Imperial Lands - City of the Rich Frog
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 7:09 pm
City of the Rich Frog
One of the most vital river ports in all of Rokugan, the City of the Rich Frog, located at the junction of the Three Sides River and the Drowned Merchant River, facilitates trade between several clans. The Dragon, Lion, and Unicorn Clans as well as the Dragonfly Minor Clan all see the city as being of vital strategic and economic importance
History
Long ago, the City of the Rich Frog was known as the Village of the Rich Frog, and even then it was one of the largest river ports in Rokugan. For centuries, it was violently contested for by the Lion and Dragon Clans. When the Unicorn Clan returned from their self-imposed exile, they laid claim as well. Weary of their infighting, the Emperor declared the City of the Rich Frog an Imperial holding and dispatched an Imperial governor to run it. Now, it is considered neutral ground. Its governor relies on rōnin deputies instead of clan samurai to ensure that law and order is maintained in the city. As there is no shortage of conflict to be found there, several generations of rōnin have been able to serve the governor and their magistrates. They have claimed the family name Kaeru for them-selves over the years, and accept capable warriors and administrators into their ranks no matter their past.
Despite the moratorium on fighting over the port, the clans still compete for economic advantage. It is common for clans to conspire to learn the nature of their rivals’ cargo, then leak the valuable manifests to bandits. The local rōnin are another point of contention between the clans, as each clan attempts to co-opt the deputies to advance their agenda. The rōnin take great care to retain the appearance of neutrality while playing the different clans off of one another for maximum profit and influence
City of Intrigue
The city has three clan-controlled districts, each with its own facilities and security. The Imperial Governor’s manor is on an island at the center of the river junction, and it is the governor’s Imperial agents who collect tax-es and issue tariffs.
Unicorn District
The Unicorn Clan controls the entire western bank of the Three Sides River. Its impressive wharf is made of polished black granite with soft-wood inlays for traction. Most incoming goods—primarily textiles, lumber, and coal, when available—are immediately moved by wagon deeper into Unicorn lands for storage
The Unicorn maintain a handful of violet-roofed stone buildings, including a single tower at the southern end of the wharf that is tall enough for arrows shot from it to cross the Three Sides River. Here, the elderly Iuchi Shichiro oversees the Unicorn trade flowing into and out of the city via Ide caravans. He has held his post for over twenty years, and he speaks of passing the post on to one of his seven sons and going on one last great ride
Lion District
Along the east bank of the Three Sides River south of the Drowned Merchant River lies the Lion’s district in the City of the Rich Frog and one of their most important trade hubs. There, the Lion trade foodstuffs and clothing for iron and stone used in construction and arms. Young and eager for combat, the ranking Lion Clan samurai is Akodo Minami, who obsesses over security daily. She prays to the Fortunes for a valid cause for sending her army of three thousand across the Drowned Merchant River against Dragonfly soldiers.
The Lion Clan has no traditional riverbank wharf or nearby storage facilities. Instead, the river banks are marked with a defensive wall that dates from the port’s violent history. Instead of a wharf, there are a half-dozen canal gates. This ingenious canal network uses the river current to move goods to massive storage complexes for foodstuffs and textiles that straddle the canals farther inland, where unloading is done in the shade.
Dragon District
As is typical of the Dragon, their presence in City of the Rich Frog confuses the other clans. They grant use of their potentially profitable riverbank lands to the Dragonfly and instead focus on a strange collection of shrines at the junction of the two rivers. Fifty soldiers garrison near the shrines, as if expecting some threat to emerge from the water. Their leader is the mysterious Tonbo Kuma, a powerful Dragonfly shugenja whose family line has overseen the Dragon holdings in the city for as long as anyone can remember. A thin but powerful shugenja of androgynous aspect, Kuma says little, leaving many to wonder about their motives.
On the northern and eastern banks of the Drowned Merchant River lies a modest wharf that occasionally sees use by travelers from the Phoenix Clan. Any goods they purchase are floated downriver toward the sea, where they are shipped up the coast back to Phoenix lands. On the north side of the Drowned Merchant River, west of the Phoenix wharf, is a sizable artificial basin with eleven wharfs and one open side, forming a dodecagon. Each side corresponds to a month of the year, featuring identifying animal statuary and iconography. A large lantern is moved one bollard clockwise each sunrise, acting as a communal calendar.
Saibanshoki
Growing straight from the water at the river junction is Rokugan’s largest and oldest willow tree, named Saibanshoki. Its thick trunk is over twenty yards across and covered in mysterious, centuries-old carvings. At its base are five berths for small rivercraft and steps winding up to the governor’s manor. Legend has it that the willow tree shades the home of a mischievous frog spirit, the god of the river junctions, and that the evening song of croaking frogs is that same spirit’s love song for the kodama spirit of the tree
The manor house extends over the river and is shielded from the heat of the summer sun by the willow’s massive boughs. Above the intimate courtroom are the offices of the governor’s agents, who use flag signaling to communicate with tariff assessors and customs agents along the riverbanks, especially when the sound of the frogs makes shouting impossible
Merchant Speculation
Iuchi Konomi, Iuchi Shichiro’s daughter, was caught with Miya Tetsua—and she was promised to Tonbo Kuma already, no? For shame! Surely the marriage is off if the Dragonfly Clan finds out.
Have you noticed all the soldier activity today? I heard a ninja smuggled the Phoenix’s Nest down the Drowned Merchant River!
Did you see all the floated Unicorn shipments today? I heard they found a new source of jade and are shipping far more than they can protect, just floating it downriver!
One of the most vital river ports in all of Rokugan, the City of the Rich Frog, located at the junction of the Three Sides River and the Drowned Merchant River, facilitates trade between several clans. The Dragon, Lion, and Unicorn Clans as well as the Dragonfly Minor Clan all see the city as being of vital strategic and economic importance
History
Long ago, the City of the Rich Frog was known as the Village of the Rich Frog, and even then it was one of the largest river ports in Rokugan. For centuries, it was violently contested for by the Lion and Dragon Clans. When the Unicorn Clan returned from their self-imposed exile, they laid claim as well. Weary of their infighting, the Emperor declared the City of the Rich Frog an Imperial holding and dispatched an Imperial governor to run it. Now, it is considered neutral ground. Its governor relies on rōnin deputies instead of clan samurai to ensure that law and order is maintained in the city. As there is no shortage of conflict to be found there, several generations of rōnin have been able to serve the governor and their magistrates. They have claimed the family name Kaeru for them-selves over the years, and accept capable warriors and administrators into their ranks no matter their past.
Despite the moratorium on fighting over the port, the clans still compete for economic advantage. It is common for clans to conspire to learn the nature of their rivals’ cargo, then leak the valuable manifests to bandits. The local rōnin are another point of contention between the clans, as each clan attempts to co-opt the deputies to advance their agenda. The rōnin take great care to retain the appearance of neutrality while playing the different clans off of one another for maximum profit and influence
City of Intrigue
The city has three clan-controlled districts, each with its own facilities and security. The Imperial Governor’s manor is on an island at the center of the river junction, and it is the governor’s Imperial agents who collect tax-es and issue tariffs.
Unicorn District
The Unicorn Clan controls the entire western bank of the Three Sides River. Its impressive wharf is made of polished black granite with soft-wood inlays for traction. Most incoming goods—primarily textiles, lumber, and coal, when available—are immediately moved by wagon deeper into Unicorn lands for storage
The Unicorn maintain a handful of violet-roofed stone buildings, including a single tower at the southern end of the wharf that is tall enough for arrows shot from it to cross the Three Sides River. Here, the elderly Iuchi Shichiro oversees the Unicorn trade flowing into and out of the city via Ide caravans. He has held his post for over twenty years, and he speaks of passing the post on to one of his seven sons and going on one last great ride
Lion District
Along the east bank of the Three Sides River south of the Drowned Merchant River lies the Lion’s district in the City of the Rich Frog and one of their most important trade hubs. There, the Lion trade foodstuffs and clothing for iron and stone used in construction and arms. Young and eager for combat, the ranking Lion Clan samurai is Akodo Minami, who obsesses over security daily. She prays to the Fortunes for a valid cause for sending her army of three thousand across the Drowned Merchant River against Dragonfly soldiers.
The Lion Clan has no traditional riverbank wharf or nearby storage facilities. Instead, the river banks are marked with a defensive wall that dates from the port’s violent history. Instead of a wharf, there are a half-dozen canal gates. This ingenious canal network uses the river current to move goods to massive storage complexes for foodstuffs and textiles that straddle the canals farther inland, where unloading is done in the shade.
Dragon District
As is typical of the Dragon, their presence in City of the Rich Frog confuses the other clans. They grant use of their potentially profitable riverbank lands to the Dragonfly and instead focus on a strange collection of shrines at the junction of the two rivers. Fifty soldiers garrison near the shrines, as if expecting some threat to emerge from the water. Their leader is the mysterious Tonbo Kuma, a powerful Dragonfly shugenja whose family line has overseen the Dragon holdings in the city for as long as anyone can remember. A thin but powerful shugenja of androgynous aspect, Kuma says little, leaving many to wonder about their motives.
On the northern and eastern banks of the Drowned Merchant River lies a modest wharf that occasionally sees use by travelers from the Phoenix Clan. Any goods they purchase are floated downriver toward the sea, where they are shipped up the coast back to Phoenix lands. On the north side of the Drowned Merchant River, west of the Phoenix wharf, is a sizable artificial basin with eleven wharfs and one open side, forming a dodecagon. Each side corresponds to a month of the year, featuring identifying animal statuary and iconography. A large lantern is moved one bollard clockwise each sunrise, acting as a communal calendar.
Saibanshoki
Growing straight from the water at the river junction is Rokugan’s largest and oldest willow tree, named Saibanshoki. Its thick trunk is over twenty yards across and covered in mysterious, centuries-old carvings. At its base are five berths for small rivercraft and steps winding up to the governor’s manor. Legend has it that the willow tree shades the home of a mischievous frog spirit, the god of the river junctions, and that the evening song of croaking frogs is that same spirit’s love song for the kodama spirit of the tree
The manor house extends over the river and is shielded from the heat of the summer sun by the willow’s massive boughs. Above the intimate courtroom are the offices of the governor’s agents, who use flag signaling to communicate with tariff assessors and customs agents along the riverbanks, especially when the sound of the frogs makes shouting impossible
Merchant Speculation
Iuchi Konomi, Iuchi Shichiro’s daughter, was caught with Miya Tetsua—and she was promised to Tonbo Kuma already, no? For shame! Surely the marriage is off if the Dragonfly Clan finds out.
Have you noticed all the soldier activity today? I heard a ninja smuggled the Phoenix’s Nest down the Drowned Merchant River!
Did you see all the floated Unicorn shipments today? I heard they found a new source of jade and are shipping far more than they can protect, just floating it downriver!