Fire Province

Note: in Five Rings tradition, people's surnames are invoked before given names.

Most of the military technologies developed by The Book of Five Rings itself is communicated from the Fire Province to the other provinces. Sometimes, government officials from the Fire Province venture out to other provinces or other nations to implement some of the more complex military technologies (or convert said technologies for civilian use) or make diplomatic trips. The Book of Five Rings relies heavily on domestically developed technologies, because Sovereign Shoguns in the past (including the current one, Yamato Hagakure) had been reluctant to import foreign technologies, even if there are technologically superior nations in the surrounding regions. Otherwise, government officials from this province are not often seen.

The Fire Province enjoys considerably more administrative freedoms than the other provinces. Since the founding of The Book of Five Rings, the Fire Province has never opened more than half of its territories to the public, and this is strictly enforced by protecting the provincial and prefectural borders of the Fire Province with walls or armed guards. Sometimes some off-limits lands may be reopened while other open areas may be restricted again. Lands that are off-limits may be placed under different levels of security. Some levels of security simply makes a place off-limits to citizens and foreigners, while others allow access only for certain types of government officials. From what information the government had been willing to divulge, the off-limits areas may hold military research facilities and indeterminate numbers of military capital and personnel from the Five Rings Air Force (FRAF), the Five Rings Ground Forces (FRGF), and the Five Rings Federal Police (FRFP). The national capital, which is located here, is always open to the public, however. Much like the provincial capital, Tekka. Additionally, much of the information associated with this province (such as projects, progress reports, expenditure audits, etc.) are classified information. This degree of secrecy has made the Fire Province a frequent target of criticisms and rumors.

The Premier Shoguns of this province tend to be high-profile technocrats or officers from the FRAF, FRGF, or FRFP. The current Premier Shogun is former FRGF commando captain, Tokugawa Mori.

The Sovereign Shogun holds a permanent veto on how the wide range of administrative powers of this province is to be exercised. Historically, however, the Sovereign Shogun and the Premier and Governor Shoguns of this province have tended to agree on what needed to be kept secret.

The Fire Province consists of six prefectures:

Celestial Fire Prefecture

(or variously referred to as the Sunlight, Moonlight, or Starlight Prefecture)

The nation's capital city, The Way, is located in this prefecture. This is the more bureaucratic prefecture in The Book of Five Rings. Most of what is publicly accessible here is part of the government (such as the legislative hall) or associated with it in some significant way.

Candle Fire Prefecture

This is the most civilian part of the Fire Province, and tends to have more areas open than any other prefecture in the Fire Province at any given time. People here are often considered more sociable than those from other parts of the Fire Province.

Wildfire Prefecture

The provincial capital, Tekka, is located here. Most of what is publicly accessible here has to do with the FRGF or FRFP.

Twilight Prefecture

This prefecture is similar to the Wildfire Prefecture, except that it seems to have a greater FRAF presence.

Furnace Fire Prefecture

This is the most secretive prefecture of the entire Fire Province, always having the highest percentage of off-limits territories. Understandably, not much is known about this prefecture.

Sparkling Fire Prefecture

(also known as the Lightning Prefecture)

From what information is known about this prefecture, there are not many troops stationed here. However, whatever troops there are in this prefecture are known for their lightning-quick response to any situation that may require military action. Sometimes some army bases here may be open to the public, or even tourists. Sometimes they are not.