The Tortoise

[Vutall]

Public Daimyo: Unknown
-No Picture

Actual Daimyo: The Emperor
-See Imperial Court for picture

[Vutall]

As magistrates of Slow Tide Harbor, the Tortoise Clan preside over one of the most notorious havens for smugglers, criminals, and gaijin in the Empire. This association taints them in the eyes of other samurai, but the Kasuga family has been permitted and instructed to treat with gaijin by Imperial decree for centuries, and they will not shirk their duties.

Of all the minor clans of Rokugan, the clan of the Tortoise is perhaps both the most obscure and the most bizarre. Founded in the aftermath of the Battle of White Stag in the fifth century, the Tortoise Clan is—officially— merely a tiny clan charged with maintaining the ancient walls of Otosan Uchi. It was granted land in a modest territory northwest of the Imperial City, and has established small holdings across that area. The Tortoise are known to be quite eccentric, living alongside peasants and following an individualistic ethos that most samurai would consider odd and even shameful.

In actuality, the Tortoise Clan has a secret and unique duty: it is tasked with monitoring and covertly trading with the gaijin, in order to ensure the tragedy of White Stag is never repeated. Tortoise ships sail across the Sea of Amaterasu, visiting gaijin ports, where their crews learn about (and keep watch on) foreign cultures and trade for exotic goods to bring back to Rokugan. As a result, the Tortoise Clan more closely resembles a smuggling cartel than a proper clan. The Tortoise do not have a conventional program of training for their samurai in the manner of other clans. On the contrary, the second Tortoise Clan Champion, Kasuga Genjiko, told her people to each follow their own path as they saw fit.

Although the Tortoise Clan has been in existence for almost seven centuries, it remains quite small, with only a few hundred samurai and a single tiny province. Small groups of Tortoise may be found in many other parts of the Empire, however, running holdings that range from merchant stores to bonsai gardens—all the while maintaining the smuggling routes the clan relies on for its revenues. The Tortoise also control a secret offshore holding, a remote island called Kameyama Jima, where much of their covert trade with the gaijin actually takes place.

Unsurprisingly, the Great Clans view the Tortoise with contempt when they bother to think about them at all. The curious might ask how the Tortoise survive while routinely breaking the Empire’s laws and customs. There are two answers. The first is that when this Tortoise Clan was established, it was done under the direct authority and protection of the Emperor; this impedes any samurai who might otherwise cut them down or lead an army to exterminate them. The second is that it is a small clan whose members avoid notice and keep their worst activities well out of sight. Many Rokugani do not even know the clan exists, and most have never met a Tortoise samurai. The Tortoise Clan’s true purpose—to keep watch on the gaijin—is known only to its members and to the Emperor. Most Emerald Magistrates are unaware of the deal, although the Emerald Champion might be.