Shogunate
This page is for discussion of the Shogunate era of Exalted.
Stephen Lee Shepherd notes, "Outcastes says it's been 1,261 years since the establishment of the Shogunate Calendar, though you have to do some math to decipher that. Some books say 1,500 years -- there are a couple of ways to take that discrepancy."
My View
The Shogunate does not necessarily have to have been formed immediately at the end of the Usurpation. It is entirely possible (I would argue that it is highly likely) that a bunch of Dragon-Blooded warlords looked around after the last of the Solar rulers of Creation finally went down, and decided to fight over what was left. One of them emerges as a Shogun, and declares a new calendar. Then, subsequent Shoguns, whether by inheritance or deposing the previous Shogun, stick with the calendar and so forth to create tradition and stability (for their own health and welfare, not for that of the public).
If you don't like the idea that it took a while to put down the Solars and fight over the remnants of Creation, then it is still possible that a followup Shogun might have started a new calendar, starting 1261 years ago rather than 1500 years ago. Or maybe it is the third calendar, or fourth, etc.
I am not arguing that I feel the Usurpation ended/happened exactly 1500 years ago. We all know the Scarlet Empress ruled for "eight centuries" and that translates to 763 years. I just think the "1500" number cited so often should be similarly "close" in estimation.
