Regions of Japan in Gekokujo

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Starting a game in gekokujo is challenging, you will begin with almost nothing in your bare hands except for a weapon or two. Japan is in the state of civil war, many lords are eager to fight for the sake of honour and glory. Meanwhile, t he land is flooded with bandits and deserters who harass the farmers and caravans that are trying to make a decent living. Japan is entering a new age of darkness.

If you have been playing gekokujo before, you should have some knowledge on where to begin with. Take this page as a tip and guide to help you do better in your gameplay. If you are new to gekokujo, it is highly recommended to attempt this game on easy and pick the easier spawn option.

Kyushu Region
[Military]

It is uncommon to see Woku Pirates robbing from villagers and caravan as a group. Since the pirates are well armed with hard hitting weapons such as teppo guns and Chinese Changdao, fighting off these pirates is tough. Due to the geography, the Woku Pirates are commonly found in huge groups. Should anyone try to engage the pirates, be sure to outnumber them; fighting them alone early on is impossible. The lords love to declare war with one or both of their neighbors, especially the Otomo. Still, fighting for the Otomo clan is much preferred since they offer Hatamoto cavalry promotion.

Kyushu is mountainous causing every faction to move within a few valleys. Engaging enemies is difficult, since cavalry can't easily initiate a charge and archers and gunners have limited line of sights. However, the high slopes give an advantage for defending party as they can rain down arrows and bullets in huge volleys while the attacking party slowly climbs the mountain of death. Blockading roads is a common thing since the roads are narrow due to the natural border and the river that divides the land into two.

[Recruitment]

Otomo - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and excellent melee cavalry. Otomo Hatamoto Cavalry is the only best cavalry in this region.

Shimazu - Melee focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and samurai gunner. Good clan to look for recruitment of melee infantry.

Ryuzoji - Missile focused clan, employs good ashigaru skirmisher, samurai guard and samurai archer. Good clan to look for recruitment of missile troops. For some reason, the Elite Ryuzoji Skirmishers are equipped with more bows than guns.

[Trade]

Trading in Kyushu focuses mainly on export rather than import. They sell very cheap dyes, spices, raw silks and fishes, providing a huge boost in profit in Kansai region and other rich towns. The villages located across Kyushu may offer cheap stacks of brown rice. Selling them to a nearby market may give you a small profit but it is not worth it when there are Woku Pirates all over the place. The Woku Pirates are many and envious; they disrupt weak farmers and caravans on their travel.. Attempting to outmaneuver the pirates and deserters is difficult due to the poor terrain and narrow routes on the map. It is recommended to bring a decent army to guard your trade route.

[Neutral Mansion]

There is only one neutral mansion available in this region, the Tsushima mansion is located near the corner end of the map. Capturing this mansion might be tricky since Woku Pirates are stationed in the mansion, alongside with gunners and hired warriors. Once captured, the mansion could be used to recruit Tsushima Gunners or produce spices which is good for economy and trade.

[Starting tips for spawning in Hakata]

The very first thing to do is to get yourself as much money as possible. Attempting to trade in Kyushu itself is suicidal and almost impossible to accomplish. It might be a good idea to fight for a lord or to enter the arena to fill your purse for trade. Fighting for the Otomo clan will gain relation and they may aid you in fights should you be under attack by Woku Pirates and deserters. Once you have enough money to pay for recruits and trade goods, leave the island immediately and head towards Kansai Region to sell off your goods. Come back to Kyushu if you are ready to buy cheap goods again or perhaps gather an army to conquer Tsushima Mansion.

Chugoku Region
[Military]

Wars often take place throughout these lands; it is a good place to seek allegiance for a lord if you love fighting. Mori clan and Amako clan allow Hatamoto Cavalry to be trained if you are seeking the best troop in the west. Seeking allegiance to the Mori clan also gives you the best job in town. The constant fighting between the neighboring clans will bring you plenty of loot and money if you survive long enough.

There might be a Seto Pirates's hideout near the borders of Chugoku region facing the Seto-Inland Sea and the Shikoku region. These pirates are lightly armed and armored, therefore it should not be a problem if you have armored troops and cavalry with you.

The lands are relatively flat with occasional slopes, however engaging an enemy at the spot with a lot of trees will force your line to be broken by the vegetation. Forests are not an ideal place for attacking with cavalry, but allows defensive cover from missile fire and slows down enemy cavalry movement. In map, the region are long but wide enough for some evasion maneuvers to be done. There are three paths to choose from and each will lead to different places. Going through Obama castle will leads you to an extremely narrow spot near Immahama. Going through the middle will leads you to Kyoto while the road near the Seto-Inland Sea will lead to Sakai.

[Recruitment]

Amako - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good guards and excellent ashigaru archer and cavalry. The Elite Amako Skirmisher are cost efficient and the best archer units in this region, alongside with Amako Hatamoto Cavalry gives this clan an excellent place to look for recruitment of some of the best units in game.

Mori - Master melee clan, employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and cavalry. Good clan to look for recruitment of infantry and cavalry who solely focus on melee.

Ukita - Melee focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and excellent samurai gunner. Samurai Gunner is probably the best gun unit in this region.

[Trade]

Chugoku region lies between Kyushu and Kansai region, whose towns are rich and could be sold off to for profits. The four towns near Seto-Inland Sea will provide you a safe spot to hide from hostile party while you may sell off some goods to the markets. It may be tempting to sell off the goods but if you are travelling from Kyushu, save some of these goods for Kansai region to sell off for the highest profit. As mentioned above, Seto Pirate's hideout may be spawned in the middle of the road near Seto-Inland Sea. If you have to pass by the hideout and your party is inferior to these pirates, wait for a lord and travel beside him to save yourself from getting into trouble. If you look for ways to avoid the pirates near Seto-Inland Sea and Kansai region, going through Izumo, Tottori and Obama castle will provide a safer road instead.

Shikoku Region
[Military]

Those who are familiar with the Chosokabe will definitely love their archer units. Chosokabe clan follows the way of the archer, killing its enemies with true shot. Their troop tree features tier 5 Elite Skirmishers (from the Ashigaru farmers) and Hatamoto Archers (from the Samurai warriors), that are capable of raining down devastating volleys of arrows on its enemies.

Fighting for the Chosokabe clan seems to benefit you a lot if you are planning to train your archery proficiency. Seeking allegiance to their Great Lord will bring you to the battlefield more often, allowing you to shoot everyone on sight. On the battlefield, it is really important to conserve your arrows unless you are extremely good at shooting targets from far. Picking up any arrows that lie on the ground will replenish your ammunition, and if your stay alive till the end of the battle, you may chase routing forces to rack up more kills and be rewarded with more money and loots.

Just like the Chugoku Region, Seto Pirate hideouts may spawn in Shikoku Region, although less frequently. The pirates are nothing to be frightened of but could ruin your day if you are not well prepared. If you hate these pirates for blockading the route, clearing them out will temporary remove the threat and force the pirate's hideout to spawn elsewhere.

[Recruitment]

Chosokabe - Master archer clan, allows promotion of samurai guard, employs good samurai guard, excellent ashigaru archer and samurai archer in this region. Elite Chosokabe Skirmisher are almost as good as Hatamoto Archer but cost efficient.

Miyoshi - Melee focused clan, similar to Ukita clan. Employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and excellent samurai gunner. Good clan to look for in this region if you want to recruit melee infantry(includes samurai guard) and samurai gunner.

[Trade]

There are two towns located on each side of the island, both belonging to the Chosokabe: Matsuyama faces the Seto-Inland Sea, while Kochi, their capital, faces the Pacific Ocean. Visiting both towns in one day is not possible due to its geography. The market offers cheap fish and raw silk. Selling them to the Kansai region will definitely bring some benefit. If you capture Kokawa-dera in the Kansai Region, going through the towns in the Shikoku Region, picking up raw materials and heading back to Kokawa-dera will benefit you a lot.

Kansai Region
[Military]

The first thing that concerns in Kansai Region are the Kinai Rebels, that are actually more powerful than the Seto Pirates and Woku Pirates and often attack farmers and caravans if the Miyoshi lords are not watching. They have decent weapons, and even though they don't have guns, they don't seem to need them: their spear and heavy blunt weapons mostly knock people unconscious so you don't have to worry much about casualties. With a decent army consisting of missile units, officers or companions equipped with blunt weapons, you can plunder their loots all day and sell away the survivors to a ransom broker.

[Recruitment]

Amako - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good guards and excellent ashigaru archer and cavalry. The Elite Amako Skirmisher are cost efficient and the best archer units in this region, alongside with Amako Hatamoto Cavalry gives this clan an excellent place to look for recruitment of some of the best unit in game.

Ukita - Melee focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, samurai guard and excellent best gunner in region.

Miyoshi - Similar to Ukita

Asakura - Missile focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, excellent samurai archer and gunner. Good clan to look to recruitment of ranged samurai unit.

Ikko Ikki - Jack of all trades clan with no tier 5 units except for naginata units. Cheap recruitment cost but there is only 1 village and 1 castle available to recruit from.

[Trade]

Kansai Region focus mainly on imports as compared to the western towns. Bringing goods from regions of Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku will bring maximum profits in Nara, Sakai and Kyoto. Selling goods here will empty your inventory, giving you the option to either head back towards the west for round two or head towards the east for more trade to be made. If you are looking for goods to be brought from the Kansai Region, raw silk could be bought and sold to Edo for a good price.

[Neutral Temple]

Kokawa-dera and Mii-dera are quite close to the town as compared to the other neutral forts. Capturing these two places will allow production of some quality goods that could be sold off for quick-cash if you ever need them for trade. If you are looking for a decent spear infantry or gun units, recruit the men from here. However, capturing these two temples are tough as the maps are huge and the enemies are many. You will need a lot of troops in order to secure these places. Should you need a place to rest your troops or store your equipment before heading off for trade, look for these places and capture it by force.

[Starting tips for spawning in Tsu and Sakai]

Spawning in Kansai Region can be a blessing or a curse. The towns in Sakai, Kyoto and Nara are the place to look for selling all your goods. The two neutral temples found near these places are your priority target as well. However the Kinai Rebel are troublesome and will only chase you around the region. It is recommended that you find a way to get more troops to fight off the bandits and capture the two temples. Entering an arena or seeking allegiance should fill up your purse to recruit troops to guard your goods. Head towards north, near Kanazawa and recruit some cheap samurai units or head to the west to recruit and train some elite skirmisher from the Chosokabe clan or Amako clan. Make some money from trade and train up your army to conquer the two temples. If you want a cheaper army, consider capturing Sado near Kasugayama and Niigata in the Chubu Region to recruit and train cheap armoured melee samurai.

Chubu Region
[Military]

Historically, most of the major battles involved in the Chubu Region and the Kanto Region. The Chubu Region is considered to be much more dangerous and larger scale than Kyushu as a starting region. Shinano Rebels are roaming freely near the borders of the land of the Uesugi and Takeda clans. Meanwhile the Monk Rebels are raiding happily near the borders of the land of Oda and Tokugawa. Looters could also be found throughout Uesugi land but it is not a major threat. These two rebel infested places should be avoided before you have a good number of experienced fighting troops.

If you are looking for a fight, Uesugi clan and Takeda clan are some of the best clans for seeking allegiance. They have many neighbors likely to wage war on one another, giving you plenty of time to cover yourself in blood as much as you like.

As for hunting the bandits and looters, they aren't worth your time outside of the early game. The Shinano Rebels offers good loot but lower experience and ransom money than Kinai Rebels of the Kansai Region. The Monk Rebels offers good loot, experience per kill and ransom money but they are far more dangerous than the Kinai Rebel. So the best middle ground is to look for the Kinai Rebels in the Kansai Region or the Ezo Warriors near Hokkaido (far north of Japan).

[Recruitment]

Uesugi - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good samurai guard and cavalry, excellent ashigaru skirmisher. Good clan to look for recruitment of cost effective archer units and powerful cavalry units which are similar to the Amako clan.

Takeda - Employs good spear ashigaru and excellent cavalry and samurai archer. Allows recruitment and training of the best samurai archer or cavalry in game.

Ikko Ikki - Only clan that specialized in Naginata Monks. Good clan to look for if you want cheap recruitment cost but you cannot upgrade to any tier 5 unit except for Ikko Monks that can be upgraded to an Elite Ikko Naginata.

Oda - Master gunnery clan, employs good ashigaru skirmisher, excellent cavalry and samurai gunner. An alternate version of Amako clan that specialised in gunnery if you love 'The Last Samurai'. Good clan to look for if you want gunpowder units backed by cavalry support.

Tokugawa - Missile focused clan, employs good skirmisher, excellent samurai guard and gunner. Good clan to look for recruitment of missile section.

Asakura - Missile focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, excellent samurai archer and gunner. Good clan to look to recruitment of ranged samurai unit.

Amako - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good guards and excellent ashigaru archer and cavalry. The Elite Amako Skirmisher are cost efficient and the best archer units in this region, alongside with Amako Hatamoto Cavalry gives this clan an excellent place to look for recruitment of some of the best unit in game.

[Trade]

The Chubu Region does not seem to be a good place to trade except for a few place. Cheap fish sold in any town can be brought to Kofu in Takeda land to sell for a decent profit. The only thing that seems to be benefit a lot is buying cheap raw silk from some towns and selling it to Edo in the Kanto Region. Buying brown rice from villagers could bring small benefit but it is not worth it unless you have plenty of space in your inventory and you are travelling towards the Kanto Region.

[Neutral Mansion]

Sado Mansion is the weakest neutral fort in game. The garrison force are many but weak against well equipped troops. Conquering Sado is probably the first step to explore other parts of Japan since it is located near the center of Japan and could bring many benefits for starters. Sado Mansion produces fish stock that could be sold for profit in certain towns like Kofu. They also allow cheap recruitment and early upgrade to a samurai unit who excel in melee fighting.

[Starting tips for spawning in Niigata]

Spawning in Niigata is far easier as compared to Tsu, Sakai and Hakata. The land is relatively safe except for looters roaming around. Heading to Takeda and the rest the Chubu region is suicidal though. Without money to recruit armies, you will not be able to cross these places safely. You could start off by seeking allegiance to the lords of Uesugi or the Takeda clan nearby. Fighting for them will bring money from looting and the wage they pay which is needed to start trading goods. If you prefer not to fight, consider getting into the arena first to fill up your purse before you start off trading in the Kanto Region through the town of Yonezawa and Sendai in the Tohoku Region.

Kanto Region
[Military]

The region of Kanto is huge, so the lands are peaceful usually. Similar to the clans in Chubu Region, the clans do wage wars against one another especially Hojo and Takeda. There are Kanto Rebels roaming around the Kanto Region but they are hard to be spotted since the lands are so large. The entire Kanto Region is ideal for trading rather than war. If you wish to find blood, seek allegiance to the Takeda.

Recruitment Highlights:

Takeda - Traditional clan with the best troop in each category, employs good spear ashigaru and excellent cavalry and samurai archer. Allows recruitment and training of the best samurai archer or cavalry in game.

Hojo - similar to Takeda clan

Satomi - Well balanced army, employs excellent ashigaru skirmisher, cavalry and samurai guard. Elite Satomi Skirmisher like most other ashigaru bow skirmishers are cost efficient and very effective archers in the game. The Satomi lacks elite spearman but it is not a problem since the veteran spearman performs almost the same as the elite spearman. Other than the peasant archers, they are supported by superior cavalries to run down the battlefield and samurai guards to engage in melee. It is probably the most popular clan to recruit from if you want the best out of everything.

Satake - Missile focused clan, employs good spear ashigaru, excellent samurai archer and gunner. Similar to Asakura's troop tree. Good clan to look to recruitment of ranged samurai unit.

[Trade]

Trading in the Kanto Region is easy and forgiving, the land is less affected by bandits due to the huge flat region. Bringing goods from Tohoku Region and Chubu Region brings some profit to fill up your coffer. The region mainly focus on several trading goods: brown rice, hemp fiber and iron from villages brings a small profit, raw silk from other regions, and dyes and spice from Kyushu will all bring a great amount of profit in Edo. The region also sells fish cheaply in some markets, and bringing it to Kofu in the Chubu Region will definitely bring some profit as well. The land in Kanto are mostly safe from hostile parties so you do not have to worry much about getting robbed if you have hired some ashigarus or mercenaries to guard your goods.

[Starting tips for spawning in Edo]

As mentioned in this section, Kanto is a very safe place for trade as compared to the west. However some looters and rebels may still chase you if you are spotted. Spawning in Edo allows you to start trade very early, therefore you have to make some cash before you can start of your journey as a merchant. Entering a arena, and buying/selling brown rice from villages will all contribute towards filling your purse. With enough money, buying quality goods such as raw silk will bring plenty of profit in Edo. As you trade on, your money will grow. From there you should consider conquering Sado near Niigata in the Chubu Region or perhaps raise more troops to explore the western part of Japan.

Tohoku Region
[Military]

The Tohoku Region is huge yet not plagued by bandits. To the north, lies Hokkaido which looks abandoned except for a few neutral villages. To the south, the Kanto Region and the Chubu Region connects to the border of Tohoku Region. Tohoku Region has only three clans fighting one another over the huge, broad land. It is not an ideal place to seek allegiance except maybe the Date clan.

Just between Hokkaido and the northern end of Tohoku Region, the Ezo Warriors' activities are frequent. These warriors are completely different from most bandits from the rest of Japan. They are simple swordsman that lacks the support of missile units. Taking down these warriors will give plenty of experience including money from selling loot and ransom. It is probably a perfect place to train your ranged weapon and leveling up your companions.

Recruitment Highlight:

Nanbu - Master archery clan, employs excellent ashigaru skirmishers, samurai archers and cavalry. Very offensive set-up for raining fire with cost efficient ashigaru archers and samurai archers, while deploys cavalry to charge the enemy.

Mogami - Missile focused clan, employs excellent ashigaru skirmishers, samurai gunners and cavalry. Similar to the Nanbu clan, they have an offensive set-up except that they prefer to use guns for samurai combined with ashigaru archers and cavalry.

Date - Melee master clan, employs good spear ashigaru, excellent samurai guard and cavalry. If you prefer to recruit some melee infantry, look for the Date clan.

[Trade]

Trading is not ideal in Tohoku region except maybe for Date clan. Most of the towns offer nothing much except for fish and raw silk. Selling these goods to the south sounds reasonable but coming back to this region may not be profitable. If you capture the two neutral village in Hokkaido, you will have to travel past the Ezo Warrior's territory just to get them produce.

[Neutral Village]

There are two neutral village located in Hokkaido which is relatively far from Hirosaki. Travelling towards these two villages, you will encounter Ezo Warriors on the way. This may sounds painful but if you love capturing prisoners then consider capturing Niputay as a 'prison camp' for these Ezo Warriors. That way you can farm for these warriors, bring them to Niputay and carry off the goods and some prisoners with you to the south for trade. From there, you can capture nearby Otasut.

[Starting tips for Hirosaki]

Hirosaki starts off at the far end of Japan near Hokkaido, the land is huge and is safe from hostile party most of the time. Heading towards Hokkaido may not seem beneficial at first but coming back later with an army to capture the two neutral village will be more profitable. Earn some money from the arena and head towards Chubu Region to seek allegiance to a lord or trade in the Kanto Region to bring you enough money for conquest of these two villages.