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NIPPON
By Mathias Eliasson
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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION .................................................... 7THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN ....... ........... 9History of Nippon ...................................................... 10
Timeline of Nippon.................................................... 18
Culture and Customs.................................................. 22
The Great Clans ......................................................... 35
Map of Nippon ........................................................... 39
The Land of Nippon................................................... 40
WARRIORS OF NIPPON ................................... 51Army Special Rules ................................................... 52Commanders .............................................................. 53
Shugenja .................................................................... 54
Hatamoto ................................................................... 55
Samurai Warriors ....................................................... 56
Samurai Cavalry ........................................................ 57
Ashigaru .................................................................... 58
Warriors Monks ......................................................... 59
Yamabushi ......................................................... ........ 60
Sumo Warriors ........................................................... 61
Battle Maidens ........................................................... 62
Kabuki Dolls .............................................................. 63
Yabusame .................................................................. 64
Red Devils ................................................................. 65
Ronin ......................................................................... 66
Wako Pirates .............................................................. 67
Ninja ........................................................... ................ 68
Shinobi ....................................................................... 69
Great Guard ........................................................... ..... 70
War Machines ....................................................... ..... 71Mikoshi Shrine ........................................................... 72
Oni ............................................................. ................ 73
Tengu ......................................................................... 74
Kitsune ....................................................................... 75
Ryujin ......................................................... ................ 76
Yoritomo Ieyasu ......................................................... 77
Empress Jungi ............................................................ 78Hitomi Gozen ............................................................. 79
The Red Ronin ........................................................... 80
Sarutori Hanzo ........................................................... 81
O-Sayumi ................................................................... 82
Lore of the Kami ........................................................ 83
Clan Mon ................................................... ................ 84Vessels of the Kami ........................ ........................... 85
Poisons ....................................................................... 87
THE NIPPON ARMY LIST .............................. . 89Lords .......................................................................... 91
Heroes ........................................................................ 92
Core Units .................................................................. 95
Special units ............................................................... 97
Rare Units .................................................. .............. 100
SUMMARY ................................. ............................ 102
Compiled, Edited & Partly Written by:
Mathias Eliasson
Cover Art:Ensemble Studios
Art:Legend of the Five Rings by various illustrators, Paizo Publishing by various illustrators, Wayne Reynolds, Angus MacBride, Creative
Assembly, Emilio, Bjrn Hurri, Tom Edward, Genzoman, kerembeyit, Andreas von Cotta, Miguel Coimbra, Michal Ivan, Nate Barnes, Steve Argyle,
Rowiel, Zvezda, chagan, James Paick, vimark, Sengoku Game, epson361, stevegoad, shima99, ColdFlame1987, alp, BeneOctavian, jgskectch22,
Dreamlord, vladlegostayev, krypt, GBrush. Mariusz Kozik, Hangman801, DiosdadoMondero, artoflinca, Zenzzen, Wen M, One Vox, vablo,
camilkou, Neil Bruce, diegogisbertllorens, crutz, reau, agnidevi, raynkazuya, capprotti, MaBuArt, vladgheneli, jubjubjedi, artifart, devjohnson,
obrotowy, skaya3000, artozi, chaser226. Noah Bradley, sundragon83, Nordheimer, J Wilson Illustration, coolart, clovery, funkychinaman,DiegoGisbertLlorens. Book Design:Mathias Eliasson. Rules Development:Mathias Eliasson. Original Material:Legend of the Five Rings by
Shawn Carman and others, Andrew Fawcett, Arne Dam, Bill Ward, Shogun: Total War & Total War: Shogun II by Creative Assembly, Aldebrand
Ludenhof, Tito Leati, Dave Morris, Jamie Thomson, Thomas Heasman-Hunt, Stefan Barton-Ross, Simon Sullivan.
Special Thanks To: All the players that have contributed with feedback and ideas.
This book is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.The Chaos devices, the Chaos logo, Citadel, Citadel Device, the Double-Headed/Imperial Eagle device, 'Eavy Metal, Forge World, Games Workshop,
Games Workshop logo, Golden Demon, Great Unclean One, the Hammer of Sigmar logo, Horned Rat logo, Keeper of Secrets, Khemri, Khorne, Lordof Change, Nurgle, Skaven, the Skaven symbol devices, Slaanesh, Tomb Kings, Trio of Warriors, Twin Tailed Comet Logo, Tzeentch, Warhammer,
Warhammer Online, Warhammer World logo, White Dwarf, the White Dwarf logo, and all associated marks, names, races, race insignia, characters,
vehicles, locations, units, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world are either , TM and/or Copyright Games Workshop Ltd 2000-
2013, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. Used without permission. No challenge to their status intended. All Rights
Reserved to their respective owners.
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INTRODUCTIONWelcome to Warhammer: Nippon, your indispensable guide to the mysterious realm of the
east. This book provides all the information youll require o play with a Nippon army in
games of Warhammer.
WHY COLLECT NIPPON?The Empire of Nippon demands much of its samurai:
service to ones lord, service to ones Clan, and service
to ones Emperor. Bushidos staunch and unyielding
code of conduct binds samurai to duty, strengthening
their character and defining their choices.
A Nipponese army is a magnificent sight, filled with
colour and variety. Samurai form the main battle line,
supported by the lowly Ashigaru and brave Warrior
Monks. Sumo Warriors march with them, as do the
Clanss greatest warriors and the mysterious Kabuki
Dolls. Daemonic Oni summoned by the Shugenjaaccompany them, followed by deadly Ninja. The
armies of Nippon are lead by the Daimyo and the
Taisho, the clan leaders, all sworn to the sovereignty of
the Shogun.
HOW THIS BOOK WORKSWarhammer army books are split into sections, each of
which deals with different aspects of the titular army.
Warhammer: Nipponcontains:
The Land of the Rising Sun.This section
introduces the Nipponese and their part in the
Warhammer world. It includes their society and
history. You will also find information on the land
of Nippon, the Emerald Empire of the east.
Warriors of Nippon. Each and every troop type in
the Nippon army is examined here. You will find afull description of the unit, alongside the complete
rules for any special abilities or options they
possess. This section also includes the Vessels of the
Kamimagical artefacts that are unique to the army
along with rules to use them in your games.
Nippon Army List. The army list takes all of the
characters, warriors, monsters and war machinesfrom the Warriors of Nippon section and arranges
them so that you can choose an army for your
games. Units are classed as characters (Lords or
Heroes), Core, Special or Rare, and can be taken in
different quantities depending on the size of the
game you are playing.
FIND OUT MOREWhile Warhammer: Nipponcontains everything you
need to play the game with your army, there are otherbooks and updates to be found. For the other books in
the series and the latest rules updates, visit:
www.warhammerarmiesproject.blogspot.com
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THEL ND OFTHERISING
SUNA samurai is a servant, fi rst and foremost,
and according to traditi on, their fi rst andmost sacred duty is to die in the name of their
lor d if necessary. I t is a fate to which most
bushi aspire, and even though those who
fol low the path of a shugenja are ostensibl y
people of peace, there are many among their
number who would reli sh a simil arly
honourable death.
Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending
upon whom you ask - the Empire's history
has been ful l of war and confli ct, giving the
samurai of Nippon plenty of opportuni ty for
self-sacrifice.
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History of NipponLike many peoples, the Nipponese see themselves as
the children of the gods. Nippon came into being when
the gods Zanagi and Zanami stood on the bridge ofheaven and stirred the waters of the Earth with a spear.
The drops of water that fell from the spear tip gathered
together to become the islands of Nippon. The pair
then descended and raised the spear as the centre pole
of their house. Nippon had been created.
Zanagi and Zanami had many children, which would
be known and worshipped as the Kami. Amateratsu,
the Sun Goddess was the first-born of these.
Amateratsu inherited the earth and would rule Nippon
and guide its people through her palace in the sky.
Even so, the land was far from unified, with many
different clans vying for power and fighting against
each other for thousands of years.
THE FOUNDING OF NIPPONAround -13 I.C., Emperor Yamayakyuki was the agent
of an important change in Nipponese history. Nippon at
this time was composed of many clans, of which the
strongest was the Imperial Yamayakyuki family. The
Yamayakyuki were one clan amongst manybut they
claimed the right to rule because they were descended
directly from the Sun Goddess, Amateratsu.
When Yamyakyuki was finally declared ruler of Usaki
he was already an imposing man of some thirty years.
The story goes that on more than one occasion his
opponents surrendered before a sword was drawn dueto his defeating charisma and leadership alone. But
already as a young man Yamyakyuki proved himself a
man second to none. Before his twentieth year he
ventured alone into the Kanto-Yoshida Mountains to
the east, where he returned sixty days later carrying the
Ryatso Katana and flying on one of the legendaryKirin. This wondrous magical mount stayed with him
until the day he died.
The Jinto priests took these events as proof of
Yamyakyuki's ancestry that he was indeed of
Amateratsus blood. The Ryatso Katana, a sword oftrue craftsmanship lost in the wars against the
Korgians, was to become the staff of office for all
future Emperors of Nippon and Yamyakyuki was
worshipped as the divine descendant of Amateratsu. He
declared that he had a vision from Amateratsu: he must
gather all of Nippon into a single empire, to bring
peace and harmony back to all of the Sun Goddess
people or die in the attempt.
Yamyakyuki mustered a mighty army and finally
conquered all of Nippon, though the campaign took afull twelve years to achieve. The defeated armies were
given the choice of submitting to the rule of
Yamyakyuki or die; only in two cases did an enemy
choose the latter. These were the warlords of the
Ichymoni and Koijo clans respectively, whose
warriors, cousins and their families were decapitated indays; it was a blood bath.
By -1 I.C. resistance had been broken and in the same
year representatives of all the clans of Nippon gatheredat a coronation feast at Mount Fuji where Yamyakyuki
was proclaimed the First Emperor of all Nippon. On
the first day of the coronation Yamyakyuki entered the
cave in Mount Fuji. When Yamyakyuki emerged from
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the cave it is said that the sun shone so brightly that the
gathered masses turned their eyes lest they be blinded.
During the early period of Yamayakyukis rule theinfluence of the mainland began to be felt in Nipponese
culture. Cathay had already advanced to a
comparatively high level of civilisation, and thanks to
the relative ease of travel and trade from Cathay, iron,writing, literature and philosophy came to Nippon.
Nippon was divided in ten regions which were further
divided in a total of 66 provinces. Yamyakyuki ruled
Usaki, while the rule of the other nine regions were
given to the most capable and loyal of the Kamato clan
leaders, who had fought as generals in Yamyakuyukis
army. The individual provinces remained under the
rule of the local clans who had accepted Yamyakyuki
as their liege lord, though one province was given to
each of the nine region rulers.
Yamyakyuki retained a firm and just rule of Nipponuntil his death in -12 I.C. His oldest son, also named
Yamyakyuki, ascended the Imperial throne as
Yamyakyuki II. Unfortunately, he had not inherited his
fathers leadership skills. The Daimyo saw the
opportunity to increase their own power within their
provinces. The strongest Daimyo, lead by MitsusakiOnokate, pressed the weak emperor to grant them tax
liberation of their personal lands. Others seeking tax
evasion became vassals of these governors and thus
avoided tax payments to the Imperial coffers.
As the years passed, the loss of tax revenues and the
increasing strength of governors undermined thecentral Imperial authority. Already during the reign of
Yamyakyukis grandson, Yamyakyuki III, the emperor,
though still the formal ruler of all Nippon, only
effectively controlled the Imperial Province, home of
the capital Edo. Nippon had dissolved into feuding
chiefdoms lead by ambitious clan leaders.
By the 9th century the Emperors were actually pulling
back from the day-to-day business of ruling a country.
They were becoming symbols of power rather than the
wielders of power. As the Emperors retired fromgovernment, control passed to the court officials. The
Emperors continued to reign, but they no longer ruledthe country.
This period was a time when Nipponese culture came
into its own, leaving its Cathayan-dominated roots
behind. At the same time, this changed the way that
Nippon was governed. The central government became
corrupt and weak. Land ownership started shifting to
great estates. The nobles who held government offices
were given tax-free hereditary estates as payments.
Many peasants and lesser landholders were only too
happy to hand over their property to these estates toescape from the heavy taxes levied on them!
THE RISE OF THE SAMURAIAt around the same time, the samurai were coming to
prominence as more than just another group of fighting
men. Like the knights of the Old World, the samurai
were the leaders of common foot soldiers. Like theknights it was possible to win promotion to the ranks of
the samurai. And like the knights, to be samurai also
implied a degree of service to a superior. In the case of
the samurai, this service was to the Emperor, a noble or
a warlord.
The Imperial government found the samurai incredibly
useful in putting down rebellions, but with the shift in
power to mighty land-owners, the loyalties of the
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samurai also shifted. The samurai came to serve and
protect the great lords, fighting against other great
landlords, bandits and rebellious locals. Although some
of these samurai were from humble families, the clans
that prospered and attracted allies could trace their
ancestors back for centuries, often to some (minor)Imperial relative banished from Court to seek his
fortune elsewhere. Among these clans of aristocratic
samurai were the Mirumoto in the east and the Hotomo
in the south west of Nippon. No longer content to
merely serve, the samurai began to interfere in
government politics.
THE IMPERIAL WARIn 1155 there was a crisis in the Imperial succession,
when the current Emperor was found poisoned without
a clear heir. This led to heavy arguments of whom
would take the trone, with the Emperors uncle Go-
Hirakawa and cousin Jozun being the most suitablecandidates. The Mirumoto supported the cousin and the
Hotomo the uncle, each of which were positivelyinclined to either clan respectively. That meant that
whoever would have their candidate become Emperor
would have a great boon at having their will go through
at the Imperial Court. Naturally, there would not be apeaceful solution to the matter.
The Mirumoto and Hotomo were now in open war with
each other. At the Battle of Hogo, the Mirumoto
samurai were defeated, with the majority of them being
executed for their defiance by order of the would-be
Emperor Go-Hirakawa. Among these were the old
Emperors cousin and many of the chief members of
the Mirumoto clan. However, rather than allowing their
enemies to execute them, they cut their own stomach
with their swords in the first seen display of seppuku.
This victory allowed helped the Hotomo clan to rise
rapidly to power in the Imperial Court, and Go-
Hirakawa declared himself Emperor. The Mirumoto,
though beaten, were not defeated, and longed for
revenge.
This time, the civil war that followed was a
straightforward fight between the Hotomo and the
Mirumoto. Although the war seemed to go well
initially for the Mirumoto, events soon turned against
them. The Hotomo attacked the Mirumoto
headquarters, and then lured them into a counter-attack
that failed when Mirumoto Yorimasa refused to join in
because he could not violate his duty to the Emperor.The surviving Mirumoto were pursued and slaughtered
without mercy.
Mirumoto Yoshitomo fled with three of his sons one of
whom, was so badly wounded that he begged his father
to kill him so that the others could flee with more
speed. Yoshimoto did this, but to no avail. He was
caught and murdered in his bath, taken when hethought he had outrun his pursuers. Hotomo Kiyomori
then beheaded the Mirumoto clanliterally.
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Hotomo Kiyomori was seemingly unassailable. He had
beaten his samurai rivals and was now the most
powerful Daimyo in Nippon. However, he had not
quite killed all the Mirumoto and in twenty years the
survivors had become strong enough to challenge him
once again.
The Imperial War would last for another five years.
Once again, the Mirumoto opposed the Hotomo, but
this time they were supported by the sohei, warrior
monks from the temples of Kumano. However, the
Hotomo were initially successful again, defeating the
Mirumoto army at the battle of Mount Fuji.
In 1183 the course of the war began to turn for the
Mirumoto clan under the leadership of Daimyo
Mirumoto Nobunaga. They won a series of brilliant
victories, culminating in 1185 with the Battle of Sano-Iru. Both the Hotomo and Mirumoto clans aboard fleetsof warships and headed into the straits north of Usaki.
In the middle of the Hotomo fleet was the newly
crowned, Emperor Ontaku. He was still very young
and the symbol of Hotomo and Imperial legitimacy,
and thus an important element of the Hotomo claim to
rule Nippon. What happened at the Battle of Sano-Iru
was virtually a land battle fought from ship to ship. The
sea is supposed to have run red with blood during the
battle as the Mirumoto smashed the Hotomo army. The
unfortunate Emperor Ontaku was drowned.
His military victory secured, Mirumoto Nobunaga didnot bother with any of the political manoeuvring at
Court that the Hotomo had used. His power was based
on his armies, not on any Imperial family connections.
The Emperor was forced into retirement, becoming a
mere symbol. Nobunaga took the title and office of
Shogun, becoming the true leader of Nippons power.
Nobunaga also moved the centre of power from Usaki
to Hyodo. The old Imperial Court was ignored and
became largely irrelevant to the running of the country.
The Mirumoto clan would hold Nippon in an iron grip
for many centuries to come.
HOBGOBLIN INVASIONIn 1745, the Hung amassed a great horde and assailed
the Cathayan province of Han Kou. After runnning
rampart throughout the land, The Hung set their eyes
upon Nippon. Wanting to conquer all the kingdoms of
the east, the Hung Warlord ordered his army to
construct a great fleet of many thousand ships to sail to
conquer the islands.
Nippon at this time was still strong under Mirumotocontrol, but severely outnumbered by the Hung. The
Shogun of the time, a rash man who attacked first and
thought later, ordered the entirety of the Nipponese
fleet to meet the Hobgoblins head on. Only a dozen
ships returned, and the Shogun, shamed by the defeat
of his mighty fleet, performed seppuku.
However, not all was lost. The Empress Jungi, though
but a symbol like the Emperors before her had been for
many centuries, was an extremely powerful Shugenja.
With the Shogun gone, she rallied her people and took
to the battlefield herself. Stunned by this expected
show of courage, the Nipponese followed her. She tookthe Imperial Ship with her closest bodyguard to protect
her, and sailed towards the approaching Hobgoblin
fleet. With all her might, she summoned a huge tidal
wave that swept across the Hobgoblin fleet, capsizing
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their ships and drowning the greenskins in the murky
depths. Over two thirds of the Hobgoblin fleet was
destroyed in one strike though Empress Jungi almost
perished from fatigue, for such was the exertion caused
by the spell.
She did not let that stop her though, and personally led
the Nipponese armies against the parts of the
Hobgoblin fleet that managed to land on the coast.
Nippon was saved from the greenskin menace, and
Empress Jungi was hailed as its saviour. The other
clans rallied behind her and proclaimed her the trueruler of Nippon. The Mirumoto Shugonate was soon
overthrown, and Empress Jungi would be the first ruler
in the period that would be known as the Imperial
Restoration.
WAR OF THE COURTSThough Empress Jungi did actually restore the Imperialadministrative system and do away with the Shogunate,
this would not last. When she mysteriously disappearedsome ten years later and the throne was ascended by
her son Go-Daigo, there was soon talk about rebellion.
Go-Daigo did not possess the same level of leadership
qualities as his mother, and some rumours even spokeabout him having her assassinated to get to the throne
himself.
The Ujimasa were the first to take advantage of this,
rallying several of the clans and openly accusing the
weak Emperor of murder. They drove Emperor from
Hyodo and set up another Emperor under their direct
control. The Wars of the Courts" dragged on for 56
years as Go-Daigo and his heirs fought against the
Ujimasa and their Emperors. In 1792, however, an
Ujimasa ambassador convinced the true Emperor to
abdicate. With the Ujimasa puppets now seen as the
rightful Emperors, their Shoguns came into their own,but their power was to be relatively short-lived. The
Ujimasa period was one of great refinement of
manners, of great art and literary works. However,
during this period real power passed from the Shogun
to the other great clans. The Ujimasa shoguns were
never able to control these clans, and this failure was tolead to a century of terrible violence.
CHAOS INCURSIONLong ago, a warpstone meteorite had crashed in the
northern part of Haikido, and the once prosperous
island instead became a lair of evil. A terrible fate
began to afflict the people of Haikido as the clouds ofwarp dust blew into the towns and villages. They began
to mutate and became things much less than human.The castle of Kamakura was inhabited by foul beings,
with many of the people turning to the worship of the
dark gods. For millennia, those pure in spirit would
fight against the Chaos forces of Haikido, holding themoff from moving south into Koshu.
In 2302, the forces of Chaos were on the march over
the entire world. Though it was the Old World in the
west that bore the worst brunt of it, all was not quiet in
Nippon either. From their Castle of Decay in Haikido,
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the Chaos worshippers known as the Black Samurai
marched south, aided by many Oni that were able to
traverse into the material plane through a newly opened
warpgate.
The clans of Nippon would set their differences asidefor the first time since the time of Empress Jungi, and
gathered to face the forces of Chaos.
On what would be known as the Fields of Death in
Haikido, the armies of Emperor Naganori, Shogun
Ujimasa Horotome and his Samurai would battle the
largest Chaos incursion ever seen in Nippons history.
It was a brutal battle as Chaos Warrior fought Samurai
in bitter combats. For the first time the Nipponese were
to experience the horror of magic cast by the ChaosSorcerers; many of these foul wizards had come across
the seas from the West. The Nipponese could not hopeto win being pitched against such a devastating
weapon. But just when the Chaos forces were to gain
the upper hand the ground began to rumble as great
cracks opened up directly underneath the main Chaos
column. Within seconds the column was swallowed by
a great earthquake, separating it from the main battle inthe process. The Nipponese saw this as a sign from the
Kami and fought with renewed vigour as they finally
destroyed the followers of Chaos. It was a great, but
costly, victory for Emperor Naganori and Shogun
Ujimasa Horotome.
The surviving forces of Chaos retreated back north.
Unable to pursue them among the warp dust, the
Nipponese have never been able to fully eradicate the
forces of Chaos from their position at the Castle of
Decay. It is said they still plot and plan to overthrow
Nippon once more, though that day has not yet come to
pass.
ARRIVAL OF GUNPOWDERIn 2322 the first Old Worlders arrived in Nippon, when
a group of Marienburgers traders landed in Konshu.
The Marienburgers brought with them one thing that
would greatly affect the future of Nippons warfare:
effective gunpowder weapons.
Gunpowder weapons were not a complete mystery tothe samurai. They certainly knew about Cathayan
artillery, but gunpowder hadntreally arrived inNipponese warfare, until now. The guns that the
Marienburgers brought to Nippon were handguns or
matchlocks. They were light enough to be used by one
man and relatively safe. The handgun had a slow rate
of fire on the battlefield, but it did have one massive
advantage that was recognised in Nippon as quickly as
it had been spotted in the Old World. Training as an
archer takes years of dedicated work. Learning to use a
handgun takes days, at most. The Ashigaru were a pool
of soldiers in every army ready and waiting for an
easy-to-use missile weapon.
Given the level of skill that Nipponese swordsmithsand armourers exhibits, its hardly surprising that it
took remarkably little time before the handgun wasbeing produced in Nippon, and that it was adopted
enthusiastically by the Daimyo for their armies.
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However, although everyone could see that the
handgun was a useful addition to the armoury, it would
take time before someone would integrate a substantial
force of Matchlock Ashigaru into his army in a
tactically effective manner.
WAR WITH CATHAY
In 2355, Shogun Ujimasa Hideyoshi became Shogunafter killing his predecessor in a duel. Hideyoshi was a
ruthless man, who saw the decline of the Ujimasa
Shogunate and the rivaling Daimyo as a pest that must
be eradicated. In an effort to once again rally Nippon in
more than just words of peace on a paper, he called foran invasion of Cathay to increase the borders and
wealth of his glorious land. Cathay had been hit hard
by the forces of Chaos during the Great War Against
Chaos, and had not quite recuperated as well as
Nippon. Now was the perfect time to strike.
He constructed a huge fleet of thousands of ships
which would take his troops across the Far Sea toCathay. Over 250 000 troops was sent across the
treacherous waters, making landfall near Fu Chow on
the eastern coast.
This sudden attack was a large surprise for the
Cathayans, who where quickly overtaken by the
Nipponese force. Hideyoshis armies established a
foothold with Fu Chow as a base from where they
could take in more supplies and fresh troops from
Nippon. The Nipponese would prove to be
unstoppable, beating back every Cathayan army sent
against them and conquering more and more cities on
the eastern coast.
The Cathayans became more and more desperate,
resorting to hiding in the woods and attacking supply
caravans rather than facing the Nipponese on the field
of battle.
The war would rage on for a total of 120 years, until
the Cathayans and Nipponese would face off at the
battle of Xenyong. As the Nipponese forces tried to
engage the Cathayans, they were constantly lured
closer and closer into a valley, where the cowardlyCathayans had planned an ambush. As the Nipponese
cavalry charged into the Cathayan army, they were shot
down by dozens of rocket batteries, so many that the
shy could barely be seen for all the arrows that covered
it. The barbaric Cathayan Emperor even cut of the head
Hideyoshi who was leading the assault, and sent it to
Hideyoshis brother who was governor of Fu Chow.
When news of this defeat reached the rest of theNipponese forces, they began to lose heart. City after
city was taken aback by the Cathayans, until only FuChow remained. Hideyoshis brother ordered his
remaining forces to take the ships back to Nippon. The
war was lost.
This defeat was the greatest in Nipponese history, and
would ultimately cost the Ujimasa the power of theShogunate. Sure that they were too weak to lead
Nippon after the defeat against Cathay, the clan
Daimyo once more began plotting against each other
and the Shogunate.
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THE TIME OF THE WARRINGCLANSIn 2487, Nippon was a powder keg waiting to explode.
The Ujimasa Shoganate was at an all time low,
spending more of their time arguing and performing tea
ceremonies than leading the country. It hardly came asa surprise when full-on civil war broke out.
The weak Shogun did nothing to prevent this, and soonrioting became prevalent in Usaki.
It did not take long until the rest of the clans followed
suit. Each of the great clans attempted to invade their
neighbours, minor clans were trampled underfoot and
destroyed, and burning fires could be seen every night.
As the war spread throughout Nippon, Daimyo took the
opportunity to settle old scores (and gain territory at the
expense of their neighbours) with mixed results.
The central government had, for all intents andpurposes, vanished. The Daimyo were free to wage as
many wars as they wanted or could afford. The lesser
samurai families were quite free to dream of greater
power and steal land from each other as well.
A shifting pattern of rivalries and alliances emerged.One clan would ally with another against the threat
from a third, only to find that their allies had become
just as great a threat, or that previously loyal underlings
were now more dangerous than any external threat.
Samurai warfare had always used dirty tricks,
assassination and outright treachery but during earlierconflicts, such as the Gempei War, the clans who had
behaved in this fashion were widely regarded as
villains. In the Warring Clans period, however, all was
fair in love and war. A quick murder was as acceptable
as winning a battle. The daimyo, of course, had access
to the ninja, who saw much use during the war. It was a
wise man who took precautions against assassination,
even if he didnt plot the deaths of his rivals and
superiors.
YORITOMO IEYASUDuring this time, the Yoritomo clan was another one of
those small samurai families who had managed to gain
control of a province during the time of the Warring
Clans. In 2506, the grim Yoritomo Ieyasu became head
of the clan.
When the Batake marched towards Hyodo, taking
advantage of the fact that the Horumi and Taneka were
busy fighting each other, they came upon Ieyasus
province. Fiercely defending his home, Ieyasu decided
to attack. After a brilliant bit of trickery, he managed to
convince the Batake that his army was camped in oneplace, and then ambushed the main Batake force in a
gorge. The battle lasted minutes rather than hours. The
Batake Daimyo was killed, and only realised at the last
minute that the samurai who were attacking were not
part of his own force who were the worse for drink.
Yoritomo Ieyasu was now a real power in the land.
The temptation to march on Hyodo must have been
there for Ieyasu as well, but he bided his time and
secured alliances with his neighbours by marrying offhis daughter and younger sister. Soon his route to
Hyodo and the Shogunate was open.
Yoritomo Ieyasu entered Hyodo in November 2508,
taking the city with little resistance from the
Shogunate. Now, all he needed was to defeat the rest ofthe great clans.
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In 2508, he fell upon the Mushagi and fought the
indecisive, but victorious Battle of Onogawa. While his
forces won the day, they didnt crush the Mushagi and.
Troubles now multiplied for Ieyasu and he rapidly
found he was facing not only the Mushagi, but the
Horumi and Taneka as well.
The Taneka moved against him, almost trapping
Tokugawa Ieyasu in his castle. Ieyasu was faced with a
simple choice: stay where he was and fail in his duty to
prevent the Taneka from reaching Hyodo, or fight. He
chose to leave the castle and met the Taneka army inthe snow on a stretch of open moors near the
Ekawasaki River. The battle that followed was a
triumph for Yoritomo Ieyasu and for the arquebus.
Ieyasu organised his 3000 best shooters into a single
unit and placed them in three lines behind a palisade of
stakes. When the Taneka clan charged across a very
waterlogged battlefield a blasts of gunfire or so tore
them to pieces. Those that survived the gunfire were
cut down by Ieyasus other soldiers. The victory wascomplete. Having heard of his great victory, the
Horumi and Mushagi soon capitulated and swore fealtyto Yoritomo Ieyasu.
Ieyasus army now turned its full power towards the
Ashiwara. He made steady progress, and besieged their
castle at Izumo. The entire Ashiwara clan gathered to
try and lift the siege, and Ieyasu summonedreinforcements when he realised exactly what he was
facing. The Ashiwara were defeated, and they too
swore fealty to Ieyasu.
The stage was now set for the confrontation betweenIeyasu and the Daimatzu clan. The battle was fought
near Nagashige, and when it was over, Ieyasu sat down
to count almost 2500 heads taken from an enemy army
of around 9000 soldiers. His armys losses were around
600 men. With Ieyasus army standing outside their
city, the Daimatzu surrounded.
Ieyasu was in a position to conquer the rest of Nippon.
That he managed this as quickly as he did is a tribute
not only to his military skills, but also to his political
skills. When facing the Sheinzei clan, there was little
point in not fighting to the bitter end in the
mountainous regions of Haikido. Instead, Ieyasu wasmore political and cunning. He was generous towards
his enemies, letting them keep their holdings. He left
them in charge as they had been, having first secured
their loyalty. As a result, he managed to add the armies
of the Shinzei to his own forces and grow stronger overtime.
Now, there was only one clan left to conquerthe
warlike Uruchi to the west of Koshu. During the time
of the Warring clans, they had relentlessly been
attacking the castles of the Batake, but to no avail.
Even being as outnumbered as they were, diplomatic
discussion was fruitlessthe heads of Ieyasusmessengers were simply sent back in a basket. Ieyasu
gathered his armies and prepared for the final
confrontation.
In what would be known as the Battle of the Sundered
Realm, the two sides met, or almost blundered into
each other in the fog, in damp and miserable
conditions. Both armies were soaked through and
neither side could see the other because of dense fog.
In the early part of the day, however, the fog lifted andthe battle commenced as one huge, mud-soaked brawl.
The Uruchi, however, were both disorganized and
outnumbered, and stood little chance against Ieyasus
disciplined troops.
By mid-afternoon, Ieyasu was again counting the headsof his defeated enemies. The captured Uruchi Daimyo
challenged Ieyasu to a final personal duel. Ieyasu
accepted, and promptly cut his head off. The Uruchi
immediately submitted afterwards. From this day on,
Yoritomo Ieyasu knew that he would be the undisputed
ruler of Nippon.
In 2517, he was declared Shogun, the title having been
unused for nearly 30 years after the removal of the lastof the Ujimasa clan. Now, Nippon is officially united.
Even if enmity and smaller conflicts between the clansstill exists, the land is officially at peace. The courts
whisper of what Ieyasu will do to keep it, and with that,
his power. Some even whisper of gathering the armies
of all clans in a new attempt at invading Cathay...
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Timeline of NipponTime in Nippon is measured in several ways. The seasons are the most obvious division of time, as the weather in
Nippon switch from oppressive heat during the summer months to crippling snow in the winter. A more formal
system of months and days also exists, dividing the year into twelve months of 28 days. Additionally, the years
themselves can be counted by another system: the Emperor's Right, which refer to the year of the reign of the
Emperor and is the official method of recording the passage of time in Nippon. For convenience though, all dateshere are written using the Imperial Calendar of the Old World.
Date Event Date Event
C-5900 Zanami and Zanagi create Nippon. Theygive birth to many children who would be
known and worshipped as the Kami, with
their first born being the Sun Goddess
Amateratsu.
C-5600 Amateratsu inherits Nippon, and becomes
its guide for thousands of years. Though
the people worship her as the Sun Goddess,
the many warring clans fight amongstthemselves for territory without a proper
leader to unify them.
C-1500 A large Warpstone meteorite crashes in the
north of Haikido. Humans and animals
begin to mutate into horrid Beastmen, and
daemons and chaos worshippers begin to
spread across the island.
C-1350 Skaven are first sighted in Haikido. They
strike a bargain with the predecessors to
the Shinzei Clan, learning the art of
Ninjitsu in return for refined Warpstone.
-87 Dark Elf ships start raiding the coasts of
Cathay and Nippon.
-13 Yamayakyuki is declared to be the
descendant of Amateratsu and begins a
large campaign of conquest to unite the
clans of Nippon.
-1 Emperor Warlord Yamayakyuki founds the
Imperial Family and unites Nippon for the
first time as one nation. Jinto becomes the
state religion.
8 The Great Temple of Amaterasu is built
and the Imperial Palace is completed in
Usaki.
12 Emperor Yamayakyuki dies.
753 Dark Elf raiders are sighted off the coast of
Nippon. Many coastal villages are raided
and the populace are taken as slaves.
C850 The power of the Emperors is losing its
hold. The Emperors are soon rulers inname only, with powerful clan warlords
taking control instead.
860 The Dark Elf Black Ark Talon of Agony is
over-turned and sunk of the coast ofCathay. The people of Nippon believe this
to be the cause of the Ryujin, summoning a
massive tidal wave to destroy the invaders.
1063 An unknown Ronin comes to a town
divided by two criminal gangs and decides
to play them against each other to free the
town. He succeeds in his endeavor, killing
off all but one of the bandits who lives totell the tale. The Ronin then leaves, never
to be seen again.
1103 The Dark Elf Laithikir Fellheart begins a
century of merciless raids around the coast
of Nippon.
1155 The Imperial War. The Mirumoto andHotomo clans fight in civil war, each
supporting their own candidate for the
Imperial thrones.
1162 Battle of Hogo. The Mirumoto samurai aredefeated, with the majority of them beingexecuted for their defiance by order of the
would-be Emperor Go-Hirakawa.
1185 Battle of Sano-Iru. The Mirumoto defeats
the Hotomo in a great sea battle, killing
their Emperor. Yoritomo Nobunaga
becomes the first Shogun of Nippon.
1186 Imperial Capital is moved to Hyodo, with
Shogun Mirumoto Nobunaga taking up
seat in Usaki castle.
1256 A poor village under attack by Beastmen
recruits seven unemployed samurai to help
them defend themselves against marauding
Beastmen. The Samurai all succumb in
battle, but the village is saved.
1377 Hitomi Gozen becomes the first female
Samurai and Daimyo, inspiring thousands
of women to take up arms and become
Battle Maidens.
1442 A group of assassins attempt to kill the
ruling Shogun. They are ultimatelyunsuccessful and slain during the attempt,
but the Shogun dies from illness soon after.
Rumors of this merely being a cover up
soon spread through the Imperial Court.
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C1550 Increased raids by Nipponese Wako Pirates
against Cathayan ports. Cathay blames
Nippon and demands action to be taken.
Animosity between the two nations
increases, with many minor skirmishes
between them to follow.
C1600 The famous Ronin Toyotomi Samushi
wanders Nippon for many years, engaging
in over 60 duels, winning them all. He
writes a treatise on war, strategy and
tactics, rivalling that of the Cathayan Tzu-Sun.
1745 Hung raiders invade Nippon with
thousands of ships. However, thanks to
Empress Jingu, two thirds of the
Hobgoblin fleets are destroyed at sea, and
the Nipponese armies are able to defeat the
remaining forces that manage to land.
1746 The time of Imperial Restoration and fall
of the Mirumoto Shogunate. Supported bythe clans, Empress Jungi becomes the sole
ruler of a unified Nippon, and peace settles
during her reign.
1757 Empress Jungi mysteriously disappears.
Imperial rule is once again weakened.
1813 The Ujimasa takes control after a coup
against the Imperial Family and establish
the second Shogunate.
1939 74 Ronin set out to avenge the death and
dishonour of their master. Successful in
there endeavour, the Ronin then turn
themselves in to Shogunate forces, where
they are allowed to perform seppuku like
honourable Samurai.
2011 Emperor Mifune is found assassinated in
his chambers. There is no sign of a break-
in, and the assassin is never found.
2387 A Nipponese army is ambushed by Oni
and Beastmen in Kamayama forest. Theyare mysteriously saved by what appear to
be fox spirits erupting from the foliage,
causing disarray among the Beastmen
ranks, allowing the Samurai to gain the
upper hand and drive them off.
2302 Chaos warbands known as the Black
Samurai from Haikido invade Nippon
during the Great War Against Chaos. They
are eventually driven back after a great
battle on the Fields of Death, and the
Warpgate used to summon Daemonic Oni
into the mortal realm is closed.
2322 Ships from Marienburg arrive in Nippon.
Gunpowder is introduced, and many yearsof trade ensue.
2325 Wako Pirates attempt to seize the trade
cargo of the great "Black Ship" of
Marienburg. They are ruthlessly dispatched
by its many cannons and allied Imperial
Nippon Bune.
2347 Samurai rebelling against the increasing
industrial development of Nippon are
defeated by Shogunate and Marienburger
forces. The rebels are slain to man using
the newly introduced firearms.
2355 Nipponese forces under the second
Shogunate invade Cathay. Start of 120 year
war between the two great Empires.
2392 Evil Necromancers take the opportunity to
attack while a majority of Nipponses forces
are fighting overseas. The dead are raised
from the slumber, and lay siege to Usaki.
They are defeated by the many Shugenjascurrently residing in the Imperial Court
who manage to dispel the evil magics,allowing the Shogun's Great Guard to
break through the Undead hordes with a
decisive charge.
2475 Nipponese Shogunate forces are forced to
withdraw from Cathay after defeat. TheUjimasa Shogunate is severely weakened.
The Great Clans start plotting for
themselves on how to increase their
influence.
2487 The time of the Warring Clans. Each of the
Great Clans of Nippon vies for power in a
bloody civil war.
2508 Yoritomo Ieyasu captures Hyodo from the
Shogunate, establishing himself as one of
the major players among the Clans.
2516 Battle of the Sundered realm. Yoritomo
Ieyasu defeats the Urichi clan in a great
battle, finally ending the time of the
Warring Clans.
2517 After 30 years of infighting, Nippon is
united by Yoritomo Ieyasu, who is
declared Shogun after emerging victorious
at the Battle of the Sundered Realm.
2518 Imperial Capital is moved back to Usaki,
with Hyodo becoming the seat of the new
Shogunate.
2521 Shogunate armies begin to muster for new
campaigns. Some speak of a new attempt
at invading Cathay, others that the Black
Samurai of Haikido are growing in poweronce more, yet others talk of corruption in
the Imperial Court and that certain clans
will soon attempt to seize power. Thefuture of Nippon will be decided soon
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Culture and CustomsSOCIAL CLASSES ANDTHE CELESTIAL ORDERThe Nipponese believe all living beings, indeed all of
existence, are organized into a hierarchy set in place bythe will of the Celestial Heavens. This hierarchyknown as the Celestial Orderwas revealed to the
Nipponese by the Kami at the founding of the Empire,
and they regard it as the sacred and unquestioned
expression of divine will. To ignore or violate the
Order is to blaspheme against the cosmos itself. Thus,
the citizens of the Land of the Rising Sun are organized
into three distinct castes, each of which is divided into
several smaller ranks and sub-castes. Typically, a
person is born into a caste and remains within that
caste for their entire life, although exceptions are
possible.
At the top of the social order are the samurai, the rulers
of Nippon. They are the only real people of Nippon,
and have complete power and rights over all below
them. The samurai caste itself is, of course, divided
into social ranks of its ownthe Kuge (nobility) and
the Buke (those who serve). The Kuge include the
Emperor, the various high Imperial officials and
daimyo, the Clan Champions who rule over the various
clans of the Empire, and the daimyo of the various
families within each clan. All other samurai belong to
the Buke. Of course, there is considerable socialstriation within the buke as well, ranging from the top
tier of provincial daimyo and city governors, down
through magistrates, advisors, military officers, and
other officials, and ending in the vast numbers of
simple warriors, courtiers, and priests who serve the
Empirethe so-called ji-samurai. In general, asamurai is not permitted to question or oppose
someone of a higher social rank without the strongest
possible justification.
Conversely, a samurai can easily lord it over those of
inferior social rank, and it is expected that such abuse
will be endured honourably. Samurai are supposed to
always treat each other with extreme respect and
politeness, even if they are actually bitter enemies, for
to fail in public manners is to violate Courtesy andpossibly even loseones face, an unforgivable social
error.
Below the samurai are the Bongethe common folk,
also known as heimin or half-people. These comprise
the vast majority of Nippons population, and are the
ones who keep the nation and economy running. They
are generally not permitted to use weapons, althoughexceptions are made for specific duties such as
Ashigaru (peasant military levies) or budoka (personal
armed retainers to samurai). Samurai can demandanything from a heimin without recompense, and can
kill any heimin who disobeys or fails to show respect.
However, the Celestial Order also dictates that there
are responsibilities between the different castes of
society, something emphasized in writings like the
Articles of Heaven. So while it is the heimins duty toproduce and obey, it is the samurais duty to protect
and administer. Nevertheless, the life of the bonge is a
hard one, full of difficult labour and suffering. Only a
few commoners are fortunate enough to serve asamurai who truly cares about themfor the most part,
their lords treat them with indifference, if not outright
cruelty. Naturally, heimin are always respectful and
obedient toward samurai, since the alternative is to earn
their wrath, but they seldom feel anything toward their
masters other than fear and wary respect.
However, the rare samurai who goes out of his way tofulfil his duties to the heimin caste will soon draw their
notice, and such exceptionally compassionate samurai
are often rewarded in turn by extra loyalty and effort.
Even within the ranks of the bonge, there are social
striations. The highest-ranking of the heimin are thepeasants, for they grow the food which all the Empire
needs to survive. Slightly below the peasants are the
artisans and craftsmencarpenters, blacksmiths,
stonemasons, brewers, seamstresses, and so forth.
Although they do not grow food, these persons still
create things of use and value, and truly skilled heiminartisans can actually earn the respect of samurai who
admire their work. (In fact, some samurai are artisans
themselves, although they pursue rarified arts such as
painting and sword-making rather than simple things
like building furniture or forging horseshoes.) At the
bottom of the bonges ranks are merchants. Merchants
are regarded with contempt by samurai, since they donot actually make anything for themselvesthey
simply buy and sell things made by others. However,
commerce is important to the Empires economic
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health, and many clans rely on commercial activity to
swell their coffersa contradiction which troubles
more than one samurai. To get around this problem,
some samurai appoint themselves as merchant
patrons, watching over and supervising the activities
of commoner merchants, thereby allowing them toconduct commerce without directly dirtying their own
hands with such distasteful activities.
Monks occupy a peculiar position within the social
order. They are not samurai, and by strict interpretation
of the Nipponese social system they cannot beconsidered anything other than heimin.
However, their role as upholders of the Empires
religious traditions affords them a respect which other
commoners do not enjoy. Most samurai treat monks
with a certain deference, and prominent members of
the monks are sometimes invited to court to provide
counsel and guidance to daimyo.
If the position of monks is peculiar, that of roninthose samurai who have no lord, no clan or family to
call their ownis far more difficult. A ronin istechnically still of the samurai caste, but with no lord
or clan to protect or care for him, he must make his
own way through the world, tossed by the waves of
fatehence the name ronin, or wave-man. Since
ronin cannot rely on a stipend or household, most of
them are forced to work as mercenaries or bodyguards,earning food and lodging by the strength of their
swords. Some ronin ultimately must engage in manual
labour to earn their keep, but as samurai they consider
this bitterly shameful, and many of them resort to
crime or banditry rather than live like common folk.
Below the bonge are the lowest of Nippons social
order, the hinin or non-people, who are born into
those tasks which the Nipponese consider to be
intrinsically spiritually impure. Primarily, this involves
any activity which leads to touching unclean
substances such as blood, garbage, or dead flesh.
Morticians, leatherworkers, and refuse collectors
(known collectively as eta) form the bulk of the hinin
caste. Such persons are regarded as less than nothing,
and even peasants look down on them and abuse them.
The etas life is bitter and unpleasant, and their only
hope under the rules of the Celestial Order is to fulfiltheir duties well enough to be reborn into a higher
station in their next life. The rest of Nippon ignores the
eta as much as possible. Nevertheless, these people
have a vital role, performing the unclean jobs no one
else will touch.
Although most of the hinin are eta, the ranks of this
caste also include a few other individuals. Torturers,
who must constantly inflict harm and touch blood and
sweat, are also considered hinin, although they are
permitted to serve samurai more directly than the eta.
Finally, geishawomen who offer samurai
entertainment and companionshipare considered tobe hinin, although unlike eta and torturers they are
accorded certain fame and respect by the rest of
society.
RITUALS OF LIFEAll samurai life is ritual, and a samurais standard day
is simply moving from one ritual to another. This istrue for all samurai, whether they be trained as bushi,
courtiers, or shugenja.
Although the rituals may differ from clan to clan and
family to family, the respect a samurai has for them
does not. Even a clan as militaristic and pragmatic asthe Crab has all manner of rituals which its samurai
follow with care and devotion.
The rituals of samurai life begin at birth. Whenever a
samurai child is born, special blessings and religiousceremonies are held to ensure that evil spirits are
driven away, lest they curse the child or bring bad
fortune upon it. Portents are also taken from the
positions of the stars, and all possible omens are
examined for hints at the childs destiny. One month
after birth, the new samurai child is taken to the nearestshrine to be blessed and recorded in that shrines rolls.
Nippon does not have anything resembling a true
census, but a dedicated researcher can learn much
about a provinces population by consulting the birth
records at local shrines.
Children enjoy care-free lives in their younger days,although dedicated parents will make sure to remind
them of the samurai duties which await when they
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grow older. They do learn to read and write, as well as
the basics of etiquette and proper behaviour. A key
transition point comes when the child is old enough to
begin training in one of his or her clan schools. This
usually happens between the ages of 10 and 12,
although true prodigies may begin their training two orthree years earlier. The decision of which school a
samurai child should attend is a momentous one, since
it typically sets the samurais path for life. Almost all
samurai attend a school, as failure to do so implies a
lack of the skill and dedication expected of them, and it
is quite rare for a samurai to be able to switch from oneschool to another. Thus, parents carefully consider their
familys traditions and the needs of their lord and clan,
as well as their childs visible talents (if any). Priests
and astrologers may also be consulted to determine
where a childs path should lie. The wishes of the child
are seldom if ever considered. A family which has
served the clan as bushi for ten generations is liable to
continue to do so, regardless of what their child might
wish.
Schooling typically lasts four years, although it can beshorter or longer depending on the talent of the student.
When a student has mastered the first Technique of the
school, he or she is considered ready for agempukku,
or coming-of-age ceremony, one of the most important
rituals in a samurais entire life. The gempukku ritual
varies greatly from one clan, school, or family toanother, but in general, it is both a celebration of
change (from child to adult) and a testing to prove what
the child has learned. Typically, the child will be
expected to demonstrate mastery of the schools first
Technique, as well as to perform other actions which
show dedication to family and clan traditions. Once the
ritual is complete, family and friends offer gifts to the
newly-made adult, who is permitted to choose a
personal name. Some prefer to keep their childhoodname, but many take a new name to symbolize their
hopes for the future or their dedication to family,
friends, allies, clan, or Empire.
The next great ritual in a samurais life is marriage. In
Nippon, marrying is a duty, typically undertaken at thecommand of family or lord. Marriages are treated
almost as a business matter, and are typically arranged
(a process called mi-ai) by the parents of the couple,
often with the help of a middleman, or even a
professional matchmaker known as a nakado.
Mi-ai traditionally begins with a formal interview
between the parents of the prospective bride and
groom. Samurai seek pairings which can better their
familys station, increase their lands or prestige, orcement some long-term political or personal goal
through blood ties, as well as seal bargains or alliancesbetween clans and families. It is not expected for the
couple to be in love, or even to know one another prior
to their wedding. The process of arranging a marriage
can take anywhere from a few months to several years,
and a mi-ai interview is not considered an immediate
guarantee of successrather, these preliminarymeetings are done to make sure both sides are
comfortable with a future pairing, ensuring an
ultimately successful union. If the two families live far
apart, a nakado or other go-between will be enlisted to
help ferry messages and gifts back and forth. Amongtruly high-ranking families it is not uncommon for
children to be betrothed long before they reach
adulthood.
One of the most basic purposes of the Imperial Court is
to bring people together in marriages that create
alliances and cement bargains for the following year.
Fathers and mothers of noble lineage always bring their
most gifted children to the Imperial Court, hoping they
will catch some royal eye. Weddings themselves are
very elaborate rituals, performed with the presence and
supervision of both daimyo and priests, and many
blessings and prayers are made to prevent bad fortune,remove evil spirits, and bring harmony and fertility to
the match. Usually the ceremony is held privately, with
only the immediate family and a presiding priest, but
this is followed by an elaborate public reception in
which guests enjoy a magnificent feast and offernumerous gifts to the new couple. The bride
traditionally wears white, the colour of death, at the
beginning the wedding, symbolizing that she is dead to
her old family. After the ritual is complete and she
emerges for the reception, she removes the white
kimono to reveal a red one underneaththe colour of
life, showing she is reborn into her new family. Once
the ceremony is done, the newly wedded couple oftenspends a month apart, meditating on what it means to
be married, before they take up their new household
together.
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When a samurai reaches the age of forty, it is
traditional for him or her to retire from active service to
the clan. This is not mandatory, however, and samurai
in the more active and pragmatic clans will often
continue to actively serve their lords long after
reaching their fortieth year. High-ranking nobles and
daimyo also tend to stay active longer than the normaltime. A samurai who does retire will most commonly
choose to join the monks, taking a new name and
beginning a new life as a monk or nun. Such retirement
is accompanied by an extended ritual celebration, in
which family and friends commemorate the samurais
deeds and bid him goodbye. At the conclusion of this
ritual, the samurai shaves his head, a transformation
symbolizing his entering a new life of religious
contemplation. Not all retiring samurai join the monks,
howeversome of them instead remain with theirfamilies or their lords, living quiet but honoured lives,
and offering advice and counsel when it is sought.
Retired samurai may also sometimes return to active
service, taking up their swords once more when a crisis
or threat requires their attention.
The last ritual of every samurais life is their funeral.
These, like everything else in Nippon, follow a strict
protocol. By Imperial Law, all bodies must be
cremated. Traditionally, a funeral takes place four days
after death, and those four days are filled with prayers,
as well as the burning of special scrolls filled with last
words which are the final parting words of the living
to the dead. The body is anointed and purified by eta,
then kept in state with an honour guard until the day of
the cremation itself. Special foods are prepared on that
day, and relatives and friends gather to observe thefuneral pyre, which is also blessed by shugenja and
monks. Once the body has been burned, even more
prayers are spoken, to speed the spirit of the departed
on its journey to the afterlife. The immediate relatives
gather at the pyre and use special chopsticks to remove
the remaining fragments of bone from the ashesthese
are placed in a crematory urn, which is kept in a place
of honour for 35 days before finally being buried, an
event accompanied by a final round of prayers, chants,and blessings.
RELIGIONThe official religion of Nippon is called Jinto and has
been so for thousands of years. During Nippon's historyit has existed as an amorphous mix of nature worship,
fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and
shamanism and unusually it has no recognised founder.
It is a religion of nature and spirituality and the belief
that human nature is inherently good, and evil is
thought to stem from the individual's contact with
external forces or agents that pollute their pure natureand cause them to act in ways which are disruptive.
Jinto worship is centred on the reverence of the gods or
kami. Kami may be anything that is extraordinary and
that inspires awe or reverence. Consequently, a wide
variety of kami exist in Jinto: there are kami related to
natural objects and creatures -- the spirits of mountains,
seas, rivers, rocks, trees, animals, and the like; there are
guardian kami of particular locales and clans; also
considered kami are exceptional human beings,including many emperors. Evil spirits are also known
in Jinto, but few seem irredeemably so. While a god
may first call attention to its presence through a displayof rowdy or even destructive behaviour, generally
speaking, the kami are benign. Their role is to sustain
and protect.
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In a way Jinto is similar to the Old World religion in
that it consists of a pantheon of deities. However, the
priests of Jinto worship all the gods or kami as one
rather than there being any single clerics of a particular
god. Although some gods are more popular than others,
such as the Sun Goddess Amateratsu for example, it ishighly unusual for anyone to take on a monotheistic
perspective. There are hundreds, perhaps even
thousands, of gods in the Jinto pantheon which are
discussed further in this chapter but suffice to say the
Sun Goddess Amateratsu is one of the most pre-
eminent of the kami as well as the divine coupleZanagi and Zanami who were said to have created
Nippon.
THE TENETS OF BUSHIDOAll samurai are supposed to live according to a strict
and demanding set of ethical principles known as
Bushido (literally, the way of the warrior). Theyquickly came to be accepted by all the clans in Nippon,
and as the roles of samurai evolved to include courtiersand artisans, the Code of Bushido evolved into a
complete philosophical view of the role and duty of the
samurai. In modern Nippon, Bushido is integral to
almost every aspect of a samurais life, and the properway to uphold the Code is a subject of continual
discussion and debate among all samurai.
Bushido is comprised of seven Virtues: Courage,
Compassion, Courtesy, Duty, Honesty, Honour, and
Sincerity. These virtues are held to represent the proper
way in which samurai should live and serve their lords.
In its ideal form, Bushido values each of these virtues
equally, and a samurai is expected to adhere to all ofthem with equal vehemence. In practice, however, few
samurai can live such spotless lives. Moreover, everyclan in Nippon views Bushido in a slightly different
way, according to their respective views of duty,
honour, and life. The true nature of Bushido is
constantly debated within the courts of Nippon, and the
true way to uphold its Virtues is seldom fully agreed
upon even within the same clan. Every clan, has itsidealists who try to uphold every Virtue no matter the
cost, just as every clan contains a few dark souls who
laugh at Bushido and flout its principles.
CompassionCompassion teaches samurai that, as the warrior elite
of society, it is their duty to protect and guide the lesserfolk of Nippon. In its most obvious form, this means
offering military protection, guarding the commoners
against bandits, criminals, foreigners, and the monsters
of Haikido.
It is this form of Compassion which is most widely
respected and revered in Nippon, for all clans
recognize the importance of keeping their peasants
alive and productive. Bullying or abusing those of
lower station is an act unworthy of a samurai, even if
the social order allows it. Some clans take Compassion
more fully to heart, however, and seek to offer
guidance and help to the lower castes.
CourageCourage is in many ways the most basic and universalof all the Bushido virtues, since every samurai is
expected to be ready and able to die at a moments
notice. The central importance of courage to a
samurais life cannot be understated. A samurai must
be prepared to fight and die without hesitation, whether
at his lords command or simply due to unavoidablecircumstance. Indeed, it is popular to say that a samurai
lives at all times three feet from death, since that is the
reach of a katana. But in truth there is no clan which
ignores courage. All recognize that courage is
important if their samurai are to fulfil their dutiesproperly.
It should be noted that courage does not mean
foolhardiness. After all, a samurais life belongs to his
lord, not to him. A samurai who throws his life away in
a useless and selfish gesture is not behavinghonourably, but rather is failing in his duty to lord and
clan. Indeed, there are many times when retreatingfrom a fight requires more courage than merely staying
and dying.
CourtesySamurai are civilized men and women, not barbarians,
and are expected to behave with courtesy and proper
manners at all times. A samurai who shows undue
emotion or rudeness is not only violating Courtesy but
is also losing his face (on), disrespecting those around
him and shaming himself. A true samurai remainscourteous and well-mannered at all times, even when
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facing his bitterest sworn enemy, or provoked with vile
insults and malignant behaviour. A samurai who
openly insults others is showing his own weakness,
which is why Nipponese courtiers endlessly practicethe art of the subtle and indirect insult. Conversely,
when a samurai is confronted with failures of Courtesy
by those of higher station, his own honour is
demonstrated by his ability to endure suchprovocations and avoid drawing attention to others
failures. Nipponese as a whole make a point ofignoring those who engage in uncouth and improper
spectacles, since to draw attention to such discourteous
behaviour is to make matters even worse.
As one might expect, those who serve their clans in
politics and the courts tend to place a very strong
emphasis on Courtesy, since it is a vital element of
social and political negotiation. The most heavily
political clans place a special value on Courtesy,
although for some this is more for the Virtues tactical
value in court than due to any moral commitment to it.
DutyIf there is a Virtue which competes with Courage for
universal acceptance, it is Duty. A samurai must
always be ready to serve his lord in whatever way is
required, no matter what the cost. Death is the least that
a samurai may facehe must be prepared to endure
humiliation, dishonour, shame, and failure for the sake
of Duty. He must remain faithful to lord, family, clan,
and comrades no matter what temptations may fall in
his path. A samurai who violates loyalty to his lord or
clan is violating Duty, and such untrustworthy
individuals are hardly worthy of the title samurai.Duty is the reason why love is so problematic for
samurai, since a samurai in love will feel a conflicting
loyalty to his (or her) beloved which may disrupt or
diminish the fulfilment of duty.
HonestyHonesty is in principle the simplest of the virtues ofBushido, but also perhaps the most troublesome.
Ideally, it would seem obvious that an honourable
warrior should always tell the truth, and indeed, there
are some families and clans which embrace Honesty
with the same fervour as the rest of the virtues.
Honesty is also strongly associated with justice, andthus tends to be a virtue admired by magistrates (or at
least by those magistrates who take their duties to
heart).
However, many other samurai, especially those whoserve their clans in court, find that Honesty is often a
virtue which must be danced around, or perhaps even
violated, in order to fulfil their duties. Almost all those
samurai who serve in the arena of court and politics
practice the art of deceiving or manipulating their
opponents while still remaining technically truthful,and some families make almost an art form of
employing such tactics while still satisfying themselvesthat they are behaving honourably. Most highly
political schools and families quietly accept that
sometimes they will simply have to lie for their clan,
and therefore tend to emphasize Sincerity far more thanHonesty in their approach to Bushido, counting on their
adherence to the other virtues to make up for their
sometimes erratic observance of this one. The
Scorpion, naturally, ignore Honesty altogether, and
exhibit almost open contempt for samurai who strive to
tell the truth or who follow the path of justice.
HonourBoth the subtlest and the most basic of the virtues,Honour teaches that every samurai stands in judgment
over himself, at all times. Bushido is not merely
enforced by social convention or superior authority, butby each samurais own heart and soul. A samurai
without Honour cannot truly follow the other virtues of
Bushido, for he is merely acting as others expect, not
as his own sense of honour demands. Conversely, a
samurai with true Honour will follow the ways of
Bushido even when the society around him becomes
corrupt and his superiors expect him to behave
dishonourably solely because they command it.
Almost all samurai in Nippon respect Honour, for it
lies at the very heart of Bushido.
SinceritySamurai are taught from childhood that they must
express absolute sincerity in both word and deed. A
samurai who speaks on behalf of his lord in court, but
does so in a lackadaisical or unconvincing manner, is
serving his lord as badly as if he refused to speak at all.
A samurai who shows a lack of dedication in his
actions, who acts and behaves without absolutecommitment, is a samurai who fails his lord and his
clan. Sincerity is regarded with particular admiration
by political clans and families, but most samurairespect it.
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The Concept of FaceFace is a vitally important aspect of samurai culture. Itis intrinsic to the belief that samurai are exceptional
persons, chosen by birth to serve the Empire in ways
that mere peasants cannot. A samurai is expected to
maintain self-discipline at all times, to control himself
and to never show the sort of open emotions and out-
of-control behaviour that characterizes lower people.A samurai who cannot control his emotions is a
samurai who cannot serve his lord with honour and
trust, for his emotions will override his judgment and
loyalty. Thus, maintaining dignity and self-control is
vital to a samurais life.
The ability to maintain this self-control, never showing
ones true feelings, is referred to as maintaining ones
on or face. A samurai who maintains face is a
samurai who cannot be manipulated, a samurai who
can deceive his enemies, a samurai who serves his clanwithout fail. By contrast, a samurai who loses face,
who loses self-control, shames both himself and,worse, his family and clan.
Face is a purely samurai concept, one that is not
expected of peasants and other common folk.Maintaining face is sometimes compared to wearing a
mask, a mask which must be kept on every hour of
every day, concealing ones true feelings beneath on.
SHAME AND DISGRACEA samurai who is shamed by dishonourable actions orloss of face will be expected, at the very least, to offer
deep and sincere apologies for such actions. Typically,
if the disgrace was fairly modest, the samurai will bepunished in a non-permanent wayassignment to less
prestigious duties, for example, or expulsion from the
castle, court, or city where he misbehaved. Althoughsuch punishments are not lethal, they nevertheless
represent a deep and profound shame for the samurai
involved, who may well spend the rest of his life trying
to redeem himself for his failure.
More extreme failures, such as a violent outburst, an
attack or serious insult against someone of higher
station, or a breach of duty or loyalty, are punished
much more severely. A samurai who commits such acts
is quite likely to be ordered to commit seppuku (if he
does not offer seppuku himself out of shame). On other
occasions, such disgraced samurai may be expelledfrom family and clan, and thus made ronin. A samurai
may also forsake his fealty and become ronin by his
own choice rather than face the prospect of punishment
or seppuku, particularly if he feels he is not actually
guilty.
SeppukuSeppuku is a form of ritual suicide which samurai
perform when they have been irretrievably
dishonoured. By performing the ceremony and thusdying honourably, the samurai wipes away the stain of
dishonour and leaves his or her family name clean anduntarnished. It is important to remember that the main
purpose of seppuku is to protect the family, rather than
the individual. In Nippon a family is the repository of
all the collective deeds and accomplishments of its
members, and it is commonly said, I have borrowed
my name from my ancestors. I must return it to them
untarnished. A dishonoured person thus bringsdishonour and shame to the entire family. By
committing seppuku, a samurai spares his family from
the shame of his deeds.
A samurai who is committing seppuku in a formal
setting dresses entirely in white (the colour of death),and traditionally writes a final poem, a death-haiku,
before taking up his wakizashi to commit suicide. The
ritual may be witnessed by the samurais friends or
relatives, representatives from his daimyo, or other
individuals. The actual suicide is usually performed by
means of the wakizashi, the blade which symbolizes a
samurais honour (although another blade can be
substituted in a pinch). The samurai kneels and makes
three cuts across his belly, disembowelling himself. Inorder for the ritual to be properly completed, the
samurai must not flinch or cry out in pain. Since this isextremely difficult, by long-standing tradition seppuku
is assisted by another individual, a second, whose
task is to complete the ritual by beheading the samurai,
ensuring he dies with honour. Serving as a samurais
second is an important and honourable task, and the
sword used to behead the victim is carefully cleansedwith water beforehand.
Seppuku is usually not something a samurai can do at
will. Samurai who are facing total battlefield defeat or
the military annihilation of their bloodline, however,
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will sometimes commit seppuku immediately rather
than face the eternal shame of utter defeat. Indeed,
entire samurai families have been known to commit
suicide under such circumstances. More normally,
however, permission to commit seppuku must be
granted by the samurais daimyo, and cruel orintolerant daimyo have been known to deny seppuku
and force their samurai to live with their shame.
Aside from acting to preserve family honour, the other
form of permissible seppuku is to protest unjust orders
from ones lord. This form of protesting seppuku isknown as kanshi, and must still be authorized by the
daimyo. Most daimyo dont care for such an act, but it
is considered quite dishonourable and ill-mannered to
refuse ones samurai permission to commit kanshi.
Women of the samurai caste who are not bushi are
permitted to kill themselves in a less painful fashion,
known asjigai, in which they stab themselves in the
throat with a knife. This is generally reserved forwomen who are courtier or shugenja. Given the chance,
they will bind their ankles together before performingthis act, so as not to shame themselves with wild
kicking during their death throes.
POLITICSThe way of the samurai is often considered
synonymous with the way of the warrior. But in the
Land of the Rising Sun, samurai do not serve their
clans solely on the battlefield. Politics has been a vital
element of Nippons history since its founding, and the
negotiations and manoeuvres of courtiers have changed
the Empire as often as war, if not more so. Indeed,
skilful courtiers can sometimes alter the outcomes of
wars after the battles are fought.
Although some bushi look down on courtiers and thesubtle arts of politics, those who must serve their clans
in court reject the notion that they are any less samurai
than their warrior cousins. Courtiers must pursue their
diplomatic struggles with the same courage and zeal as
a bushi in combat, for their failures can be as
catastrophic as a lost war, and their victories can bringglory and success to their clan without the need to fight
a war at all. Failure in court can mean death as certain
as failure in combatcourtiers must walk a perpetual
knife-edge, working to obstruct, undermine, and
destroy their opponents without falling prey to the
same fate themselves. Seasoned bushi who get re-
assigned to court are often forced to admit it is just as
taxing a field of conflict as warfare itself.
In Nippon, politics takes place primarily in the various
courts of the Empire. Every daimyo and governormaintains a court in their castle or palace, inviting
emissaries and visitors from other families and clans to
attend and meet as their guests. The higher- ranking the
host, the more prestigious the court, and the more
important will be the political discussions and
negotiations which take place there. The mostprestigious court in the Empire, of course, is the
Imperial Court, hosted by the Emperor and his chief
advisors. Many courtiers spend a lifetime trying to win
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an appointment there. The heaviest political activity
takes place during the winter, and just as the Imperial
Court is the most important and prestigious of political
postings, the Imperial Court is the most desirable of all
courts to spend the snow-bound months.
Court, more than any other part of Nipponese life, is
suffused with delicate etiquette and indirect speech.
After all, diplomats speak for their clan, and have the
weight and prestige of that clan behind them. A minor
daimyo who insults or ignores a courtier without
legitimate cause could well be forced to commitseppuku for his breach of etiquette. Nor is anyone so
uncouth as to openly discuss alliances or treaties in
open court. Trained diplomats employ hints and subtle
conversational gambits to suggest a possible topic of
discussion. Much of the truly important and crucial
negotiation at court takes place in private meetings,
rather than in open chambers where others might
overhear it.
Political agreements in Nippon are seldom expressed as
written treaties, save when both sides wish to present aformal agreement to the rest of the Empire. More
commonly, negotiations are handled through personal
commitment and word of honour. Clans trust their
courtiers to handle delicate situations, and courtiers in
turn can call on the trust of their clan to give their word
great weight. Indeed, minor daimyo or provincialo
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