Japan

Outlines: Hokkaido - red, Honshu - blue, Shikoku - magenta, Kyushu - yellow

Japan is the setting for Shogun: Total War, Total War: Shogun 2, and Fall of the Samurai.

General information

Japan is an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeastern coast of mainland Asia. The Japanese archipelago is dominated by the four major islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku, amongst thousands. Within the big four, Hokkaido (lit. 'north sea prefecture') is the second largest island and the northernmost. Honshu (lit. 'main island') is centrally located and is the largest island in the archipelago. Kyushu (lit. 'nine provinces') is the southernmost and easternmost of the islands. Shikoku (lit. 'four provinces') is the smallest among the four and lies nestled between Honshu and Kyushu, separated by the roughly crescent-shaped Seto Inland Sea.

Shogun: Total War

The country itself is made up of four main islands: northern Hokkaido, the main island Honshu, and the smaller islands of Shikoku and Kyushu. Shogun: Total War doesn't include Hokkaido for the simple reason that control of this island wasn't strategically or tactically important during the Sengoku period. It was still largely a cold, under-developed "backwater," inhabited by the Ainu, the original inhabitants of Japan. Honshu was the most important of the islands and remains so to this day; it was control of the provinces of Honshu that brought victory to the Tokugawa clan. It would, however, be a mistake to dismiss Shikoku and Kyushu as irrelevant, as powerful daimyo arose on both islands. The straits around those islands make superb protective moats behind which quite a powerful army can be trained ₋₋₋[sic]

Shogun: Total War features 60 provinces. Fifty-eight of these provinces are from Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The other two are the small islands of Awaji and Sado.

Total War: Shogun 2

Total War: Shogun 2 features a total of 65 provinces. Sixty-three are from Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku, with Awaji and Sado as the remaining islands. The map of Shogun 2 is essentially the same map as its predecessor, Shogun, with some small variations. Kyushu, which in English means 'nine provinces' or 'nine countries,' only features eight provinces.

A Total War Saga: Fall of the Samurai

Fall of the Samurai full campaign map

The standalone expansion for Shogun 2 -Fall of the Samurai features a total of 75 provinces. It introduces the three islands of Goto, Tsushima, and Tanegashima. The campaign map also expands to include the Oshima Peninsula in southern Hokkaido. A ninth province was also re-added to Kyushu. For the first time, Hokkaido is featured in the Total War series.

For the first time, Hokkaido is featured in the Total War series.