Emperor's Armed Forces in the Warring States

Chapter 15 - Council Meeting and the Issue of Calendar Reform

This is the beginning of Chapter 15.

It may sound farfetched, but a plot cannot succeed without adequate preparation.

- Yamaga

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15-1

In January 1556, in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, there was a reality that could be regarded as inconsequential for Katsutoshi Kamisato, who ultimately performed various odd jobs. His thoughts on his relatives in Japan and other matters were of little importance. Having graduated from junior high school in March 1554, Katsutoshi immediately found employment with the India Company, partly due to his adoptive father, Shoichi Kamisato's connections and partly due to his adoptive father's half-forced persuasion. After completing a training program within the company that lasted just over six months, Katsutoshi found himself being sent to the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople.

However, even though Japan and the Ottoman Empire had established an alliance and steamships for foreign navigation were being mass-produced in Japan, it was unavoidable that it took a considerable amount of time and effort to travel from Japan to the Ottoman Empire given the circumstances of the time. Therefore, after departing from the port of Osaka, Katsutoshi arrived in Constantinople via Singapore and other places. Although it was not an intentional detour, he had the opportunity to witness the current state of developments in Polonnaruwa on Ceylon and other places before arriving in Constantinople.

After all, Katsutoshi's birth mother, Eikenni, held a position as a guardian in the overseas affairs of the Honganji religious sect, led by Ken'nyo Honganji. Therefore, for Katsutoshi, even if he wasn't explicitly told, he couldn't ignore the need to confirm the current state of developments in Polonnaruwa and report it to his birth mother Eikenni. Furthermore, although not directly requested by his birth mother, she hinted at the need for a report on the current state of developments in Polonnaruwa. Thus, he had to witness it firsthand and send a report to his birth mother.

(At that time, Polonnaruwa was in the process of developing irrigation facilities, and although the construction of Buddhist and Hindu temples had begun, there were not yet large populations of clergy or residents gathering there. When Honganji received Katsutoshi's report, taking into account the current situation, they decided to dispatch a certain number of monks to Polonnaruwa for further deliberation.)

Now, regarding what happened after Katsutoshi arrived in Constantinople, he found himself immediately perplexed.

"Can you speak Greek?"

"No, I don't."

"In that case, you need to learn it as soon as possible. It has become necessary to negotiate with the Church, especially the Orthodox Church."

Katsutoshi found himself having such an exchange with his superior.

Now, the background to this situation is as follows.

Firstly, around this time, in Western (mainly European) Christian societies, the gradual discrepancy in calendars had become a concern. (In the original timeline, due to this background, the Catholic Church later adopted the Gregorian calendar.)

On the other hand, seeking an accurate calendar was extremely difficult, and there were further complications when it came to the adoption of calendars due to considerations of religious affiliations, national interests, and so on. To provide more historical context, even after the accuracy of the Gregorian calendar became widely known, Protestant and Orthodox churches, apart from the Catholic Church, were hesitant to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. In some Orthodox churches, a Revised Julian calendar was adopted in the 20th century, but even then, some churches like the Japanese Orthodox Church still refuse to switch from the Julian calendar even in the 21st century, considering the switch to the Revised Julian calendar as incorrect.