Hohiro

Hohiro Prefecture

Hohiro Prefecture

Flat light broadleaf forests and small lakes span across Hohiro prefecture. Farming, hunting and fishing around large Saiko Lake produces enough food to be exported to trade. Hohiro prefecture also produces the bulk of cotton and wheat in Tentaika. City of Hohiro is built on river mouth on Saiko Lake’s south shore. City’s spacious grid plan expands on both riverbanks. Each house has plenty of room for a small garden and a backyard. Hohiro is almost as large as the entire capital city of Rozushito, but its total population is far from the largest cities in Tentaika.

Hohiro prefecture is well known for its dark and mystic forest which expands on prefectures northern border. Kuro no Mori has been throughout ages the origin of horror stories and scapegoat for blights in northern Tentaika. Kuro no Mori is an ancient forest which grows large and thick compared to any other forest in the known world. Its trees are massive and they create labyrinthine canopy which blocks daylight almost completely. Thick underbrush and clusters of rocky cliffs makes traveling dangerous and slow. The forest is an asylum for demons which rage across the northern borders of Tentaika.

Shinrinki Clan

Hohiro prefecture has long and harsh history, as relatively small prefecture ruled by Shinrinki Clan. Shinrinki Clan gained its status as a warrior clan and the ruler of Hohiro prefecture for their prowess in war against demon hordes over thousand years ago. Shinrinki Clan actively patrols the Kuro no Mori border in order to keep demon incursions to minimum in northern Tentaika. Shinrinki the suffers highest death rate for samurai from all seven warrior clans. This has led the clan to accept more recruits from lower castes to take on the life of a samurai in their border ranger units.

Many clans despise the fact that a common peasant is able to enlist in Shinrinki’s ranger corps. Virtues of bushido indeed weight little in the ranger corps were each mission into Kuro no Mori or even standard border watch duty might prove fatal. Ranger corps still maintains strict discipline during its initial training which is known to be harsh. Shinrinki Clan also employs large number of ronin as demon hunters which fill the ever thin ranks of ranger corps.

Like all warrior clans, Shinrinki has number of vassal samurai clans under them. Castle Fujô and Uguisu are homes of two of the most influential samurai clans in Hohiro prefecture. Fujô castle is located on western tip of Saiko Lake, Fujô is home of Kamata Clan. Uguisu castle is located in north from Hohiro and it is the home of Akamiya Clan. Most important samurai positions in Shinrinki clan are usually filled from “true” samurai as other clans like to call their own. While Shinrinki clan respects their ranger corps, their influential samurai who are responsible for political decision making are mostly from respected samurai families or clans.

See you next Sunday!