Nasu no Shiba Shizuma was the general and chief advisor of the Tsume Daimyō Tsume Retsu.
Appearance and Demeanor[]
Shizuma wore his greying hair in a traditional topknot. He was a devout follower of Shinsei's teachings. [1] In his youth, Shizuma was a rather renowned yojimbo, famous for his skill with the spear. [2]
Yōjimbō[]
After Tsume Retsu came to the assistance of the besieged Phoenix Clan at Nikesake castle, Shizuma swore his fealty to Retsu and was given permission by his lord to become Retsu's yōjimbō, to help unite the Phoenix and Crane in the Kintani Valley against the Damasu family, vassals of the Akodo family. [3]
General and Chief Advisor[]
Tsume Retsu[]
Shizuma eventually became Retsu's chief advisor and his general, overseeing the Tsume family forces when they ventured beyond the castle. He struggled to counsel Retsu toward peaceable resolutions, [4] because Retsu was a cruel, ambitious and ruthless samurai. To shore up the Crane Clan's logistical lines to Toshi Ranbo Lord Tsume Retsu besieged the Kyotei Castle, a castle belonged to the Damasu family. Retsu eventually overcame its defenses and slaughtered every member of the Damasu family. [5] Despite his duty to assist in waging war against the Crane Clan's enemies, Shizuma struggled to reconcile his last lord's violent ways with the words of the Little Teacher. [2]
Tsume Takashi[]
In 1120 Retsu was assassinated and his sensitive and aloof son Tsume Takashi was made the new Daimyō. [5] Shizuma feared that Takashi would fail to uphold everything Retsu sacrificed to attain. [3] As a man well past retirement age, he served Takashi in the same role as with his late father. [2] Shizuma arranged the wedding of his lord with Shiba Itsuyo, daughter of the Lord of Nikesake, Shiba Katsuda. [6] In 1123 Takashi committed seppuku shortly after fulfilling his last duty as lord in marrying Shiba Itsuyo. Takishi had met his former and lost lover, the geisha Reika, who was slain during a plot devised by her which revealed Reika as the last member of the Damasu. Doji Kuzunobu, husband to the Crane Clan Champion and one of the wedding's guests, accepted her oaths of fealty to the Doji family and recognized her as the new lord. [5]
See also[]
References
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