The Saitama Incident
Saitama, Shizuka Domain
20th of Tazumigatsu to 4th of Ichigatsu, Year 3576
(April 11th to May 25th 1142 VTE)
Background
The Shizuka Domain
The port of Saitama is the capital of the Shizuka Domain and is an ancient city with great religious significance to the Tsukijin. The Shizuka Domain is one of the more prestigious of all clans within the entire Empire, and one of the oldest too, with its lineage going back to the very foundation of the Empire itself. Shizurin, the kami patron of the domain, is one of the most important in all of Nijishindoism, along with the other three within JK gumi.
The Daimyos of Shizuka have long maintained a tradition of neutrality, often being mediators in disputes between others and being a calming force within the entire Empire. It is not a surprise that they have traditionally held the honour of being the "chuusai hito" of the Eastern Shoguns and even the west often.
The clan are also staunch traditionalists at heart, though they have taken the stance of "Enlightened Traditionalism" in comparison to others, which is to say that they believe that traditions should be adapted to the setting, but their soul never forgotten. This is an important thing to note when discussing the events of this incident, as it explains the actions of the clan itself during this period and later in the Heishin War.
Events that led to the Incident
For nearly two centuries prior to the incident, the Empire had been changing rapidly and many gaps had emerged between the plutocratic cities, and the agrarians that made up most of the nation. There is too much to discuss regarding this, but it is important to remember that the Shizuka Domain had always tried to balance between the best they could.
However, the coming of Hiroyoshi Mononobe to power in 3562 (1128) marked a drastic change in how at least the Eastern Shogunate operated. He was a reformer, and very much wanted to eliminate the many things he considered to be obsolete within his lands. He wanted to institute a general land reform that would take power away from the Daimyos mostly, and completely change the taxation system. He also made a new army based on the ways of the Iridisians to the south that was professional. However, his attempts at acceleration were too fast and caused problems that ultimately played a major role in the Heishin War. Indeed, The Empire's long struggle between it's modern and antiquated parts were best seen in the brutal Marumori Rebellion of 3570 to 3572 (1136 to 1138).
This rebellion deserves its own discussion, but to keep it brief, the Daimyos of Okamoto and Fujiwara rose up in a popular rebellion against the attempts at restricting their power and overthrowing their ancient rites. For two long years, their domains were utterly devastated by the men of the Shoguns army, both old and new and many thousands were killed in the process. This rebellion shocked the Shizuka to their core, who couldn't believe some of the atrocities that the foreign mercenaries committed against the locals.
The brutal repression did not have the intended effect, instead provoking an even greater disobedience in the South from such clans as the Yamaguchi, but the main event that ultimately led to the Saitama Incident was the Shizukan reaction to the events of this rebellion. Instead of playing the role of peacemaker, they openly condemned the Shogunate for it's actions and refused to send its troops to participate in its attempts at suppress the Yamaguchi. They even introduced reactionary laws against the "wickedness" that they believed led to this disaster, which included the confiscation of all foreign assets from their realm, forbidding trade with outsiders, even those from the traditionally friendly Iridisians; and perhaps most importantly, writing a letter of complaint against the Shogun to the Emperor denouncing his actions.
Ultimately, it was these laws that compelled the Shogun to take actions against the Shizuka preemptively strike against them.
The Incident
On the 14th of Tazumigatsu, the Shogun and allies lead their forces into the Shizuka Domain with edict declaring Daimyo Katsuhiko to be in violation of his sacred oath towards the Shogun and to the Emperor as well. The Shizuka were shocked at this display of power, and their army was vanquished at Sakurai easily on the 17th. By the 20th, the Shogun had reached Saitama and demanded that Katsuhiko surrender or face the consequences of his betrayal. The Daimyo refused, stating that he had violated no oaths, for any oath that he had made was null with the abuse of power shown by the Shogun. After these negotiations failed, it became obvious to both sides that the only way this was going to be resolved was through a siege...
The Shogun's army, despite it's victory at Sakurai, was rather unenthusiastic about this whole matter. To the clans that had joined, most of them were rather sympathetic to the cause of the Shizuka, and weren't too keen on seeing the Shogun impose his will here. The tear between duty and justice was the key issue for them, as while it was their duty by the Kami, it went against all things just and sacred as well.
On the other side, the elderly Katsuhiko and his son, the brilliant Tatsuyuki Shizuka had rallied the people of the city and the remaining men in their army into an indomitable spirit that would ultimately cause them to triumph against all odds.
The city was stormed two times, with heavy losses inflicted on the Shogun's Army and ultimate failure coming from the reluctance of the Daimyos in their duty. A week after the last assault, the Daimyo of Higuchi, a traditional ally of Shizuka, made the fateful decision to lead his men back to his own lands. He was soon joined by most of the other Daimyos, which came from neighboring domains and by the 4th of Ichigatsu, Hiroyoshi finally withdrew with his tail between his legs after the humiliation that had resulted from this whole incident.
A ceasefire was also soon established between the Shogun and the Shizuka that guaranteed the rights of the Shizuka and their neighbors against the power of the Shogun.
Aftermath
The word of the actions against the Shizuka, and the failure spread rapidly across the Empire. For Daimyos feeling discontent at the Western Shogun for different reasons, it gave them hope. In the East however, it caused great outrage and would ultimately be a major reason for several prominent clans joining the Shizuka and others during the Heishin War.
The ceasefire that was established would only last as 2 years, and ironically both Hiroyoshi and Katsuhiko wouldn't live to see it expire. They both died in 3575 (1143), the former from gout and the latter from cancer.