Hanshokuchi

Hanshokuchi is where the Aosagi branch of the Heron clan make their home. Formerly a Crab stronghold, it possesses several secret channels and tunnels to navigate the rocky spires that comprise the island

Defenses

The spire is defended mostly by its impregnability: the only way to attack it from land is a single bridge used to bring supplies to the stronghold. The natural red clay is sturdy, impenetrable by conventional arrows, or even muskets. Heron samurai are master archers, and use the wind currents generated by their shugenja to shoot arrows much further and more accurately than any other archers in the kingdom.
From the sea, it could be bombarded with cannons, but unless someone got awfully close, they would not be able to distinguish Hanshokuchi from any other sea stack. The Laozi forces have, so far, not noticed the stronghold, and the Heron hope it remains that way.

History

Hanshokuchi was once a Crab stronghold: its position relative to the eventual site of the Imperial City of Tengoku made it a very tactically valuable location to Hanzo's regime. The island has a series of hidden caves, only accessible during low tide. During high tide, the water levels would rise and give access to natural caverns and tunnels, leading almost all the way up the natural stone tower. Before becoming a great house of Hokkai, the Yadokari family- a branch of the family that would eventually become the Crab clan- had a tendancy for piracy, and originally used these caves as a place to hide contraband.
When Hanzo's armies were pushed out of the lowlands into the rocky highlands of Hokkai, they were cut off from the normal trade routes, and were close to starvation. The Crab offered to help in exchange for future favors from Hanzo's government. The imperial shugenja, Haku, was tasked with widening and strengthening the natural tunnels, transforming the caverns from illegal storage rooms into a vital stockpile for Hanzo's armies.
After the 10 Shogun War, when the Crab became a great house of Hokkai, they were given Port Minato as a token of appreciation for their vital aid to Hanzo's campaign. Hanshokuchi's usefulness faded, and the Yadokari moved on to greener pastures. And so, as part of Hanzo's effort to fold the Heron into his new administration, he gave the old spire to the Aosagi family of the Heron clan. They renamed it, and began to rennovate it to suit their needs. Given that the Heron Shugenja are most often associated with wind magics, they were able to more freely move around the spire than the Crab sailors could, and developed more of the outside of the spire than the Crab ever thought possible.

Alternative Names

The Rookery

Type

Castle

Owner

Nobusane Aosagi

Ruling/Owning Rank

Kashindan

Owning Organization

The Heron Clan