Rakelaxation

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Maybe a bowl of rice or some other foodstuffs, just normal offerings that we would for any other prayers. You have to understand that we tend to be rather straightforward as a clan. Or farmers leave offerings of rice around fields to ward off... dangerous creatures. We consider it bad luck to leave home angry or without jade. Stuff like that. We don't really do anything in the way of symbolism. Even the animal that represents our clan is pretty straightforward, because a crab has a tough shell like our armor, and it's claws are weapons just like our hands. The superstitions we hold are all things that we find to be practical means to ward off evil and danger. And we don't often place an emphasis on luck, relying more on toughness and the will to endure until a friend can arrive to help us. Maybe sake or shochu might be an offering we might make for luck? But we'd also use that as an offering for a fallen comrade or an ancestor."

[Otomo Nobuko]

"Then perhaps... the Crab make their own luck?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him. "That is all good to know. I will endeavor to honor the spirit of the Crab should I ever have need of wishing one of your kin luck in the future. And I thank you for indulging my curiosity. I find it very interesting how different each clan's ideas of good fortune is."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"And what about the Imperial Families? What do you do in such situations? I still have much to learn of the way the Imperial bureaucracy works, which is something I do need to work on."

[Otomo Nobuko]

"We largely make offerings to the Fortunes that we know to be pleasing to them. Often the choices are personal preference. But we also carry small tokens we find to have brought us luck or good fortune, or were passed down from our parents or cousins, and in that way, are signs of good fortune."

She shifted her hands to brush her fingers across the knot of happiness netsuke she often wore when allowed to wear anything other than the student uniform, "This was a betrothal gift between my parents. After my mother passed, and when I was old enough to understand it's significance, my father gifted it to me. It is a personal charm for both happiness and luck."

Her hands folded again in front of her and she turned her attention to where they were walking, "When I leave an offering at a shrine, I like to leave an origami of some sort. Again, it is a personal preference. It is something I have training in and I enjoy creating. So when I give one in offering, I am gifting my talent as well as a charm or object that might be pleasing to the fortunes."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"That makes a lot of sense. Those are very good traditions. Far less impersonal than the rice and sake we leave as offerings. Though our gifts between samurai are often similarly very personal and familial as well. I suspect that's not uncommon practice anywhere in the empire. The statue of Jurojin that I keep with me was made by my sister, my eldest sibling. She often carves images of the fortunes and talismans for use in temples and shrines in Crab lands. She is a shugenja herself, so is much more knowledgeable about theology than I will likely ever be. The specific carving she gave to me was one of her earliest works that sat in a shrine at Shiro kuni for years before I was born. She carved a new one for the shrine, but kept the old one to give to me when I started my training."

[Otomo Nobuko]

"Rice and sake can be personal, though I agree it is not often so. But they are enjoyed by the Fortunes so there is nothing wrong with gifting them with such offerings. I hope I did not imply as such." She was fairly certain she did not, but felt it worth saying.

"Your sister sounds very talented and dedicted to her position. And you are quite lucky yourself, to have such an important statue given to you. That it sat in Shiro Kuni for so long and then was gifted to you means it must be blessed with all the blessings Jurojin has given to those who prayed at it before you."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"It's an honor to be able to carry it. She was kind to think of me when it came time to replace it," he says with a nod.

"And I didn't think any such thing about such offerings. We all offer prayers and gifts to the fortunes in our own way. I suspect it would be difficult to upset a fortune with a gift freely and honestly given. I've always been told that what matters most in the offering is that you are giving consideration and honoring the fortunes in the first place. Any further thought, care or ritual given to the act after that only serves to enhance that gift by my understanding. And it makes sense that those most blessed by the heavens should continue receiving such blessings by their understanding of kami and the fortunes. You are closest to the heavens among the samurai of the empire after all," he says with a small smile for the Otomo.

[Otomo Nobuko]

"Save for the Son of Heaven, that is true," she replied, not bothering to shy away from the fact. Very few of the other students had actually treated her as such - most even went so far as to address her less formally as -san - and she had said nothing of it. But that didn't stop it from being true.

Nobuko stopped walking and turned to face Yotsuo, bowing to him, "Thank you, Kuni-san. I appreciate the answers you have given me and what you have shared with me about yourself and your family. I don't get to speak on theology much with my fellows back at the famed School Doji-Sakura and I share. It is not that it is ignored, but the focus is different. If there is anything more you think I would find interesting about your clan and it's customs, be they religious or otherwise, I would be happy to hear it."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"There is likely a great deal to converse about on that subject, but unfortunately I still have a great deal to learn so I probably wouldn't be the best source of information. I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak with you though. I'm always available to answer any questions that might arise, to the best of my capabilities."

[Otomo Nobuko]

"Then if I have any more, I will come find you."

/scene?

[Kuni Yotsuo]

/scene