Death
Samurai are taught they are always only three feet from death. It is consdered the height of service to die for your lord. Leadership states that any samurai entering a battlefield should consider themselves already dead, and therefore hold back nothing in their fighting spirit. It can also be used to restore lost honour, through Seppuku
Suprizingly, with this focus on death, it is also viewed as unclean. A samurai should refrain from touching anything dead, instead calling upon eta to remove bodies of fallen foes or animals. While it is a samurai's duty to kill, and to die, they should limit their contact with death. This means that in a battle, a samurai will generally avoid touching a fallen foe. There are some exceptions; taking a vital item from the fallen, especially in the case of a banner in a mass battle, is the main exception. More grisly, some samurai will collect the heads of fallen foes, and place them in a ritually protected bag, to later display as a victory. This must be done almost immediately after the foe's death, while the samurai is still flush with adrenaline. This practice is most common with the Matsu Family and the Bayushi Family.
After coming in contact with death, or blood, a samurai is expected to go to a temple or shrine, and recieve a cleansing rite. This should be done before they eat or sleep in a home. On the battlefield, in camps, this is impossible. During a seige, samurai will sleep in barracks, instead of their home, so any evil spirits attracted by this uncleanness are limited to this space.
Funerals
Rokugani creamate their dead, since the rise of Iuchiban the Blood Speaker. Prior to this, bodies where buried, but when this dark sorcerer forced samurai to battle against the corpses of their blessed ancestors, customs were changed to ensure this could never happen again. Soon after their death, all dead in Rokugan are gathered by eta, and taken to be cremeated. This is generally overseen by monks or priests, to ensure spiritual cleansing.
When a samurai dies far from home, they are cremeated locally, and then their remains are carried home in an urn for the proper ceremonies. The urns are then laid to rest in graves, based on the customs fo the Family or Clan they belong to. These are designed to ensure the best results in the Afterlife
Suprizingly, with this focus on death, it is also viewed as unclean. A samurai should refrain from touching anything dead, instead calling upon eta to remove bodies of fallen foes or animals. While it is a samurai's duty to kill, and to die, they should limit their contact with death. This means that in a battle, a samurai will generally avoid touching a fallen foe. There are some exceptions; taking a vital item from the fallen, especially in the case of a banner in a mass battle, is the main exception. More grisly, some samurai will collect the heads of fallen foes, and place them in a ritually protected bag, to later display as a victory. This must be done almost immediately after the foe's death, while the samurai is still flush with adrenaline. This practice is most common with the Matsu Family and the Bayushi Family.
After coming in contact with death, or blood, a samurai is expected to go to a temple or shrine, and recieve a cleansing rite. This should be done before they eat or sleep in a home. On the battlefield, in camps, this is impossible. During a seige, samurai will sleep in barracks, instead of their home, so any evil spirits attracted by this uncleanness are limited to this space.
Funerals
Rokugani creamate their dead, since the rise of Iuchiban the Blood Speaker. Prior to this, bodies where buried, but when this dark sorcerer forced samurai to battle against the corpses of their blessed ancestors, customs were changed to ensure this could never happen again. Soon after their death, all dead in Rokugan are gathered by eta, and taken to be cremeated. This is generally overseen by monks or priests, to ensure spiritual cleansing.
When a samurai dies far from home, they are cremeated locally, and then their remains are carried home in an urn for the proper ceremonies. The urns are then laid to rest in graves, based on the customs fo the Family or Clan they belong to. These are designed to ensure the best results in the Afterlife
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