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Ookawa no Kuni
The Country of Rivers and Streams

Geography
Nestled firmly between such major countries as Lightning, Rock, and Fire, the land of River Country is a long stretch of land, with some of the worlds longest rivers starting in northern Fire Country, or southern Lightning Country, before travelling the entire length of River and depositing in to the ocean. The northwest of river country is most well known for relatively flat land, before turning in to hilly, thick, mostly untamed forest towards the center. Various flat patches can be found throughout the country, though they tend not to last for very long before a sudden drop off, often resulting in a waterfall, or even the formation of a few lakes. Southeastern River Country is perhaps the most tame, existing primarily in a valley before dropping off in to the ocean, though the forest still permeates anywhere man has yet to settle down.
Ookawa no Kuni is littered with a multitude of ancient, overgrown temples that have long since been completely buried underground, or are so overgrown with vegetation that they would be nearly impossible to delve in to, let alone recover any artifacts from. This does not stop mercenaries and nobles alike coming to visit some of the more famous sites.
Ecology, Climate and Resources
While the forest does not make River country the easiest to live in, its plentiful fertile land and relatively calm waters make both fishing and light farming a common occurrence that keep the people well fed. Several rare species of bird call the forests of Ookawa no Kuni home, and find themselves well fed on fish and large amounts of frogs alike. While birds and fish are perhaps the most common animals, elk, deer, and the occasional wild sheep make themselves home there as well, though perhaps the most famous of animals that make their home in river country are frogs that reach the size of large dogs (though some reports have noted them being as large as houses.) In the northernmost part of River, the people tend to get along well with the wildlife, though in the southern areas there are often reports of wildlife attacks do to an encroachment of territory and distrust from the animals. Snakes, spiders, and other small but dangerous threats find their home in river country, though perhaps the deadliest of beings in River is hundreds of bacteria types known to cause some of the worlds worst sicknesses.
Temperatures in Ookawa tend to be on the warm side, even during winter, though summers are known to be particularly sweltering especially due to the ridiculous amounts of humidity thanks to water spray from the rivers. The spring leaves a tendency to rain nearly every day, often overflowing rivers and lakes alike, and sometimes flooding the entirety of the country under a thin layer of water, and it is because of this that most houses are built up on top of foundations meant to allow the water flow around and underneath with little problems. Winters, while colder, still tend to rain rather than snow or hail, and while some rivers freeze over, especially in the northernmost parts, most continue flowing freely all year round.

While not dense in population, all of Ookawa no Kuni is dotted with small fishing and farming communities, usually consisting of around fifty adults each, with quite a few children as well. Because of the sicknesses and diseases that are prevalent especially in central River Country, families are accustomed to having rather large numbers of children (Often five or more.), though unfortunately only around half or less will survive the first five years of life. Those who do survive, however, tend to build up a strong immunity to such things, and go on to live long, healthy lives well in to their nineties or later. Ookawa is also somewhat well known for a mutation known as the "Numakon" trait, which manifests itself in a few families, who often have no direct relations, but tends to make them rather sickly and ugly looking, with webbed feet or hands, and many still grow oversized tongues, and develop spit sticky enough to act as glue.
The further south one travels in River Country, the more population dense it becomes, small communities turning in to a single large town at the coast, the capital of River, Shimekiri. Compared to the rest of the country, Shimekiri is incredibly well developed, with well-made docks leading out to the ocean, and being home to some of the worlds best shipmakers outside of Water Country proper. It is a rather rich and prosperous town, despite its otherwise small size, and home to many noble families.
The general populace is unafraid of newcomers, having very few problems with banditry or piracy, and known to celebrate wildly at the sixth birthday of any of its many children. Those in the capital, on the other hand, tend to turn up their noses even to their fellow countrymen. Those of River Country are also remarkably undereducated, with a less than five percent literacy rate. River country holds no real fighting style of its own, though several small dojos with personal styles have popped up over the years; Most that can truly call themselves samurai under the daimyou of the river country have trained in dojo's from Pebble, Lightning, or Waterfall country, and very few are actually from Ookawa no Kuni itself, often receiving their notation as 'samurai' after showing their strength to the Nagare clan.
The dead in Ookawa no Kuni are not buried, for fear of being washed up again come the spring season, and instead are cremated, and their ashes dumped ceremoniously in to one of the many rivers; If possible, in the nearest river to where they were born.
Politics
River Country is, unfortunately, not well taken care of by its leaders, the Nagare clan, who have lead the country from generation to generation for hundreds of years. This is made evident by awful dirt roads anywhere west of the capital, though Shimekiri itself is incredibly beautiful with the latest in stone roads, excellent woodworking for the houses, and even some steel construction due to a trade deal with Water Country. The rest of the country pays for this, however, in the form of exorbitant taxes on both farming and fishing for the simple pleasure of existing in the country owned by the Nagare clan.
The ruling body of government is a feudal monarchy, and it gives full power to whoever happens to hold the 'throne' at the time. The Nagare clan have long held other nobles in their court and keep them around as advisers, though final say does go to the monarchy. At current, anyone inside the capital is considered a first class citizen, with very low tax rates on trading in order to help pay for the samurai, all of which reside in or around the capital as a type of police force. Any outside the main city are treated as third class citizens, with high tax rates, and very little return for the investment in to the land. Regardless that the land supports more than simple subsistence farming, the taxes from the capital leave only just enough to survive on.
