11 replies to this topic

[MechaBattler]

Not only is it intact. It returned to an earlier period of Japanese culture it seems like. All those planets with so many possible immigrants, yet it seems like the Kuritans are super Japanese. Maybe I need to read novels with a Kuritan focus. But from the novels I do have with Kurita interaction, it seemed as though we were back in feudal Japan.

[B0oN]

Inherent social rigidity .
Look into the feudal japanese society .
House Kurita needed the feudal system to be able to keep control of a gigantic area that pledged fealty to it .
The feudal system ties everyone in the Kurita combine to the figurehead of the "dragon", which is their Totem, but also another name for their lord and master, the Coordinator, where all loyalty runs together.
Loyalty, honour ... these are no empty words for any Kuritan, it is a fixture in their lives, dominated by "giri" (duty) and "ninjo" (compassion) and a deep belief into the immaterial world, that guides and reflects everywhere in Kuritan society .


Uprising against the reglementations imposed by that society made you lose your head, in the literal sense of the word (see : "Gekokujo" "The lowers versus the highers), BUT: if that uprising WAS succesful, you kept your head, because with that success you have proven a point.
See :
-Gekokujo
-Society of the black dragon

Also, house Kurita roots predominantly in the asian and african cultures of earth, more specifically Japan and Africa (note the famous Tetsuhara family, they are Samurai, true and true, and they are Afro Samurai, totally no biggie in Kuritan society), whereas for instance House Liao had their base population from China,Korea and Russia .

And yea.... read all the lore books, they ain´t too bad

[Metus regem]

MechaBattler, on 01 March 2017 - 12:55 PM, said:

Not only is it intact. It returned to an earlier period of Japanese culture it seems like. All those planets with so many possible immigrants, yet it seems like the Kuritans are super Japanese. Maybe I need to read novels with a Kuritan focus. But from the novels I do have with Kurita interaction, it seemed as though we were back in feudal Japan.

Sort of... they are on the surface very Japanese, but when you get down to the nuts and bolts of how they actually work as a society, not so much.... Like how Liao is very Chinese on the surface, but is really North Korean underneath it all...

[MechaBattler]

I would think that such a rigid society would make it hard to integrate countless worlds. Are most of those planets populated by Japanese immigrants? Japanese society is not very big on foreigners, let alone racially different foreigners. Hell they hate Koreans and vice versa.

[Metus regem]

MechaBattler, on 01 March 2017 - 01:31 PM, said:

I would think that such a rigid society would make it hard to integrate countless worlds. Are most of those planets populated by Japanese immigrants? Japanese society is not very big on foreigners, let alone racially different foreigners. Hell they hate Koreans and vice versa.

Hence why I said on the surface they seem very Japanese, but in actuality they are not.

[MechaBattler]

So only really the leadership adheres to Japanese societal customs?

[Metus regem]

MechaBattler, on 01 March 2017 - 01:56 PM, said:

So only really the leadership adheres to Feudal Japanese societal customs?

And even then, not very tightly either... Honour is important to them to a degree, usually when it is in their favor, or they can cry foul that the other side didn't use it while the DCMS lost. Kind of like ST; TNG/DS9+ Klingons....

[CK16]

Eh, they can be honorable foes, but at the same time...sneaky little evil imperial mind set a$$ hats. Who I would have no issue putting on my dezgra list...Black Dragons I got my eyes on you here >:I

If you can't tell, don't have much love for the Dragon. Kind of find some aspects of them and the loyalist a bit to cliche for a few reasons I wish to keep to my self.

Edited by CK16, 01 March 2017 - 02:15 PM.

[Metus regem]

CK16, on 01 March 2017 - 02:13 PM, said:

Eh, they can be honorable foes, but at the same time...sneaky little evil imperial mind set a$$ hats. Who I would have no issue putting on my dezgra list...Black Dragons I got my eyes on you here >:I

If you can't tell, don't have much love for the Dragon. Kind of find some aspects of them and the loyalist a bit to cliche for a few reasons I wish to keep to my self.

Hence my point about their Feudal Japanese appearance only being on the surface.... they are all about assassination, bribery and backstabbing when they can get away with it... the very things that Bushido would frown upon...

[CK16]

Metus regem, on 01 March 2017 - 02:21 PM, said:

Hence my point about their Feudal Japanese appearance only being on the surface.... they are all about assassination, bribery and backstabbing when they can get away with it... the very things that Bushido would frown upon...

Yup, a bit to much in the Yakuza feels, or the whole imperial Japanese feel from WWII stuff. You know slaughting civilians ect. (I know several factions in this game have done so at some point as well). But yea kinda just that feel though of how the Japanese were like to China and Korea during the war. But that's a different story and to serious of a discussion probably lol.

[SnagaDance]

Shiro Kurita, the founder of the Draconis Combine had a traditional samurai upbringing, and as he came into power, first on his homeworld and then ever greater numbers of planets, he imposed his own views on society onto his realm. It's a testament to his power that he even succeeded in this.

Some aspects like the military were still very modern in form, though the command structure and rigid obedience imposed were more reminiscend of WW2 Japanese military.

This changed when nearly 300 years later the BattleMech was invented, a weapon that could make an individual as powerful as a whole unit, and also allow him to act like a single samurai. So you went from samurai like officers with lots of common troops, to samurai mechwarriors.

Also note that while the most important culture is based on Feudal Japan the Kurita's have been practical enough to allow other cultures to exist when they were too hardy to convert/surpress, as long as they did as they were told and expressed loyalty to the Dragon they got to keep their ways. Like the Rasalhagians or the Azami

[Tordin]

Ask myself about the same thing and not only the Capellan Federation, same for the other factions cultures, like the Rasalhague and its norse inspired culture (even though alot are atheists/ christians etc) Survived for that long? Amazing...