Void Province

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

The Void Province is visibly more underdeveloped (or completely undeveloped in some cases) compared to the other provinces. It is mostly rural, with small towns being its largest unit of gatherings of people, making it the most civilian province in the Book of Five Rings. It is, however, also home to the largest and most well-managed forestry industry in The Book of Five Rings, so the local economy here always has something to fall back on. The woods here are harvested with some of the most austere environmental procedures in the country, so as to ensure continuity of the industry.

The Void Province also enjoy the same administrative freedoms as the Fire Province, with one difference: the Sovereign Shogun also holds a veto on how the administrative powers in this province is to be exercised, but a veto on the Void Province only lasts 24 hours, after which it cannot be used again for another 48 hours. In this sense, the Void Province is even more powerful than the Fire Province. But almost no one understands why this province has been given such extraordinary powers, given that this province has never seemed to need them.

In any case, most citizens of The Book of Five Rings considers this province fairly boring, but they also respect this province for having the lowest crime rates of any province for as long as The Book of Five Rings has existed. The rural areas may get some occasional tourists, but not much else. Although those already settled in the province seem to be gainfully employed, none of the existing jobs are particularly well-paying, and jobs for newcomers are extremely difficult to find, if they exist at all.

The Void Province has a history of having civilians as its Premier Shogun. Its current Premier Shogun is former business secretary Oda Takumi.

The Void Province is divided into six prefectures:

Pine Prefecture

Mulberry Prefecture

Pomegranate Prefecture

Willow Prefecture

Grove Prefecture

Forest Prefecture

Each prefecture is fairly similar to each other, with minor distinctions. Households in the Pine, Mulberry, Pomegranate, and Willow prefectures are known for planting one or more of the type of tree that each respective prefecture is named after. In the case of the Grove and Forest prefectures, households are also known for planting trees, but with more variety. Trees in the Grove prefecture tend to be smaller than those in the Forest prefecture. The provincial capital, Mukage, is located in the Forest prefecture.