Miya Family
The Miya family is the youngest of the Imperial families,
formed only after the passing of the first Hantei.
Miya, a loyal follower of Otomo, was a young,
quick-witted and charming man who quickly became
a favorite among those close to the Emperor. When
the war against Fu Leng was finally won, it was Miya
who brought the news of the victory to the first Hantei,
who lay dying. The Emperor commanded Miya to
continue spreading the news of the war’s end across
the Empire. As he did so, he and his retainers assisted
the war-ravaged Empire in rebuilding, leaving a sense
of hope and purpose in their wake. When he returned
to Otosan Uchi a hero, the wily Otomo saw an opportunity.
He convinced the new Emperor, Hantei Genji, to
allow Miya—still Otomo’s loyal follower—to found his
own family, and a new Imperial family was born.
The Miya have always been the smallest of the
Imperial families, and the one with the least direct influence
on and access to the Throne. They are, however,
generally beloved across the Empire, so they wield
their own brand of influence. Miya Heralds carry the
edicts and pronouncements of the Emperor across the
Empire, while Miya Cartographers survey the lands in
order to create maps that properly delineate the various
holdings of the clans. The Miya are, therefore, generally
welcomed and trusted by all of the clans, which
means they have acceptance in places that would view
a Seppun or an Otomo much more warily.
This allows the Miya to act as the dispassionate
eyes and ears of the Imperials, noting and recording
events affecting the Empire with a minimum of bias
and reporting them back to the Emperor and the
other Imperial families. Their relatively guileless and
open nature allows the Miya an unparalleled degree
of access across Rokugan while also ensuring that
they remain reasonably unscathed during their travels
among the clans.
In terms of other roles in the Empire, the Miya
are frequently found among the ranks of the Imperial
Legions and the Emerald Magistrates. Their reputation
for loyalty to the Emperor and impartiality in their dealings
with others serves them in good stead in both of
these stations. For the same reason, members of the
Miya family are often found serving as arbitrators and
judges, overseeing matters ranging from simple disputes
over land and property, to sanctioned and formal
duels between samurai, to complex trials over serious
transgressions of Imperial law. It should also be noted
that one particular Imperial office, that of the Imperial
Herald, is a hereditary one traditionally held by the
Miya family daimyō.
A final important role played by the Miya is the
delivery of the Emperor’s Blessing, the name by which
Miya’s original journey through the Empire came to be
known. The Blessing is now a formal event of rebuilding
and repair, an annual activity of carpenters and craftspeople
drafted for the purpose and deployed to whatever
places in the Empire are deemed to most need it.
This typically includes areas affected by the aftermath
of war or natural disaster. Competition to receive the
benefices of the Blessing is fierce among the clans, but
its final deployment remains solely at the discretion of
the Emperor, in consultation with the Miya daimyō.
Type
Political, Family
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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