Shimazu

Basic Information

Clan Name: Shimazu
Clan Village: Silk River Valley, allied with Iwagakure no Sato
Clan Starter: Shimazu Tadahisa
Clan Head: Shimazu Munenobu
Clan Age and Status: Old. Scorned outside of Tsuchi no Kuni and Iron Country.
Clan Bloodline: None
Clan Element: None
Clan Emblem:
Clan Holdings: A medium-sized han near the Eastern borders of Earth country

Background

This clan is the remnants of one of the various Samurai clans that existed before the rise of the shinobi powers in the world, and as a result is looked upon with both derision and pity by the majority of ninja, since most of them cannot fathom why those who stick to the Shimazu clan's beliefs continue to act as though they were of noble breeding, yet are willing to do the dirtiest work of all, even peasant work, to see ends meat.

This situation is because of efforts made by the various feudal lords who now mainly employ ninja to remove their once-upon-a-time vassals, as ninja are seen to be more conveniently disposable by a lot of the less-scrupulous politicians, and also more skilled. To this end, they came up with a carefully constructed scheme to reduce the Shimazu's financial strengths in an effort to force them to give up their lands and holdings, thus starving them into extinction. They did this by arranging marriages between all of the nobles' daughters and nieces for generations and the Shimazu clan. By custom, the clan of lower status, which meant the Shimazu samurai, would have to pay for all of the weddings, the housing for the new family and their many hundreds of servants, and finally give them the land needed for this. If by chance the Shimazu were to openly oppose this scheme, then it could be seen as an insult and the other nobles could then 'legally' wipe them out. However, early on in the days of this endeavour, one of Shimazu's upper ranks, Hirata-dono, challenged the clan council by saying that a true Samurai spirit does not need the trappings of a courtier, and put forth the motion that they take up the work that peasantry was normally to do in order to pay for everything. This outraged many of the samurai, and he was thus called to the front in order to prove his theory. Hirata did this by sitting on his knees as one of the nobles struck him between the eyes with a coin, then proceeded to beat Hirata in front of the entire clan. By the end of it, Hirata was bloody, with his fine clothes torn, and his face bruised beyond recognition. Yet when the noble smirked, Hirata simply bowed and said, "I am truly grateful to receive a coin." The noble was so stunned that a samurai would debase himself for the sake of the clan, that he slit his own belly open, praising Hirata's resolve even as he breathed his last. It has been several centuries, and yet this mindset, to endure the unendurable, to withstand the unstoppable, is what has allowed this clan to survive in a time where honorable samurai are pushed aside for the convenience of shinobi for hire.

Fighting Styles

The Shimazu clan's kenjutsu is part of the reason for this ability to endure. In poverty, a samurai would often declare: "Stop worrying about money! Large or small, gold coins are just cold junk anyway! No matter how hard things get, fall down eight times, somersault and stand up straight nine, ten. We'll show what kind of men we are!" That was the very spirit of a Shimazu samurai at the bottom of the ladder. Yet despite this, they needed money to pay for food and clothing, and so they would swallow their bitterness and have the life of half-noble half-slave.

At five o'clock every morning, a samurai would come flying out of his shack, wielding nothing but a long stick. Emitting what sounded like a monkey's screech, he'd batter a wooden stake some three thousand times. The noise would reverberate through the silence of the dawn. The face of the beater was said to express, without exception, the hatred typically directed at an enemy. It was an outlet, and explosion, of their frustration with their ill fate. Shrieking and thrashing like a madman will calm even a heart and soul awash in dissatisfaction and discontent... As if nothing ever happened... It must be a part of human nature. That's why Jigen-ryu is indeed a perfect art of Swordsmanship. To this day, there is no entry in the Shimazu clan's record about a rebellion born of discontent. The weak souls who could not withstand the poverty and discrimination lost their minds, and the strong-willed became ever more dogged. Those who accumulated too much stress either died of illness or of madness. And in regards to those who let their discontent burst out from their bodies... There was an episode of a man who felled a great pine tree in just three days. It should be easy to see how deep the tendrils of their fury went. Consequently, their Jigen-ryu became formidable. The more dogged their character and the deeper their discontent, the greater their seemingly infinite power became. It is this style of swordsmanship which the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure recognized as a useful asset to be used for the sake of the Land of Stone.

Clan Hierarchy

Unlike many clans in modern day, the Shimazu clan is made up of several families; the Shiba, Yoshifumi, Ryozo, Asukai, and Shimazu families. Each of these has its own traditions, many of which seem strange to outsiders, but seem to make common sense to those who grow up in the clan. These families came together long ago to form a united front against their enemies, and was awarded official clan status after a grueling war in the times before the rise of the shinobi nations. The clan as a whole took the name Shimazu, though each family includes their own family name as well when introducing themselves, referring to the Shimazu family proper with the title of Shimazu-taiso. These families also each have their own schools of fighting in addition to the Jigen-ryu, though Jigen-ryu is their only true school of swordsmanship.

Asukai

This family has close ties to the various monastaries and shrines in the region, and is the source of most of the clan's superstitions and religious traditions.

Ryozo

The merchants of the clan, who orchestrate trade from village to village within their territory, and trying to keep a finger on the outside world. They are seen as overly emotional and flighty for samurai, with an interest in technology from outside. Tradition however prevents them from being overt about it, and they only actually keep a handful of technological pieces for study, preferring the knowledge of it rather than use.

Shiba

A member family of the clan, who can trace their rule over the villages of Konbato, Sira, Split Bean, and Silk Flower for more than 800 years. They are a militant clan, but a somewhat gregarious one for samurai, instead of heavy handed. Technically amongst the lowest ranking samurai in the region, they are well known to the populace for aiding in construction and disaster work.

Shimazu

The head family of the clan, who coordinate the various businesses of its member families, as well as act as the spokesmen for the han as a whole. They are the ones who formalized the Jigen-Ryu form of swordsmanship into a clan style.

Yoshifumi

This family is somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades family. They do not specialize their endeavors, but are the staunchest of traditionalists. As such, even though they might take different jobs, each Yoshifumi can be counted on to act in a similar manner to his family. Rare is it to find those of differing mindsets, and their bland features make them unremarkable. Some daimyos use this genetic quirk of theirs in order to have an agent that can move about unseen with ease.