The Ki-Rin Clan

The Ki-Rin Clan

Clan Champion: Shinjo.
Clan Colours: Purple, white, gold.
Main worship: The Ten Thousand Fortunes.
Virtue: Compassion.
Allies: Crane, Phoenix.
Rivals: Crab, Owl.

Shinjo did not seek out followers in the Emerald Lands when she first arrived in Ningen-Do. At first, her attention was on exploring as much of this world as possible, and almost every tribe of old could speak of her visit one day even if she might not have stayed long.Her travels were not only for her own love of discovery, but also a search for their missing siblings. Hearing stories of something falling from the sky in the south, Shinjo set out to investigate, but the lands there proved hostile, as wild ogres rampaged and goblins were hardly worthy of conversation, and the local Nezumi were not friendly to negotiations or aiding the Kami - and in the end she had to leave empty-handed.
At the meeting of the Kami before their tournament, she spoke warmly of the people of the land, and that since she and her siblings were here now they should do all they can do to help the humans. And while she did not win the tournament, her emperor Togashi assured her that her compassionate soul would be a beacon to many people in the times ahead. Following the tournament, Shinjo found herself with many followers from many different tribes flocking to her, as they had all heard of the kindness and compassion of this daughter of heaven. While Togashi had not given her any specific duty, Shinjo found her own duty in learning the ways of those who came to her, leading her clan to become a melting pot of many different traditions coming together.
The Ki-Rin was quick to put to use various animals for transportation, particularly horses. Where other Clans used these animals more for farmwork, the Ki-Rin began using them to more easily transport goods, messages, and services across the Empire, which made them part of laying the groundwork of the Empire’s trade and commerce along with the Crane. This along with the two Kami sisters having always been good friends has assured a strong friendship between their two clans. This sentiment is also shared by the Phoenix who are also close to the Ki-Rin. The Ki-Rin do find themselves more at odds with the harshness of the Crab, and with the strictness of the Owl.
Shinjo has a warm relationship with her followers, as she strives to be kind, patient, and gentle with all of them. Weddings among the Ki-Rin often find Shinjo as a surprise guest to give her well-wishes and blessings, and births are often quick to receive a visit from her as well as she welcomes every new member into her Clan. This compassion and care echoes through the rest of the clan, making the Ki-Rin a tight-knit group even with their growing size. Among the Ki-Rin, most call Shinjo the Kami of the Four Winds, as a way to describe her swiftness as well as her well-travelled past.
While Shinjo is the soul of the Ki-Rin, the Ide are the heart. With the close relations to the Crane, they are almost as cultured as the followers of Doji, while maintaining a more down-to-earth simplicity to their charm and friendliness. The Utaku on the other hand are the fighting force of the clan, and their mobility is unmatched by any other so far. However, they still maintain the traditions of old that it is the women who are the warriors, but they do allow the men to learn to fight using Shinjo’s teachings. There is no spiritual centre of the clan, but rather its members to any Fortune they might think of for good luck.

The Shinjo Family 

Daimyo: Shinjo, The Kami of the Four Winds.
Mon: A ki-rin with a fiery mane.

Shinjo is the swiftest of all the Kami, and her followers strive to emulate their Lady in this regard. Those who swear fealty to her find themselves blessed with a sense of the wind’s movements and how to move along with it.
The Kami Shinjo is a passionate leader to her people; she celebrates their joys and shares their pain, and she makes her decisions based on how it serves the good of her people. She is renowned for her compassion, and for the breadth of her knowledge about the many different customs of various tribes that existed before the clans. As a Kami she is eternally youthful and beautiful to look upon, and she is apt with both a bow and sword though she favours the spear above most. Shinjo is known as the Lady of Compassion, or more famously as The Kami of the Four Winds as she is reputed to be able to travel to each cardinal direction of the Empire within the span of a day, faster than the winds themselves. In her presence, people feel a sense of ease and freedom, and similar to her brother Hida she is perhaps the most human of all the Kami.

Members of Shinjo’s Family are taught to value compassion as the highest virtue, and to find purity in purpose. While Shinjo teaches most of them to be warriors, she would never wish to hamper anyone’s dreams of pursuing other paths in life, and she encourages her followers to embrace new experiences and learn new things all their lives. This makes for an eclectic retinue but it only seems to add to the strength of the Ki-Rin so far.

The Ide Family

Daimyo: Ide, The Lord with the Open Hand.
Mon: An outstretched open hand.

The husband of Utako, Ide was the main administrator of their nomadic tribe, the Daughters of the Plains. Their tribe had a strong tradition of making the women the primary defenders of the tribe, whereas the men kept the homes and handled negotiations and trade with other groups. Ide himself was considered a most gifted diplomat and organiser, and his extrovert-charms made him a perfect pair to his wife’s quiet nature.
As their tribe considered the new way forward after the arrival of the Kami, Ide was the one who suggested that they join with Shinjo’s clan, as he had had the fortune of briefly encountering her in her travels earlier, and he could not help but to be impressed with the way Shinjo embraced all parts of human life.

When they approached Shinjo to join her, they also brought with them their knowledge of travelling the land along with their herd of horses, which their tribe had bred to use in their nomadic lifestyle. However the most important thing that Ide brought after joining the Ki-Rin was his peacemaking nature, as he was able to make daily life in the clan run more smoothly and find ways to accommodate the many different traditions that were taking part of the growing identity of the clan. While many look to Shinjo or Utako for many things, most in the clan look to Ide to hear the voice of reason and thoughtfulness. Something which was given its proper due in time after Ide had observed more how the Empire was beginning to take its shape and how the Crane led by Doji were promoting a more civilised way of life for all its people. He brought up these observations to Shinjo, and argued that while warriors would always be needed, a peaceful Empire needed peacemakers most of all. With that in mind, Shinjo bestowed upon Ide the duty of founding a Family of peacemakers within the Ki-Rin; the Ide.
Along with his wife, Ide is blessed by the presence of Shinjo in his life, bestowing upon him the gift of longevity and youth, and he hardly looks like he has aged a day since he first met the Kami of the Four Winds. He is a beautiful man with soft features and there is always an easy smile on his lips. He possesses a keen mind as well, and he can claim a large part of the credit for the growing wealth of the Ki-Rin as the leading tradesmen in the Empire. While it is a great duty to help run a clan while running your own family, Ide seems quite up to the task and frankly seems to enjoy the challenges that it brings.
With Ide’s background as a homemaker and administrator, he and his followers are mostly pacifists and favour diplomacy above all. They are not above resorting to violence to defend their homes and families.

The Utaku Family

Daimyo: Utako, The Silent Lady.
Mon: A circle of white.

The wife of Ide, Utako was the leader of the tribe Daughters of the Plains, a nomadic tribe that maintained a herd of horses to use for easier travels. As the leader of the tribe, Utako was also its most premier warrior in a group that placed the duty of defending the tribe on the women exclusively, a tradition that was most likely borne from the fact that women were lighter than men thus making them the more swift riders in battle.
When the tribe could see that a time of change was upon them, Utako placed her faith in Ide to advise her on the best course of action. When he suggested that they join Shinjo, Utako silently agreed and it was decided. And upon meeting Shinjo for the first time, Utako was instantly assured that this was the right decision for she saw a worthy lady to swear her fealty to. With no need for words, Utako knelt before Shinjo and bowed her head, and the Kami welcomed her and the rest of the tribe with open arms.

Utako continued to maintain warriors ready to defend the new homes and families, refusing to budge away from the tradition of teaching only women to fight by way of mounted combat, but she did not dissuade any of the men from learning from Shinjo. So far there has not been any issues with Utako and the original members of the tribe standing by this tradition, but time will tell if it is a tradition that will endure over time, especially once Utako and her generation pass away. Though most suspect that won’t be any time soon as the silent woman seems to be blessed to stay young for quite some time.
In contrast to her outgoing husband, Utako is quiet, calm, and reserved, with a more plain face than the handsome Ide. Some rumours speculate that she is a mute, though any member of the Utaku dismiss this kind of gossip, stating that their lady simply speaks when needed and to those she finds it worthy to speak with. They insist that her voice is hauntingly beautiful, and that Utako once made Lady Shinjo cry with joy when she sang for her.
The Utaku are a traditional lot, adapting to the new times only enough to suit them. Some consider them a bit aloof as they seem to hold themselves to high standards - not quite emulating the way of the Kami but rather trying to find their own way of combining their own beliefs with the code of Bushido. They embrace femininity as the pinnacle of beauty for both men and women, valuing long hair in both as well as a clean face with no cosmetics. For them, the ideal woman is small and agile - necessary for being a swift rider - and the ideal man is strong and decisive - important traits for someone doing work in the home and managing the affairs of the family.

Culture

Shinjo considers humanity to be the children of the Sun's Tears and the Moon's Blood, and in a way are distant relatives of the Kami. With this belief, she treats her followers as if they were her family, and this behaviour extends throughout the clan. Each clan member is a sister or a brother, even if you just met them, and are treasured and treated well. 
The habit of maintaining horses from the tribe of Ide and Utaku has gained a big foothold in the clan as a whole, and every Ki-Rin learns to ride at some point in their life or work with horses. As they tend to travel on horseback, they prefer clothes in styles that allow for ease of movement in mounting and dismounting a horse, preferably in sturdy materials. 

Public Agenda

The Ki-Rin's greatest concerns are the people of the new Empire. Shinjo is loyal and devoted to her brother the Emperor, but she believes he might see too much the big picture and not the little things that are the many people who live in the Empire. They are mostly concerned with proposing laws and decrees that improve the lives of many.
As the Right Hand of the Emperor, the Ki-Rin stand at the forefront for justice and protecting the people against those who still oppose the new order.

Assets

The Ki-Rin are the most talented so far at maintaining livestock and other work animals, both which they trade to other clans in different conditions. As horselords, they are benefitting greatly from their dominance in transporting goods across the Empire swiftly, and tend to be rewarded well for their work. A horse from a Ki-Rin stable has also become a highly sought prize for anyone with an interest in a good steed.

Religion

The various people that make up the Ki-Rin clan all had different gods and fortunes they offered their prayers to. Shinjo saw little reason to turn them away from that, and encouraged them all to share and respect in these different gods and beliefs, creating a mixing pot of many assorted minor gods that are worshipped throughout their territories. The few shrines that have been constructed so far are made to be all-purpose, suitable for anyone to offer prayers to any Fortune, spirit, or ancestor. 

"Swift winds, warm hearts"

Founding Date

Year 6 of the Isawa Calendar

Major Exports

Apart from animal products and livestock, the Ki-Rin also trade away large amounts of grain as they possess large fields within their territories that are suitable for growing crops. 

Major Imports

With such a skill for trade, the Ki-Rin are able to import pretty much anything they would like from the other clans. Some of the most popular goods are paper from the Phoenix, silk from the Crane, and medicinal herbs from the Scorpion. They do lack in mineral resources, and import such from the Crab and anyone else that can offer it.