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Kitsune family

Fox  

Clan: Mantis Clan 
Founded: 90 
Daimyo: Kitsune Toshitaka 
"Fall seven times, stand up eight" [1] [2]

The Kitsune family was the family of the Fox Clan. The Fox was the first minor clan officially recognized by any Emperor.

Fox Clan[]

Kitsune Library[]

The Kitsune Library was renowned for its legal and historical information. It was to be the Fox's legacy to Lady Shinjowhen she returned, containing details of all the decisions made by the Hantei Emperors and the Heraldry of the Great Clans. [1]

Duties[]

The Fox learned the medicinal properties of plants, mastered Animal Husbandry, and had uncanny talents for tracking and hunting. Their shugenja were the most attuned to the wilderness, and were the most practiced in deception and trickery. [3]

Lands of the Kitsune[]

The Fox Clan lands covered the entirety of the Kakusu province, and the Kyuden Kitsune was well hidden behind the Kitsune Mori. [4]

History[]

Ki-Rin's Exodus[]

When Shinjo took the Ki-Rin Clan to seek out threats beyond the borders of the Empire, there were a small number of the clan that, for one reason or another, chose to remain behind in Rokugan. [5] Shinjo promised her brother the Emperor that those remaining behind would maintain records of all things which she would miss in her time away, and were also tasked with preparing for her eventual return. Since that day, the Fox libraries have been filled with records of conversations, thoughts, and celebrations concerning Shinjo, in the hope that one day she would return. [6] For nearly a generation, the Clan of the Fox lived in the Unicorn lands, building Otaku Palace with their own hands and gathering the food and rice that they tilled from the fields. [7]

Serving with the Ikoma[]

Forty years after the Ki-Rin's Exodus, the last remaining Ki-Rin, which would be later known as the Fox, marched through Ikoma lands seeking refuge from the waves of uncivilized gaijin. These samurai served with the Ikoma for a generation as huntsmen, scouts and elite strike forces. [8] In the year 89 the remaining members of the Ki-Rin Clan in Rokugan petitioned the Emperor for assistance in combating bandits plaguing their lightly-populated lands. Hantei Genji ordered the Lion Clan to deal with the problem, [9] and they eventually expelled the Ki-Rin from their own lands. [10]

Seeking new territory[]

The Lion Clan removed the threat posed by the barbaric tribes of northmen and the Fox tried to return to their ancestral lands, but the Matsu claimed the former Ki-Rin lands as their own. The small army of the Fox traveled south through Beiden Pass and into the empty lands below the mountains. [8] The Fox version was more bloody, recalling that the Lion claimed the Fox lands for their peasants, assembled an army, and marched to the common border where they utterly crushed the smaller opponent, thus forever gaining the Fox's enmity. [11]

Founding[]

Emperor Hantei Genji declared to Shinjo that he would see to the welfare of these people, and [citation needed] when the bulk of the Ki-Rin departed and their remaining people were kicked out of their lands by the Lion, he declared that this remnant were to be the Fox Clan - the first minor clan recognized by an Emperor. The Emperor also forbade anyone from declaring full-scale warfare of Great Clans against Minor Clans. In 90, [12] he resettled the Fox in the lands below the southern Spine of the World Mountains, [7] granting them the land of Kitsune Mori, closer in proximity to Otosan Uchi than the original Ki-Rin lands, so he could keep the children of his sister Shinjo close to him. [13] The Fox took the Ki-Rin's place at court and represented that clan's interests while it was abroad. [11]

Binds with the Kitsune[]

Over the centuries, the Fox clan evolved into a clan distinct from the Ki-Rin, with close ties to the Kitsune shape-changers native to the haunted forests within their lands. [14] With virtually no arable land at their disposal, the Fox had been forced to hunt for food, considered an unclean act in Rokugani society. The Fox survived their hardships due in no small part to the intervention of the Kitsune. In gratitude, the Fox Clan forged an ongoing relationship with the Kitsune and the nature they revered. [15]

Return of the Ki-Rin[]

Upon the Return of the Ki-Rin, the Fox were the first to recognize their lost kin, and they rushed this news to their allies, the Miya. [16] Once the Ki-Rin were recognized as the Unicorn Clan, the Unicorn Clan Champion invited the Fox to rejoin their clan and become one again with the Ki-Rin, but the Fox refused. [17] Their skills in hunting, herbalism and woodcraft were unparalleled in Rokugan. [14]

Minor Clan Alliances[]

The Fox Clan were members of the Three Man Alliance of minor clans. During the Clan War they had very close ties to Yoritomo's Alliance, but they fiercely maintained their independent existence as a Minor Clan. [citation needed] The Crane Clan sought to separate them from the Alliance in 1132. [18]

Date Code[]

The Sparrow Clan used a modified calendar based upon the year of their founding. It was not uncommon for the other members of the Three Man Alliance to use it, particularly the Fox. The Wasp used it as well. [19]

War against the Shadow[]

In 1133 the Fox Clan defended the walls of Otosan Uchi against the Shadows while the Great Clans were fighting in the War of Shadow. [20]

Crane Alliance[]

Fox break with Crane Clan

Fox break with Crane Clan

When approached by Yoritomo to join the Mantis Clan in 1133, Fox Clan Champion Kitsune Ryosei refused and allied the Fox Clan with the Crane. [21] When the Crane brokered their alliance with the Fox, the Kumo moved against Kyuden Kitsune. [22] Some time later the Fox considered the Crane lack of support as a betrayal, [23] and the grudge stood for years. [24]

Absorption by the Mantis Clan[]

In 1169, 40 years after Yoritomo's proposal, a prophet named Kitsune Narako was discovered living amongst the Fox. The prophet prophesied the downfall of the Fox Clan, and Fox Clan Champion Kitsune Ryukan decided to ask the Tsuruchi family of the Mantis Clan for aid. Attacks in the Kitsune Mori and later several attempts to kidnap the prophet showed Ryukan the weakness of his tiny clan. [25] Following the aid of the Mantis, the Fox Clan were absorbed into them, becoming the Kitsune family. [26] It was later learned that the Shadow Dragon had orchestrated the attacks and planned to use the Fox's connection to Chikushudo to gain the awareness of all animals in the world, which would have made him nearly omniscient. When the Shadow Dragon realized Narako's gift of prophecy, he sent agents to kidnap her in order to take her gift for himself. His plans were foiled by the Fox with the aid of the Mantis. [27]

Artifacts[]

The Kitsune were in possession of one of the Jade Goblets of Taira. [28] They also briefly possessed one of the black scrolls, but it was passed from Kitsune Ryosei to the Phoenix Clan, who guarded it in the Hidden City. [29]

Secured[]

In 1200 representatives of the Unicorn Clan suggested that the Kitsune should return to their original clan, the Unicorn. The Emperor Iweko II dismissed the proposal. [30]

Within the Family[]

Mon[]

The mon depicted the profile of a fox springing forward in the hunt. [31] The clan colors were red-brown and silver. [32]

Samurai[]

See Samurai of the Fox Clan for a listing of notable members of the clan, both current and historic. For members of the Kitsune family after joining the Mantis Clan in 1169, see Samurai of the Mantis Clan.

Politics[]

Kitsune Daimyo[]

The following is a listing of all Kitsune Daimyo since the family's founding in 90. Until the family's absorption into the Mantis Clan in 1169, these individuals were also the Fox Clan Champions.

Shinun (c. 80) - ?
Kitsune Fusaie ? - ?
Kitsune Hashibi (c. 519)
Kitsune Oshirin ? - 1090
Kitsune Gohei 1090 - 1124
Kitsune Ryosei 1124 - 1160
Kitsune Ryukan 1160 - ?
Kitsune Toshitaka ? - Present

Vassal Families[]

Schools & Paths[]

The following are the Schools and Paths of the Kitsune family:

See also[]


Sources Conflict
The sources relating to this article are in conflict with each other.
In Winter Court: Kyuden Seppun page 29 was Hantei himself who allowed the relocation of the Fox Clan. As Hantei died in the year 45, and the Fox moved around the year 80, it is contradictory. --Oni no Pikachu 20:58, March 10, 2012 (UTC)


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Way of the Minor Clans, p. 31
  2. Kitsune Diro (Hidden Emperor 2 flavor)
  3. Way of the Minor Clans, pp. 31-32
  4. Way of the Minor Clans, p. 32
  5. Legacy of the Kami, by Shawn Carman
  6. Winter Court: Kyuden Seppun, p. 30
  7. 7.0 7.1 Introduction to the Fox Clan, by Ree Soesbee (Imperial Herald #13)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Way of the Lion, p. 112
  9. Imperial Histories 2, p. 34
  10. Secrets of the Lion, p. 6
  11. 11.0 11.1 Way of the Minor Clans, p. 28
  12. Imperial Histories, p. 19
  13. Winter Court: Kyuden Seppun, p. 29
  14. 14.0 14.1 Roleplaying in the Emerald Empire, p. 234
  15. Magic of Rokugan, p. 95
  16. Winter Court: Kyuden Seppun, p. 41
  17. Fox Clan, by Ree Soesbee (Imperial Herald #14)
  18. Clan Letter to the Mantis #11 (Imperial Herald v3 #3)
  19. Scenes from the Empire I, by Shawn Carman
  20. The Battle at Oblivion's Gate, by Ree Soesbee
  21. Hidden Emperor, p. 79
  22. Archers (Spirit Wars flavor)
  23. False Alliance (Gold Flavor)
  24. Shadows, by Shawn Carman
  25. Prophecy, by Shawn Carman
  26. Shadows, by Shawn Carman
  27. Shadows in the Forest, by Shawn Carman
  28. Way of the Wolf, p. 116
  29. Clan Letter to the Phoenix #20 (Imperial Herald v2 #5)
  30. Spring Kotei 2015 Fiction Act 1: Opening Moves, Day 3, by Chris Hand, Maxime Lemaire, Mari Murdock, Fred Wan, and Robert Denton
  31. Great Clans, p. 147
  32. Way of the Minor Clans, p. 3


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