Japan
Japan
Primary culture
Capital province
Government
State religion
Technology group
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Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
Traditions:
- −10% Stability cost modifier
- +5% Discipline
Unification under the Emperor
- −2 National unrest
Reformed Land Holding
- +20% National manpower modifier
Modernization
- −5% Technology cost
- +10% Institution spread
Maritime Legacy
- +10% Ship durability
Land of the Rising Sun
- +1 Yearly prestige
Kaitakudan
- +20 Global settler increase
Great Power Diplomacy
- −15% Aggressive expansion impact
Ambition:
- +15% Infantry combat ability
- For the region, see Japan (region).
For the first half of the EU4 time period, Japan experienced the Sengoku Jidai, or the Japanese Warring States Period. The weak 
Ashikaga Shogunate proved unable to prevent incessant war between de facto independent regional lords, or daimyo. The game represents this strife by dividing up Japan into a small central state and a large number of separate realms, and with Japan's nemesis Korea just across the sea, the rebellious vassals need to be dealt with before Japan finally seeks to fully dominate the Nippon trade node.
Daimyo & Shogunate[edit | edit source]
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Please help with verifying or updating this section. It was last verified for version 1.30. |
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Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
Notes:
For Daimyo, Independent Daimyo and the Shogunate.
Traditions:
- +25% Land force limit modifier
- +20% Spy network construction
Bushido
- +5% Discipline
The Bun and the Bu
- −10% Idea cost
Honor the Ancestors
- +1 Yearly legitimacy
The Five Rings
- +10% Morale of armies
Wandering Ronin
- −15% Mercenary maintenance
Armies of the Daimyo
- +25% National manpower modifier
Honor Unto Death
- +1 Yearly prestige
Ambition:
- +0.5 Yearly army tradition
The empire of Japan is not represented as a single country at the start of the game, but is instead divided between the many daimyo and their shogun overlord, who is Ashikaga in 1444. Daimyo are special vassals that do not occupy a relation's slot. They may ally, rival, and fight other daimyo (particularly with the "Sengoku" casus belli that gives 25% less aggressive expansion), but not external countries. Daimyo may also declare a "War for the Emperor" against the shogun. A daimyo who controls Kyoto, the capital where the emperor resides, becomes the new shogun, and all other former vassals (daimyo or outside vassals, but not "grand daimyo") of the old shogun become his. The shogun, meanwhile, may diplomatically annex daimyo like any other vassal, and also gets the casus belli of "Annex Daimyo" against any daimyo owning 10 or more provinces. If the shogun vassalizes a country outside Japan, it will become a daimyo and gains the special Daimyo government. This makes Japan extremely powerful in practice as it is essentially allowed unlimited vassals.
The shogun earns
+0.1 legitimacy per year and 
−2% stability cost for each daimyo at peace, as well as 
+0.1 prestige for each daimyo that has the same level of Shinto isolationism. These all cap at 10 times the given bonus, for 10 daimyo at peace.
All daimyo existing in 1444 have unique national ideas. Some daimyo that only exist in later starts use the generic Daimyo group set, listed at right.
Daimyo that become independent, even temporarily, get the Independent Daimyo government. This has weaker bonuses than the regular Daimyo government, but allows raising government rank past duchy tier. If Kyoto is captured by an outside power, the shogunate disbands and all remaining daimyo become permanently independent.
A country that has become independent from the shogun due to various reasons will have the government "Grand Daimyo". It is just a regular monarchy that can form outside diplomacy and does not interact with internal affairs between the daimyo. Daimyo cannot perform diplomacy with a Grand Daimyo, as it is an "outside" power. We may also say this is a reversed case from the above paragraph. This is also the government form that a previous Shogunate will gain upon being overthrown.
When a daimyo becomes large (10 provinces or more) the Shogun gains a CB "Annex Vassal". Unfortunately, when attacking the daimyo using this CB it causes a −3 stability hit from "They are our subject" and also an additional −1 or −2 stability from "good relations" (when >=100, or near 200 respectively). But if a Daimyo gets the incident Rising Shogunate Authority, they might choose the option “We cannot partake in this charade, refuse the appointment.” in the event Appointment to Imperial Office which triggers the event The Daimyo of [From.GetName] Refuses to Serve! for the Shogun. The two options will be to either back down and lose -10 legitimacy, or to immediately have them declare war on you and gain +10 legitimacy (without suffering any stability hits). Moreover, being a defensive war, it will also bring all your allies to your defense. This means it may pay to be patient, but to be prepared to exploit the option when it is presented.
Shogun abilities[edit | edit source]
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Available only with the Mandate of Heaven DLC enabled. |
The shogun has several special abilities useful for managing unruly daimyo. There are three actions available through the government tab that give a bonus to the shogun and a penalty to all daimyo. Each costs 20 legitimacy and provides a modifier lasting 10 years. Multiple actions may be used at once.
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Please help with verifying or updating this table. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
| Ability | Effects for the Shogun | Effects for all Daimyos | |||||
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Sword Hunt |  |
+250 | Manpower increase per daimyo | |
−1 000 | Manpower increase |
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+0.5% | Land force limit per daimyo | |
−2 | Land force limit | ||
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Sankin Kotai |  |
+3 | Diplomatic reputation |  |
−1 | Diplomatic relations |
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Forcibly Expel Ronin |  |
−5% | Liberty desire | |||
In addition, the shogun has several subject interactions usable on daimyo. All of these interactions require the daimyo's liberty desire to be below 50%.
- Change isolationism:
- The daimyo's isolationism becomes one step closer to that of the shogun. +25% liberty desire.
- The daimyo's isolationism becomes one step closer to that of the shogun.
- Conscript General:
- Transfer the daimyo's best general (other than a ruler or heir) to the shogun. +30% liberty desire.
- Transfer the daimyo's best general (other than a ruler or heir) to the shogun.
- Force Seppuku:
- Order the daimyo's leader to commit suicide. Only available on daimyo that have started a war. The daimyo's successor will be less likely to be a warmonger. The shogun gets 5 monarch point per skill of the daimyo's new ruler. +15% liberty desire.
- Order the daimyo's leader to commit suicide. Only available on daimyo that have started a war. The daimyo's successor will be less likely to be a warmonger. The shogun gets 5 monarch point per skill of the daimyo's new ruler.
- Contribute to Capital:
- The daimyo loses
2 development in its most developed province, and the shogunate gains 1 development in its capital. +25% liberty desire. - This interaction is only available if the most developed province of the daimyo has at least 3 development of the same type and at least half the development of the shogun's capital(rounded down)
- The daimyo loses
Missions[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Japanese missions
Japan's missions include uniting the archipelago, colonizing Taiwan and expanding into Korea and the Chinese mainland.
Events[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Japanese events
Japan and its Daimyo have many historical events. These include events like Nanban Boeki (meeting and trading with the Western Nations, mainly the Portuguese and Spanish), the establishment of the Terakoya schools and the funding of wako (wokou) raiders. These can be funded for a monetary bonus and a relationship penalty with Korea and Ming, or suppressed, for a relationship bonus with Korea and Ming.
Decisions[edit | edit source]
There are three decisions that switch the player's country to a united 
Japan. The first is available for a shogun that has at least 25 provinces, representing more than half of the Japanese region or else substantial conquests outside it. The decision releases all remaining daimyo, turning both them and the shogunate into feudal monarchies. The remaining former daimyo may then be attacked directly, without having to wait for relations to improve enough to diplomatically annex them. The second decision is only available to a shogun that has united Japan without taking the first decision, and gives substantial monarch points as a reward for taking the longer and more peaceful path. The last decision is for a daimyo that is the only Japanese country remaining after the shogunate has been abolished. It may also be taken by any country with Japanese culture even if not a daimyo, such as 
Ryukyu or a player country that has shifted culture.
Unite Japan!
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Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
The time has come to unite Japan by force! The time for diplomacy is over and all these warring daimyo lords must be conquered.
| Potential requirements
The country:
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Allow
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| Effects
The country:
All
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The AI will not take this decision with less than 30 cities.
Japan is united
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Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
The warring factions of Japan have finally been united under a strong emperor.
| Potential requirements
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Allow
The country:
There is no country that:
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| Effects
The country:
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The AI will always take this decision.
Japan is united
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Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33. |
The warring factions of Japan have finally been united under a strong emperor.
| Potential requirements
The country:
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Allow
There is no other country that:
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| Effects
The country:
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The AI will always take this decision.
List of daimyo[edit | edit source]
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Please help with verifying or updating this section. It was last verified for version 1.29. |
This is a list of daimyo that appear in the game. Not all daimyo appear in the start year 1444; the starting years are based on the year they are in control of the capital province, and their cores are usually added earlier and can be released at an earlier date.
Daimyo missions[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Daimyo missions
Strategy[edit | edit source]
The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Japan. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.What Daimyo To Choose[edit | edit source]
In general, the viable daimyo picks are separated into two categories: those that begin the strongest, and those that have the best ideas. The strongest starting daimyo in 1444 is 
Hosokawa, although 
Uesugi and 
Yamana are also fine candidates for uniting Japan quickly. The best land military nations are 
Oda and 
Shimazu, by far. For Naval nations, 
Kono is typically the nation of choice. Although 
So has slightly better ideas, it is a much harder starting position due to being on an island as an OPM. So can flip to a Pirate Republic easily though via an event, if that appeals to you.
Uniting Japan[edit | edit source]
The Japanese daimyo gain free CBs on bordering Daimyo. Claims are still required to attack daimyo without a direct land border, and they are also useful for giving 
-10% Core-Creation Cost. Regardless of what Daimyo you start as, getting alliances with some of the larger daimyo far away from you is recommended to dissuade the Shogun from DOWing you, although it is not necessary.
Remember to rush uniting Japan. Do not be afraid of taking many loans and going vastly over Force Limit just to unite Japan quicker or be able to siege Lv3 forts. Exploit the extremely good "Indebted to the Bourgeoisie" privilege from the Burghers, which gives 5 Loans at a 1.0% interest rate. Once you unite Japan, you essentially have no outside competition, as 
Korea, the only nation that could possibly have a navy outside of Ming, is weak. You can even feel free to go bankrupt after you are the Shogunate, if such drastic measures are necessary.
While expanding, remember to develop the Renaissance when it spawns on an ideal province. Use Diplo and Military points to force spawn the institution.
Religious paths[edit | edit source]
With Mandate of Heaven enabled, Japan has a number of easier, non-traditional paths open to it in regards to religion. Via events, it can convert to 
Catholic or to 
Mahayana Buddhism. From there, it can also transition from Catholic to 
Protestant or 
Reformed or from Mahayana to 
Theravada or 
Vajrayana.
However, 
Shinto is already one of the best religions in the game due to its access to a strong 
+10.0% Morale of Armies buff and 
−10.0% Development Cost, as well as a number of other useful temporary bonuses from dynamic event chains dealing with isolationism. Thus, it is not recommended to flip to any form of Buddhism. Christian denominations can be considered in case the player wishes to pursue expansionist policy in Europe, as Christians gain access to Personal Union mechanics, but it is highly debatable as Shinto is already stronger than any Christian religion besides Orthodox (one of the four Christian religions you can't swap to easily by decisions and events).
Catholic[edit | edit source]
Eventually, the Europeans will discover Japan, which will trigger the Spread of Christianity incident. A ruler interested in converting should choose all options that favor or protect Christians, leading to an "Open" outcome for the incident. The country will then get a "Kirishitan Realm" modifier. Shortly thereafter, an event will fire offering the choice to convert to Catholicism. If taken, the religion of both the ruler and the country will become Catholic and the capital province will convert as well.
It is highly recommended to prepare for this event by filling out Religious ideas, raising stability before conversion, and saving up a good deal of money. If the player intends to remain Catholic, taking the Embrace the Counter-Reformation decision will rapidly speed up conversion as well by granting 
+2 Missionaries. Regardless of the religion chosen, the player should prioritize converting developed provinces and the capital region especially; it is also wise to focus on converting the Japanese home islands over subjugated territories in mainland Asia. Shinto provinces are harder to convert, so prepare to invest a lot of time and money in Christianizing the country. Remember to utilize the State Edict "Enforce Religious Unity" which grants 
+1.0% Local Missionary Strength.
Though Catholic is the easiest branch to convert to, a player ruling Japan is deprived of any chance to become papal controller unless the capital is somehow moved to Europe. This means that most, if not all meaningful bonuses available to Catholics are not feasible for Japan to obtain. Thus, it is recommended to swap to Protestant or even Reformed.
Protestant / Reformed[edit | edit source]
Reformed and Protestant may be slightly harder to convert to, but they offer stronger raw bonuses than Catholicism does. A Protestant player can customize the church of Japan to their liking. Church aspects that boost colonial growth and military power are good for securing the Pacific and seizing large swathes of East Asia; the boost to missionary strength from the Adult Baptism aspect is helpful in countering the stubborn resistance of Shinto and 
Muslim holdouts, each of which have -2.0% Local Missionary Strength. Remember to utilize the State Edict "Enforce Religious Unity" which grants +1.0% Local Missionary Strength.
As for Reformed: generally speaking, it is weaker than Protestantism due to its lack of many of Protestant's great modifiers, such as Development Cost, 
Global Settler Increase, and more. It also lacks the boosted conversion abilities of Catholicism and Protestantism. However, Reformed does have a niche over Protestant in that it offers 
+5.0% more Morale of Navies than Protestant, and thus it is an okay religion for nations needing to focus on their land and navy. Given how important Morale of Navies is, +5.0% could be useful; however it is hard to justify +5.0% Morale of Navies vs the numerous advantages Protestant has to offer.
A player seeking to go Protestant/Reformed must become Catholic first. Then, just simply flip to Protestant or Reformed through the religion tab.
Alternative starting dates[edit | edit source]
Japan offers unique features for some alternative starting dates, which each offers a different experience.
- 27 May 1467 – Historic start of the Onin War and Sengoku Jidai. Ouchi, Yamana and Shiba have just begun the war against Hosokawa, Hatakeyama and Takeda in the "Onin War" (the actual in-game name of the war).
- 3 July 1573 – Oda controls Kyoto and becomes Shogun. (There was no war in the game going on before this date)
- 21 June 1582 – Oda Nobunaga has just died and Hideyoshi Toyotomi becomes the Shogun. Historically, it was the "Honnō-ji incident".
- 10 August 1590 – Tokugawa moved to Musashi, which is now Tokyo.
- 25 May 1592 – The beginning of "Imjin War". Oda Shogunate is at war with Korea and has some provinces occupied.
- 21 October 1600 – Tokugawa controls Kyoto. Historically the end of the Battle of Sekigahara. But the in-game configuration is bugged. Tokugawa is still a Daimyo under Oda despite controlling Kyoto. The in-game text says "norulertitle" for both of them. Historically, Tokugawa should have obtained control over all Japan, just that the government had not been fully established.
- 24 March 1603 – Tokugawa has established into the Shogunate. The historical start of the Edo Period.
Achievements[edit | edit source]
Conscript a 3 star general from a Daimyo Subject. |
Start as a Japanese Daimyo, convert yourself and all of Japan to Christianity. |
Embrace "manufacturies" institution as Japan by 1655. |
Go full isolationist in 6 Incidents. |
Unite Japan as a Daimyo. |
Eastern technology group 
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 Jerusalem  Karabakh
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Muslim technology group 
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 Afghanistan  Ajam  Arabia  Ardabil  Hisn Kayfa  Hormuz  Oman  Mushasha  Timurids  Qara Qoyunlu
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Indian technology group 
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 Assam  Bahmanis  Bengal  Orissa
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Chinese technology group 
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 Bali  Brunei  Dai Viet  Japan  Khmer  Korea  Majapahit  Malaya  Pagarruyung  Pasai  Sunda
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Nomadic technology group 
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 Jianzhou  Uzbek  Mongolia
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Central African technology group 
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 Kuba Mutapa
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East African technology group 
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 Ethiopia Mogadishu
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| Muslim technology group
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 Mamluks Morocco Tlemcen Tunis
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West African technology group 
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 Air Mali
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| Eastern technology group
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 Bosnia  Byzantium  Circassia  Cyprus  Georgia  Greece  Lithuania  Montenegro  Muscovy  Novgorod  Poland  Ragusa  Russia  Serbia  Theodoro  Trebizond  Tver  Wallachia
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Anatolian technology group 
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 Ottomans
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| Muslim technology group
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 Granada
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| Nomadic technology group
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Western technology group 
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 United States
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Mesoamerican technology group 
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 Maya
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North American technology group 
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 Caddo  Cherokee  Iroquois
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Polynesian technology group 
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