oops, sorry Kedo, my brain is broken.  I'll go back and edit.  The answer I wrote must have gotten lost with a previous draft

In reply to Kaze no Kage (msg # 805):


 Awhhh, but then I'll have to edit too!

Okay, fixed, sorry if that derails anyone's conversation, but I really did mean to post a response

In reply to Kedo (msg # 806):

Yeah, sorry about that, but there's no good reason that anyone should be ignoring Kedo at this point, and passing an error like that off because "he's ronin" totally ignores the years of character development that's gone into this game (YEARS!)

 I know, I know. Especially since the incident he's referring to was his and Kenshin (with help) demolishing most of a Daidoji ambush while Kedo acted like a one-man patriot battery... Which cannot not have made it into the reports.^_^

Question: Now that the Emperor is Toturi rather than a descendant of the Hantei line... is the form of address "Son of Heaven" still used?

I ask because it made sense when the Hantei were Emperors since the Kami Hantei was originally from the Heavens... I suppose one could say all of the original Kami were children of the Heavens in their own way.

But Toturi is not necessarily divinely descended is he (or perhaps, as a former Akodo, he claims direct descent from the kami Akodo)?

Granted the form of address may remain out of tradition and I do think I have read in the sourcebooks that Toturi is still referenced by the title "Son of Heaven" but I was just thinking about it recently and wondered about the continued use of the title (I was reading something about how the Kolat viewed the fall of the Hantei and the reign of Emperor Toturi as a victory for mankind over kami).

Yes, "Son of Heaven" is still one of Toturi's honorifics.  *shrug* given that there was a break in the Hantei line when Yugozohime was killed at the Battle of White Stag, the Kolat had their mortal Emperor nearly 600 years earlier.  More likely, they were happy with Toturi because he was the protege of Akodo Kage, one of the main leaders of the Kolat of the time and they expected him to follow their program.

Okay, just so I don't leave anyone out:

Kedo (along with Kakita Kaori), Otomo Hajime (along with Miya Shishako), and Bayushi Kenshin (along with Kitsu Ikage) want to go see a couple of Kitsuki (Kitsuki Fuji and Kitsuki Ryoma, with their yojimbo Mirumoto Yamada).

I'm not sure whether Miya Shishako and Kitsu Ikage are down for that plan, they might have their own things they want to do.

Daidoji Sakura and Daidoji Kasumi are probably going to have a talk with Otomo Hajime sometime afterwards, but for now they're doing their own thing.

Shosuro Sumiko is also free to do her own thing.

If anyone isn't sure what's going on in their particular plot line, please let me know, I have lots and lots of notes.

In reply to Kaze no Kage (msg # 812):

Question: Is Miya Shishako a bushi (is the Miya Herald School a bushi or courtier school?)

I ask because it may be pertinent to my next question... has Miya Shishako been assigned a yojimbo (of course if she is a bushi, that may be a trickier issue since assigning a yojimbo to a bushi could be seen as an insult, implying the bushi is not capable of defending herself)?

Then again, since it appears that Miya are being targetted, it would make sense for some arrangement to be made to assign a yojimbo for Shishako's protection (though among the PCs, I'm not sure who is "available" since Hajime really isn't in a position to play yojimbo, Kedo is yojimbo to Kaori, and Kenshin is yojimbo to Ikage).

In reply to Otomo Hajime (msg # 813):

Miya Herald is a courtier school. And, I do not have a yojimbo, other than you. :)
This message was last updated by the player at 16:34, Mon 17 Nov 2014.

Ahh... well as a Courtier, Shishako should have a bushi yojimbo assigned to her (no worries about an insult since she is not a bushi).

However, I'm not sure Hajime is technically in a position to be her "official" yojimbo.

While Hajime will certainly do his utmost to protect his fellow Imperial, his position as an Emerald Magistrate means he's not really in a position to "serve" as a yojimbo (since a yojimbo is supposed to be focused primarily on one thing, namely the protection/security of The Charge the yojiimbo is assigned to).

I just think Shishako should have a bushi formally/officially assigned to protect her (be her bodyguard first & foremost) since the implication from the earlier conversation was that the Miya Family is being targetted (and thus Miya Shishako is believed to be in danger).


EDIT: Unfortunately, I just don't think Hajime can serve as a yojimbo since as an EM he has to focus on his investigation(s).  Unless of course his superior (Emerald Champion or Emperor, perhaps Otomo/Seppun Daimyo?) gave Hajime direct orders to act as Shishako's yojimbo (thus making his Duty as EM secondary to his Duty to protect Shishako).

However nobody present at this meeting has the authority to assign (much less order) Hajime to serve as a yojimbo (and thus have him put his EM duties second).

At least that's my understanding of the current situation (but I could be misreading the scene/scenario).
This message was last edited by the player at 17:33, Mon 17 Nov 2014.

One idea... perhaps before the Kitsuki visit, Miya Shishako and Otomo Hajime should seek "higher authority" for instructions (clarification)?

Yeah, I didn't mean to say that Haijime was Shishako's formal yojimbo, just that the direction, as given, was for her to stick by Haijime, so that an attack on her would also be an attack on him, thus he would be, de-facto, her yojimbo.

Being assigned a yojimbo might cause more problems than it solves. For example, it would point out to everyone that the Crane (or whoever) think that the Miya are in danger within the Crane borders; traditionally the Miya are beyond targeting, since they are the Emperor's voice in the land. There are also other reasons.

 There are other reasons to have a Yojimbo - the Emeror has guards and a champion when he travels as a sign of status and respect rather than to suggest he's in danger from his hosts. If one was assigned more famous or more noted for a talent other than battle - poetry, art, Crane bloodlines - everyone would pretend to believe  they were a bodyguard, privately assume advisor, entertainer or ornament and get on with their business. Face is what matters after all, far more than actuality.

In reply to Otomo Hajime (msg # 816):

 Miya Heralds don't typically get yojimbo (they can't keep up with their travelling schedule).  That being said, Hajime's duties as an Emerald Magistrate shouldn't interfere with keeping Shishako safe (given that he hasn't actually been given an investigative assignment).  The whole point of assigning Hajime to the job is that no one would actually expect Shishako to have a protector and that it wouldn't look strange to have her hanging out around Hajime for long periods of time, so she's kept (relatively) safe without arousing suspicion.

Kedo, are you suggesting that Shishako should be assigned as Haijime's Yojimbo? (ornament) ;)

I'm confident that Shishako can probably find her way clear to survive anything survivable that she may encounter while around Haijime. Don't get me wrong; she won't be able to help much in a fight, but she's pretty good at evading death, I'd say.

 Hmm? No, no...just providing context for a yojimbo to not necessarily be an admission of risk or failure to provide security. ^_^

A potential alternative but similar idea might be if Hajime were to appoint Shishako as one of his Yoriki.

I was under the impression that the "cover" for her having a bodyguard was to be part of the current investigation. And since it was an invasion of Imperial Quarters having her along wouldn't necessarily seem "out of place".

just checking, no one has any more questions for Kuwanan?

Also, any input on planned locations for Sumiki, Ikage, or Shishako?

Who is the Emerald Champion at this time?  Is it Kakita Toshimoko?  Or maybe Seppun Toshiken?

 Bloody hell, we made 5,000!

In reply to Otomo Hajime (msg # 825):

 the Emerald Champion is Kakita Toahimoko, the year is 1128/1129ish (prior to the Hidden Emperor storyline)


@Kedo:  we've been playing for a long damn time ^_^

Well, Ikoma Image should be with Kenshin I think. Otherwise, not really sure.

Edit: Didn't notice that the computer auto-corrected the name (again!) to something worthless.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:36, Wed 19 Nov 2014.

Well hopefully Miya Shishako will be accompanying Hajime.  However, OOC I don't want to dictate where PCs go, so I am open to an alternate suggestion for destination other than visiting the Kitsuki if Shishako has a different idea.