Samurai and Money
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:50 pm
Samurai and Money
In theory, Rokugani samurai should not often need to interact with currency. They are retainers to their lord, who should provide them with the things they need to serve to the best of their abilities. Some samurai—particularly traditionalists—see money as unclean, or at least uncouth, and generally beneath their station.
Generally speaking, when a samurai’s lord gives them a task, the lord equips the character appropriately, as befits their station. When sending a bushi to war, a daimyō equips them with at least ashigaru armor, various weapons suited to their fighting style, and perhaps a Rokugani pony, depending on the field of battle. To do otherwise would be a death sentence, and would send a very clear message about the lord’s opinion of their underling. Similarly, when sending someone on a journey to court, to collect taxes, or to complete other work, any responsible lord outfits their servants with the equipment they will need to complete their task.
In practice, however, currency is tremendously useful. Whether one is a daimyō attempting to wage a war or a low-ranking samurai tasked with an arduous jour-ney to deliver a letter to a local ally, there are many occasions when having money makes life much easier. While a daimyō can call upon alliances and oaths to rally troops, levying soldiers goes far faster if one offers immediate compensation. While even the lowest samurai can order peasants in their lord’s lands to sup-port them on their journeys and then to appeal to the local magistrates for compensation, said peasants will be much more helpful if they feel they are being treat-ed fairly—and money goes a long way towards that. And, of course, criminals and mercenaries often refuse to deal in anything but a bag of koku and bu
Rokugan’s economic system is based on the land tilled by farmers and protected by the samurai. The Emperor properly owns all land, yet leases it to the clans, which hereditarily lease it to their daimyō in turn.Given the limits of roads—often dangerous and unpaved affairs—many provinces become lawful lands unto themselves, where the daimyō acts as an extension of the Emperor over the peasants who work the rice paddies. It is rice—a vital crop that keeps the Emerald Empire alive—that provides much of Rokugan’s wealth. Barley, wheat, millet, soybeans, and rye are also common crops grown by farmers, but it is a yearly stipend of rice that forms the basis for currency in Rokugan: koku. The clans able to harvest the most rice are among the wealthiest in the Empire, and therefore the most influential politically, but to directly conflate wealth with power would be an insult to the importance placed on honor and virtue in society.
Trade and commerce are indispensable for Rokugan to thrive, but it is considered dishonorable for samurai to involve themselves in such mercantile pursuits. Their primary concern should be with serving their lord, not personal enrichment, but virtue and reality can sometimes diverge. Nevertheless, to maintain a veneer of civility, samurai leave monetary matters to non-samurai, who in turn seek the patronage of a powerful lord. This allows samurai to engage in trade and currency manipulation without sullying their honor with crass, uncouth avarice. Those few clans and families that flagrantly involve themselves in trade are looked down upon by the others, who see greed as incompatible with absolute loyalty
The Currency of Rokugan
When barter does not suffice, the currency Rokugan uses is a coinage known as koku, which theoretically represents the amount of rice needed to feed a peasant for a year (five bushels). However, each clan mints its own coins, whose value is dependent on the harvest that year. The end result is a booming but scandalous currency exchange market among city merchants, as well as regional and yearly variances in items’ prices.
Generally speaking, koku are gold coins minted in the form of a circle with a hole in the middle to be strung on ropes. One koku can be exchanged for five silver bu (short for ichibuban) coins. One bu can be exchanged for ten copper zeni pennies—meaning there are fifty zeni in a koku.
In theory, Rokugani samurai should not often need to interact with currency. They are retainers to their lord, who should provide them with the things they need to serve to the best of their abilities. Some samurai—particularly traditionalists—see money as unclean, or at least uncouth, and generally beneath their station.
Generally speaking, when a samurai’s lord gives them a task, the lord equips the character appropriately, as befits their station. When sending a bushi to war, a daimyō equips them with at least ashigaru armor, various weapons suited to their fighting style, and perhaps a Rokugani pony, depending on the field of battle. To do otherwise would be a death sentence, and would send a very clear message about the lord’s opinion of their underling. Similarly, when sending someone on a journey to court, to collect taxes, or to complete other work, any responsible lord outfits their servants with the equipment they will need to complete their task.
In practice, however, currency is tremendously useful. Whether one is a daimyō attempting to wage a war or a low-ranking samurai tasked with an arduous jour-ney to deliver a letter to a local ally, there are many occasions when having money makes life much easier. While a daimyō can call upon alliances and oaths to rally troops, levying soldiers goes far faster if one offers immediate compensation. While even the lowest samurai can order peasants in their lord’s lands to sup-port them on their journeys and then to appeal to the local magistrates for compensation, said peasants will be much more helpful if they feel they are being treat-ed fairly—and money goes a long way towards that. And, of course, criminals and mercenaries often refuse to deal in anything but a bag of koku and bu
Rokugan’s economic system is based on the land tilled by farmers and protected by the samurai. The Emperor properly owns all land, yet leases it to the clans, which hereditarily lease it to their daimyō in turn.Given the limits of roads—often dangerous and unpaved affairs—many provinces become lawful lands unto themselves, where the daimyō acts as an extension of the Emperor over the peasants who work the rice paddies. It is rice—a vital crop that keeps the Emerald Empire alive—that provides much of Rokugan’s wealth. Barley, wheat, millet, soybeans, and rye are also common crops grown by farmers, but it is a yearly stipend of rice that forms the basis for currency in Rokugan: koku. The clans able to harvest the most rice are among the wealthiest in the Empire, and therefore the most influential politically, but to directly conflate wealth with power would be an insult to the importance placed on honor and virtue in society.
Trade and commerce are indispensable for Rokugan to thrive, but it is considered dishonorable for samurai to involve themselves in such mercantile pursuits. Their primary concern should be with serving their lord, not personal enrichment, but virtue and reality can sometimes diverge. Nevertheless, to maintain a veneer of civility, samurai leave monetary matters to non-samurai, who in turn seek the patronage of a powerful lord. This allows samurai to engage in trade and currency manipulation without sullying their honor with crass, uncouth avarice. Those few clans and families that flagrantly involve themselves in trade are looked down upon by the others, who see greed as incompatible with absolute loyalty
The Currency of Rokugan
When barter does not suffice, the currency Rokugan uses is a coinage known as koku, which theoretically represents the amount of rice needed to feed a peasant for a year (five bushels). However, each clan mints its own coins, whose value is dependent on the harvest that year. The end result is a booming but scandalous currency exchange market among city merchants, as well as regional and yearly variances in items’ prices.
Generally speaking, koku are gold coins minted in the form of a circle with a hole in the middle to be strung on ropes. One koku can be exchanged for five silver bu (short for ichibuban) coins. One bu can be exchanged for ten copper zeni pennies—meaning there are fifty zeni in a koku.