To replenish the empty state coffers, the officials of Japan moved quickly. The first thing they turned their hands to was mining exploration. They knew well that the Iwami Ginzan silver mine, operated as a joint venture with the Empire, was what had allowed the Ouchi to ascend from a mere regional lordly family to a royal house. This was one of the key reasons why Ouchi Norihiro, upon formally becoming King of Japan, had so swiftly carried out the haihan-chiken¹—the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures—to ensure the smooth operation of the mining industry.

The nationwide prospecting that followed led to the discovery of gold, silver, iron, and coal mines of various sizes.

“This is truly a gift from the gods!”

Overjoyed, Norihiro dedicated many offerings at the shrine built within the royal palace. After confirming the existence of the mines, Norihiro’s Japanese court selected the most profitable ones and began extraction. To secure the mines, military units were stationed in the surrounding areas. In this process, a significant number of samurai were re-hired by the military to serve as mine guards. The Ouchi regime’s re-employment of the samurai was intended to achieve two goals:

• To serve as a stopgap measure, allowing the Japanese army, which had suffered heavy losses in the recent great wars, to recover its strength.
• To directly control and manage the samurai, who were a powerful element of instability.

With the development of gold and silver mines, which were direct sources of material wealth, as well as iron and other mineral mines whose products could be sold to the people for profit, the Norihiro regime was finally able to breathe.

However, the reactionary forces, which they believed were still numerous, remained a constant source of anxiety. After agonizing over how to solve this problem, the Japanese officials soon found an answer and reported it to Norihiro.

Norihiro frowned as he reviewed the proposal submitted by his officials. “The Keishichō?² Why does that name feel so familiar?”

“…”

At Norihiro’s question, the officials could only bow their heads to the floor in silence.

***

As the Empire entered a stable trajectory and began to cruise smoothly, there was a government agency that had changed its signboard: the Office for Arresting Thieves.

During the Joseon era, the Office for Arresting Thieves had been responsible only for the security of the capital, Hanseong, and its immediate vicinity. But after the Restoration, its size had grown to a national scale. Later, when the state became an Empire, it transformed into a security agency responsible for the peace of the entire realm. Once this expanded institution had stabilized, Hyang pushed for a name change.

“How can the duty of the Office for Arresting Thieves be limited to only ‘arresting thieves’? Furthermore, for the people to live in peace, it is best to be vigilant and observe things in advance to prevent unrest. Therefore, we shall change the name of the Office for Arresting Thieves to the Police Agency, to reflect the meaning of ‘to be vigilant and to observe.’”

No one raised any objections to Hyang’s decision. And so, the Empire’s Office for Arresting Thieves was renamed the Police Agency. However, many common people still affectionately used the old terms, calling the police station a ‘Pocheong’ and the officers ‘Pojol’ or ‘Najol.’ When this was reported to him, Hyang had clicked his tongue and muttered, “Tsk. I suppose only time will solve this.”

***

It was because Norihiro knew this background that his expression was so sour.

“Are we borrowing from the Empire yet again? Of course, the Empire is a nation with much to emulate, but is it not time for us, for Japan, to start having something of our own?”

At Norihiro’s direct criticism, a departure from his earlier vagueness, the officials continued to keep their heads bowed. After a short while, the Prime Minister, the highest-ranking official, cautiously replied. “What Your Majesty says is correct. However, our Japan is like a young child, a nation still lacking in many areas. If there is something that will benefit the well-being of Your Majesty and the country, we must learn it and master it.”

“Be that as it may. This is from the Empire, that is from the Empire… are we not surrounded by systems and artifacts brought from the Empire? Am I in Japan, or am I in the Empire?”

“Just as a child grows into an adult, time will solve that, Your Majesty. And the establishment of the Keishichō will be helpful in many ways.”

“What sort of help?”

At Norihiro’s question, the Prime Minister explained the benefits the police agency would bring. First, it would solidify the king’s authority. Even when the daimyō ruled, in rural villages far from the cities, the village headman wielded absolute power, sometimes to the point where even the samurai dispatched by the lord were overshadowed. This was especially true in matters of taxation, where the lord’s own officials often had to negotiate with the village headman. The source of the headman’s power was his control over the village’s security. Therefore, by establishing the Keishichō down to the smallest villages and making it responsible for security, they could strip the headmen of their power.

Second, it could absorb the remaining samurai forces. Many samurai were still masterless and wandering. While a good number had quietly retired to the countryside, some had formed gangs and were terrorizing the people in the cities. As the saying goes, ‘use a barbarian to control a barbarian’; the best way to deal with samurai was with other samurai. The best example of this was the Battōtai (Drawn-Sword Corps).

“Hmm…”

Nodding along to the Prime Minister’s lengthy explanation, Norihiro still looked dissatisfied. Seeing this, the minister lowered his voice and said, “If you would grant me a private audience…”

“I understand. We will consider this matter further.”

That night, Norihiro met with the Prime Minister alone. “What is the true meaning of this?”

The Prime Minister replied quietly, “It is because of the Military Faction, Your Majesty. The Military Faction.”

At the minister’s answer, Norihiro’s face grew grave.

***

With the return of the students who had gone to Seoul, the Ouchi clan’s retainers had largely split into two factions: the Civil Administration Faction, and the Military Faction. The Civil Administration Faction, formed around the returned students, was a coalition of men from historic samurai families and those who had risen through their own talent. The Military Faction, on the other hand, was composed exclusively of men from traditional samurai houses.

However, contrary to expectations, it was the Civil Administration Faction that showed stronger solidarity. Even those from historic samurai families were mostly younger sons with no inheritance—men who were called yakkai-mono, or ‘useless things.’ While they could have achieved fame through their martial skill in times of war, in times of peace, they had to worry about their future. Those who had risen by their own talent were in a similar position, with no one to rely on. This shared desperation—the knowledge that they had no future unless they caught the eye of the Ouchi clan head—bound them tightly together. And what solidified their bond was the ‘hardship they had endured in Seoul.’ When they started swapping stories about suffering through daily overtime at the court in Seoul, they became one, regardless of their origins.

“Hey! You call that hardship? Back in my day…!”

Of course, there were plenty of times one would pull rank like this, but still, their unity was ironclad. And the Ouchi clan heads had used this Civil Administration Faction to control the potentially unstable samurai houses.

However, the situation had deteriorated after the civil wars. Many samurai had died, but in the reconstruction that followed, it was the Military Faction whose power had grown stronger. More accurately, their power had swelled first when the Ouchi clan’s private army transformed into the national army of Japan, and had grown even stronger through the civil wars. This was inevitable. In the process of becoming a national army and fighting the wars, they had received an enormous budget. And the size that had grown on the back of that budget began to demand more power and a larger budget. The risk of the classic ‘tail wagging the dog’ situation was growing.

***

The Prime Minister explained in greater detail. To reduce the overgrown power of the Military Faction, they would split it into the army and the Keishichō. Even if they came from the same military faction, once the organization was divided and budget issues arose, the army and the police would inevitably keep each other in check. Most importantly, transferring the duty of guarding the mines—a crucial source of funds—from the army to the police would significantly weaken the Military Faction’s power. By limiting the army’s domain to national defense and the police’s to internal security, the military faction’s freedom to act would be further curtailed.

“…In addition to the reasons I have already stated, it is for these reasons that we must create the Keishichō.”

“Hmm… I see. If the Keishichō is created, which corps would be best to move from the army first?”

The Prime Minister answered immediately. “The Battōtai, Your Majesty.”

“The Battōtai?”

“Yes. In this era, the sword has already become useless on the battlefield. Therefore, the army has no need for them. However, for the common people, the samurai’s sword is still a terrifying thing. Furthermore, these are men who charged into enemy gunfire with nothing but their swords. Their valor, loyalty, and pride are unquestionable. They will be able to control the masterless samurai who are still wandering the land.”

“I understand. I shall make my decision soon.”

Two days later, Norihiro gathered his officials and announced his decision. “I approve the establishment of the Keishichō.”

“We humbly accept your command!”

***

Norihiro, having accepted the Civil Administration Faction’s opinion and created the police agency, established another organization not long after: the Gyoshidai,⁷ the Inspectorate.

Just as he had split the military faction to make them check each other, he now split the civil faction. The duty of the Gyoshidai, headed by a chief inspector, was to monitor everyone, both officials and civilians. The inspections were divided into open and secret investigations, and it was these secret investigations that became the subject of countless legends and folk tales. Because they moved in secret, the work was perilous. Furthermore, launching secret investigations without definite intelligence was also problematic. For this reason, Norihiro hired skilled ninja clans. Their mission was to travel the country under various guises and detect irregularities. If an issue was detected, a secret inspector was dispatched from the Gyoshidai, and the ninjas would serve as the inspector’s bodyguards. Upon confirming the irregularity, the secret inspector had the authority to suspend or detain the official in question on the spot, or to report to his superiors to initiate a large-scale investigation.

In a way, the work of the secret inspectors was highly dramatic, and the figures of the inspector and his ninja guards were dramatic in themselves. Consequently, they would become some of the most frequently appearing characters in the various creative works based on the history of Japan in the ages to come.

***

Though its purpose was more political than for the people’s welfare, the newly established Keishichō began to exert a powerful presence in Japanese society. The new police agency and the constables who worked there brought about many changes, the most representative of which was the loss of the village headman’s authority.

A headman who wielded absolute power in his own village now had to grovel before even the lowest-ranking constable stationed at the smallest police box. In the face of the nation’s laws and the sword hanging at the constable’s hip, his power was useless. This marked the beginning of the collapse of traditional Japanese village society.

While the rural villages began to crumble, the cities also saw great change. A fierce, bloody struggle began between the criminal organizations formed by former samurai and the samurai of the Keishichō.

“Dogs who lick the traitor’s ass!”

“Men who have abandoned the honor of the samurai!”

Seeing each other as betrayers of the samurai code, they began to fight a merciless war with no quarter given.