Enables
- Buildings:
- Units:
Basic Building Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
- Cost: 500
- +100 to wealth from ports in this province
- +1 per turn to town growth from ports within this province
- Recruitment capacity (ship under construction): +1
Description
The waves give riches to the fisherman, and take them away.
Farmland is precious and relatively scarce in Japan. Any and every other source of food has to be exploited to the full, and the seas provide a rich bounty for those brave enough to go and get it. A coastal village is also a good foundation for all sea-related activities as they are often placed on natural harbours or in sheltered inlets. They provide work and income in a province and can be expanded later. Fishermen and farmers were not quite at the bottom of the social structure in medieval Japan. They were vital if everyone, even the mightiest lord, was going to eat, and had status as a result. They were, however, tied by a hereditary principle that linked social status and employment. Jobs were passed from father to son, and there was little chance of "bettering yourself". Europe had sumptuary laws that limited what people could wear according to social position, but the Japanese discouraged rising above one's station in life by copying any aspect of a higher social class. It was equally unthinkable for higher status individuals to get their hands dirty with manual labour, such as fishing.