Daily History Lessons III (Day 3, Late Morning)

[Usagi Tomoe]

"... Thank you, Shinjo-san. While the Hare and the Unicorn might be separated by the Seikitsu Mountains, we are almost neighbours," she offered politely.

Seeing someone raise their hand, Tomoe noticed Yukarin. It was rather endearing that she raised her hand like it was a classroom.

"Hai, Iuchi-san?"

[Yuzuki]

Yuzuki had been spacing out throughout the conversation. Distracted by a butterfly.

It had been a very pretty butterfly.

But then it flew away again, and her attention drifted back to the conversation.

[Moto Baatar]

"And if your clan ever encounters trouble Usagi-san, I'm sure that the Unicorn would be happy to assist. We have accepted many into our clan throughout our travels, and together we have grown strong."

"... Thank you, Shinjo-san. While the Hare and the Unicorn might be separated by the Seikitsu Mountains, we are almost neighbours," she offered politely.

"Shinjo-san is right, if we are so close to the Hare we should help protect them," Baatar agreed. "Especially if they are as weak and defenseless as Usagi-san says."

"Are there monsters or bandits in these Seikizu mountains that you mentioned? Maybe we can help!" The young rider's eyes shone at the prospect of fighting such imagined enemies.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

When she was spoken to, Yukarin lowered her hand, "You mentioned the Tonbo joining the Dragon... have minor clans joined great clans at other times? Or been unfortunate to fall apart I suppose."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"And if your clan ever encounters trouble Usagi-san, I'm sure that the Unicorn would be happy to assist. We have accepted many into our clan throughout our travels, and together we have grown strong."

"... Thank you, Shinjo-san. While the Hare and the Unicorn might be separated by the Seikitsu Mountains, we are almost neighbours," she offered politely.

"Shinjo-san is right, if we are so close to the Hare we should help protect them," Baatar agreed. "Especially if they are as weak and defenseless as Usagi-san says."

"Are there monsters or bandits in these Seikizu mountains that you mentioned? Maybe we can help!" The young rider's eyes shone at the prospect of fighting such imagined enemies.

"We are not weak and defenseless, Moto-san," the Hare said in a careful tone, allowing the slight to pass for now since the Ide had stressed for them to be forgiving and understanding of accidents. Bataar had probably just misunderstood. "Our numbers are simply smaller than that of a great clan, but the majority of our clan are trained to fight. I'm one of the few exceptions of those not trained for combat."

"As for bandits in the Seikitsu... I don't think there is, but I'm not very familiar with the area."

Having smoothed out that situation, Tomoe gave her full attention to Yukarin.

"Ah, hmm... I do think that is the only time in history I can recall where a Minor Clan has joined a Great Clan. There are some Minor Clans who are no more, though. But most Minor Clans also have originally hailed from a Great Clan, and earned the unique place as a Minor Clan through different reasons. Like the Sparrow Clan was founded by a group of Crane samurai who believed that the wealth of the Crane was a detriment to their ability to truly committ to the tenets of Bushido, and the Emperor granted them the status of a Minor Clan to pursue their philosophy of honorable poverty, as it is most commonly referred to."

[Otomo Tenzo]

"Just as the Son of Heaven possesses the high honor of creating a Minor Clan, so too does He possess the solemn task of disbanding a Minor Clan when their Duty is either no longer necessary or cannot be performed adequately. As rare as the creation of a Minor Clan is, even rarer is the formal declaration of disbandment, only having occurred but less than a handful of times in the history of the Empire; the last one of memory prior to the Tonbo formally joining the Dragon was when almost all of the Boar seemingly disappeared from their lands, and that, if I recall, was well over two and one-half centuries ago," the Otomo recalled.

Lore: History (24)

[Iuchi Yukarin]

Yukarin looked at the Otomo, "...disappeared? That is ominous."

She turned back to Tomoe, "I think I understand the reasoning behind these Sparrow then... but it seems like it would be hard to think of too many situations where samurai would want to leave a Great Clan for a less influential and respected Minor one, and those of the Great Clan would not take offense at their samurai wishing to leave at the same time, though I suppose the blessing of the Emperor would mitigate the second point."

[Moto Baatar]

"We are not weak and defenseless, Moto-san," the Hare said in a careful tone. "Our numbers are simply smaller than that of a great clan, but the majority of our clan are trained to fight. I'm one of the few exceptions of those not trained for combat."

"Huh. Okay," Baatar said, mulling this over. "Why didn't they train you for combat like the others, then? Is there something wrong with you?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

Saksaha has been sitting very quiet and still at the outer edge of the gathering, absorbing the information with the still concentration of a learned person from a mostly-oral knowledge culture. In her lap is a skein of white yarn, and in her hands a bit of wool fabric which she is busily, if simply, embroidering with a bone needle.

At this point, however, something she'd already wondered about is mentioned yet again, piquing her curiosity beyond the patience to wait for answers to arrive on their own. Yukarin's comment provides a natural opening.

"Otomo-sama and Usagi-san have three times now said that the minor clans are given some special duties," her light, husky voice breaks into a pause in the chatter. "What kind of tasks are those? From this tale, the Mantis Clan indeed has a very storied history," she inclines her head politely toward the actual Mantis present, "but has it also this kind of function? What about all these other Minor Clans I have heard of?"

[Otomo Tenzo]

"Indeed it is," he responded to Yukarin, though he said no more of the Boar's disappearance as he moved to address her next point. "It is acceptable for a time during the initial years of a Minor Clan's formation that certain samurai be allowed to enter into a Minor Clan family if they too possess like mind or skill as the one the Son of Heaven has blessed to lead the new clan. Generally it would be the case they be allowed to come from the the Great Clan in which their founder may have been originally part of - the founder of a new clan originally being a Crab might be allowed a number of Crab samurai into their new family, for instance - but it is quite small in number. There is no offense to be taken for it is honorable to have a samurai from one's family graced by the Hantei with their own name and clan: those of the Minor Clan which might trace family tree from a Great Clan are like cousins, in a sense," he explained.

And with that he gave a nod to Saksaha. "A good question, Iuchi-san. The Mantis are tasked by the Son of Heaven with monitoring the seas of the Empire which no Great Clan controls for threats. The Centipede are responsible for administration of what is now known as the Valley of the Centipede, this as recommended to the Son of Heaven for ease of management, but they also tend to the devotion of Lady Sun. The Badger fortified the Empire's mountainous border region after your clan departed whereas your ancestors that stayed behind in the Empire and became the Fox study the mysteries of Kitsune Mori. The Sparrow keep watch over the Golden Sun Plains while the Tortoise guard the Golden Sun Bay and take care of the Imperial City. The Dragonfly became watchers of the mountain passes until they joined the Dragon, and the Hare, situated on the edge of the Shinomen, seek out all those that dare venture down the path of the Maho-tsukai."

[Iuchi Yukarin]

Yukarin tapped her chin, "If being part of a Minir Clan is considered an honour bestowed by the Emperor himself, as you say, then why aren't those of the Minor Clans considered higher status than Great Clan samurai, rather than the other way around? After all, they were personally chosen for a task by the Son of Heaven for their unique contributions or skills, which makes them groups similar to the Emerald Magistrates or Imperial Legions; One does not show one's worthiness and leave one's Clan in those cases and expect to be treated as less, so why should it not be so for those hand-picked by the Hantei?"

[Moto Baatar]

"...and the Hare, situated on the edge of the Shinomen, seek out all those that dare venture down the path of the Maho-tsukai."

"What is it that the Hare want with maho-tsukai?" Baatar asked, curious. "Are there a lot of them in that area or something?"

[Otomo Tenzo]

"While the Emerald Magistrates and Imperial Legions answer to the Son of Heaven and have their purpose, they are composed of samurai from all clans and are not themselves a clan with a granted family name in their own right. The Minor Clans are small in family size as well as in number of families, but the Great Clans are much larger with multiple families - what truly separates them truly is that the Great Clans and the families composed underneath them were founded and formed by the Kami themselves and their earliest followers at the Dawn of the Empire whereas those of the Minor Clans were formed much later," he added for clarification, rubbing his chin as he turned to Baatar to address his question.

"To destroy them all for their blasphemous practices that threaten the Empire, Moto-san: it was in extended battle against them and their most infamous leaders that Usagi Reichin-dono became known and was granted his name, and tasked they are to continue that hunt. The plains near the Shinomen where he first sighted the army of blood-letters march toward Ryoko Owari Toshi is now where the Hare call home, granted to them after the army's defeat."

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"Yes... but according to what has been said, those of the Minor Clans still carry those Kamis' bloodlines. And the Emerald Magistrates and Imperial Legions were not created by the Kami either... so I apologize if I do not see the difference as relevant; Both are organizations much smaller than a Great Clan, created by the Emperor made up of samurai formerly from those Great Clans. The only difference is those in one group change their names and the others do not... And if taking up a name a representative of the Heavens gives you is less prestigious than keeping the ones from the Kami, why do the Emperor and Clans not see fit to let these chosen vassals keep the names of their ancestors?"

She hoped she was not stepping on toes... or being disrespectful when the Imperial seemed to be trying to juggle two conversations.

[Shinjo Taichi]

Taichi listened and tried his best to remember all the details that were mentioned as he listened to the smart people discuss things. He nodded and made small noises in support of both sides, but had nothing to add for now.

He was definitely interested in the answer to the Iuchi's question though... it seemed strange to him to take honour away from someone for taking up a duty.