Ezo

[tepodon 29]

Ezo

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Welcome to The Empire of Ezo

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Chuo

The Capital District of Chuo

Empire of Ezo

 Welcome to the capital of the Empire of Ezo. Chuo, meaning "Center" in Japanese; built around the imperial palace, which is blocked off from the outside by means of thick walls and a moat, this is the city where the imperial family takes residence.

Let us begin with the main entrance to the imperial city.

Just north of this main gate within the confines of the palace is this odd building. In order to portray acceptance and opennes to the the majority Christian population in the Kalina province, the imperial fortress combines a unique blend fo western and asian architecture.

This is the emperors private library. The building to the right was built much later, to hold an overflowing number of books. The building in the center is the original library (still in use).

Bottom right corner is the emperors library. This part of the palace is a large expanse of nature, the emperors personal park.

The imperial guest house, where foreign heads of state stay on their visits to the capital.

The official imperial residence.

The western walls of the foritifications that surround the palace.

The southern portion of the palace is where the emperor takes care of business. While the northern portion is greener and built for leisure, this portion of the palace is strictly for ceremonies for national holidays, and most importantly Parliament Gate. (top left corner)

This is Parliament Gate. This road that goes through this entrance into the palace was built so that the emperor could walk directly to the parliament building. It is customary for a healthy emperor to walk the distance from the palace to parliament for the openings of legislative sittings, appointing of the prime minister (think British system, doesnt really appoint, just appoints who ever gets elected, just ritual), and addresses the legislature and public for any major changes to the constitution, which is all done by the legislature anyways. The walkway in the center of the avenue was built so that the emperor could walk from the palace to the parliament without halting traffic.

All this time weve just been referring to the head of state as "emperor," but there has been "empresses" in the past. The historic church where Empress Kaguya signed away the imperial families absolute rule to the people.

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Chuo: The Political Center of Ezo

The Kalina Building is where representatives of the Semi-Autonomous region of Kalina stay when they are in the capital. Its purpose is similar to that of an embassy.

The Ezo Broadcasting Center is the national news network.

So for some reason photobucket just keeps freezing on me, and I cant edit my picks, so from now on forward im going to give you either numbers or a very detailed explanation of the picture, orz

1: National Revenue Agency (Collects taxes)

2: Ministry of Internal Affairs

3: Ministry of Culture and Media

4: Public Records Building

5: Ministry of Science and Technology

6: Ministry of Labor and Welfare

Bottom Left: Ministry of Finance (Seen in the first pic)

To the right of Finance across the blvd: Ministry of Agirculture

Above Agriculture: Ministry of Education

Left of Education across blvd: Ministry of Health

Left of Health: Ministry of Defense

To the right of Education there are buildings up for grabs for embassies (The white building, across to the right from Education, and the building with the dark green roof, up for grabs)

So a change of angle.

Bottom Left: Ministry of Labor/Welfare (As seen in picture with numbers)

Above Labor/Welfare: Ministry of Justice (Supreme Court)

Right of Justice: National Museum

Right of National Museum: Free Embassy

yet another change in angle

Top left: National Public Safety Agency

To the upper right of NPSA: Ministry of Health

To the lower right of NPSA: Ministry of the Environment

Below NPSA: Ministry of Transportation (building with peach colored block thing)

Brown building next to Transport: Ministry of Energy

Right of Energy/Transport (AKA the Lincoln Center): Ministry of Athletics

Below Athletics: Public Security Intelligence Agency

Right of PSIA: Ministry of Communications

You may be thinking the NPSA, the PSIA, or the SIA, "they all sound like the same thing" let me explain...

The NPSA: the National Public Safety Agency is an agency that conducts disaster relief and conducts rescue operations alongside police and the ministry of defense.

The PSIA: the Public Security Intelligence Agency works to collected information regarding national security within the Ezo borders, it works closely with police, the SIA, and the defense ministry. Its main purpose is to search and destroy domestic terror groups and control seperatist factions in places like Sagamihara (not so much anymore) and Kalina. Kalina is a major hotspot for the PSIA. The PSIA holds together the internal framework of the nation and keeps the empire together.

The SIA: the State Intelligence Agency works closely with all ministries of the government, collecting information regarding national security. The SIA's field of activities are not restricted within Ezo, and agents are free to work internationally. The SIA is under a shroud of secrecy and is often linked to the dark underside of the empire. Although the SIA is labeled an intelligence agency, under the jurisdiction of the Defense Ministry, like the PSIA and the NPSA, it is safe to say that the SIA works independently of the Defense Ministry by convention. The SIA is not just an intelligence agency as it has been labeled, but a paramilitary force, and although within the bounds of the constitution, it is also directly responsible to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the Imperial Household Agency has a much stronger hold on the SIA than the Cabinet or the Defense Ministry.

Bottom Left: Ministry of Science and Technology

Above Science: Ministry of the Economy and Trade

Center twin towers: Ministry of Defense

The Government of Ezo:

The Emperor/Empress:

1. The Imperial Household Agency

- Manages the palace and several other imperial holdings

2. The Palace Guard

- Maintains security for the imperial palace in Chuo

*State Inteligence Agency

The PM/Cabinet

1. Ministry of Agriculture

2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs*

3. Ministry of Education*

  - manages the imperial universities

  - manages the national museum

4. Ministry of Health*

5. Ministry of Finance

    a. National Revenue Agency

6. Ministry of Defense*

   a. SIA (The SIA works in Kalina, regardless of the Ministry of Defense)

7. Ministry of Justice

- Although the Minister of Justice is considered a part of the Cabinet, the Supreme Court is considered a seperate entity, and thus its judges. The Ministry of Justice serves as the working bureacracy behind the Supreme Court.

8. Ministry of the Economy and Trade*

- Manages both international and interprovincial trade

9. Ministry of Science and Technology

- Supports scientific research throughout Ezo, and also runs the space program

10. Ministry of Internal Affairs*

- Manages interprovincial matters

- Also manages law and order

   a. National Police

   b. Capital Police

       - manages the police force within Chuo

   c. Public Records Building

   d. PSIA

   e. NPSA

 - The PSIA and NPSA work in Kalina regardless of the Ministry

11. Ministry of Culture and the Media*

  - manages historical landmarks and places of significance

12. Ministry of Communications

13. Ministry of Energy*

14. Ministry of the Environment*

      - manages national parks

15. Ministry of Athletics*

16. Ministry of Transportation

  - manages the roads, railways, airports, seaports, and other transportation options throughout Ezo.

*Ministries that do not apply in Kalina

Private Government Entities

1. Ezo Central Broadcasting

   - formally of the Ministry of Culture and the Media, the ECB became a private organization during the Kaguya years

2. Ezo Postal Services

  - EPS became a private organization very recently

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Chuo

The Old and New Cities

Parliament and the ministries

Chuo Station, and red glowing towers are the headquarters of Takanomiya Corporations, a massive conglomerate, which is said to have strong connections with the Imperial Family, thus its hq locations in front of the Imperial Palace

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Welcome, Bienvenue, Benvenuto, Willkommen, and Yokoso...

...to beautiful Ezo

A little History lesson on Ezo...

Ezo formally counts years from the start of the first form of government. This means that we are currently at Year 332, 332 years after the first Ezo government in Sagamihara was established. However, on a daily basis years are counted by the number of years the present emperor/empress has retained the throne. It is currently Year 95 under the reign of the Empress Asuka or Azuma IV.

During the reign of the First Azuma Emperor, Emperor Kiyoshi, the formal method of counting years were reset. In other words, when Emperor Kiyoshi took power it was Year 46, however, the Kiyoshi Emperor reset the year back to zero. However, following the Kiyoshi Emperor's death, and the start of Empress Kaguya's reign, the formal method of counting was reverted back to the old method, or the present method.

The Ezo Imperial Family Regarding Succession of the Throne:

The reigning Emperor/Empress is required to name an heir every year of his/her reign. This means that the heir does not have to be the son or daughter of the reigning monarch, but can be their grandchildren and nephews. It is a defacto rule that the heir always be under the age of 25. Thus the older the monarch gets, the people he/she chooses for the heir to the throne slowly shift from being their brothers, newphews, sons, to grandchildren, and possibly great grandchildren.

The current Empress, Empress Asuka has in fact named her great granddaughter Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayo to be the next in line for the throne. Empress Asuka having taken the throne at the age of 7, expressed her desire to name a young heir to the throne. Princess Sayo is current only 7 years old.

News:

The date is November 15th, Year 337.

Empress Asuka has passed away at the age of 108. Her reign comes to a close after 101 years, having reigned for just over a century she has become the longest ever serving monarch.

Empress Asuka named Princess Sayo as the heir to the throne. Princess Sayo is currently 12 years old, making her the second youngest Empress after her grandmother. There has been no contact with any members of the Imperial Family. Empress Asuka's public funeral is to take place a week from now at Empire Square.

Princess Sayo is to be crowned the new Empress of Ezo the following day at Empire Square. She is not expected to speak, and the crowning is expected to be strictly ceremonial.

Today parliament started off the days session with 5 minutes of silence in respect to the late Empress. Kalina Nationalist Party representatives and Communist Party representatives; traditionally non-seated during sessions having to do with the Empress, were seated in parliament to pay their respects in silence.

All businesses are expected to shutdown for the day of the funeral in Ezo, however, representatives of Kalina have vowed that they shall not do so. Sagamihara left wingers have also questioned the need to shutdown businesses for the funeral. In response the ruling party, the National Liberals, stated that the closing of businesses shall be strictly voluntary and will not be inforced.

We take you to the scene in Chuo...

We are currently above Empire Square, which is usually jam packed with cafe tables, musicians, and sunbathers, but as you can see the square is complete empty on the south side (upper side) where the ceremony is expected to take place. The permanent cafes and tables on the northern section of the square are empty as well, and all stores surrounding the Imperial Palace are closed for the day.

Parliament held special sessions today in rememberance of the late Empress Asuka. Parliament also began todays sessions with the date, which has now officially been set as the beginning of the new Empress Sayo's reign, as the Year 1 of Empress Sayo.

The area around Chuo City Hall was completely empty today.

Police patrol the Empire Square.

This is Chuo Imperial University Main Hall, you may have noticed that the embassy of Ezo to Manhillton is an exact replica of the CIU main hall.

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The Old Financial Distrct:

The area surrounding the Olympic Park is considered the old financial district, however, much of the core industries of Ezo place their headquarters in the old financial district.

The old financial district is also home to Chuo City Hall, Chuo Tower, Chuo Central Station or (Ezo Central Station), and Takanomiya Corp. HQ.

Chuo Olympic Park:

The area around this park is the old financial district. However, in recent years the area has gone through a major makeover. Although old structures such as the city hall still remain intact, much of the area around the Olympic Park has been redeveloped, including the olympic park itself.

Imperial Palace:

The massive plot of green land that is the home of the Imperial Family and also the site of Empire Square. The center piece of the city, it is the core of the Empire.

Government District:

The government district is home to Parliament and the many other ministries of government, except for the NPA and SIA. It is also home to the old quarters of the city, and home to many other structures of historic significance. The government district is also notorious for being high inaccessable by public transportation.

New Financial District:

Built during the final half of the Empress Asuka reign, the New Financial district is also home to the National Police Agency and the State Inteligence Agency. (NPA/SIA). It centered around New Chuo Station, a massive station, and highly accessable, it is the second busiest station in Ezo after Ezo Central Station.

Chuo Imperial University:

The highest level of learning within the Empire, many statesmen, scientists, and entrepeneurs have come and gone through the doors of this great establishment. Although it is an Imperial University, ever since the student protests of the mid Emperor Takuya period, it has become highly liberal and is considered a private entity, autonomous of the Imperial Household Agency and other state agencies. Although it is funded at some levels by the Ministry of Education, it prefers to fund itself, freeing itself from any possible government censorship. The University is famous for its massive student protests and is considered by some to even be the hub of all liberal activities within the nation. CIU also prides itself in having the largest collection of books in its libraries. In sports it is particularly strong in baseball; Table Tennis and Soccer come second. However, in swimming and basketball Kalina Imperial University always comes in first.

A view of Central Chuo City from the skies at night.

Olympic Park

(From bottom to top) A view of the CIU, the Imperial Palace, Old Financial Distrct, and Chuo Olympic Park

[jacqulina 162]

wow that was a long intro my friend,very nice start there,very nice seawalls

[fabsies55 5]

wow awesome city. although you have too many too tall and in some places too repetitive its still pretty good.

on the third last picture whats that stadium called that has a L and a F in it?? its awesome.

also some of your buildings are unique and never seen before.

[Twenty20 28]

Yes, very long intro lol, but I prefere short presentations.

Your city is awesome, there are many buildings but the parks are very well made and necessary in this forest of towers. Great work.

[xV.I.N.C.E.N.T.x 0]

Beautiful!

You must be a huge sports fan, yes?

The first pic I am interested in a lot for the main building directly centered...do you have a link? I love it. The use of folage around the skyscrapers is exactely what really impressed me most. Plus. the skyline and some other elements makes me feel I am about 25 years into the future.

[Haljackey 17,402]

You have way too much text at the beginning of your into, and it almost made me hit the "back" button. I am glad I didn't! You have amazing city-building skills! Your pics are looking amazing, and I am now hooked!

One suggestion I do have is to turn off the UDI icons in your pics. To do this, enter the "my sims" mode, and click the UDI menu. The bottom button (below car, plane, etc.) toggles these icons on and off. Switch it to off and it will get rid of them.

Best,

-Haljackey

[ac94 5]

Beautiful city. The intro is a little to long but I don't care. But one question: Where did you get the Al Burj from?

[antsel 842]

Great start to your CJ. I like your use of the glass and steel architecture. I love the Shin-Sagamihara Station and the Olympic park. Keep up the good work!

[Schulmanator 5,813]

Way to start! That's a seriously awesome town you have going here. Keep it up.

[spore415 5]

Absolutely Amazing My Friend!!!! You have a true skill for SC4 City Buiding, thoguh our tastes differ with the amount of skyscrapers!!! LOL. i would like to question however, like most of those before me, the stadiums you used, i recognize but one of them, are the others custom!?!?! also, if you ever do more into your Congress (which you showed a picture of the old congress house), i would be very pleased if you would include possible embassies (awhole government chapter would be amazing!!!)

[ElBarto92 7]

Wow, very unique and innovative city design. The skycrapers cutting through the trees is very interesting - and almost poetic! Looking very good so far, keep up the great work

[tepodon 29]

i know i got it off the stex, but i cannot find it anymore. i'll look for it in my extremely messy folder

[roboo1 1]

That's the biggest intro I have ever seen! Great bridges and rails

[tepodon 29]

If anyone wants like an embassy or consulate in this city, plus provide for me what kind of building they desire I would be more than happy to create an international/intercity government district in the city and create a intercity relationship between other CJ's.

Also check out the Special Autonomous region of Kalina, its a part of the Empire of Ezo.

[Mother of Invention 23]

Wow what a nice city.

only thing is the water mod looks ugly :-/

[tepodon 29]

I dont know water has always looked really dark to me, thats why im using this dark water mod and not those tropical ones. I think this dark water gives the area a kind of coldness to it. I would like to also add that Ezo was the original name of what is Japanese northern most prefecture, Hokkaido, so what I want to say is, Ezo is cold.

[Jillybean86 38]

Impressive city! Very nice mix of buildings. I particularly like the avenue with the green space on either side. Good job

[spore415 5]

i wuold be very pleased if my CJ could form an intercity relationship with yours (embassies, sister city something like that) i am currently workign on my Governent Sector, so, if you too would like an embassy, please send me a PM

[jacqulina 162]

looking out for more fantastic work my friend

[fabsies55 5]

forgot to mention as well... DO YOU WANT ANY BIGGER INTRO??? and cant wait for next update lol.

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Wow, your whole city is a skyscraper jungle! It's very impressive.

[estepaflip 1]

Amazing work Tepodon! Just a few suggestions: get a terrain mod, and instead of using the Maxis Bank of China, use the one by Paulvmontfort on the stex, it is way nice! Looking forward to more!

[tepodon 29]

Chuo Fuku-Toshin

 Fuku-toshin in Japanese basically means secondary city center, usually meaning a newly built city center in order to disperse the population more evenly throughout the region.

Chuo Fuku-Toshin was built just east of central Chuo (the area around the Imperial Palace). the Fuku-toshin was built along the Raimeigawa-river. Chuo Fuku-Toshin is also known as Shin-Chuo (New Chuo), however this name is already used by Shin-Chuo station in the New Financial District near the Government District.

The fuku-toshin was a carefully planned city, with the Raimei Station Plaza as its center piece. The city is also home to a massive subway network that connects directly with central Chuo. Unlike central Chuo the rail lines in and around Fuku-toshin were built on ground level, due to the proximity of the river and fear of flooding of the rails.

The area around the fukutoshin is also home to a rather seedy nightlife, the area just south and north of Raimei station are considered the redlight district of the capital.

However, ships do not go any further upstream than Niiba island.

Niiba industrial sector

Raimei Plaza eventually meets the river and Raimei Expressway.

Niiba Interchange, connects Niiba island to Chuo.

The redlight district on the left hand side of Raimei Expressway

The Kurishiro Bridge

A wider view of Kurishiro Bridge. Kurishiro bridge is the only bridge in the Fukutoshin area that actually connects Kurishiro with the Fukutoshin side of the river directly. Other bridges/tunnels cross the river via Niiba island.

[xV.I.N.C.E.N.T.x 0]

Great Pics...

You have a lot of custom content that I would love to have in my city journal.  

The canals are definitely of interest.  Great details..  Are you a plopper or a grower?  No pun!! LOL

BUT....I am a reader BIG TIME... you started "Brief discription" But it was legnthy, and very wordy. Break it down in parts..

None-the-less.. I really like your CJ.

-Vin

[tepodon 29]

Ezo makes a bid for the SCJU

Ezo Central Broadcasting reports that there are tensions in parliament over the ratification of Resolution 253, which Bloc Kalina vetoed, but was overrided in a second session.

SAR Kalina may not recognize the membership within the SAR, thus any affects of membership would only take place within mainland Ezo, and will not be recognized in the SAR.

This is a truely unprecedented event in Ezo politics, as the SAR of Kalina and the mainland provinces have generally agreed on terms regarding international relations. This comes at a time when Kalina is trying to gain autonomy over its rights to establish free trade ties with other states, without the direct approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This has openned up the floor to a possible bill that may grant all provinces this right of free trade ties. However, the SAR would like to make sure that this bill also include not just international free trade rights for provinces, but free diplomatic ties for provinces as well; effectively creating a more federalist system from todays centralized system. A move Chuo would like to stop at all costs.

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Here we see in the center the Central District of Chuo, and several other provinces. Some of the outer lying provinces are not pictured.

As you can see the major rivers of the nation run through the center of the nation, and all end up in the most populous province of Raimei. You can also see that many of the major cities are also located in Raimei.

Kalina and Kaiou are located in the lower left hand corner, and Sagamihara in the upper left hand corner.

Many of the trunk rail lines of the nation run straight through into Chuo.

However, the most improvished and least populated province of Soya has no major rail lines running into the province, regardless of its proximity to the center.

There have been talks to split the Raimei province into three different provinces due to its massive population.

The area from Tennozu (just north of Chuo, in Tahara province), all the way south down into Raimei Province to the coast, is densely populated.

[jacqulina 162]

excellent work and pics my friend,wonderfull detail

[SirUnger 13]

Great update! Amazing governmmental district. I hope we will see more soon.

And I can't wait to have an embassy in Ezo. Will it be located in this political center? And what about your embassy in Manhillton?

[fabsies55 5]

nice updates and keep it up they look great, you should make reply boxes to tell everyone what you think of what the wrote

again well done.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

HOLY MASSIVE UPDATES, BATMAN!!!

Jeze, you sure know how to make an epic first impression, those are some cities you have there. To think you managed to make Al Burj look remotely proportional in that down town.

Lol, looks spectacular,

-Todd

[Nexis 1]

Nice city pictures , i like the massiveness a the skyscrapers!