warhammer - nippon
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Warhammer - NipponTRANSCRIPT
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NIPPON
By Mathias Eliasson
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .................................................... 7 THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN .................. 9 The Nipponese ........................................................... 10 History of Nippon ...................................................... 22 Timeline of Nippon.................................................... 31 The Great Clans ......................................................... 33 Map of Nippon ........................................................... 37 The Land of Nippon................................................... 38 WARRIORS OF NIPPON .................................. 49 Army Special Rules ................................................... 50 Commanders .............................................................. 51 Shugenja .................................................................... 52 Hatamoto ................................................................... 53 Samurai Warriors ....................................................... 54 Samurai Cavalry ........................................................ 56 Ashigaru .................................................................... 57 Warrior Monks .......................................................... 58 Yamabushi ................................................................. 59 Sumo Warriors ........................................................... 60 Onna Bushi ................................................................ 61 Kabuki Dolls .............................................................. 62 Yabusame .................................................................. 63 Red Devils ................................................................. 64 Ronin ......................................................................... 65 Wako Pirates .............................................................. 66
Ninja ........................................................................... 67 Shinobi ....................................................................... 68 Great Guard ................................................................ 69 War Machines ............................................................ 70 Mikoshi Shrine ........................................................... 71 Oni ............................................................................. 72 Tengu ......................................................................... 73 Kitsune ....................................................................... 74 Mizuchi ...................................................................... 75 Yoritomo Ieyasu ......................................................... 76 Empress Jungi ............................................................ 77 Hitomi Gozen ............................................................. 78 The Red Ronin ........................................................... 79 Sarutori Hanzo ........................................................... 80 O-Sayumi ................................................................... 81 Lore of the Kami ........................................................ 82 Clan Mon ................................................................... 83 Ninjutsu ...................................................................... 84 Vessels of the Kami ................................................... 85 THE NIPPON ARMY LIST ............................... 89 Lords .......................................................................... 91 Heroes ........................................................................ 92 Core Units .................................................................. 95 Special units ............................................................... 97 Rare Units ................................................................ 100 SUMMARY ............................................................. 102
Compiled, Edited & Partly Written by: Mathias Eliasson
Cover Art: Craig Mullins
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INTRODUCTION Welcome 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 Shugenja
accompany 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 WORKS Warhammer army books are split into sections, each of
which deals with different aspects of the titular army.
Warhammer: Nippon contains:
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 a
full description of the unit, alongside the complete
rules for any special abilities or options they
possess. This section also includes the Vessels of the
Kami magical 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 machines
from 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 MORE While Warhammer: Nippon contains everything you
need to play the game with your army, there are other
books 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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THE LAND OF THE
RISING SUN
A samurai is a servant, first and foremost,
and according to tradition, their first and
most sacred duty is to die in the name of their
lord if necessary. It is a fate to which most
bushi aspire, and even though those who
follow the path of a shugenja are ostensibly
people of peace, there are many among their
number who would relish a similarly
honourable death.
Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending
upon whom you ask - the Empire's history
has been full of war and conflict, giving the
samurai of Nippon plenty of opportunity for
self-sacrifice.
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The Nipponese
SOCIAL CLASSES AND THE CELESTIAL ORDER The Nipponese believe all living beings, indeed all of
existence, are organized into a hierarchy set in place by
the will of the Celestial Heavens. This hierarchy known as the Celestial Order was 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 own the 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 social
striation 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
Empire the so-called ji-samurai. In general, a samurai 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 and
possibly even lose ones face, an unforgivable social error.
Below the samurai are the Bonge the 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, although
exceptions are made for specific duties such as
Ashigaru (peasant military levies) or budoka (personal
armed retainers to samurai). Samurai can demand
anything 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 to produce 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 a
samurai who truly cares about them for 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 to
fulfil 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 the
peasants, for they grow the food which all the Empire
needs to survive. Slightly below the peasants are the
artisans and craftsmen carpenters, 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 heimin
artisans 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 do
not actually make anything for themselves they 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 coffers a 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 to
conduct 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 be
considered 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 ronin those samurai who have no lord, no clan or family to
call their own is far more difficult. A ronin is technically 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
fate hence 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 fulfil
their 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, geisha women who offer samurai entertainment and companionship are considered to be hinin, although unlike eta and torturers they are
accorded certain fame and respect by the rest of
society.
RITUALS OF LIFE All samurai life is ritual, and a samurais standard day is simply moving from one ritual to another. This is
true 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 as
the Uruchi 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 religious
ceremonies 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 nearest
shrine 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 or
three 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 one
school 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 be
shorter 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 a gempukku,
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 to
another, 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 childhood
name, 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 the
command 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, or cement some long-term political or personal goal
through blood ties, as well as seal bargains or alliances
between 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 success rather, these preliminary meetings 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. Among
truly 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 offer
numerous 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 underneath the colour of life, showing she is reborn into her new family. Once
the ceremony is done, the newly wedded couple often
spends 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 normal
time. 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,
however some of them instead remain with their families 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 the
funeral 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 ashes these 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.
RELIGION The official religion of Nippon is called Jinto and has
been so for thousands of years. During Nippon's history
it 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 nature
and 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 display
of 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 is
highly 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 couple
Zanagi and Zanami who were said to have created
Nippon.
THE TENETS OF BUSHIDO All samurai are supposed to live according to a strict
and demanding set of ethical principles known as
Bushido (literally, the way of the warrior). They quickly came to be accepted by all the clans in Nippon,
and as the roles of samurai evolved to include courtiers
and 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 proper way 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 of
them with equal vehemence. In practice, however, few
samurai can live such spotless lives. Moreover, every
clan 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 its
idealists 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.
Compassion Compassion teaches samurai that, as the warrior elite
of society, it is their duty to protect and guide the lesser
folk 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.
Courage Courage is in many ways the most basic and universal
of 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 unavoidable circumstance. 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 duties
properly.
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 behaving
honourably, but rather is failing in his duty to lord and
clan. Indeed, there are many times when retreating
from a fight requires more courage than merely staying
and dying.
Courtesy Samurai 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 remains
courteous 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 practice
the 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 such
provocations and avoid drawing attention to others failures. Nipponese as a whole make a point of
ignoring 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.
Duty If 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 face he 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.
Honesty Honesty is in principle the simplest of the virtues of
Bushido, 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, and
thus 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 who
serve 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 themselves
that 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 than
Honesty 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.
Honour Both 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, but
by 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.
Sincerity Samurai 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 absolute
commitment, is a samurai who fails his lord and his
clan. Sincerity is regarded with particular admiration
by political clans and families, but most samurai
respect it.
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The Concept of Face Face is a vitally important aspect of samurai culture. It
is 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 clan
without 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 DISGRACE A samurai who is shamed by dishonourable actions or
loss 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 be
punished in a non-permanent way assignment to less prestigious duties, for example, or expulsion from the
castle, court, or city where he misbehaved. Although
such 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 expelled
from 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.
Seppuku Seppuku is a form of ritual suicide which samurai
perform when they have been irretrievably
dishonoured. By performing the ceremony and thus
dying honourably, the samurai wipes away the stain of
dishonour and leaves his or her family name clean and
untarnished. 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 brings dishonour 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. In
order for the ritual to be properly completed, the
samurai must not flinch or cry out in pain. Since this is
extremely 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 cleansed
with 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 or intolerant 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 is known 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 as jigai, in which they stab themselves in the
throat with a knife. This is generally reserved for
women who are courtier or shugenja. Given the chance,
they will bind their ankles together before performing
this act, so as not to shame themselves with wild
kicking during their death throes.
POLITICS The 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 the
subtle 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 bring
glory 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 combat courtiers 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 governor
maintains 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 most
prestigious 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 commit
seppuku 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 a
formal 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 provincial
officials may well have difficulty keeping their
positions if a powerful, influential courtier speaks out
against them to their feudal lord especially if the courtiers accusations turn out to be true.
A major part of politics in Nippon is the exchange of
letters, and experienced courtiers spend much time and
effort each day in composing and sending such
missives to each other. A good courtier can maintain a
steady flow of correspondence with dozens of people
from across the Empire, dropping small tidbits of
information to them and carefully reviewing the
snippets of gossip they send him in return. For many
courtiers, this network of correspondents can be just as
important as the allies in their own court.
Correspondence can build an alliance that lasts
generations or begin a feud that lasts centuries. Indeed,
a timely piece of information from the far side of the
Empire can turn the entire course of negotiations, and a
courtiers fame and fortune can be founded, built, or shattered by a single letter.
Within the courts themselves, critics and blackmailers
alike employ letters as their weapon of choice, and
lovers use them as their most subtle but most direct
gift. This continual flow of correspondence within a
court is known as the Game of Letters. Unlike letters sent to and from those outside court, these letters are
designed primarily to display skill and to manipulate
others rather than to convey information.
DUELING Nippon is a society ruled by a caste of armed warriors
who follow a strict code of honour and etiquette. When
a samurai is insulted or maligned, and even more so if
his (or her) family, clan, or lord is the target of such
insults and slanders, he will usually respond by issuing
a challenge to a duel. Duels are considered the
appropriate and socially acceptable response for any
situation where a samurai feels that honour or
reputation has been threatened or compromised.
Indeed, failing to issue a duel means the original insult
or slander is left unanswered, in effect making it true.
Conversely, once a challenge has been issued, the other
samurai must either back down and apologize,
retracting whatever slander he issued, or else defend
his words with steel. Backing down, of course, is a
tremendous loss of prestige and face, and a wise
samurai will never issue an insult or accusation without
being prepared to back it up in a duel.
Duels are not always to the death. Samurai are not
supposed to throw their lives away without cause, and
when the insult or offense which caused the duel is not
of great magnitude, a duel to first blood, or until one
combatant acknowledges defeat, will be considered
sufficient. When the insult is serious, however, duels
are always lethal, and end only when one (or both)
participants are dead.
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Regardless of whether it is to first blood or to the
death, a truly honourable duel must be authorized by
higher authority. Typically, this requires the permission
of each samurais daimyo, but other high-ranking samurai such as Imperial officials and district
governors can often approve duels as well, especially
duels to first blood. Magistrates also have the power to
authorize duels to prove the guilt or innocence of an
accused criminal. This is not to say that a duel cannot
be fought without such permission. Unauthorized duels
are a regular feature of Nipponese life, especially
where samurai passions become involved, and while
such duels are considered socially scandalous and
improper, they are not punished in the same way as a
murder. Typically, the samurai is subjected to little
more than house arrest or a public reprimand.
Traditionally, any samurai who wears a katana is
signifying his ability to defend himself, and if he is
challenged to a duel, he must fight on his own behalf.
A samurai who carries only a knife or a wakizashi
(such as the typical courtier or shugenja) is signifying
that he is not a warrior and cannot fight his own duels.
If he is challenged, he can call for a champion to fight
on his behalf. Likewise, if such a samurai issues a
challenge to another, he is expected to have a champion
available to fight for him. Usually, daimyo will supply
champions for their samurai, although they may refuse
to do so if they consider the duel to be fought over
insufficient justification. Once the duel is resolved, the
losing party is expected to share the fate of their
champion, committing seppuku if it was a duel to the
death.
Once a challenge has been issued and accepted, the
challenged party will be permitted to specify the time
and place of the duel (a custom known as the rights of the challenged). When passions are high, the duel may be accepted and fought immediately, but more
typically the challenged party will choose a symbolic
or beautiful location at some noteworthy time, such as
dawn. In theory, a duel can be held weeks or months
after acceptance sometimes as much as a year, though never more than that but delaying a duel in this manner is often considered a sign of lack of self-
confidence or even cowardice.
WAR IN NIPPON The Code of Bushido is also known as the Way of the Warrior, and although the Nipponese religion often focuses on peace and compassion, most samurai of the
Empire are bushi, raised in the path of arms and taught
to seek glory and fame on the battlefield. Minor wars
and border skirmishes are a constant reality of life in
the Land of the Rising Sun, where the different clans
are constantly jockeying for power and influence, and
major wars erupt with some regularity. During periods
of crisis, such as the eras of the Warring Clans, war is
near-constant and major clashes of arms become a
regular part of every samurais life.
Armies and Tactics Nipponese armies are primarily infantry forces. The
native Nipponese pony is not hardy enough to support
full-scale cavalry warfare, although it can be used
effectively for scouts or mounted infantry.
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Thus, the only samurai who employ true cavalry tactics
in Nippon are the Taneka, who imported full-size
horses from Cathay. Other Nipponese armies
developed some degree of anti-cavalry training and
tactics, but their lack of full-size horses prevented them
from deploying any large-scale cavalry force of their
own.
When armies go into battle, regardless of their strength,
it is the smaller units legions and companies which form the primary units of tactical manoeuvre. They
usually deploy in rectangular blocks, wider than they
are deep. However, the Nipponese generally do not
have concepts like phalanx fighting or maintaining a
shield wall. It is expected that once two enemy units collide on the battlefield, the soldiers on each side will
engage each other in personal combat. Consequently,
the Nipponese march and advance in a more dispersed
and open formation than Old World armies, and once
contact is made with the enemy, any formation will
quickly break down into a sprawl of hundreds of small
melees. Thus, battlefield tactics tend to focus more on
pre-contact manoeuvring, bringing more troops to bear
on the decisive point through effective scouting and
skilful march and deployment, and wearing down the
enemy with archery and magical attack prior to
engagement, as well as on successfully withdrawing
and rallying units after combat.
FOREIGN RELATIONS Basically-speaking Nippon is not a very open society
and distrusts all foreigners, save those from Cathay
perhaps, and all Old Worlders are viewed as hairy
savages. When Shogun Yoritomo Ieyasu rose to power,
and re-united the warring states of Nippon, he imposed
certain restrictions on foreigners as well as restricting
his own people from leaving the island. Most
foreigners are confined to sealed off areas in whichever
city they are occupying and dealings with them is often
conducted by lower class characters, such as
merchants.
The Empire There have been very few dealings with the Empire
and few Imperial merchant ships have ever made the
long and arduous journey to the Far East. However, the
Empire is anxious to change this not least because of
Marienburgs enviable position with Nippon and the Far East as a whole. They do not want to be barred
from the riches of the Far East as they are from Lustria,
although this has more to do with Marienburgs alliance with Ulthuan than anything else. Emperor
Karl-Franz therefore sent a diplomatic mission to
Nippon in order to cement some kind of an alliance or
treaty. Unfortunately progress has been painfully slow
as they try to get to grips with Nippon customs. The
fact that they are confined to sealed off foreign quarters
in the capital of Hyudo also possess problems as many
days can go by without any meetings with Nipponese
officials and what is more is that the translators present
at all of the meetings are Marienburgoise Clerics of
Haendryk. It is rumoured that they are economical with
the truth when relaying back to the Nipponese what the
Imperials want and can give in return. However, the
Imperials have been successful in converting a few
people to the cult of Sigmar both in and outside the
city. Sigmars appeal to the new converts is one of strength and unity and they view him as another kami
or god. With dozens of Nipponese Sigmarites created
maybe the Empire can make some gains?
Estalia Estalia, especially the great seaport of Magritta, is in
competition with Marienburg when it comes to
securing trade with the Far East. This has even
amounted to clashes in the Ind Ocean between Estalian
ships and those of Marienburg. As these incidences are
very embarrassing both sides have conveniently chosen
to brush them under the carpet. The Estalians havent been as successful as the Marienburgers in their
dealings with Nippon but they occupy a bit of the
merchant quarters in the port of Tokaido. The
Marienburgers are unhappy with their presence and
rumour has it that both sides are seeking to sabotage
each others trade.
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Marienburg The most important Old World trading partner is
Marienburg. It was Marienburg who introduced
firearms into Nippon some twenty years ago and one of
the merchant houses, the den Euwe, has an heir married
to a daimyo's daughter Lady Katsi Okumoto. It is not
presumptuous to say that Marienburg has a firm
foothold on Nippon. Although they are, like the
Imperials, confined to sealed off quarters of Hyudo for
most of the time, they also occupy a small island just
off the port city called Dejim. The tiny island is
complete with its own set of quays so that ships can
anchor there and if anything the island is a piece of
Marienburg transported some seven thousand miles
across the globe. The Marienburgers were given the
island when they first came to Nippon to keep their
influences away from the populous as the Jinto priests
viewed them with distain because they were merchants.
But on Dejim the Marienburgers are free to do as they
please although the Shogun isnt without his eyes and ears there, as a shrine to Jinto attended by several
priests testifies along with the fishermen who often
moor their boats on the island. The Marienburgers,
while they are happy to join them in their religious
ceremonies, do not trust them. Nippon itself has a little
community in the city of Marienburg. It was there quite
a few years before the present Shogun made it harder
for people to leave his island. While he was opposed to
it at first Yoritomo has grown used to the arrangement.
Ulthuan High Elves used to live in several of the cities of
Nippon pre-Incursions of Chaos, but when Tor Elithis
was attacked by the forces of Chaos the vast majority
of the Elves left to defend it. Small communities lived
on in some of the cities but over the subsequent years
they gradually left. Most chose to go back to Ulthuan
but those who did not decided to go to the Gates of
Calith and reinforce the garrison there against sporadic
attacks from Chaos armies. To this day that is where
they remain. The High Elves are welcome in Nippon
although they are often feared.
The Phoenix King, although he would like to regain
Tor Elithis, is more concerned with keeping his island
territories in the vast ocean between Cathay and the
southern tip of the Southlands which are: the Fortress
of Dawn, Tower of Stars, Tor Elasor and the Tower of
the Sun. In truth, King Finubar is not too bothered
about Nippon and sees the Kingdoms of Ind and
Cathay as more valuable. However, this has not
prevented High Elf clippers from exploring the ocean
east of Nippon, as in the past, though long ago, the
Dark Elves of Naggaroth sailed a Black Ark from the
western New World to the coast of Cathay. Fortunately
the Black Ark was destroyed therefore preventing a
probable Druchii invasion.
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History of Nippon
Like 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 of
heaven 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 NIPPON Around -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 many but 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 due
to 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 legendary
Kirin. 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 of true 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 a
full 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 in
days; 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 gathered
at 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 the influence 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 Nippon
until 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 Mitsusaki
Onokate, 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 the
central 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 from
government, control passed to the court officials. The
Emperors continued to reign, but they no longer ruled
the 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 to
escape from the heavy taxes levied on them!
THE RISE OF THE SAMURAI At 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 the
knights 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 WAR In 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 Hirakawa and cousin Jozun being the most suitable
candidates. The Mirumoto supported the cousin and the
Hotomo the uncle, each of which were positively
inclined 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 a
peaceful 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 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 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 he
thought he had outrun his pursuers. Hotomo Kiyomori
then beheaded the Mirumoto clan literally.
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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 fleets
of 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 did
not 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.
HUNG INVASION In 1745, the Hung amassed a great horde and assailed
the Cathayan province of Han Kou. After running
rampant 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 several hundred ships, to sail
to conquer the islands.
Nippon at this time was still strong under Mirumoto
control, 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 Hung 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 took
the Imperial Ship with her closest bodyguard to protect
her, and sailed towards the approaching Hung fleet.
With all her might, she summoned a huge tidal wave
that swept across the Hung fleet, capsizing their ships
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and drowning the marauders in the murky depths. Over
two thirds of the Hung 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 Hung
fleet that managed to land on the coast. Nippon was
saved from the Chaos menace, and Empress Jungi was
hailed as its saviour. The other clans rallied behind her
and proclaimed her the true ruler 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 COURTS Though Empress Jungi actually managed to restore the
Imperial administrative system and did away with the
Shogunate, this would not last. When she mysteriously
disappeared some ten years later and the throne was
ascended by her son Daigo, there was soon talk about
rebellion. Daigo did not possess the same level of
leadership qualities as his mother, and some rumours
even spoke about 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 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 to lead to a century of
terrible violence.
CHAOS INCURSION Long 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 of
warp 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 them
off 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,
the Chaos worshippers known as the Black Samurai
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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 aside
for 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 Chaos Sorcerers; many of these foul
wizards had come across the seas from the West. The
Nipponese could not hope to 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 in the 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 GUNPOWDER In 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 to
the samurai. They certainly knew about Cathayan
artillery, but gunpowder hadnt really arrived in Nipponese 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 swordsmiths
and armourers exhibits, its hardly surprising that it took remarkably little time before the handgun was
being produced in Nippon, and that it was adopted
enthusiastically by the Daimyo for their armies.
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.
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WAR WITH CATHAY In 2355, Shogun Ujimasa Hideyoshi became Shogun
after killing his predecessor in a duel. Hideyoshi was a
ruthless man, who saw the decline of the Ujimasa
Shogunate and the rivalling 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 for
an invasion of Cathay to increase the borders and
wealth of his glorious land. Cathay had been hit hard
by the Hung and Kurgan 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 to
Cathay. 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 were quickly overtaken by the
Nipponese forces. 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 Cathayans
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 sky
could barely be seen for all the arrows that covered it.
The Cathayan Emperor even cut of the head of
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 the
Nipponese forces, they began to lose heart. City after
city was taken aback by the Cathayans, until only Fu
Chow 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 the
Shogunate. Certain that the Ujimasa 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 WARRING CLANS In 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 as
a surprise when full-on civil war broke out.
The weak Shogun did nothing to prevent this, and soon
rioting 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 and
purposes, 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 earlier
conflicts, 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 did not plot the deaths of his rivals and
superiors.
YORITOMO IEYASU During 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 one
place, 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
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part of his own force who were the worse for d