Order of Chikai

One of the most oldest and most prestigious institutions within the Shiba family, the Order of Chikai is an elite cadre of hand-selected bushi who serve primarily as yojimbo for the Council of Five. Founded after the tragic death of Shiba Chikai, this august group takes it's name from that most revered of warriors and has continued in her tradition for centuries.

Tasks
Although the Order regards its primary duty as the protection of the Council of Five, that is not their only task. They are limited in what they can accomplish, however, as there are more than three dozen members at any one time, and fully one-third of that number are in training. Each member of the Order must locate and train a suitable replacement should he fall in battle, and this is what they called a Master-Student pair. At any given time one master-student pair from the Order protects each of the Elemental Masters in addition to the Master's own yojimbo. Additionally, one pair is assigned to the daimyo of each of the other Phoenix families and a pair to each of the family's ancestral estates. the remaining twelve will me sensei to those students who does not have a pair and they also serve as personal yojimbo to important guests.

(from, SoPhoenix, page 79-80)