Tagi Prefecture

Tagi Prefecture (滾近; tagi-kon) is a land-locked prefecture located in northern Kanton. It lies to the west of the Ikumo mountain range, and is bordered by the neighbouring prefectures Narō, Chiha, Kanma, Sairō, Naki and Mizushi. The largest settlement in Tagi is the city of Awaryō, which is also the designated capital. As of 2018, Tagi Prefecture has a population of around 7 million.

Early history
Tagi Prefecture has always been a well-populated area, even from ancient times. Remains of ceramics, pottery, stone tools and even degraded cloth have been discovered all over its landscape, suggesting that it may be one of the most historically-rich prefectures in western Kanton. Additionally, it has been made clear through numerous archaeological finds that Tagi was a farming prefecture, and a consistent producer of starchy crops such as sweet potato, yam, wheat and corn. Historians believe that it was a wealthy area.

Indeed, for much of its history Tagi Prefecture was a centre of agriculture and distributed many valuable staple crops across western Kanton. Originally governed by three distantly-related clans (Hari, Harino and Harikagi), its districts were united after the coronation of Emperor Uyama in 1456. Religion did not take a particularly strong hold on Tagi Prefecture as it did on most other western prefectures.

During the Maki Period, the area of Tagi consisted of as many as twenty feudal domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Farming townships flourished and grew quickly, and the population of the prefecture underwent a rapid period of growth. For many years, Tagi Prefecture was one of the most heavily populated and prosperous areas in the entire country.

The nationally-famous Naitai Temple was constructed in 1503 during a short era of religious revival in Tagi. Praised as one of the largest and most lavishly-decorated temples of its time, Naitai Temple was the destination for many pilgrims and travelling monks from all over mid- and western Kanton.

After the coronation of Emperor Uyama, a rebellion force from Tagi Prefecture known as the Righteous Leaders (难柠崆; yagikarashi) attempted to win back the prefecture's independence. This group, comprised of around thirty noblemen from Tagi, frequently antagonised imperial forces and fought a number of minor battles before their eventual capture and imprisonment in 1462.

20th century
In 1911, Tagi Prefecture's eastern district (Tagidan-dan) suffered a terrible crop blight which caused mass starvation ad emigration into surrounding prefectures such as Naki and Kanma. Tagi's economy suffered greatly from this event.

In 1949, Awakiru University was established in Taoza. It was praised as one of the most progressive and high-quality academies of its time, and still holds a lot of prestige.