Essays On Rokugan and Japan A True Account of the History of Rokugan - By Tim Ellis
In the Beginning was Nothing.
Nothing was- and was not- for a thousand eternities. However, time had not yet come to be, so even this was only the fraction of a fraction of a moment.
Then, Nothing looked about itself, and within itself. Seeing that it was alone in the Void before creation, it became afraid.
Fear became the first part of Creation.
Seeing a companion emerge from within it's infinite void, Nothing desired to be filled.
Desire became the second part of Creation.
Now Nothing felt itself being undone, and looking upon the unformed
Something, was filled with regret.
Regret became the third part of Creation.
And with these three Sins, the world was born.
At first, the world was a shapeless, heterogenous mass, as within an egg- but, as Time (which itself was only newborn) passed, the pure, clear parts of Creation separated from the mass, and rose. Because it was fine and pure, it soon consolidated itself, and became Heaven. The heavy, coarse matter of the world settled- but because it was less pure, it took longer to unite. Thus, Heaven was created before Earth, and to this day, the way of virtue is for Earth to follow Heaven.
From the light of Heaven was born first Amaterasu Omikami, the Lady Sun. Her brilliance cast light across Creation, throughout Heaven and Earth- She was unequaled in splendor. Following Amaterasu was born Tsuki-Yomi, the Lord Moon. His light was pale and wan compared to that of his sister, and he desired her. He set about chasing her through the Heavens, and so Day and Night were given form. As the two divine beings raced through the skies, they looked down upon the Earth; and to every thing that they saw, they gave a name. This went on for another eternity, and in this time the Earth was given shape and meaning.
A thousand years ago, Tsuki-Yomi finally overtook his love, and embraced her. From their union, nine children were born.
The first child was Akodo, who had a heart without fear and unclouded vision.
The second child was Togashi, the silent and knowing.
The third child was Shinjo, just and gentle, but wild as the winds.
The fourth child was Hida, who shook the sky with his newborn cries.
The fifth child was Doji, the most clever and beauteous of all beings- but for one.
The sixth and seventh child were the twins, the eternally devoted Shiba and Bayushi.
The eighth child was Hantei, who had virtue surpassing all other.
The ninth child was born weak and crippled, inside and out, and his name must not be spoken.
This last child was born of mangled limb and fearful countenance, and so horrific was he that his mother, full of shame, fled the High Plain of Heaven. She wept as she fled down the Bridge of Heaven, to hide herself in the Underworld. Where her tears fell, the spirits of the land, plants, and animals were born. She entered the gates of the dark world of Death, which was at that time formless and empty- for no divinity had yet seen or heard of Death, and so it had not yet been named. This place was formed of the most clotted, dark matter of creation, and was the home of demons. Here, Amaterasu shut herself up in the deepest pit of the land of Jigoku, and all of Creation was cast into darkness.
Fickle Lord Moon, pleased that only his weak light shone in the world, retired to his throne, to watch over Heaven and Earth. But the children of Sun and Moon cried out, and tore their hair, and covered their faces with ash, so great was their grief. All but for one- the last child. The eight loyal children of the Divine Pair seized the nameless one, and struck him for his shameful manners. Then all nine of them resolved to go to the Lands
Below, to petition the Empress of All to return to the world, that there might be light again.
The nine children faced many fierce demons as they fought their way to the deepest pit, and without the courage of Akodo, the strength of Hida, the keen eyes of Shinjo, the insight of Togashi, the selflessness of Shiba, the determination of Bayushi, the cleverness of Doji, or the virtue of Hantei, they could not have prevailed. Only the ninth child cringed and cowered, and slowed the warriors' progress greatly.
In the deepest pit of the Underworld, the children found their mother, glorious Lady Sun. The eight elder children bowed before her, and loudly proclaimed their love and devotion for her- but the eighth, fearful of her wrath, stole away into the darkness.
Pleased by her children’s devotion, and seeing that the cursed child was not among them, Lady Sun agreed to return to the world. They set out to make the long journey back up through the Dark world. As they traveled back up toward Heaven, Lady Sun began to name the various parts of the world of the Dead, for now many spirits of the earth filled its halls, and there was no order among them. It was at this time that the realm of Hell, the realm of Slaughter, and the realm of the Blessed Ancestors were given form.
All this time, however, the ninth child had put himself to the study of vile practices and defilement, which were of the nature of Hell. Leading a great army of Oni, he pursued his mother and siblings with the speed of madmen. He caught up with them as they approached the Bridge of Heaven. Amaterasu begged her children to quickly follow her up into Heaven, but Hantei spoke up.
"We cannot return to Heaven with you, Revered Mother," he said. "For then our wicked brother will ascend the Bridge of Heaven, and there will be no peace any place in Creation."
Bidding her children goodbye for the last time, Amaterasu Omikami fled up to Heaven, as her children, heaving with all their might, toppled the bridge. Though they were still divine, they were now confined to Earth. They waged a great war against their brother and his servants, and after a great battle, beat him back to the gates of Jigoku.
Amaterasu, meanwhile, returned to Heaven, and resumed her ancient race with Tsuki-Yomi. As she ran, the pollution and impurities that had clung to her during her stay in Jigoku was flung off from her, and as it fell back to Earth, it was filled with a tiny bit of the light and virtue of Heaven. Thus, this matter- made of coarse and impure elements, but containing pure and fine light, gave rise to Man. Seeking to aid her children, Lady Sun cut off her hair, which shone as rays of light, and braided it into a long rope. This rope was so long that it stretched all the way down to the Earth, and by it one of the children might climb to Heaven. Each wanted to be the one who might once again walk the sweet fields of the High Plain of Heaven, and so they held a great battle. Their battles raged across the world, and they fought with fire, thunder, and great tsunami. Eventually, Hantei was proclaimed the victor, but instead of abandoning his brothers to fight the
Nameless One alone, he proclaimed: "Only when my limbs have been severed, my head cut off, my organs removed, and the last breath dashed from my body, will I return to the High Plain of Heaven." And so it is that the line of Hantei became the ruler of all of the Empire of Rokugan, and his seven loyal brothers and sisters became his servants. They gathered together the crude human beings of this time, and the first samurai came into being. Still today, the Hantei line is the only that is permitted to ascend to Heaven upon death; and it is the descendants of Akodo, Togashi, Shinjo, Hida, Doji, Shiba, and Bayushi who serve the Splendid Prince.
It was not long, however, before the ninth child returned to the Earth, leading even greater legions of devils than before. Hantei ruled his Empire wisely, and his seven siblings fought valorously, but the forces of Hell were too great. All seemed lost, when on the eve of what would be the final battle, a strange traveler appeared before the Divine Children of Sun and Moon. It was not permitted for mere humans to appear before the Emperor unannounced, and Akodo went to cast the stranger out- but without any effort whatsoever, the man bested him. The Emperor gasped, and demanded that the stranger announce himself. His name was Shinsei, and he brought with him a New Way that would provide the key to defeating the Cursed One. All night long, Shinsei and Hantei spoke of the world and of virtue, and their conversation was recorded by Shiba. When morning broke, and the battle was joined, Shinsei took seven mortal followers of the gods, and disappeared into the mouth of Hell. As the battle raged in the world above, they ventured into the smoking pit of Hell where the ninth child waited hungrily, his soul twisted by the power of corruption. Just when the armies of the kami were nearly routed, and the end of the Empire seemed imminent, the legions of Hell broke rank, and scattered harmlessly like dry leaves on a swift wind. Only one of the Seven Thunders returned, bearing twelve dark scrolls, into which was bound all the power of the Twisted One.
From that day on, peace reigned throughout the Empire; and under the wise and virtuous rulership of the glorious line of Hantei, and the noble service of the seven clans of samurai who pledged themselves to the kami, Rokugan came to be the Empire of Harmony and Virtue.
Matsu Kiyohara- 01-18-2007
An essay on Samurai - By Tengu (Kazama Kurotake)
Probably still too long, but this is where I address, from my
thoroughly biased viewpoint, the question of what would need to change
for me to consider L5R a samurai game.
Well, first we have to define just what we mean by "samurai". At one
extreme, you could define samurai as simply "warrior with a katana and
wakizashi who wears a kimono and hakama, and samurai armour on the
battlefield". In other words, as long as the visuals match those of
samurai pictures, it's samurai. At the other extreme, you could argue
that since the historical samurai rose to prominence because the emperor
had no political power, it's not samurai if you have an emperor who
actually wields power.
Now, neither of the above extremes, IMO, is particularly convincing or
useful. The first is much, much too superficial, and the second is much,
much too restrictive.
To me, samurai, as applied to a game and setting, encompasses a
certain set of values, cultural norms, ways of thinking and beliefs that
are actually broader than the social caste itself. After all, that
social caste can only exist, and come to the fore, within the broader
context of the rest of the culture's society. The two are inextricably
interlocked, as the samurai are products of their society and society is
in turn influenced strongly by that samurai caste in a continuous
feedback cycle.
For purposes of creating a samurai fantasy setting, that means, to me,
that every time, in the name of fantasy, you add to, or remove from, the
historical model you're using, you risk undermining one of the pillars
that made samurai what they were. Adding or removing willy-nilly,
therefore, soon sucks the samurai-ness of the setting dry.
Here are some of the points I consider important elements of samurai
culture. I'm not saying these are the only way to look at samurai
culture for a samurai fantasy setting, however. I'm sure many will
disagree with my views, but that's fine -- what follows is nothing more
than my personal opinion.
1. Social evolution
The samurai of history went through many different stages, and the
first samurai were quite different from the common perception. What
samurai were, how they behaved, what they believed, and so on changed
considerably, if gradually, over a period of several centuries. The
samurai of the Kamakura era, those of the Sengoku one and those of the
Tokugawa one were all quite different from one another, as each was
molded by the various socio-cultural forces of their time. I consider
such cultural evolution to be an integral part of not just samurai
culture, but any culture, and think that any game that purports to
represent a fantasy version of a culture should feature similar
evolution, in a way that accounts for the fantasy and magic elements
present in the setting. Rokugan, however, presents a pseudo-samurai
culture that, literally, fell fully formed from the heavens and remained
almost totally static for a thousand years. Even the entire clan war
story arc and its sequel don't seem to have left any sort of lasting
effects or made any sort of profound changes to society as a whole.
Names changed, some groups disappeared and reappeared, but the basic
social model never changed. When the smoke cleared, the samurai caste
remained unchanged by the monumental events.
2. Social Classes
History featured separate aristocratic and warrior classes in addition
to, for the appropriate era, the farmers, artisans and merchants which
formed the commoner classes and the class of social outcasts. Rokugan
almost adopts that model, though it conflates the aristocratic and
warrior classes into a single caste -- not unreasonable given that it
wants to use a governmental model where the emperor not only reigns, but
also rules. However, it then, utterly inexplicably, also introduces
samurai class merchants and artisans, and is also apparently,
unbelievably, incapable of differentiating "artisan", "entertainer" and
"artist".
It is an important feature of samurai society worthy of the label, I
think, that the distinctions between merchants, artisans, entertainers
and artists be maintained. Only the last, artist, is a group to which
samurai can belong by the standards of samurai culture.
Samurai-merchants, samurai-artisans and samurai-entertainers all make
zero sense in a society with the kinds of strict and rigid social class
divisions that allowed the samurai to continue to exist as a social
class after their primary function disappeared.
After all, merchants were despised as leeches who profited from the
labour of others, and in the social order were the lowest of the
commoners. They were, from the samurai point of view, a necessary evil,
and the tension between merchant and samurai is, I think, an important
feature of the culture.
Artisan, which means "craftsperson" and *not* "artist" is a somewhat
trickier case. Some crafts, such as swordsmithing, are noble enough that
a samurai engaging in them would be respected. In other cases, samurai
at the bottom of their caste's hierarchy might have to resort to making
umbrellas, or baskets, or whatever and selling them just to make ends
meet because their stipend isn't enough to live on. But there is no such
thing as a full-time artisan of the samurai caste. Samurai are samurai,
even if some are forced by abject poverty to rely on a craft to support
themselves and their families. Failing to recognise that and introducing
full-time respected samurai-caste artisans goes completely against the
grain of the culture.
Entertainers, in samurai cultures, were members of the outcast social
group. They were *below* the commoners, and the very idea that a samurai
would adopt an entertainer's profession is ludicrous given the mentality
prevalent in the culture. Samurai as professional actors just doesn't
fit the culture at all. And don't even get me started on jesters. Feh.
Artists, on the other hand, are a different matter. Artists,
especially professional ones, were more often commoners than samurai,
but a number of arts, including calligraphy, poetry and painting, had
been the province of the aristocracy for centuries and were therefore
perfectly acceptable pursuits for members of the samurai caste.
Admittedly, the lines between entertainment and art could be a little
fuzzy. It was acceptable, for instance, for a samurai to sing and dance
in a Noh play as part of a celebration or an evening's entertainment,
but becoming a professional actor and a member of a troupe would have
meant renouncing one's samurai status and becoming a member of the
outcast social group.
Still, I think it's a crucial element of samurai culture that arts,
crafts and entertainment are not subdivided the same way they were in
Western cultures (which themselves didn't all subdivide the same way, I
think) and that cultural norms and attitudes make only a small subset of
what we might consider "arts" available as regular, full-time samurai
caste vocations. It is also important to remember, I think, that for the
great majority of samurai, artistic pursuits are part-time pastimes.
Samurai are more often dabblers in the arts, as some knowledge thereof
is, in many circles, a required sign of cultural refinement, but they
also usually have other duties which prevent them from making art a full
time vocation. Also, art pursued as a profession (rather than a
spiritual discipline) would drop the samurai down into the artisan
social class in many cases.
Finally, there are those people who don't actually fit neatly within
the official warrior-farmer-artisan-merchant (and outcast) social
categories: doctors, scholars and clergy all have a place in society,
but it is an ambiguous place (historically, courtiers, limited to the
aristocratic class, also fall there). For doctors and scholars, at least
(and especially the latter), the ambiguity sometimes makes it possible
for a samurai to pursue those vocations while retaining his social
class.
IMO, all of those social class distinctions, if ignored, gut the
samurai-ness right out of the setting.
3. Hierarchy
Samurai culture, throughout its history and despite the fact that it
changed considerably over time, retained one constant feature: it was
always strongly hierarchical. That hierarchy can generally be divided
into the upper tier of the caste and the lower tier, the difference
between which, despite the fact that both tiers ranked above the other
social classes, was considerable. Members of the upper tier were the
true ruling caste, drawing large stipends or holding land, while members
of the lower tier were often as poor or poorer than the peasants and
struggling to survive. Any game that purports to represent a samurai
setting needs to account for this in-caste hierarchy *and* present it,
and preferably indicate which tier PCs belong to. This hierarchy also
defines how various authorities and levels of authorities relate to one
another and how conflict between them is resolved should their
jurisdictions overlap. It also shows who pays taxes to whom, and which
taxes are paid (some people are exempted from some taxes, for instance).
Rank within the hierarchy is also important for little things like which
room you are received in for an audience, what kinds of clothes or
styles you are allowed -- or required -- to wear and other little things
that can bring a setting to life.
4. Economy
This is a topic that has, I think, been harped on at length over the
years, so I'll limit myself to saying that ignoring it entirely utterly
and thoroughly guts a fundamental part of the culture. Linking this back
to the above mentioned tension between samurai and merchants, the fact
that samurai needed money, and often became endebted to merchants
because of that need, and the problems created by currency debasements,
debt cancellations and fief currency are important, if background,
features of the culture. I'll concede that they are unlikely to be at
the forefront of most RPG campaigns, but I think they are important
driving forces in society in general and can't be completely ignored.
5. Social Controls
In order to actual maintain its rigid social structure, samurai
society, and particular the central government, needed ways and means to
enforce its authority. The shogunate of the era L5R draws upon relied
upon alternate attendance, keeping daimyô wives hostage in the
(political) capital, strict regulations about a number of crucial parts
of daimyô life, such as castle construction, marriage and succession,
imposition of public works, and judicious partitioning of fiefs so that
the most loyal vassals would be in a position to keep an eye on more
recently subjugated vassals who might yet harbour dreams of overthrowing
the regime. The shogunates of previous eras didn't use the same methods,
but they, too, had some means of enforcing their authority -- and they
fell when those means were no longer sufficient. A fantasy samurai
culture, even if it decides to eliminate the duality of symbolic
imperial authority and actual political power and vest both symbolic and
actual authority in the imperial court needs to ensure that the central
government actually has means of maintaining and enforcing its
authority.
6. Urban Culture
Although about 80% of the samurai-era population consisted of farmers
out in the countryside, historical factors made the samurai distribution
quite lopsided: the samurai almost all lived in the cities. To be sure,
there remained some landed samurai living as gentry in the countryside,
but the majority of them lived in the "towns under the castle". Samurai
daily life and culture, therefore, centres around the city and the
interaction between samurai and townspeople (merchants, artisans,
scholars and clergy) rather than with the farmers. The majority of the
peasants out in the countryside never met a samurai, and conversely, the
majority of samurai never met farmers. Rather, the samurai lived
somewhere in the town (and, going back to the Hierarchy point above)
with the where depending on their rank. Only the highest ranking had
residences within the castle compound. Those cities where the samurai
live, called jôkamachi, are cities that grew up around the lord's
castles. Other cities feature only minimal presence. For some reason,
however, L5R gives me the impression that the castles are all lone
structures and that the cities are all elsewhere and unattached to the
castle. It also gives me the impression that samurai living in villages
is common, both of which, for me, completely destroy the sense that I'm
looking at a samurai culture (but I'll concede I may have misread,
misinterpreted or misremembered the L5R material). Of course, there
were, historically, cities that didn't grow around a castle, but samurai
presence there tended to be minimal.
7. Beliefs and Values
This is probably the trickiest area to deal with in creating a fantasy
world. It is, of course, impossible for a single author or small team of
writers to recreate the total complexity of a real world culture's
entire beliefs and values system. Nevertheless, even in simplifying, I
think it's important to recognise that the beliefs and values didn't
spring whole cloth out of a vaccuum, and to ensure that (a) those
elements introduced in the fantasy culture are faithful to the model and
(b) that they actually have a basis in the fantasy culture as well.
For a samurai culture, or rather for a samurai culture based on the
samurai of the Tokugawa era, I think the most crucial elements are
emphasising group mentality and the Confucian, or more accurately,
Neo-Confucian value systems. Group mentality is, I think, a pretty
crucial feature of oriental cultures, and sweeping it under the rug by
continually presenting strongly individualistic characters in the
fantasy setting very quickly kills any sense of the setting being an
oriental culture. This isn't to say that there can't be strong
characters, or characters that go against the grain, but even among the
major players of the setting, strong, individually minded characters
should stand out as the exceptions, not be the norm.
Similarly, characters should be motivated by, and act according to,
the value system of their culture. Someone brought up in a culture that
emphasises the group over the individual and teaches the Five Virtues
(humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faithfulness) and Five
Relationships (father and son, ruler and subject, husband and wife,
older and younger brother, friend and friend) should have a very
different outlook from someone brought up in an individualistic society
which emphasises self-reliance.
Further, in a fantasy setting with no "China" from which "Japan" can
borrow a lot of its cultural elements before thoroughly assimilating
them as its own, I think it's important to realise that those elements
have to come from somewhere... They have to originate from somewhere
within the fantasy culture's past, and evolve towards its present. Also,
the underlying system needs, I think, to be presented. Presenting only a
few concepts that exist in the model culture without the underlying
beliefs and values system to support them merely makes for a confusing
jumble of ideas drawn for a number of real world sources.
When I see a mixture of ideas drawn from different beliefs system and
tossed into a setting without the necessary support, the result doesn't
really strike me as representative of the model culture.
*************
Wow. I've rambled on way too much, I think. Now, I'm not saying I
require all of the above to be present in excruciating detail for me to
consider the game a samurai game, but I do think that, at the most
minimal level, the fantasy setting has to support, in its internal
structure, the values of the samurai and avoid introducing things that
simply don't fit within the context of the chosen samurai societal model
given the values held by the samurai of the models era. Next, and most
difficult, the fantasy elements need to be woven into the setting in a
way that is consistent with the value system that was adopted from the
model.
If ideas from different cultures are going to be used, I think the
authors are actually making their life harder because they then need to
ensure that those ideas actually mesh well with one another and blend
seamlessly (or as seamlessly as possible) in the context of the fantasy
setting.
Obviously, different people will require different degrees of the
above to be satisfied with the "samurai-ness" of a fantasy setting. My
own long-time interest in Japan admittedly makes me much less
open-minded than I perhaps should be about the topic, but I nevertheless
believe that Rokugan could have been much truer to a samurai setting
without being either fully historically accurate or overly detailed.
Please note that I don't actually hold historical accuracy as the
prime factor in assessing the samurai-ness of a fantasy setting. I
*expect* a fantasy setting to throw most history out the window.
However, for the setting to be a samurai one, I also expect it to remain
true to certain core elements of samurai thought and way of thinking and
to ensure that, as it blends the fantastic and the real, it takes care
to do so in such a way that the elements of samurai culture borrowed
from the real world actually arise naturally out of the setting itself.
With regards to an oriental, samurai-like setting that, for me, meets
those criteria, please take a look at the novels "The Initiate Brother"
and "Gatherer of Clouds" by Sean Russell. The world of the novels
actually features less material lifted directly and visibly from
Japanese history than does L5R, but it rings much, much truer as a
samurai fantasy world because none of it is glaringly arbitrarily thrown
in just because.
It's when things look like add-ons included simply because the
creators thought it was "cool" that the setting loses it's appeal as a
fantasy version of whatever type of setting it's supposed to represent.
I'll concede, however, that for the people more interested in the Story,
and in stories they can related to, that the canonical Rokugan is
probably well within the range of their own requirements for a samurai
game. I'd also note that I don't think L5R is a bad game or Rokugan a
bad setting because if fails to match history. I think it's a fairly
good game with, due to the numerous internal inconsistencies in official
material, an average setting, but even then, I wouldn't recommend it to
anyone looking for a samurai game, although I'd heartily recommend it to
someone looking for a story-oriented game with just a touch of oriental
flavour.
Matsu Kiyohara- 01-18-2007
Magistrates - By David R Henry (we think)
We've learned that Rokugan has magistrates at the following levels:
1. Imperial Magistrates
2. Clan Magistrates
3. Family Magistrates
4. Locational Magistrates
There's also specialized Magistrates, such as the Inquisition, who have special, limited powers and responsibilities.
So, going down the known levels:
1. Imperial Magistrates. The Feds. Direct representatives (and spies) for the Imperial government. They have immense powers, but immense limitations; they can only technically get involved in inter-Clan disputes, or against a certain list of known threats to the entire Empire (including Shadowlands incursions, maho, treason, and heresy
against the Tao and Fortunes). They're the ones also in charge of signing the vital travel papers between provinces, and would probably get involved in any case that involves misuse of those papers, or crossing Clan lines, as no Clan Magistrate would have authority to pursue it. They also have legal authority to investigate significant troop movements and battlefield engagements, although how much one Magistrate can do against an army led by a bull-headed daimyo isn't clear (usually, it's "not much"). Finally, they also get assignments from the Emerald Champion, who can set them to do pretty much nearly anything.
Outside of this, though, Imperial Magistrates are more politicians than cops. Some local bushi get knifed in the back while attending the geisha den on the wrong side of town? That's a local matter, not an Imperial crime. Now, if investigation uncovers that the assassin was a Dragon and you're in Crab lands, then the Imperials could get involved... if they feel like it. CITY OF LIES contains the complete Rokugani list of powers and limitations for Imperial Magistrates, as well as describing a truly excellent example of an Emerald Champion assignment to do "pretty much nearly anything" to control a particular problem, and is highly recommended.
2. Clan Magistrates. Clan Magistrates are the highest level of legal authority that most people encounter day to day... although it's important to distinguish between a Magistrate, who acts as a sort of quasi-judge in Rokugan, from the usual legal authority of a samurai over the commoners. They handle the criminal investigation of a Clan over their given district. It's important to remember that Imperial Magistrates are not the boss of any of the "lesser" Magistrates. Clan Magistrates owe their alliegence to their local legal system and daimyo, not any meddling Imperial Magistrate.
The Doji, Shinjo, and, in particular, Kitsuki have schools that train magistrates at this (and "lower") levels. Clan Magistrates might have free-ranging jurisdiction over the Clan at large, or might be appointed to a district, or even more specialized jobs. The Crane Magistrate from the NIGHT OF 1,000 SCREAMS adventure (Doji Oruku was his name? I forget) is a good example of a Clan Magistrate that has a specific function: representing the legal interests of the Crane hatamoto to the Scorpion. That adventure is also a good example of how a Clan Magistrate can get legal authority to investigate outside the Clan boundaries. Not to give away too many spoilers with NIGHT, but it starts with a crime against Crane merchants serving under the hatamoto, and Oruku shows up to investigate what happened to his lord's loyal retainers.
That's also a good example of the interaction of magistrates at different levels. Maho was used to kill the Cranes, which makes it under the purview of the Imperial courts. But the hatamoto has the right to see justice done in the names of his loyal merchants as well. Who gets jurisdiction? Well... that all depends. In the adventure, Oruku honorably and generously offers to share in the investigation with the Imperial Magistrates (assuming the players
are one; if not, he just takes over but brings them along as local heroes). He didn't have to do this. He could have done his own, separate investigation. If the players are Imperial Magistrates, they don't have to accept his offer, either (but it'd be a silly group of samurai who turn down an honest offer of help).
Other notable Clan Magistrates in the setting include Bayushi Yojiro and that Scorpion magistrate from the first Hare Clan adventure.
3. Family Magistrates. Just like Clan Magistrates, only they're concerned with a given family; and each and every family can have their own. Technically, Family Magistrates should bow to the authority of a Clan Magistrate, but this isn't always so. A crime against an Asahina by an Asahina? That's under the thumb of the Asahina Family Magistrates; they'd probably even resent the intrusion of a general Crane Clan Magistrate, because that would
spread their dirty laundry across the Clan, which is not polite (and the Crane would certainly be aware of that and not assign one).
I'm not aware of any Family Magistrates as characters in the game, but you can generate the result on the Destiny Tables for certain Clans, so they must exist.
4. Location Magistrates. These cover a lot of room; all the way from the Rokugani equivalent of the beer-swilling Southern sherrif out in the middle of Nowhere, Crab Lands, to the honorable men of honor assigned to Otosan Uchi (or vice versa, of course). These are magistrates tied to the legal authority of a very specified and very limited geographical area. While you might think this makes them more or less powerless compared to the higher magistrates, as always, in Rokugan, perception is not reality.
The best local magistrate example in the game is the lovable Yogo Osako from CITY OF LIES. She has authority only over Ryoku Owari, but, y'know? In that city, what she says is law. Why? Because she's the completely trusted right-hand woman of City Governor Shosuro Hyobu, and everyone knows that Hyobu trusts her implicitly in all
things, so when Osako speaks, she's basically speaking for the governor... which means even Imperial Magistrates have to get out of Osako's way if she's on the warpath. Indeed, CITY OF LIES is a great sourcebook just for information and ideas on how different levels of magistrates can interact in Rokugan. The players (as Imperial Magistrates) are sent to Ryoku Owari to get rid of the illegal opium trade... only to find out that the legal opium
trade for all the Empire is run by the reasonable yet authoritative Governor Hyobu. They can suss out rather quickly that the legal opium trade is but a cover for the illegal one, but they can't get the right to bust heads in Ryoku Owari unless the Governor lets them (after all, no Imperial laws are being broken)... and she's not about to let them interfere with her cash cow. What can they do? Well, that's the whole point of CITY OF LIES. What do you do with an unwinnable situation? Ingenuity, as always, is rewarded.
Matsu Kiyohara- 01-18-2007
Magistrate and Yoriki: Differences - By Thomas Grable and Tengu (Kazama Kurotake)
One of the odd quirks from the folk at AEG has been their use of the term magistrate for law enforcement officer. From the 1E rulebook, it gave the impression that a yoriki was something of a lackey position, which would be anything but the case. In point of fact, a doshin was a constable, a yoriki effectively a police lieutenant, and a magistrate was a judge.
It's also good to differentiate between Imperial magistrates, etc., and local ones. Each would have authority, but different areas of jurisdiction. The boxed set for City of Lies has the charter of the Emerald Magistrates, detailing their powers, and the limits thereof.
On the areas of local laws, I came across information detailing the code adopted in 1792 by Naka-shinden village in Shinano province.
1. Young people are forbidden to congregate in great numbers.
2. Entertainments unsuited to peasants, such as playing the samisen or reciting ballad dramas, are forbidden.
3. Staging sumo matches is forbidden for the next five years.
4. The edict on frugality issued by the han at the end of the last year must be observed.
5. Social relations in the village must be conducted harmoniously.
6. If a person has to leave the village for business or pleasure, that person must return by ten at night.
7. Father and son are forbidden to stay overnight at another person's house. An exception is to be made if its to nurse a sick person.
8. Corvee assigned by the han must be performed faithfully.
9. Children who practice filial piety must be rewarded.
10. One must never get drunk and cause trouble for others.
11. Peasants who farm especially diligently must be rewarded.
12. Peasants who neglect farm work and cultivate their paddies and upland fields in a slovenly and careless fashion must be punished.
13. The boundary lines of paddy and upland fields must not be changed arbitrarily.
14. Recognition must be accorded to peasants who contribute greatly to village political affairs.
15. Fights and quarrels are forbidden in the village.
16. The deteriorating customs and morals of the village must be rectified.
17. Peasants who are suffering from poverty must be identified and helped.
18. This village has a proud history compared to other villages, but in recent years bad times have come upon us. Everyone must rise at six in the morning, cut grass, and work hard to revitalize the village.
19. The punishments to be meted out to violators of the village code and gifts to be awarded the deserving are to be decided during the last assembly meeting of the year.
20. Gifts to the honorees will be awarded during the New Year meeting.
In the following year, the same village adopted eight more articles.
1. Agricultural holidays will be the same as in other years.
2. Overgrown branches of trees that shade paddy and upland fields must be pruned.
3. Crops must not be harvested at night.
4. Crops in the fields must not be stolen.
5. The start of the season for using iriai land will be the same as in the other years.
6. The products that may be gathered from household woods must be limited to those permitted in the past.
7. Fertilizer, ashes, miscanthus, etc., must not be sold to other villages.
8. The usual procedures must be followed in gathering fallen leaves and grass in the woods of the windbreak.
Other articles were subsequently added to the Naka-shinden village code. They dealt with such matters as taxes, water usage, iriai, security of the villages, festivals and religious affairs, thrift, and frugality. Violators of village codes were punished according to established practice. The severest punishments were exile from the village and ostracism (mura-hachibu). When a person was ostracized, villagers were to have nothing to do with him except in special circumstances, such as a funeral or fire. Exile and ostracism were held in reserve as punishments of last
resort and were seldom invoked. The most common forms of punishment prescribed by village codes included specific monetary fines, a requirement to donate rice or sake, and punitive service as water guard, night watchman,
storage house guard, and so on.
Size of Magistrates:
Don't have a clue. we can't even get reasonable army size figures, much less figures for things more precise. This is yet another "make it up" situation. The question is all the more difficult to answer because "magistrate" seems to be a catch all term used for all kinds of somewhat different positions. However, if by "more powerful", you mean "of higher social rank", then there's no problem: there's bound to be several higher ranking magistrates, regardless of what the total numbers may be. Heck, even if you mean "higher school rank" there's bound to be someone fitting that description.
As for the hierarchy (of sorts) and types of magistrates, I think drh has done a good job of presenting what canon defines or suggests. However, I think it would be very helpful to have an official presentation, somewhere, of just where and how the various levels of magistrates interact with one another. While City Of Lies does a decent job of explaining the Imperial Magistrates role and powers, the other levels and their mutual interactions remain rather vague.
