In this thread Asterix will be posting Descriptions for each faction:
Miyoshi –
Times are changing. The Miyoshi have long served the Hosokawa family as vassals. However their overlord’s greed and internal division have presented opportunities. Opportunities never present before, and unthinkable before…. Now in times of chaos, where the strong have shown pitiful weakness, the lord Buddha’s teachings must be followed, it is finally time to make the family the most outward circle!
The Hosokawa’s ambitions have cost the life of Miyoshi Yukinaga. He had capture Imperial Kyoto three times for the Hosokawa, who could not stay unified to consolidate his brilliant victories. The third time, when the rat Hosokawa Takakuni retreated from Kyoto without informing Yukinaga, the family’s beloved father was forced upon pain of honor to commit suicide. It is not the first time that the Hosokawa used the Miyoshi as human shields!
The opportunity is now! One of the most magnificent fortresses in Japan was completed under the close eye of Yukinaga in 1521. Built for the Hosokawa’s ambitions, the magnificent fortress of Saki in Settsu, nicknamed the "Mandokoro," commands access to Hokkaido and the Miyoshi’s native land of Awa across the strait. More strategically, it also commands all eastern approaches to Kyoto, giving the Miyoshi a very solid position indeed.
The Hosokawa and their puppets Ashikaga don’t suspect anything. Choose the right moment, and your loyal retainers, which include graduates of the famous archery school in Awa, which was original built by the Minamoto to train bird hunters. The Miyoshi’s famous Ashigaru Archers, capable of firing accurately up to twelve arrows in ten seconds to cut down any audacious enemies foolish enough to charge them in the open.
The Miyoshi, on the verge of rupturing their vassalage to Hosokawa, have been training a sizeable army in Awa, under the personal supervision of Miyoshi Motonaga, ready to put authority to the imminent split. Long-term followers of the ways of Lord Buddha, tracing the family back to the original Buddhist patrons of Japan, the Miyoshi have always invested their Awa profits in support of the monasteries. Now, in this new immoral era, when many see the monasteries as pawns in a larger political game, Miyoshi Motonaga has vowed not to abandon the sacred temples, as without them Japan will never preserve its golden traditions through this bloody era!
Asai
The massive cast iron gates of Odani castle first opened just three years ago. Behind them, the Asai, descendant from noble family of Ôgimachi, famous heroes of the Minamoto era, plan strategies to regain their former honour which they owe to their venerated ancestors, while overlooking the Omi heartland of Japan and keeping a watchful eye on all movement in Kyoto. Nothing less is expected of this large and talented family.
Already in 1516, Asai Sukemasa broke his link with the Kyôgoku, an underclass family they had been forced to serve after unjustly falling suspect to the Shogun during the Onin wars. The same year the Rokkaku land-merchant dogs tried to raise an army to stop the Asai’s independence, only to flee from the field at the mere site of the proficiency of Asai’s new model army.
From their impregnable lair of Odani the Asai control the heartland of Japan. In the best position to guard Kyoto from the ambitious, they can also guard the weak Shogun’s willpower before it falls to the greedy likes of the Hosokawa.
The Asai are reputed for the beauty of their daughters, with frequent suitors knocking at the gates of Odani, diplomacy forgotten, eager to negotiate terms of marriage. A refined and traditional family, Sukemasa himself is famous from East to West for his poetry and flower arrangement, as is clear from the respect which his fellow lords accord him. As he is artistic, he is innovative in war, the new model army which he created is an emblem of discipline and trained tenacity, but other daymio have understood the value of trained ashigaru and are preparing to repave an even ground.
Despite a desire for peace, and honourable defense of the status quo, the Asai cannot exclude total war as an option. Their Omi home has many ambitious eyes fixed on it, and its central location guarantees many over-eager neighbors. The extensive military alliance with the Asakura is conditional on the protection of Kyoto, and their actions have seemed to show that they can be trusted. If both of the Asakura and Asai armies remain the strongest in the region, then the balance should be sufficient to maintain peace, despite a clear, crimson history of blood between several of the allies’ retainer families. With every day that goes Japan’s unity becomes only a hazier memory, which is the way that the Asai wind should blow? Strike first, or wait to be struck? Seize Kyoto and witness a sea of enemies, or pick off one-by-one the ones that attempt to control the capital?
Mori
Ôe Hiromoto (1148-1225) was a reputed Minamoto hero, who commanded armies to establish the institution of Shogun. He also founded the Mori clan, and their birthright is the protection of the bushido, of the teachings of the lord Buddha and of the cultivation of Japanese tradition. The Mori have great honour, being the hereditary overlords of most of Eastern Japan from their traditional home of Aki and their second home of Hiroshima. In the 15th Century before the outbreak of the Onin Wars the Mori family served as Jito, or Marshals of the Shogunate, with the unquestionable duty of protecting the Shogun and Kyoto.
When the Onin war broke out they reluctantly supported the Ouchi only to have the Ouchi use the Mori as shields against their rival Amako. For the last 50 years this issue has been a point of bitterness in the noble hearts of the Mori, although the Mori family is the strongest in the region the Ouchi and Amako cannot be absorbed at the same time, although both clans should be made vassals of the Mori.
The times are dark, ambitious peasants title themselves daymio, commanding large peasant armies in an attempt to march on Kyoto and declare themselves Shogun for a day. Emissaries claiming to be from the Shogun have appeared re-appointing the Mori as Jito, but every time it became obvious that the Shogun does not have any word in his appointments.
What will these ambitious upstarts resort to in their quest for power? What new ways of plotting and assassination will they attempt in their drive for cheap self-glorification? What new weapons will they give their honour-less peasantry to kill the Mori samurai from a distance safe from legendary reputations and skill. The Mori must make it a priority to uphold tradition, and to not let the necessities of war ravage all that is sacred. The Sohei must be aided, already the Onin war tried to spill into the temples, and the Mori were the first to help. Motonari is young for a Daymio, but he already helped his father drive the Takeda out of the East when he was only 15. His trials have resulted in early maturity, and he has already acquired the reputation of a legendary lord and remains an undefeated warrior. In the house of Mori is embedded the honour of carrying the banner of tradition, and this banner must never fall especially to the masses of honour-less sheriffs calling themselves daymio, who would even ally with foreigners if it would allow them to control Japan.
Takeda –
Like dogs swarming a tiger. Few families can look the Takeda in the eye, they just look to bite off piece by piece. The established traditional overlords of the ore-rich province of Kai the Takeda trace their ancestry directly to the Minamoto. In their Kofuchu Castle of Maruyama-Jo hangs an inscription from two centuries prior that entrusted the Takeda as the lord-high-protectors of Bushido, charged with keeping pure the way of the Samurai. This is the place of the Takeda family, at the center of the aristocracy and at the center of Japan.
The world is not like a Shogi board, the central position is not always to the greatest advantage. The excessive violence and vulgar transgressions of code and ethics during the Onin Wars have opened the gates of hell. Petty retainers in the mountains North of Kai have turned to aggressive banditry during the last one hundred years, they slandered the Bushido by pronouncing themselves Daymio, and now fail to understand their place and pay regular homage to the Takeda. A service should be paid to them and their heads severed and impaled before they rock the boat further with their blasphemous dishonour.
To the south the family’s old friends, the Imagawa, and the Hojo have broken the traditional balanced coexistence between the clan. The Takeda defended both of them in the last century against against rebellious retainers. Now the Hojo have been pushing their frontiers and war has been forced. A full decisive confrontation of armies must be avoided, lest destructions buries the two most deserved families in the region on the same patch of grass; Both are fully aware that they mutually benefit from the traditional balance of power between them.
The current lord Takeda Nobutora had to fight his uncle when he assumed power in 1507, who was supported by the ambitious Hojo. Only five years ago did he finally manage to unite all of Kai under one banner again. The fight with Hojo has never ceased since this civil war. After their cavalry obliterated the western upstart, self-titled daymio, Fukushima Masahige, Hojo adopted his son and made him a full general.
To the northeast the Takeda’s traditional enemy the Uesugi are consolidating territory and now control a large amount of land. They will never forget that the Takeda stopped their rebellious ambitions in 1415, and the hatred of the families has lasted the length of the century. Nobutara’s grandfather Nobumasa killed three Uesugi family members in battle fifty years ago, and their hair still decorates the banner of the famous red-armoured house bodyguard cavalry.
The situation is dire. Surrounded by hostiles on all sides the Takeda must find trustworthy allies among a pack of wolves. Their armies are the most powerful on the field of battle. The Takeda’s neighbors know this, and will wait behind castle walls until the back is exposed. The forces must be either split to cover the North and the South adequately or they will never have sufficient time to lay sieges and consolidate gains.
Shinano, the most worthy objective, has traditionally bred the heavier horses, which form the core of the Takeda cavalry, and now the minor daymio controlling this important refuse to supply the Takeda clan fresh mounts at a fair price having taken control of stables which traditionally were founded by the overlords of Kai. The ample province of Shinano with its fertile valleys and rich mountains should be a target as it could present an opportunity to raise a sufficient army to defeat multiple opponents.
For centuries the clan has kept a council of the 24 finest samurai retainers. In fromer centuries, these were poets, artists and statesmen. Now they must be warriors and strategists. At their command a divine hammer: The cavalry of Kai is unmatched in open battle, able to break any infantry formation on flat ground, they are also exceptionally adept in maneuvering and fighting in hill country. Artists at showering the opponents with accurate arrow fire, they’re brave charges paralyzes with fear before trampling anyone foolish enough to stand their ground. The Takeda family’s ample host of retainer families provides an army of highly trained samurai, which allow for several division of some of the finest foot and horse units in Japan. Albeit some advisers, including many of the 24 generals of Kai, have pleaded with Takeda Nobutara to start thinking of quantity as superior quality was not enough to defeat the many dogs surrounding the Takeda tiger on all sides.
Ashikaga
Dogs make better retainers. The Shogun is always chosen by a conspiracy of nature therefore any force that challenges the Shogun’s authority is unnatural and must be removed without a trace. The Ashikaga, descendants of the great and talented Minamoto Yoshiie, filled the void of the Hojo’s weakness when Ashikaga Takauji became Shogun in 1336. But the weakness of Japan, where the ambitious fail to understand the absolute authority of the Shogun continued to find its way between the cracks. Dishonourable, disloyal insolence brought about the Onin wars. So much personal ambition in the provinces made the Ashikaga more and more distant in their Kyoto capital. Even the noble and honourable generals they appointed, like the Takeda or the Mori eventually stopped attending the councils.
Now it is 1524. The situation is dire. Many vie for a power they cannot have. Only the Ashikaga have been chosen by nature, only their name was conspired to rule. Loyal retainers like the Mori or the Hosokawa can be trusted to never look away. The Asai can be trusted to protect the gates of Kyoto. The Ashikaga’s military is mediocre comparing to some of the upstarts, and the taxes reaching Kyoto are negligible. There are many that understand that only the Shogun can be at the center. They can be trusted. Now it is necessary to marshal all trustable retainers and to eradicate the ambitious. The Hojo, although distant, must be terminated, their ambitions to plunder Japan again must be checked. The Hosokawa are still Kanrei. They can marshal the shogun’s decree to raise armies. They have, however, an unbecoming attitude. Just because the Ashikaga’s decree raised them from mere servitude does not mean that they can act as they please.
In 1521 when Ashikaga Yoshizumi became Shogun it was the Hosokawa, which nominated him. His brothers however are ambitious. They have more of a right than others to question an appointment, but they should still bow to the waist in his majesty’s presence. It is unfortunate that the annual councils are now empty, and only the Hosokawa can still be relied upon. Such good families as the Mori, Date or Uesugi would be welcome to camp a summer in Kyoto. They follow the bushido; they can understand the authority of the Ashikaga, and join the Shogun in his fight to preserve his right to rule.
Hosokawa
Some would call it profit made from war. They are themselves ambitious vultures. The Hosokawa have brought stability to Central Japan, they have protected the weak and incompetent Ashikaga. Ashikaga Shogun? It is the Hosokawa who have more lineage than them anyways. The title Kanrei is a necessary lie. It is only the Hosokawa who are able to command the will of the Shogun, a will the last few Shogun have not even paused to determine for themselves. How can a will-less lord rule the country in time of crisis?
It is, delicate, even very delicate politically to depose a Shogun for another. The Hosokawa have used their status of Kanrei to thrice depose the weak offspring of the Ashikaga sheep. There is only one principle that must be followed in such circumstances, use all means, any means to demolish any snaring opposition and bend it to the “will of the Shogun.” Those who pretend to believe in it always have an unclear agenda. All must again bow to the Shogun, and it is only the Hosokawa that are able to wield the authority, and it is only they that know what will and command is.
The taxes of Kyoto, Shinano and taxes from the highways to Kyoto can furnish the Hosokawa’s anvil of will. Every victory whether in the enemies’ sight or in their sleep makes the fists stronger. There are many who serve the Hosokawa who must be rewarded for their efforts; this one principle must be kept. But they must never be trusted. The present armies rely on ambitious samurai, they must always be in the front line, and must be kept in constant battle. If they sit in the court the shrines or the gardens they will plot. As Kanrei the imperial standing armies, and the edict of raising them is at Hosokawa Takanuki’s disposal. Should any head stick out in ambition or arrogance it must be cut off, including of the Ashikaga themselves.
When the time is right, the changing climate is appropriate, new ways of thinking must be introduced and old one outlawed. All who refuse to bow must be beaten at the knees until they can no longer stand!
Uesugi
“More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm. One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield.” These words of the Lord Buddha’s are an ancient family moto of the honourable Uesugi. This ancient family that has for ages served as a banner of the Bushido the Uesugi are now at a fog-covered crossroads between life and death. Commanding an army with tradition, and a people who for centuries have enjoyed their beneficial overlordship, and entitlement and recognition from the Shogun, the Uesugi have too many assets.
Now Hojo has laid siege to Edo, and the family is so divided that they cannot mobilize their fractioned forces or instruct their confused retainers to a satisfactory defense. These timeless rulers of the Kanto region and Echigo province are beginning to be washed away in a shifting tide. A warrior must now rise again from the sinews of the Uesugi and reclaim the clan’s military reputation.
The family is founded on a strong traditional and spiritual foundation. Believing in the balance of nature and ancient Buddhist teachings, they respect their natural link to the Ashikaga and interpret the chaos in Japan as a result of the lack of understanding of Japanese essence and tradition.
Of late animals such as the Hojo or the Takeda have tried to feed on the Uesugi’s disunity. In their Yin-yang of indecision the family has polarized along two branches the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi and Yamanouchi-Uesugi. The internal chaos in the family must be quickly resolved or these traitors will dishonor the lands of the Uesugi’s traditional domain.
How could such disunity have emerged? Has the family been too sensible to these treacherous times? If united the military potential of the Uesugi could unify all of the dissidents under the banner of the Ashikaga. Trusted generals, the service of many exceptional samurai, and a long standing weapons and amour tradition would all serve well to make the Uesugi the most formidable overlords in the region. The question remains, which of the many heirs aspiring can unite the family and take the defense into the Hojo and Takeda domains? And furthermore, can he do it without shedding the sacred blood of his talented kin?
Imagawa
Those who live by the sword die by the sword. The Imagawa family has turned Suruga province into one of the largest trade centers outside of Kyoto. Although not descendants of the highest nobility, the Imagawa have acquired great honour from a line of the ablest administrators in the land. Today their power is more modern, rooted in the coin, the trained peasant, and the careful word.
Suruga’s strong merchant class has enjoyed great prosperity under the Imagawa’s openness and fair taxation policies. When permitted to speak, the traders have expressed concern by the current tightening of Japan and the constant increase of taxes, and the constant rise of new daymio adding new tolls, duties and highway fares. These profiteers are willing to invest in the protection of their interests, and will willingly give a long term loan to furnish an army who would march against such policies. Takeda Nobutora the resource rich north, for instance, has began raising the prices on Kai’s minerals and horses, while the despicable Hosokawa are channeling the Imperial taxes into their own coffers.
War however, is a slow method of consolidation. The family’s current head, Imagawa Ujichita has had the privilege of learning from the Power of the Land teachings, having spend much of his youth in the Way of the Land monastery. He has so far used his understanding to enhance the natural benefit of the coast, making the Tokai shore an open port to money, weapons, merchants, and most importantly vital political information.
Politics, as much as the land, is the source of power. Ujichita has known to keep the faith of the monasteries, who are also willing to support him. Suruga’s Sohei consider him their temple walls. The Shogun’s father owes the Imagawa a great debt, as on two occasions he sheltered with them when there was no other shelter, soon should come the time to collect on this debt.
If the shogun cannot unify Japan, then Japan should stay dis-unified! It is dangerous that the ambitious Hojo are gaining an upper hand on the Uesugi. It is time to set them on the Takeda. The Imagawa’s Shinobi are already seeding the necessary rumors to create the favorable atmosphere of strife.
If politics and diplomacy are, as often, insufficient, then the Imagawa should not shun the support of certain other groups which are in their favour. The open minded policies in Suruga, have allowed a favorable harbor to groups of “night diplomats,” who see the Imagawa as worthy patrons. These groups, despite their occult status, can be called upon at any time by the Imagawa to “pass through walls like black poisonous water” and “wash away political logjams.” These masters should be used sparingly, as they are frighteningly effective. The very presence of their schools and training grounds in Suruga should be openly denied, and the accusers should be granted the honour of not waking up to their false accusations.
The Imagawa must create opportunities to expand their influence, at whatever the cost. They are certainly no less deserving than all those that would approach the present chaos and disunity with swords drawn. And when the sword does fall, it should fall on the soft neck of a demoralized and dishonoured enemy, this should make the Imagawa’s blade last longer!
Date
Few Daymio are as rooted to their land as the 36 year old Date Tanemune, and from such an ample land can grow the strongest and greatest tree. Sensing the beginning of strife, the Shogun Ashikaga awarded the Date title of Shugo of Mutsu two years ago, giving them rule of one of the greatest and most fertile provinces in all of Japan in the name of the Emperor.
This act justifies the Date with the mandate to be the rulers of all of northern Japan between the Uesugi, their traditional allies, and the sea. Many small and ambitious creatures have declared themselves daymio, and, like those Hatekayama family swine-herders, they must be submitted or eliminated.
The farm income generated from the Date’s large holdings will be needed by most of Japan in this time when trade networks and economic systems begin to fail. Others will seek to augment the depopulation of their farms and towns by purchasing from the Date at an advantage. The land which has been held by the Date for 4 centuries is protected by a large network of powerful castles, and interconnected with a relatively highly developed and sophisticated farming system to exploit the fertility of its valleys.
A poem composed by Tanemune’s reputed grandfather begins “When inner peace is achieved the wind stops blowing unrest, the stream of life no longer renders cold change….” The Date admire peace, but cultivate their ability to destroy all those who would disrupt its natural flow. They believe that they must preserve their region to avoid the man-made tempests, which have begun engulfing the rest of Japan.
The Date’s traditional military machine is famous and feared. Although not large, it was undefeated in the conflicts of the last century. They have unlike other military rulers, a small standing dedicated force. Each retainer family contributes several of their bravest to form a force of crack foot units, depicted in murals as masters of the traditional Naginata, which devote themselves to the art of severing trouble’s head before it rears. The family also has a tradition of an archery school in Misawa, whose art has since the Gempei wars been extended to commoners as well. The Date must use their many attributes, and the exceptional tradition of the pursuit of excellence that runs in the family, to maintain peace, even outside of their domains if necessary!
Mogami
The Shogun no longer has authority, Kyoto no longer matters. All titles and traditions are now political tools of backroom serpents such as the Hosokawa. The Mogami must not recognize these false privileges granted to the arrogant Date or to the self-righteous Uesugi their neighbors. The situation is precarious.
The Daymio Yoshimori is three years old, appointed when Mogami Yoshiharu died without and heir. Some would take this as a pretext to strip the Mogami of their holdings for personal gain, or to annex their lands to enhance their fiefs.
The Mogami’s lands are more remote to the rest of Japan, and therefore populated with many independent farmers of a more rugged nature then their western cousins. These men, of the East are not as familiar with fear as other central farmers in Japan, and they train themselves in self defense to a level where they are skilled Bushi. Too good at military craft to be titled mere Ashigaru, the Mogami Militia are ready to defend the laissez-faire attitude of their Mogami overlords.
Independence is an unrecognized term in modern Japan, but to the Mogami in their remote territories it’s a political reality worth defending. Optimally, it is important to co-operate with other Daymio who would not influence this sphere of non-dependence that the Mogami have recently come to enjoy. It is therefore imperative to sever the head from the body of any who would have an idea to impose limits. Japan is changing, and the Mogami are ready more than anybody to embrace change and use it to their full advantage.
Hojo
The best offense, is an impenetrable defense. These words are engraved on the hilt of the sword which Ujitsuna inherited last year from his dying father.
His father’s deeds are worthy of the Hojo name. Ise Sôun, at the time of his peacefully demise, rose from the rank of an Imagawa retainer to carve an impressive and rich domain around Suruga and Ize. Now, Hojo Ujistsuna having risen to power adopted the name of the legendary Imperial family. The name reflects his father’s life long fascination with the Hojo, and his mother’s direct descendants from this royal line.
The provinces of Ize and Suruga are exceptionally rich, and exceptionally fortified. The family has already become famous for their exceptionally liberal economic policies, and for lowering taxes to record low 40% in their domain. This has attracted many prosperous merchants to make their base in the Hojo lands, further enticed by Suruga and Ize’s exceptional defenses. Their frontiers are lined with forts, most of which are within signaling distances of each other. The forts were expanded in the previous century at the time of the Onin wars and provide exceptional protection in an otherwise featureless landscape.
The economic schemes of Sôun were very successful, and the chance to expand the fortresses is large. Wooden forts are planned to make way for stone castles, and the main interior fortresses of the Hojo will become some of the most formidable in Japan. The key to the region however, is Edo. The Hojo’s forces have been besieging it for 3 months, and the city’s capture would consolidate the Hojo’s power as the most powerful force in the entire region.
The region is filled with powerful rivals, many of them in reputation rather than actual danger. Although they have maintained traditionally good relations with the Imagawa, they have almost outgrown their former retainers. The Takeda have been usually at war with the Hojo over the past 25 years and have proved a difficult enemy in an open field of battle. The Uesugi to the north, like the Imagawa to the West are embroiled in constant infighting. With a powerful domain as a base the Hojo can restore peace to their troubled lands, and from there…..
The limits of the Hojo are boundless, based on an alliance of economy, a fabled patronage of the temples, and an exceptional defensive position the Hojo can rise to surpass even the original Hojo themselves.
