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Isawa Mori
Isawa Mori, also known as Isawa Woodlands, [1] was the second-largest continuous forest in the Empire, [2] a pine forest in the lands of the Phoenix Clan. The Korihaka Ruins [3] and Isawa Mori Seidō were located there. [4] It was said that the forest overlapped with the Spirit Realm of Senkyō. [5] As one of the most important cultural touchstones of the Isawa, access to the woodlands was rarely granted to those outside the Phoenix Clan. [2]
Biology[]
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Isawa Forest
The Isawa Mori was the second-largest continuous forest in the Empire, and one of its most biologically varied. Agarwood, an aromatic resin that formed in the heartwood of certain trees, was an important component in incense and spiritual offerings, occurring naturally in many of the Isawa Mori's species. Acorns shed by the forest's silver oaks were valued for their tannins, which were used for leather-making. Ginkgo trees, whose seeds were used in food and medicine, thrived in the thickest glens. The forest also boasted many species of cypress, which were important for the construction and maintenance of shrines. Beneath the forest boughs throughout, hemp fields historically provided the textile fibers necessary for shimenawa ropes, priestly robes, and other ceremonial uses. Isawa Foresters maintained the woodlands, and legends of Snow Maidens sightings were told. [6]
Scrolls[]
The Phoenix made the finest parchment in Rokugan with trees from the depths of Isawa Forest. To create their most sacred scrolls, Phoenix shugenja invoked kami to affect their work when they used suminagashi, a marbling technique. Willing spirits moved the ink as it floated in a bath of water, and then their designs were soaked into the parchment's fibers. [7]
Gempuku of the Isawa[]
In this strange, spirit-ridden forest, the Isawa conducted part of their gempuku rites; each young Isawa must spend a night alone in the forest in meditation. [8]
Kuroi Mori[]
Deep within the forest was Kuroi Mori, a place inhabited by misanthropic kami, traumatized by some unknown encounter with humanity. [9]
References
- ↑ Repentance Does Not Come First, by Robert Denton III
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Writ of the Wilds, p. 32
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 196
- ↑ Isawa Mori Seidō Title (Core Set)
- ↑ Celestial Realms, p. 10
- ↑ Writ of the Wilds, pp. 32-34
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 209
- ↑ Celestial Realms, p. 57
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 212
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