The Crane Clan was one of the seven Great Clans. They were both respected and hated for their achievements, both admired and envied for their elegance and grace. They were considered the Emperor's Left Hand. [2]
Crane Clan[]
Families of the Crane Clan[]
Founded by the Kami Doji, the Crane consisted of four families, the Kakita, the Asahina, the Daidoji, and the Doji family, which was the ruling family. A fifth family, the Yasuki broke its ties with the Crane Clan and had joined the Crab Clan. [3] It was traditional for the Hantei to choose a samurai from the Doji family as their spouse, more Emerald Champions had been Kakita than any other family, and the samurai of the Daidoji family served as some of the finest shock troops in the Emerald Empire. [1]
Customs[]
Many members of the Crane Clan dyed their hair stark white, creating a striking look. [4] The “year scroll,” was a Crane tradition which dated from the clan's founding. At the start of the year, the scroll was blank to represent the year's possibilities. As weeks passed, family members chronicled significant life events in poems, ink wash paintings, or simple prose. By the end of the year, the scroll became a collection of memories. On the last day of each year, the family read the scroll and recalled those moments together. Then, at the dawn of the new year, the scroll was carried to a brazier and burned, those moments turning to ash before the Hatsuhi, the “first sun” of the year. In this way, the Crane reminded themselves of impermanence and recommit to live life fully, nobly, and presently. [5] Benten, Fortune of Arts and Romantic Love was venerated as the Clan's patron. [6]
Colors[]
The Crane was mostly identified with blue colors. [7]
Duty[]
Since their founding, the Crane had become both the poets and the poetry of the Empire, at once the swordsmiths and the duelists wielding the smith's blades. The Crane Clan were the makers of beauty and beauty itself, devotees of peace and civility, who had seemingly limitless talent for artistic accomplishments and political dominance in Rokugan's courts. [2]
Military[]
The Crane strategy and tactics in combat was to challenge the opponent commander to a duel and deprive the enemy of a leader while Crane bushi maintained a defensive scorched-earth posture and courtiers grinded the economy of the enemy clan to a halt in courts across the Empire. At the same time its bannerless scouts were infamous for employing questionable tactics, such as sabotaging weapons, laying traps for marching columns, and poisoning supplies in advance of the opposing army's main force. This helped to ameliorate the greatest weakness of the Crane, numbers. [8] The Crane army was highly respected for its emphasis on swift, lethal close combat. In battle, cavalry and archers tended to hang back initially to allow the Crane infantry to thin the ranks of foes, then step in to finish them off. Their signature warrior was the Daidoji Iron Warrior. [9]
Notable Holdings[]
The Crane lands were home to the most productive farmland in the Emerald Empire [10] and were also among the most geographically diverse in Rokugan, from the clan's verdant northern fields and grasslands, to the rich temperate forests along its northwestern border, to the marshy wetlands dominating its southern provinces. These lands stretched along the eastern territories of Rokugan, and Crane lands accounted for seventy percent of its coastline, encompassing rocky cliffs, offshore island clusters, deep bays, and serene, pale beaches. Rivers carved valleys through the ancient mountain range dividing the lands into northern and southern provinces. Abundant with rice paddies in the floodplains, docks and fishing villages on the coast, rich orchards around palatial estates, and bustling marketplaces in the cities, Crane lands were considered to be the breadbasket of the Empire. [11]
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Lands of the Crane Clan
- City of the Cold Wind
- Crane Clan Embassy at Otosan Uchi
- Jukami Mura
- Kakita Dueling Academy
- Kyūden Doji
- Kyūden Kakita
- Kyūden Kyotei
- Lonely Shore City
- Morning Mist City
- Musume Mura
- The Port that Never Sleeps
- Sakura no Yuki
- Seven Fold Palace
- Shinden Asahina
- Shiro Kandai
- Shizuka Toshi
- Son of the Crane
- Tsuma
- Wall Above the Ocean Village
History[]
Foundation[]
After the Kami fell to the mortal realm from the Celestial Heavens and Hantei became the first Emperor, his sister Doji resolved to bring order to this savage realm. From her, these primitive peoples learned writing so they could record their achievements, politics to govern their affairs, economics and commerce to manage their wealth, and art and culture to lift them from their lives of misery. Those she touched the most became her devoted followers, the first samurai of the Crane Clan. [2]
The Yasuki Defection[]
The Yasuki family, chafing under the demands of the Crane Clan, broke its ties with the Crane and offered fealty to the Crab, who eagerly accepted. [3] The Yasuki War [12] was the first interclan war in the Emerald Empire, and it led the Emperor to forbid direct warfare between the Great Clans. [13]
Sparrow Clan[]
In the 5th century the Sparrow Clan was formed as an offshot of the Crane Clan. [14]
Phoenix Alliance[]
The Phoenix Clan were their long-standing allies. [15]
Twelth Century[]
In 1120 a tsunami [16] [17] known as the Great Wave, [18] and in 1121 a typhoon [19] had depleted many of their crops and resources. In the beginning of the reign of Doji Hotaru constant battles with the Lion over the city of Toshi Ranbo had reduced the Crane's forces, and precious cargo at sea went mysteriously missing. [20] The small Crane Clan army suffered such losses that the Crane began to hire rōnin mercenaries. [21]
Alliance with the Unicorn[]
In 1123 the Unicorn and the Crane arranged an alliance against their common foe, the Lion Clan. [18]
Schools[]
The following were the schools within the Crane Clan:
- Asahina Artificer (Shugenja, Artisan)
- Asahina Envoy (Courtier)
- Daidoji Harrier (Bushi, Shinobi)
- Daidoji Iron Warrior (Bushi)
- Daidoji Spymaster (Courtier, Shinobi)
- Doji Bureaucrat (Courtier)
- Doji Diplomat (Courtier)
- Doji Rhetorician
- Kakita Artisan
- Kakita Duelist (Bushi, Artisan)
- Kakita Swordsmith (Artisan, Courtier)
Crane Clan Champion[]
The Crane Clan Champion was the leader of the Crane Clan. The following are the known Champions of the Crane Clan:
| Doji | 5 - ? |
| Doji Nio | ? - ? |
| Doji Ritsuko | ? - ? |
| Doji Ryobu | c. 815 |
| Doji Chuai | ? - ? |
| Doji Satsume | ? - 1122 |
| Doji Hotaru | 1122 - Present |
See also[]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 16
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Great Clans
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Great Clans (Learn to Play Rulebook)
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings: Roleplaying Game (Beta), p. 85
- ↑ Courts of Stone, p. 52
- ↑ Courts of Stone, p. 57
- ↑ Her Father's Daughter, by D. G. Laderoute
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 57
- ↑ Fields of Victory, p. 14
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings: Roleplaying Game (Beta), p. 104
- ↑ Courts of Stone, p. 67
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 55
- ↑ A Difference of Lanterns, by Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 18
- ↑ The Sword and the Spirits, by Robert Denton III
- ↑ Beginner Game (Doji Ren portfolio)
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 18
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Art of Matchmaking, by Nancy M. Sauer
- ↑ Winter's Embrace, p. 2
- ↑ A Crane Takes Flight
- ↑ A Crane Takes Flight, by D. G. Laderoute
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