Governor's Palace
The builder and the age of the palace have been lost to time. What records exist are clearly contradictory. The palace grounds are surrounded by the Samurai Quarter and the palace itself is on the highest ground of the city, overlooking both the Itochu River and the rest of the Samurai Quarter. While it can't compete with the wealth and splendor of the Great Clans, it easily rivals the next tier of palaces in less isolated provinces.
It would be an ideal location for defense, but this palace wasn't built for war; a chest high stone wall (similar to that surrounding the Samurai Quarter) is all that protects the 4 story building and grounds. The gate is guarded around the clock, more for logging and announcing visitors than for defense.
Despite the palace's size and guest capacity, its grounds are relatively small and it lacks a sizable garden. It also lacks servants' quarters for all but the governor's personal servants. The peasants who serve in the palace walk up every day from the Heimin District.
The interior is elegant and designed with many guests in mind. Each guest room is dedicated to a Fortune, Lesser and Greater. Guests are in constant competition for the "right" room, which leads to members of all of the clans being mingled throughout the quarters.
The main court chamber is larger than usual for a provincial palace and is surrounded by nearly a dozen smaller, more intimate meeting chambers, screened by shoji. The wall behind the governor's chair is completely covered by a beautiful painting of flowing waters inhabited by all manner of fantastical creatures and divine beings. The artist, Kakita Miliko, is little known in the rest of Rokugan, but she claimed to have the gift of the spirits and could see things in the Itochu River that others could not.
The governor's quarters on the 4th floor of the palace include rooms for an extended family, a shrine dedicated to all of the past provincial governors, and an ancient map of the province rumored to hold many forgotten secrets. No governor has ever acted in a manner that would confirm the rumor.
Architecture
The palace walls are local stone from the Taru Mountains, bleached white with lime annually, while the roofs are bright, red, locally-manufactured tile.
Type
Palace
Parent Location
