Kisada

Kisada is the Fortune of Persistence, as named by Emperor Toturi I. In life he was Crab Clan Champion Hida Kisada.

Life
Kisada married Hida Tsuriko. The couple had two sons, Hida Yakamo and Hida Sukune, and one daughter Hida O-Ushi. In addition, his younger brother was Hida Tsuru and Hida Amoro was his nephew. Kisada was known as the "Great Bear", and he was one of the strongest, and certainly the largest samurai in Rokugan.

He consistently demonstrated a tactical genius and lust for battle, none could compare to the sheer combat prowess of Kisada. He distained combat with other clans, seeing Fu Leng as the only enemy worth his efforts. He would be dismissive and condescending to all non-Crabs. He rarely left Crab lands and his contempt for Hantei XXXVIII was no secret. He was easily the tallest man in Rokugan, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall, and would use his size to overpower enemies in combat relishing close quarter combat with Shadowlands creatures.

He was happy with the progress of his children Yakamo and O-Ushi, but less so with Sukune. Even though Sukune displayed a knack for strategy his physical ailment was a source for great concern. Kisada would constantly wonder if Sukune could be trusted to defend the Empire.

Personality
Kisada was a quiet man, who spoke with the power of a gathering storm, wearing the Ancestral Armor of the Crab Clan, Ketsuen, at all times. On the rare occasion he would take it off his personal armorer, Kaiu Bugati would keep it for him. It is widely rumored that no man has ever wounded Kisada and lived.

Death
In 1127, believing the Emperor dying, the Crab stormed Otosan Uchi to place Kisada on the throne. Instead, they found Fu Leng as the possessed Hantei XXXIX, who mortally wounded Kisada, lodging Akkuai-uo, the Ancestral Sword of Hantei in his gut. The Crab army was forced to retreat from the capital as Yakamo pulled his father from the palace. The wound finally caused his death in 1130, nearly two and a half years later.

Although many saw him as a traitor to the Empire for attacking Otosan Uchi, others, including Toturi, understood his actions and gave him the funeral pyre of an honorable samurai. To honor the Great Bear, Emperor Toturi I named him the Fortune of Persistence at his funeral, a tribute to Kisada's unwillingness to die, even after seriously injured by Fu Leng himself. (3E p. 20)

Iuchiban
Kisada was recently returned through Oblivion's Gate by Rezan, and he was the only person in Rokugan who knew the location of Iuchiban's heart. He led the united armies of the Lion and Crab Clans against the Bloodspeaker and stood locked in hand-to-hand combat with Iuchiban himself, distracting the Bloodspeaker from the presence of Isawa Sezaru.

Animosity with the Scorpion
Since his return to ningen-do, there has been open hostility between the Scorpion and Crab, partly due to Kisada's actions when Bayushi Shoju tried to overthrow the Hantei dynasty in Kisada's original life. Bayushi Paneki has also decided that due to the War of Spirits it would be best if Kisada was returned to the spirit realms rather than meddle in the affairs of mortals. This hostility may soon spill out to full scale war between the two great clans due to frequent assassination attempts on Kisada's life.

The Lost
Kisada brought the Lost emissary Daigotsu Soetsu before Emperor Toturi III during winter court at Kyuden Bayushi. As a result, the Emperor banished Kisada from Toshi Ranbo wo Shien Shite Reigisaho and declared that the Great Bear could not return on pain of death unless he was summoned by the Emperor.

Major References

 * Way of the Crab Pages 61-62.
 * Secrets of the Crab Page 9.
 * Persistence