| Please note: This article is about the monk who founded Water Hammer City. For other uses of the term, please see Haru (disambiguation) and Batsu (disambiguation). |
| Haru (monk) | |
|---|---|
| Born: | Unknown |
| Died: | Unknown |
| Children: | Un-named twins (adopted) |
| People | |
Yoriotomo Batsu was a sailor of the Mantis Clan who left his clan as the ronin Batsu, and later the monk known as Haru.
Sailor[]
Yoritomo Batsu was an exceptional sailor whose kobune was swallowed during a typhoon. He was granted a vision of Suitengu, the Fortune of Sea, and his ship did not sink. Batsu returned home and after he met his lord left Kyuden Gotei as the ronin Batsu. [1]
Ronin[]
Batsu traveled the Empire north into the mountains, praying in the many shrines and temples he found, seeking guidance. No samurai stopped his path, and when he was tending a shrine in the Lion lands, a monk thanked him for his help, the first person to spoke first to him in months. Batsu realized his destiny, shaved his head, and joined the Brotherhood of Shinsei as Haru. [1]
Monk[]
Forge[]
Haru was a wandering monk who in 1141 received a vision compelling him to journey deep into the mountains, where he would find a heavenly gift at the foot of a waterfall. A sea-colored disc, a scale of the Water Dragon, laid on the bank of the small lake the stream made. Haru meditated for days until he received a second vision, which shown himself as a smith, and the disc was the anvil. The monk set about crafting a crude forge on the spot within a shrine he created on the banks of the lake. Haru had reached the enlightenment. [2]
Water Hammer City[]
In 1143 Mirumoto samurai offered their assistance at the behest of the Dragon Clan Champion Togashi Hoshi. A dozen monks were already in attendance. In 1144 caravans from the Scorpion, Mantis, and Unicorn Clans began to arrive, at the behest of divine visions, bestowed upon them or even on their daimyo. The settlement rapidly grew and Haru accepted his first students. All those who trained there built forges of their own around the original. A large shrine at the settlement's center was built to honor the heavens. In 1154 the settlement is officially named Water Hammer City. [3]
Master Smith[]
Apprentices[]
In 1154, the year when the Water Hammer City was officially founded, Haru granted permission to use the forge to his best student, who failed. Not all blacksmiths would be able to use the unorthodox anvil. Haru decided he would use the forge himself but twice per year, and the rest of time would be used for his most promising students. Only nine apprentices were selected each year during the New Year's Festival. These new apprentices assisted Haru in a ritual of purification, carrying the wondrous blue stone disc out of the temple and into the river running beneath the city, and return the disc back to the temple. [3]
The Four Winds Era[]
In 1158 Haru created a daisho with the mon of the wolf, to honor Toturi I, who had been killed this year. In 1160 Haru fell ill, disappearing with several of his fellow monks. The disc also went missing, only reappearing the next year, when Haru returned completely restored. He created a suit of armor with an anvil on the chest, honoring Toturi III, "the Anvil". [4]
Father[]
Haru eventually adopted twin infants who were left at the temple. [2]
Known Apprentices[]
When the monk Haru established the Great Forge, he invited all the clans to send artisans to create items there. All of the clans save the Scorpion answered this call. This is a list of those apprentices and the nemuranai they crafted: [5]
- Kaiu Otoge - Kaiu Otoge's Sparrow
- Asahina Kimita - Thunder's Taiko
- Matsu Watako - Master's Go Set
- Moshi Jukio - Amulet of Amaterasu
- Shiba Atsuke - Atsuke's Hammer
- Moto Vordu - The Saddle of Water
See also[]
References
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