Stray99th

how are they researching something that lacks all the prerequisite tech? that's like us researching time travel. complete scifi lmfao

This actually happened. It was Gojong's attempt at legitimizing Korean sovereignity. Though we all know how that turned out.

Yup. This kind of shift would not have happened unless Japan was pushed to the absolute brink through, IDK, total war and the dropping of two atomic bombs. Lol. The Emperor's divinity is not just about the Emperor’s will. It's deeply connected to Japanese culture. For over 1,500 years, the Japanese imperial line was believed to be divine, rooted in Shintoism. So to undo something that deeply embedded, Japanese society had to face near total collapse. The fact that Japanese believed their Emperor was a direct descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and this belief dating back to the Yamato period and was one of the main reasons Japan remained largely homogenous for centuries, means there was no way that would have ended well. In actual history, even if Emperor Meiji had renounced his divinity earlier, the Japanese people would still have seen it as an attempt to challenge or weaken the Emperor and would have likely led to widespread revolt. Even the Americans understood this. They did not try to remove the Emperor's status immediately after the war. Instead, they slowly chipped away at the myth. One example was showing how short the Emperor looked next to General MacArthur. It was a subtle way to reduce the image of divinity. Like I said, this was never just about whether the Emperor was truly divine. It was about how Japanese society saw itself. That's why the change had to be handled carefully. It would be like if the Philippine government suddenly declared that Christianity was false. You can imagine how intense the backlash would be. Honestly, I think that felt a bit too arbitrary. A direct attack on Japanese culture wasn’t necessary to form an alliance with Japan. The Anglo-Japanese and German-Japanese alliances are proof of that. It was enough to defeat Japan and assert racial dominance through soft power and propaganda. So this bit was disappointing to read. Nonetheless, this story is still more wellresearched than most stories on this platform.

Would they really bother allocating resources to individual survivability during total war? At that point, it’s all about tactics, technology, logistics, and overall strategy and not some idealistic concern for personal safety. There's a reason bulletproof vests weren’t widely used or improved in ww1 or 2, even though they were invented back in 1901. They were considered a waste of manufacturing capacity when survival was determined by largescale battles.

Wouldn't a diplomatic visit by a foreign leader is usually a significant event. For instance, when Prince Chichibu visited the United Kingdom for King George VI’s coronation, he was received with full honors and accompanied by a British entourage.

no, I didn't mean in terms of script. i meant like how you wrote out the Japanese lines using the Latin alphabet, like 'Watashi wa gakusei desu.

it would be great if we could read lines like these in Butuanon, similar to how you do dual translations for the Japanese

Why would it be in English? are you dumb?

I see, I haven't read further so Idk how everything developed. and thanks for the insight on Butuanon racial ideology. I'll try not to be too critical reading and note the fact it's still an evolving story. Anyway, looking forward on catching up and you updating more chapters after the hiatus. Thanks for the reply!

Weird. Why would the Spanish have clout in the Empire? They seem quite chummy with their former oppressors and occupiers. The Butuanons don't seem very nationalistic and seem quite open-minded, especially at an age when race science was an accepted fact. You'd think that for people who put so much emphasis on their ancestral land, they would view Austronesians or Butuanons as racially superior. Even the Americans, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, were incredibly racist. It's just strange that after years of occupation and being treated like second-class citizens, not only did the Butuanons of Luzon keep their Western names and make no attempt to backtrack, but even the royal family itself, which hadn't been occupied, adopted Western names. I can undestand having a Christian name, and a native name, but forever tainting your royal family's legacy by having Christian first name? Absolutely disgraceful, if you ask me. I can only imagine how little respect the Japanese and Chinese have for the Butuanons and their lack of cultural integrity. The claim on Formosa seems like a joke now. I mean, why should a Maria or Alexander have a claim on their lands when they don't even have Austronesian names? Just a very strange choice for writing a supposedly uncolonized entity. It doesn't really make sense for a society that seemingly takes pride in its culture to bastardize their heritage just like that. Religion is one thing. The very foundation of your identity-your name, is another. I guess colonial mentality carries over, even in fantasy.