Samurai (Rokugan)

Samurai: Those Who Make War
In Rokugan, the class directly beneath nobility in the Celestial Order is the warrior, or samurai. All born into the family of a samurai are technically members of the warrior caste, regardless of their actual profession. This rung of the social ladder is for Samurai-Senshi, who have sworn fealty to the family daimyo or shogun, and under them are those who have been born into a samurai family but have not taken up training to become a warrior. Lastly are the ronin (“wave men”, called so because of their wandering nature), the masterless warriors who wander the countryside.

Only a samurai-senshi (“samurai warrior”) is allowed to wear the daisho: two swords tucked into the belt, or obi. The first is a katana and the second is called a wakizashi (which is ling a shortsword). Samurai live by a code of conduct called Bushido. This complicated system governs all of a samurai’s actions.

Some Clans are highly devoted to the Way of the Gods, while others are less so. The samurai of the Phoenix Clan, for example, must study many holy texts as well as learning bugei (fighting skills). They undergo a religious ceremony upon their receiving of the daisho, in which the front of their heads are shaved and anointed by a shugenja (a priest, someone who can talk to the Kami and have them answer). The Crab Clan, on the other hand, do not hold with such frivolities. A Crab learns how to fight and how to die. That is all he needs to know.

Political Ranks
''“The will of the Emperor is the will of the land. The death of the Emperor is the winter, and his rebirth is the springtime rain. What can harm our Empire, while the favored child of Amaterasu tends it?” –Shinjo Yokatsu''

In addition to advancing within the elaborate social system in Rokugan, a great deal of the Empire’s politics come from moving within a single societal level: for example, a Samurai might wish to become a great general, or a courtier might hope to become one of the Emperor’s advisors in his court. These “political rankings” may appear arbitrary, but they are strictly adhered to in the Emerald Empire, and their relevance is taken into account every day.

Further, such moves are easier to achieve then advancing to a higher social class: it is likely that a samurai maiden of low family might be allowed to marry into a more prestigious family if her dowry is exceptional, while it is extremely unlikely that a heimin will be allowed to marry even the lowest samurai.

The Kuge (KOO-gay)
The kuge, a social class of inherited nobility intertwined with  powerful positions in the central government, are the “elite” of the Samurai class. A wide social disparity has always existed between the floating grandeur of the Imperial Capital and the harsh reality of life in the outlying provinces. The kuge includes the Hantei, Otomo and Seppun of the International House, the shogun of each Great Clan, and the members of their immediate families.

While there are thousands of samurai in the Empire with family name Doji, only a very few are actually a part of the Doji noble house. Others, including daimyo who care for Doji lands, are actually adopted into the House. These lesser house members actually have the same house name (in this case, Doji), but in many cases also have their own family name. These lesser family members are not considered part of the Kuge class, although they are samurai and members of the nobility.

They are also considered members of the noble house to whom they owe fealty, and commonly introduced in court as a simple member of their noble house. Any samurai who is so bold as to use his own personal house name in official matters, rather than the name of his lord’s house, insults his lord’s name.

The Buke (BEW-kay)
Below the kuge are the buke, the hereditary/official military class. The buke make up the bulk of the samurai caste: the generals, warlords and other powerful but non-landed individuals of a clan. Originally formed of farmers gathered to serve in the military of the Seven Clans, the first buke rebelled against high taxation. From them came a form of proto-samurai: farmers and lesser samurai who were trained as bushi and could be called to battle in short order. The buke class, then, encompasses the gamut of warring types, from the lowest foot-soldier (ashigaru) to the most illustrious governor-general (daimyo).

The buke also includes the lesser sons and daughters of the kuge, those who would not inherit the family’s power or land. Often, these nuke are treated as less than their siblings, as if they had fallen from the Celestial Order by virtue of their birth. They are expected to regain their position and maintain their family’s good name by their deeds.

Ji-Samurai
Ji-Samurai, or “half samurai”, are the lesser samurai warriors from the vassal clans. They are expected not only to maintain their family’s honor, but to raise their social and political standing through glory in battle. Consequently, these warriors often have to be restrained from throwing their lives away in the heat of battle.

Traditionally, the ji-samurai class also includes ronin, half-samurai, and those who have not yet found a daimyo to serve. These “wave-men” are reviled throughout the Empire, seen as little better than samurai criminals without honor or purpose. Often, they are conscripted into armies and forced to fight for daimyo of the various clans, given little more than food or water in exchange for their service. In many ways, it is the best life a masterless man can expect; the chance to die with honor.

A Saumrai’s Life
Like the seasons and the tides, human life travels through a cycle. To deny this cycle is to deny that one is part of the order, and to deny one’s place in it. Not only is this dishonorable to the gods, but also to one’s ancestors who expect better.

Birth and Youth
When a child is born, it is born into the caste of their mother and father. Childhood in Rokugan is very different from childhood in the lands of the east. Children are not considered adults until they go through the gempukku ceremony. A child is not a “little adult”, he is a child who has not been taught the rules of adulthood, and therefore must be treated with kindnedd and leniency. Once he is seven, a child is sent to a school where he spends many years training in the ways of his caste and profession.

Coming of Age: The Gempukku Ceremony
Young samurai are raised in schools where they are taught history, swordplay, language, battle tactics and philosophy. It takes approximately nine years to finish the training, and students rarely—if ever—see their parents. At some point between the ages of 13 and 21 (typically at 16), a child performs a rite of passage called gempukku, and is, for the first time, considered an adult. Children are often expected to take a new name—their adult name—at this time.

Inkyo: Coming of Old Age
In Rokugan, a samurai is considered a “young man” until he reaches his twenty-fifth year. Then he is “middle aged” until he is forty. On their fortieth birthday, they take a less active role in the battlefield, becoming advisors or instructors for the next generation of samurai.

Death and Seppuku
Fear of death is not only improper, it is also dishonorable. Because the Rokugani believe in a spirit world where the souls of the departed dwell and watch over the living, they expect to join their ancestors in the spirit world after death. Two worlds—Jigoku, the land of the dead, and Yomi, the ancestral haven, which are separated by the endless Dragon Road—await the samurai after he has finished with this life.

The astonishing courage in the face of mortality can make for short-lived samurai. Often, when a samurai fails his duties, or his courage is questioned, the need to prove his mettle arises: the ultimate test of courage.

Seppuku is that test, the ritual of proving one’s courage in the face of death. Before the ceremony, a samurai spends the day in a temple (dedicated to a family deity) writing poems and letters to beloved ones. At the end of the day, as the sun goes down, the samurai kneels on a mat to protect the holy soil from his blood, draws his wakizashi and makes three deep cuts in his torso. He must not cry out in pain, and often a close friend or relative will stand behind him, his katana drawn and ready to make the final cut lest his friend disgrace himself with a sound.

Samurai do not commit seppuku to protect their own honor, but to protect their families’ honor. It is, perhaps, the most misunderstood aspect of samurai culture to the outsider.

Samurai Game Stats
Samurai are professional warriors and members of the noble class who have trained in the arts of warfare at specialized academies. The statistics of a samurai are detailed in Complete Warrior, with the following addendums: Additional Traits Dependent on Clan:
 * Alignment: Any lawful
 * Races: Any race may technically become samurai, although 99.999999% of them are human. It is an exceptionally odd sight, indeed, to see any non-humans as samurai. The lords of such samurai are surely eccentric and looked upon with suspicion.
 * Crab: +1 to Intimidate checks
 * Crane: +1 to Diplomacy checkls
 * Dragon: +1 to Knowledge (History)
 * Lion: +1 Knowledge (Tactics)
 * Phoenix: +1 Knowledge (Arcana)
 * Scorpion: +1 Bluff
 * Unicorn: +1 Ride