Ise Zumi (TCG)

Tattooed Wanderer

Ise Zumi was an order of tattooed monks who belonged to the Dragon Clan exclusively. They rarely wore anything more than a couple of simple garments, they had clean shaven heads and their skins were covered in intricate tattoos. They dedicated themselves to discovering and fulfilling their soul's destiny, believing that to be their individual path to achieving Enlightenment, and they almost never married.

Details

Initiates

The Togashi Order accepted members from across the Empire and of any caste. Those few who could find their way to one of the Togashi monasteries in the first place had proven themselves worthy of becoming initiates. Novices carried out the vast majority of the work at the High House of Light, which was usually performed by heimin servants at other dōjō.

Training

The training of the ise zumi was an hybrid of samurai and monastic education. They studied theology extensively, as weel as the Fortunes, and the Spirit Relams. But they also studied jūjutsu and a few the study of weapons as well. Further, ise zumi taught to master the inner teachings of kihō. They learned history and etiquette, including the virtues of Bushidō.

Gempuku

Before became adult, the ise zumi performed a test of jūjutsu against a senior sensei to evaluate his skills, to move on to the scholarly examination, and finally they retired to a secluded chamber with a single sensei, who repited 'What do you remember?' leading the candidate back into the memories of the lifes that came before. Once the monk had completed his gempuku, they would receive their first tattoo.

Tattoos

The tattoos' power flew from the blood of Togashi, the Dragon Clan Kami, which was mixed into the tattooing inks. Togashi monks channelled power through their mystic tattoos, used to follow individual paths even more than their clanmates did, whether that involved seeking enlightenment through hermitage in the mountains or wandering the Empire in search of new experiences. All full monks had at least two tattoos, and the number of tattoos a monk possessed was a kind of seniority. Ise zumi wear light clothing and simple fabrics as a necessity to unleash the full power of their tattoos, so they had to endure themselves as novices for streghtening their bodies, so they would not need armor or warm heavy clothing which would interfere with their tattoos.

Penalties

Offender ise zumi performed a symbolic suicide with kiyomizu, purifying water. Drinking the kiyomizu the repentant monk was spiritually reborn, washed clean of their failings. Exile was a rare punishment, and this severed the offender from their school, family, and clan, by stripping the ise zumi of their tattoos, breaking the karmic chain that would lead them back to the order after reincarnation.

Naimyō and Gaimyō

Those ise zumi who entered the High House of Light for training and never left again were known as naimyō, and those who journeyed extensively Rokugan for a variety of purposes were known as gaimyō: inside and outside lives. Any given ise zumi generally spent several lives as naimyō, then one as gaimyō.

Dragon Clan

The leadership of the Dragon had always passed to the most talented monk of the ise zumi, and its leader was known as the Iemoto, the inheritor of the tattooed order traditions. While monks of the Brotherhood of Shinsei would propotiate the Fortunes or seek Enlightenment, the ise zumi cultivated themselves to better serve the Dragon Clan and its champion.

School Ability

Ise Zumi

• Blood of the Kami

See also

• Ise Zumi/Meta

External Links

• Tattooed Wanderer (Core Set)
• Serene Ise Zumi (Rokugan at War)

References

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