2) Political Order and Administration

Political Order & Administration: The Bakuhan of Three Realms

Yamato’s governance now rests on a tripod: Throne, Shogunate, and Council. The Emperor, withdrawn and luminous, sanctifies legitimacy; the Tokugawa Shogunate rules in fact from the Citadel at Sakuragawa; the Council of Harmony hosts envoys from human han, yōkai clans, and shrine leagues to formalize compromise. Domains are a mosaic: human han ruled by daimyō; recognized yōkai territories (Akumatani for Oni, Inukaze for Okami, Kitsune no Mori, Yukigakure for Yūrei), and sacred geographies tied to kami oaths. The Shogunate audits borders every twelve years, publishing an official Chart of Claims and Offerings that fixes taxation, patrol duties, and shrine maintenance burdens.
To prevent uprisings, Tokugawa adapted alternate attendance into a dual system. Human daimyō perform sankin-kōtai—years split between domain and Sakuragawa—leaving heirs and spouses at court as living bonds. Parallel to this, major yōkai lords submit to kankai junrei, a “pilgrimage of bonds”: seasonal embassies to the Citadel and designated shrines along routes patrolled by Okami wardens and Tengu sky-scouts. Families remain in guest districts—part pleasure, part gilded cage—under Kitsune notaries famed for immaculate records and merciless fines. Castle building is restrained: one citadel per human domain, one fortified monastery per Tengu ridge, one walled cavern-town per Oni valley—any extra bastion requires a Shogun seal and a shrine’s blessing.
Justice is layered. Village cases go to human magistrates or yōkai elders; inter-species disputes must pass through Harmony Clerks trained in both mortal law and shrine precedence. The Shrine Compact forbids garrisons within sacred precincts and grants processional immunity to priests, kodama caretakers, and registered Hanyō mediators. Grain is tallied in koku, but offerings-in-kind—paper charms, ritual timber, sea-salt tithe from Nagisato—also count toward quotas. A lattice of registries—of arms, roads, ferries, star-metal, and spirit rites—lets the Shogunate know who moves, who musters, and who pays. It is governance as choreography: precise steps, measured bows, and steel fans ready behind the sleeves.