| Akane | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Transport links | Namboku Line |
| Prefecture | Tennoji |
Akane is a small town in Tennoji, Mainland Limaru. Located between Yachiyo Castle and Minami Central Business District, it has been Emmaru's historic red light district for over 100 years.
History and Lore
In 1888, the colonial powers decreed that large poultry markets were to be located on the opposite bank of the River Alice from the commercial center in Enshima. This caused many poultry markets to be set up in Tennoji, which at the time was barren swampland with nothing in the way of development. One such market, the Akane and Family Market, was set up right across the river from the bustling commercial district of Minami.
Over time, business with the market grew as boat traffic in the River Alice increased. Most of the customers at the market were boaters and fishermen from Lipan, who went to this market downriver from City Lake as it offered cheaper prices. As most commuters in Enshima did not own boats, going to Akane was difficult. Therefore, the government decided to build Minami Bridge to connect Minami to Akane, therefore causing a population boom as land prices in Akane were much cheaper due to the lower quality soil.
However, building the bridge had other side effects. As Akane was not a district that the colonial government cared about, it became a centre for illicit activities, which gave the town a bad rap until today. This bad rap affected politics to the extend that when the Tennoji Railway built their line from Pelle to New Traxia and Minagi, they made a conscious effort to not build any stations at Akane.
The station situation would soon change when the government found out that Yachiyo Hill, in the middle of Tennoji, had stable soil. They built Yachiyo Castle on top of the hill, and earmarked both Akane and Madokashi (the western portion of Central Emmaru) for redevelopment. At that time, the plans were still secret, therefore no one knew that Akane was to become a commercial centre like Minami. This made the Tennoji Railway reluctantly build a small station at Akane, naming it "Yachiyo Castle", to avoid naming it "Akane", which still had bad connotations.
However, the decision to redevelop Akane was halted at the last moment when a government official, being drunk at Le Chat Noir one night, accidentally gave the plans to the hostess at the club. The next morning, a large protest broke out on the streets of Akane to save their town because of the blunder, putting a stop to any plans of redeveloping the area.
The next change to Akane happened in 1986 when the Namboku Line opened, with a new station (that 3 buildings were demolished for) opening at Akane. Simultaneously, the Tennoji Railway, now the Tennoji Line, was rerouted under Yachiyo Hill, therefore closing the line via Akane. This was followed by the extension of the Tsurumai Bypass, which was originally slated to be used for freight only but is now used by the S4, with no station at Akane.
Akane has remained largely unchanged since. To deter children and younger adolescents from exploring the area, the station on the Namboku Line was originally designed to be extremely bare-bones, with no advertising on its walls. However, this had the opposite effect of attracting the counter-culture of the 1980s and 1990s to loiter and graffiti its walls, leading Emmaru Railways to pay an artist to redecorate the station with its theme of greenery seen today.