Otorii Kabe (大鳥居壁)

Otorii Kabe (大鳥居壁, Great Gate Wall), or the Great Torii Wall, or more commonly Otorii, spans the entire southern side of the Tasogare Chikyo (黄昏地峡, Twilight Isthmus). Built by the Morigani Uji in 890 Ki-nai and completed in 891 Ki-nai, it is the last line of defense against the denizens of Kuramoto. Approximately 25,000-30,000 soldiers are stationed on Otorii divided among its 10 strongholds.

Table of Contents

Dimensions

History

The First Wall

Succeeding Walls

The Seventh Wall

Architecture

Construction
The Torii Gate

Ju no Shiro

Defenses and Fortifications

Forces and Troops

Munitions

Dimensions

Otorii Kabe's current iteration, the Seventh Wall, is over 100ft tall and about 40ft thick, ten times taller and eights thicker than the first iteration that was completed in 891 Ki-nai. It stands at the southern end of the Tasogare isthmus, spanning around 10 miles from Samuhama beach in the northwest, to Hairokake in the southeast, and its distance hasn't changed since. While the torii gate stands almost twice the height of the wall, around 180 or so feet tall.

History

The First Wall

The first iteration of the wall was built in 890 Ki-nai on the 12th of Satsuki. The rising number of incursions from Kuramoto gave way to the need of a fortification on the southern border of Tasogare Chikyo. The Oshiro clan leader at the time, Oshiro no Yori (大城の頼), appealed to the nobles of the imperial court to aid in the construction of the first wall by providing resources and manpower, all nobles agreed without much debate. It was unanimously agreed upon that the threat of Kuramoto far outweighed any political whims that the nobles of the imperial court would have, and the construction of the wall needed to be done.
After 14 months, construction was completed on 26 Hazuki of 891 Ki-nai. It provided ample defense against the undead, which were the most common invaders from Kuramoto at the time. The undead that the first Monban soldiers faced were undead humans, likely the soldiers of Kisei no Daiki that succumbed to the taint. As such, standard size fortifications were enough to hold back human-sized threats, especially against uncoordinated forces. However, as time would go on, Kuramoto would spew out larger and larger threats.

Succeeding Walls

Otorii Kabe would develop and change five more times before its current iteration today. The first time Otorii's fortifications would need to be reevaluated was during the Massacre of Samuhama in 893, only two years after the wall was erected. In Satsuki of 893 Ki-nai, during an attack on Samui Castle, an Oni appeared for the first time. It leveled the 1000 strong Monban force, leaving only 50 able bodied soldiers and the rest either mortally wounded or dead. On top of that, it tore through the wall relatively easily. It became apparent to Morigani clan leaders that fortifications developed for human incursions would not be enough for creatures that come from Kuramoto. Since then each succeeding iteration would be made thicker and higher, until its current iteration, called the Seventh Wall.

The Seventh Wall

The seventh iteration of Otorii is the one folk are most familiar with today, which is the towering, gray edifice that dwarf most Hinomoto castles. This iteration was built almost two centuries ago, after a Gashadokuro attacked Haiyama Castle. The Gashadokuro was twice the height of the wall, and with one step, demolished that section of the wall. If it weren't for the Onikiri stationed at Haiyama Castle at the time, the Gashadokuro would have rampaged across Hinomoto.

Architecture

Construction

The first wall was basically a wooden stockade--the popular wall fortifications of the time--and had watchtowers interspersed across the span of the wall. After the first Oni attack, the Morigani shifted from using timber to stone. This allowed them to build stronger and thicker walls, strong enough to withstand attacks of an Oni. As previously mentioned, each new threat that came from Kuramoto was larger and stronger than the last, with the most recent threat--the Gashadokuro attack on Haiyama Castle--being nearly 100ft in height. Each iteration of the wall was built to withstand the strength and power of the last new Yokai that attacked the wall.
Another major factor in Otorii's construction was the blessing of the wall. During the first time it was built, as well as every time it was rebuilt, Shinjutsu priests would perform blessings, purifying ceremonies, and other religious rites every eight days. At the start of each season, there is a blessing ceremony, hundreds upon hundreds of Shinjutsu priests gather at the 10 fortresses along the wall and bless Otorii. The entire wall is considered a consecrated construction, warding of the miasmic taint. Supposedly it mitigates the number of attacks Otorii experiences in a year, as incursions become more frequent towards the end of each season, moreover the most threatening attacks happened during the same time as well. The Morigani Uji also consulted Onmyoji about the construction of each castle, having them built on the most auspicious locations.

The Torii Gate

The large torii gate (or Otorii) from which the wall gets its name from is the only part of the entire edifice that has remained unchanged since the first wall. Close inspection of the torii gate reveals that its paint has faded. Its original, brilliant vermilion color has faded into a now darker, crimson red. In some sections the paint is so thin that it exposes the dark wood underneath.
The torii gate faces away from the wall, and by extension all of Hinomoto, rather than towards it. The Oshiro clan stated that it signifies that Hinomoto is a sacred place, protected by the Kami, warning all those in Kuramoto that they dare not corrupt Hinomoto with their Taint.

Ju no Shiro

Ju no Shiro (十の城) refers to the ten strongholds placed on various strategic, and supposedly auspicious positions along Otorii Kabe. Each stronghold is commanded by a member from one of the more prominent Morigani Clans. Half of the strongholds are commanded by a member of the Kisei clan, while the other five are commanded by Oshiro, Maemori, Ishikawa, Seki, and Takahashi clan members.
The ten strongholds from north to south are namely:

Samui Castle

Yakumo Castle

Haiyama Castle

Shinuheiya Castle

Seiro Castle

Otorii Castle

Toro Castle

Kareki Castle

Akuchi Castle

Hairokake Castle

Defenses and Fortifications

Being 100ft tall and 40ft thick makes the wall nigh-impregnable to forces that don't even have a commanding officer. Even a Gashadokuro, the largest Yokai to have assaulted Otorii, will have a difficult time tearing it down.
More than just its physical fortifications, Otorii acts as a sort of ward against the Taint and Yokai due to the extensive blessing and purification rites it has undergone in its 600 years in existence. It has been observed that Yokai within close proximity to the wall are weaker, making them easier to kill. However the effects Otorii has on Yokai is somewhat negligible, especially against larger and stronger Yokai. Moreover, the effect wanes the the farther away the Yokai is, with its maximum range being approximately one mile away. It is also around this distance where the effects of the Taint start to be felt. What exactly happens to the Yokai within range of the wall is still unknown ans is still being researched, chiefly by the Lieur scholar Rue Audley.

Forces and Troops

At any given time, there are around 25,000-30,000 soldiers of the Monban Army stationed at the castles along the wall. Most of these troops are Ashigaru (足軽, common foot soldiers) as the brunt of the army are peasant conscripts or criminals sentenced to life at Otorii from all across Hinomoto, (and more recently foreigners) who serve at least one month at Otorii. There are only a handful of samurai stationed at the wall, around 50, with 4-5 stationed at each castle. The samurai are usually appointed as the commander of the castle or some other high ranking position. Samurai are appointed based on their warfare intelligence, rather than their martial skill as the The Onikiri are considered the elite fighting force of the Monban Army.
The Onikiri are specialized warriors who undergo rigorous training in order to keep up with Oni in battle. There are currently around 200 Onikiri, 100 of which are stationed at Otorii Kabe and the rest roam the lands of Hinomoto dealing with Yokai in the far flung areas of civilizations. Typically an Onikiri roaming Hinomoto will stay on the road for six months and then return to a castle at Otorii Kabe, at which point another Onikiri will begin roaming Hinomoto, in place of the returning Onikiri.

Munitions

The Ashigaru of the Monban army were given standard issue equipment rather than having to provide their own equipment like the Ashigaru of other clans. They are equipped with yari (spears) and/or yumi (bows) as their primary weapons, while wakizashi (short swords) where their secondary weapon. As for armor, they aren't as heavily armored as samurai, but Ashigaru are equipped with the basic necessities, such as the jingasa(battle hat), tatami zukin (armored hood), do (cuirass), kote (armored sleeves or gauntlets), haidate (cuisses), and suneate (greaves), usually made of hardened leather, metal, or even tatami. Since they're inception as a military rank, the armor that the Ashigaru are equipped with have earned the name "Ashigaru Armor".
Just like other clans in Hinomoto, the Morigani also don't use siege engines. Although, a prototype anti-yokai weapon using gunpowder, technology from Eutopus, and jade is being developed at Otorii castle. Audley is currently overseeing the project with the help of Reiji Hakase and his mythical smith skills. Once developed, the anti-yokai weapon could change the face of the war effort against Kuramoto drastically.