs as daimyo after joining. While some have left, a few have decided to join as non-reigning dynasties, despite not having any royal history. These non-reigning dynasties is considered a club today, and a place for people who want to amplify their voice. For example, the Ochiai family, having been known for Shigeru Ochiai’s tenure as prime minister in the 1970s, became a non-reigning dynasty in Kozan in the 1980s.
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