The New Winds

It had been well over a day since he had found peace and serenity in his meditations, but he finally found it. Perhaps it was the focus that he had placed in his iaijutsu practice the previous hour. He didn't know, but he knew that now that he had it, he was glad to get to work cleaning the yard. He returned the bokken to it's place in the dojo before going out and beginning the work.

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D5 Horse, Meditation / Void, TN 20: 5d10o10k2 27

Bayushi Jiro was seen wielding a rake with some effect a short distance from the entrance to the dojo training area.

Moving alongside the Bayushi, Yotsuo greets him, "Bayushi-san. A pleasure."

"Thank you, Kuni-san. It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I understand congratulations are in order." Jiro smiled warmly.

"It is an honor to have been recognized, but it also undoubtedly comes with a great deal of expectations. Thank you," Yotsuo replies. "All I can do is my best to live up to the honor I've been given. How has your training been going? You have been consistently near the top of the class, but you participate in the bushi training do you not? I haven't been able to see how that training is or how it has gone for others."

"Courtier, actually." Jiro sighed. "One does what one can. There are a number of strong students here, though. Asako Saburo, in particular, has been very impressive. And most of the students seem not to be taking others' success personally. That is heartening, for I expected a great deal more tension between the clans."

"Well, better to coexist peacefully and learn without causing incident. It would do nobody any good to cause problems and get sent home in shame. The time for actively competing will come later undoubtedly. But I think most recognize there is no point in dishonoring the Ruby Champion after she put such effort into hosting this opportunity. Better to do what we can to show where we excel rather than put effort into preventing others from excelling. It's also easier to face yourself than 30 opponents."

"So true." Jiro tilted his head and sighed. "It is almost a shame the end that our efforts will serve."

Continuing to rake, Yotsuo shrugged at that. "Depends on the individual. I don't think it's too much of a shame that we'll compete for honor, glory and to hone our skills. It's only a shame when it leads to suffering and pain. Using the skills in war between the clans. But not all of us will be going on to that when all is said and done. My duties, for example, will have me focused on seeking out and destroying the spiritual enemies of the empire and the heavens. Some will go on to create art and enhance our culture. Some will seek to protect their lands from the evils of men like bandits and criminals. And those that attend courts like you will, have the opportunity to smooth over disputes and create peaceful solutions."

"Oh, I am not referring to all that. What happens as we each pursue our individual duty is what happens, and I certainly won't have any qualms about what role I may be required to take. No, what gives me pause is the political nature of the dojo itself, and the use to which the data collected here and at the Topaz Championship will be put.""

"Ah. Well, I don't really know how such information will be used. But on the face of it, I don't see any issue with the Ruby office wanting to figure out how to better train the youth of the empire. Even if they do try to implement some sort of standardization across the empire, it won't stop the clans from continuing education for people in their individual duties."

Jiro raised an eyebrow. "You don't think it will? I have seen men hounded to seppuku for much less than 'failing to train proper samurai.' And standardization could take many forms. I am not sure that if I were the Ruby Champion and I sincerely believed that a particular school's sensei were training inferior samurai that I would trust those sensei to implement a new curriculum. I might want sensei I believed were competent to do it. Dragon sensei, perhaps. Or members of the Imperial Families, marching down to Kyuden Hida to teach the sons of the Crab a thing or two about how to stand a wall like an ideal samurai."

"I'm not sure the Dragon have as many samurai as the Crab have sensei," Yotsuo says with a chuckle. "There's a reason that the training of samurai is handled by the clan. Numbers and resources play a big part of it. And to do something like that would be to insult the founding kami and shiryo of the different families. I would not expect changes to be too sweeping. Perhaps supplementing, but not replacing."

"I hope that you are correct, Kuni-san." Jiro tilted his head. "I am not sure what my people would do if their dojos were found wanting."

"Likely argue the findings in court and make changes as agreed to based on arguments made there," he says with a chuckle. "But when every clan stepped forward in those arguments and said that changing the core of their schools' curriculum was detrimental to their clan, the pressure would be enough to prevent anything so drastic. But I could see arguments from the Ruby Champion based on observations being persuasive enough to institute some empire wide inclusions in curriculum."

Jiro smiled. "So reasonable, Kuni-san. I wish I had your easygoing nature, your good sense."

"Well, to be fair, for all I know I could be completely wrong. I'm certainly no courtier myself. Just my personal hopes and expectations on display really," he says with a smirk. "But I just can't foresee the clans rolling over and giving up on traditions as old as the empire."

"No, I suppose they wouldn't. Much depends on how hard Agasha-sama chooses to push, and whether she has your understanding of the power of tradition."

"People have gone to war for less," he says with a nod. "I wouldn't want to be the person blamed for such a thing. But I think that depending on findings and her position, Agasha-sama could have grounds for suggesting enhancements or improvements to training that could benefit the Empire. We will see what happens though."

"I suppose we will." Jiro nodded sagely. That seemed to put a cap on that subject. "Are you looking forward to any other tests in particular?"