WELCOME TO KYUDEN DOJI
Welcome to Kyuden Doji, ancestral home
of the Crane Clan. It is here that the majority
of the Clan business is taken care of.
The rest happens in the Emporer's Court in
Otosan Uchi.
Kyuden Doji is very defensible, unlike the
more showy Kyuden Kakita. Kyuden Doji is
located at the top of a cliff overlooking
the Umi no Amaterasu, the Sea of Amaterasu.
The Crane Clan is descended from the kami Doji,
the founder of the Doji family. The Kakita and
Asahina families are descended from her followers.
At the beginning of the empire, a great
tournament was held to see which kami
would lead the empire.
In the end, Lady Doji was defeated by her
brother, Akodo. Since Akodo lost to Hantei,
that made Doji the left hand of the emporer,
with the Lion on his right. Several of the most important members
of the Crane clan can, or used to, be found here, when
not in the Imperial court.
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Doji Hoturi, Daimyo of the Crane during the reign of Hantei 39th. Hoturi was later revealed to be the Crane clan Thunder reborn. Hoturi-sama died in the final battle against Fu Leng, the Dark God. Hoturi was the firstborn son of Doji Satsume, one-time Crane daimyo and later Emerald Champion. Satsume-sama used to say that Hoturi-sama was a dissappointment. Because of his involvement with Lady Kachiko, the Scorpion clan Thunder, Hoturi lost much respect. He later redeemed hisself and save the Crane. Hoturi-sama was survived by his younger brother, Doji Kuwannon, and his adopted sister Doji Shizue. |
| Doji Shizue, sister to Doji Hoturi and Doji Kuwannon, was born with a club foot, which could have ended her career before it began. However, she has become the greatest storyteller in the Jade Empire, and during the reign of Hantei 38th and then Hantei 39, she was the Emporer's Storyteller. There are rumors that there is something between her and Matsu Hiroru. |
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Kakita Yoshi was the Crane Clan's premier courtier during the reign of the last two Hanteis. A Kakita by birth, he has never wielded a katana, prefering to fight with words rather than steel. He leaves that area to his older brother, Kakita Toshimoko, the Emerald Champion. Yoshi-sama was also the mentor of Doji Shizue, and the storyteller was often among his retinue, lending her aid whenever needed. |
| Not much is known about this minor Crane samurai. His name is Doji Oruku, and he appears to be from a minor Doji vassal family. Oruku-san spends most of his time in Ryoko Owari Toshi, acting as a clan magistrate and helping keep the peace. He was integral in the saving of the Bon Festival during one year which seemed to find several oni and cults setting up shop in the City of Lies. |
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The only major clan members missing from this
tour are Kakita Toshimoko, the Emerald Champion,
and Doji Satsume, the previous Emerald Champion.
Doji Kuwannon and Daidoji Uji-sama
are out seeing to military matters at the moment.
Kakita Toshimoko is often referred to as
"The Gray Crane". Toshimoko-sensei is almost
fifty years old, yet has shown no signs of
planning on retiring. He isn't through with his
life just yet, and plans to enjoy many more
years of peacekeeping.
Toshimoko-sensei was, before his appointment,
master of the Kakita Fencing Academy.
He was also the uncle and sensei to Doji Hoturi,
who's mother, Tienko, was Toshimoko and Yoshi-samas sister.
In a way, Toshimoko-sensei was more of a father to
Hoturi-sama that Satsume-sama was.
Doji Kuwannon-sama is the brother of the
late Daimyo Doji Hoturi. Born during a time
of hightened tensions between the Lion and the
Crane, Kuwannon-sama was one of the "exchange students"
that attended the Akodo Bushi School of the Lion.
Kuwannon-sama has studied under the Emperor Toturi 1,
back when he was still Lion Champion, and the Lion
Clan Thunder. Kuwannon-sama is the son that Satsume
preferred the most.
Were it not for the tradition of birth order,
and inheritance, Kuwannon-sama would
have been Crane Champion instead of Hoturi.
Daidoji Uji-sama is the powerful daimyo of the
fourth Crane family. When there are ugly military
matters to be taken care of, it is the Daidoji
who answer the call. As the Scorpion clan was to
the Hanteis, so the Daidoji are to the Crane.
And that brings us to the end of the tour.
If you would like, I can show you the pathways
that will take you to other parts of the Empire.
All information here came from
the Clan War novels and the various rpg
source books available at the time.
The graphics of Shizue-san and Yoshi-sama
are prints created by April Lee, an extremely
talented artist who works on the L5R
CCG graphics team. I have made a link
to her site on the Links page.
Please, do not take or link to either of
these images, as they are Ms. Lee's personal
property. Ask her before you use them.
- - -Nancy Wagner