~Frequently Asked Questions~

More questions may be added at a later time. Hopefully, this clears up any and all questions you may have about Toyoshima. If not, then please consult the other threads in this Informational section. If you still haven't found an answer, or need any clearing up on a particular section, please private message Itonami or post on the forums. Thank you.

1. Q. Samurai roleplay? Sweet, I was waiting to make up a character that's killed a thousand enemies. See, he'll be a warrior man from the jungles of Japan, trained through woodcutting and he's all kinds of awesome! He loves demon hunting, too, and knows all sorts of magic spells. Cool, right?

A. Nice character idea, sounds cool enough, but there are just a few things wrong with your idea. One thing, one guy killing a thousand is an impossibility, there aren't any demons, save for delusions and fiction, and magic spells don't exist in the 1600s in any country.

2. Q. Woah, woah, woah, wait. No spell scrolls? No chakra energy stuff?

A. That's right. This site aims to be realistic, or at the very least hyperrealistic (I'm a huge fan of hyperrealism XD). We're largely based on actual history of Japan during the late Momoyama Period and early Edo Period. Right now, we're set in the year 1601.

3. Q. The year 1601? Um, I'm sorry but I don't know any history, especially not Japanese history. Ugh, I hate that stuff.

A. I've written several guides that should inform you of practically all you need to know for this roleplay. If you read the guides and ask me for help when needed, you won't even need to crack open a stuffy history book or check Wikipedia. You don't have to like history to like roleplaying historical fiction roleplays, but if you really don't like any of it, that's okay, too.

4. Q. Okay, I've done my research and, hey, your facts are all wrong! See, what you wrote was X and it's really Y! What's up with that?

A. I admit to not being a history buff and that I may be inaccurate. I love any challenge to what I've written, actually, because I want this site to be close to being accurate without becoming too tight that there isn't room for any roleplay growth. Please keep in mind that as Toyoshima goes further in the years, the site may veer off from reality. Private message me or chat with me on AIM about any of my mistakes, I'm open to any and all suggestions and fixes on my writing.

5. Q. Erm, how do you pronounce all of these Japanese words?

A. I'll quote a page in the Lucia St. Clair Robson book "The Tokaido Road"...

"Japanese words are pronounced as follows...

'a' as in father
'e' as in weight
'i' as in ink
'o' as in open
'u' as in due

Syllables are given equal stress, with each vowel being pronounced seperately. For example, the word for "no', "iie", is pronounced ee-ee-ay. O's and u's with a macron over them (o with a line over it, u with a line over it) are given a slight emphasis. Todo (line over the first o) would be pronounced To-o-do."

6. Q. Can you speak Japanese?

A. No, I cannot. I can type out a bunch of Japanese words but I am unable to successfully form a coherent sentence. My pronunciation is incredibly slow, too, so I probably talk like a retarded kindergartner on crack. XD

7. Q. I read that Ninja page that you wrote and, honestly, I'm confused. Are we allowed to be shinobi or not?

A. You are, just keep in mind what's written in that topic. It clears up a lot of things that are, um, "off" about the way Japanese ninja are seen.

8. Q. Who is ruling Japan right now? By my understanding, Tokugawa Ieyasu controls Japan in 1603, not 1601, so what's up?

A. Tokugawa Ieyasu is a "de facto leader", one of those guys who you know is the leader but he really hasn't been formally stated as being one. After his victory in the Battle of the Sekigahara, Tokugawa has assumed power over the country. His authority cannot be denied. Two years from now, he becomes the Shogunate more officially.

9. Q. Who is the law enforcement in Toyoshima? Who is the daimyo?

A. The law enforcement is hired samurai, basically, whose jobs are to patrol the streets. During the Sekigahara War, the majority of the samurai left the province but the ones who stayed kept things in check. The daimyo is a man known as Yamamoro Masahiro, although most people know him as a name rather than a face.

10. Q. Could I play a historical figure, such as Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyori, or even Toyoshima's daimyo Yamamoro Masahiro?

A. I'm sorry, but at this time, the answer is no. Later on, historical canon characters might be allowed to be played by dedicated roleplayers, especially if someone were to get their characters involved with the political side of the whole country of Japan and not just the province. Toyoshima's daimyo Yamamoro Masahiro isn't a historical figure, but, he still isn't allowed to be played, sorry.

11. Q. Wait, huh? How do we roleplay with this caste system? How am I supposed to find a peasant wife for my macho jungle man samurai?

A. You have to keep in mind that it's the 1600s, when the Japanese kept to their own social groups. For the sake of the roleplay, however, I expect that there will be a lot of characters who ignore these laws and moral codes. That's alright with me, really, you can have your jungleboy waltz through a farming village and find himself a wife. I'm not against it at all, but be prepared that some NPCs might look down on your samurai and/or other characters in the roleplay. Inter-mingling between other classes is largely frowned on and considered highly disrespectful, so watch it. XD

12. Q. I had a shomin character go off and join the Battle of Sekigahara. He wasn't in the shimin class, though, so, um, would that be allowed?

A. If you were ready and able, then yes, you were accepted into the battle, or atleast you were given menial tasks such as grass cutting and wood chopping. A lot of people on different sides didn't see any combat for themselves; some were just shuffled and thrown around in a sea of sweaty, roaring men. On the return home, your shomin (merchant) character could easily pretend like he's apart of the shimin (samurai) class, especially if he were with the Eastern Forces. So, to sum it up, yes, your merchant would indeed be allowed to join the fight with or without experience.

13. Q. What about the names? Do they have to be Japanese?

A. At this time in Japan, yes. You can use this site to generate some Japanese names, or search for some baby name sites to find a suitable name for your character(s). The format for a Japanese name is last name, then first name. So, for example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's family name is Toyotomi and his first name is Hideyoshi, not the other way around. Some classes weren't allowed a last name but for the roleplay, I'm going to let everyone have a family name.

14. Q. What's all this shaku bu measuring stuff?

A. It's a measurement system used by Japan in its feudal era. A shaku is a little over eleven and a half inches (30 centimeters, give or take). One shaku is ten sun, another type of measurement, and one sun is ten bu. One sun is about 1.19 inches (3.03 centimeters) and one bu is about .12 inches (.30 cm). Something like one shaku five sun one bu would be 18.01 inches (45.76 centimeters). If you search online, you can find some measurement converters that will further help you understand the shaku-sun-bu system.

15. Q. Can we be a part of other occupations, other than farmers, merchants, samurai, and artisans?

A. Yes, you can, and you'll be classed into the iffy category of chonin, or "townspeople". Cooks, courtesans, geisha, artists, and writers are popular alternate choices.

16. Q. Are we allowed to travel from town to town within our province?

A. Yes, you are, as long as you don't leave your province without official permission from the Shogun or your province's daimyo, you're allowed to travel freely wherever you want to.

17. Q. Who made the banner and the skin?

A. I made the banner and the skin was by Nicola of IF Skinzone. Most of the forum's beauty comes from her, so major thanks.

18. Q. Did you write all that information by yourself?

A. I researched over several days about the history of Japan, the weapons, the social classes, the Edo Period, the Sekigahara War, Tokugawa Shogunate, certain war generals, several Periods in Japan before and after the Edo Period, Japanese laws, etcetera. I also recalled information from when I researched for my other failed Feudal Japan roleplays, so the research for this site was actually done for a long while. XD I tried to phrase it all into my own words, but a few words have been copied, I admit to that.

19. Q. Hey, I remember now! There was a site I was on, called Chaos of Toyoshima. It was on Avidgamers and it failed...didn't get enough publicity or something. Oh, and, wait! On AG2.0, there was another Chaos of Toyoshima (ChoTo) and ragh, there was a Toyoshima on AG2.0 also! Are you aware of those sites, and are you the admin of them?

A. Yeah, you found them, the old Toyoshimas. This plot is severely different from the others, though, with a lot more research to back it up. The first one, called "Chaos of Toyoshima", was poorly constructed and was rushed when it first came out. The next one on AG2.0, the "ChoTo" one, was basically the same way. There just wasn't enough plot or preparation. The AG2.0 "Toyoshima" was alright for a while but I was seriously to young to understand and successfully run a forum roleplay. Also, it was way too based on "Way of the Samurai 2" (the PS2 game)... This Invisionfree one is completely different from the other ones, which I think you might be able to find if you were able to do a really smart Google search. I've improved since in my administrative abilities, not only that but my overall attitude and writing style.

20. Q. I'm not so good at roleplaying, sorry... Can I still play?

A. Yes, of course! We are accepting of all types of roleplayers with the exception of super chatspeak roleplayers and oneliners. You can be a beginner roleplayer, an intermedieate roleplayer, or an advanced roleplayer, it really doesn't matter because here you're just a roleplayer. We pride ourselves in community, character interaction, and happy feelings, not in blocking someone off because they prefer to write six sentences while another likes writing four paragraphs per post. People are different kinds of writers and here at Toyoshima; we accept and respect that.

21. Q. Are we allowed multiple characters?

A. Yes, you're allowed to make a farmer girl along with your jungleboy idea. XD You can have up to four characters at a time, as long as you make sure that they're not inactive. Place your characters' names in your signature to remind people of who you're roleplaying as. Thanks!

22. Q. Okay, I think I got it now, thanks for everything. But, um...what should I do if I have any other questions?

A. If you have any other questions, feel free to private message me or post on the forums. Don't be afraid to ask, I'm here to help. Also, if you're unsure of something, just look up at the three panels at the top of the forums. One panel will be keeping the time with historical events going on around the country. Very nice, yes?

Have fun on the site!