The Clans

There are a number of warrior clans that dominate the politics of the Three Countries. Historically, the two strongest have been the Otori Clan and the Tohan Clan (who ruled the Middle and Eastern Countries, respectively); the third major clan, the Seisshu (who rule the Western Country) is divided between three cadet clans. At certain times in the Tales of the Otori series, some of the ambitious secondary clans have risen to dominate these politics through diplomacy or war.

Otori Clan: Middle Country (Daimyo)
The historical rulers of the Middle Country, based in the port castle-town of Hagi on the north coast (previously they were also based in the castle-town of Yamagata in the center of the country). The Otori also had claim over the great mountain temple at Terayama, where most of their ancestors are buried. They are descendants of both Otori Takeyoshi (son of the legendary Shikanoko), the founder of the clan, and Emperor Yoshitomo; when Yoshitomo granted the Middle Country to Takeyoshi, he also wed him to his pregnant concubine Kai, meaning Takeyoshi adopted the Emperor's unborn child as one of his heirs. The Otori were also granted ownership of Shikanoko's magical sword, Jato. The Otori were historically noted for their relatively just nature, stubbornness and skills with the sword. Their crest is a heron with encircled wings; the heron was chosen as a symbol because a heron aided Takeyoshi in protecting Yoshitomo during a final battle against a tengu.

Although not the overlords per se of the Three Countries until Takeo's rule, the Otori had a historic dominance of the region in economics and influence. This was maintained almost continuously until the Battle of Yagaehara, which cost the Otori their control of over half the Middle Country (and one of their major vassals, who betrayed them) to the Tohan. Yamagata briefly broke free of the Tohan rule during its' uprising, only to be subdued by the Arai. The entire Middle Country was returned to Otori fiefdom after Lord Otori Takeo's victory at the battle of Hagi, although Takeo granted Yamagata and its' lands to his friend and vassal Miyoshi Kahei rather than reclaiming it as a personal Otori fief.

Under Takeo and his wife, Shirakawa Kaede, the Otori achieved unquestionable leadership of the Three Countries after the devastating War of the Otori Succession; Takeo and Kaede's marriage gave them joint rule over the Middle Country and nearly half of the West, and they appointed vassals to Kumamoto and Inuyama. In spite of Takeo's later conflict with the warlord Saga Hideki (the unifier of the Eight Islands) this Otori leadership of the region continued (albeit in a slightly less independent form) after his daughter's betrothal-alliance to Saga. The male line of the Otori died out after Takeo's death, though his two surviving daughters (his heir and successor Shigeko, and Miki) and his illegitimate son (Hisao) carry Otori blood.

Tohan/Iida Clan (extinct): Eastern Country (Daimyo)
The historical rulers of the Eastern Country, based in the castle-town of Inuyama; they have been lead for centuries by a cadet branch, the Iida Clan. The founder of the Iida Clan was an acrobat and monkey trainer who was the longtime companion and lover of Emperor Yoshitomi during his years in exile. He was rewarded for his loyalty with the Eastern Country, presumably marrying the female heir to the Tohan clan. By the time of Tales of the Otori, the Tohan were known for their warlike ways and their cruelty towards the Hidden (ironically, given that the founder of the Iida was a member of the Hidden), as well as their rivalry with the Otori. Their crest is a triple oak leaf.

Under Iida Sadamu, the Tohan conquered nearly half the Middle Country from the Otori after their controversial victory at the Battle of Yagaehara, including Yamagata; they rewarded the Otori's treacherous vassals, the Noguchi, with territory in the south, and forced the three main Seisshu clans (Maruyama, Arai and Shirakawa) into submission through reluctant hostage-alliances. Sadamu would have made himself overlord of all the Three Countries through an alliance with the Otori (which he was intending as a cover to dispose of his most hated rival, Otori Shigeru) but was killed in his own capital by Shirakawa Kaede, while many of his retainers were killed by Takeo and members of the Tribe. At the same time, Arai Daiichi had raised an army in the West and defeated both the Shirakawa and the Noguchi armies; aided by an uprising against Tohan rule in Yamagata, Daiichi stormed Inuyama and crushed most of the Tohan, claiming the Eastern country by right of conquest.

The remainder of the Tohan rallied under Sadamu's first cousin, Iida Nariaki; he defied Daiichi and led an army west, hoping to claim the domain of Maruyama through his wife and use it as a base to fight the Arai. However, he was attacked and defeated at the Battle of Asagawa by the army of Otori Takeo, during which Takeo killed Nariaki personally in a duel, ending the Tohan line. The Tohan were ultimately replaced as rulers of the Eastern Country by the Akita Clan, a retainer family of the Arai who joined the Otori after Daiichi's final defeat.

Seisshu Clan: Western Country (Daimyo)
The Seisshu are the clan that historically ruled over the Western country, although no single branch of the family bears the Seisshu name or uses their crest (the sun setting between two hills). It is unclear which of the three main cadet branches are the most directly descended from the original Seisshu clan. Although they can all claim historical descent and often refer to themselves collectively as the Seisshu, they operate independently from each other in diplomacy. Because of this, the Seisshu do not possess the same level of unity or individual military strength as either the Otori or the Tohan, although the Western Country as a whole is even wealthier than the Middle Country.

The Seisshu were divided during the War of the Otori Succession (with the Arai supporting Arai Daiichi's faction, the Maruyama mostly supporting Otori Takeo's faction, and the Shirakawa divided between the two) but ultimately, after Daiichi's death at the Battle of Hagi, they submitted as vassals to the Otori. During Arai Zenko's rebellion many years later, the Seisshu were again divided: the Arai were the instigators of the rebellion, while the Shirakawa joined them later after their head, Shirakawa Kaede, turned against the Otori unexpectedly. However, the Maruyama remained firmly with the Otori.

Arai Clan (demoted): Western Country (Minor Daimyo turned major Daimyo)
The Arai were the strongest of the Seisshu branches in military strength, and one of the most difficult to restrain. They were based in the port castle-town of Kumamoto, in the south-west of the Western Country; it is ringed by mountains rich in coal and iron ore, providing both natural defense and raw materials for military production. Their crest is a black bear's front paw and claws.

The Arai's status as a one-time great clan is essentially the story of Lord Arai Daiichi. The Arai family were punished after Yagaehara by the granting of Daiichi (their primary heir at the time), as a hostage to the treacherous Noguchi clan, who had defected from the Otori to the Tohan; the Tohan overlord Iida Sadamu ordered the hostage-taking because Daiichi had been arranging an informal and covert alliance with Otori Shigeru before Yagaehara. Daiichi, enraged, chafed under the situation until the Noguchi foolishly banished him; he returned home, raised an army and stormed across the Three Countries, defeating first the Shirakawa and then the Noguchi. Attempting to outflank the large Tohan garrison in Yamagata, Daiichi marched his forces along the lesser-traveled south coastal roads, making directly for the Tohan capital of Inuyama; he arrived to find the castle in flames and Sadamu and a number of his retainers already dead. Daiichi then claimed the Eastern Country for the Arai clan and his retainers by right of conquest, though many pockets of Tohan resistance remained; he settled in Inuyama as his new capital.

The Arai were granted the Emperor's permission to act as the new overlord of the Three Countries, but the Otori lords (Shigeru's uncles, who had been complicit in Sadamu's plot to kill him) refused to recognize Daiichi's new status and prepared for war. Thus, despite his string of victories, Daiichi was forced to continue fighting against the Otori and the remains of the Tohan, as Takeo- the one he had hoped to install as his ally and head of the Otori Clan- had disappeared with the Tribe. When his other ally Shirakawa Kaede disappeared to marry the re-appeared Takeo, Daiichi felt personally betrayed and worried for his control of the West, as Kaede was heir to both Shirakawa and Maruyama. When Kaede was abducted in Shirakawa by Lord Fujiwara's men, Daiichi allowed the nobleman to marry her in order to secure Shirakawa and took her sisters as hostages. He then forced Takeo out of Maruyama in a running battle, finally forcing his surrender near the coast after both sides were exposed to a typhoon.

Aware of Takeo's influence in the Three Countries- as well as his knowledge of the Tribe and his alliance with the Terada pirates- Daiichi offered again to install Takeo as head of the Otori after Hagi was taken, to which Takeo reluctantly agreed. Daiichi led the Arai army overland to destroy the Otori forces while Takeo and his smaller army made a stealth attack on Hagi by sea. However, Daiichi did not trust Takeo not to betray him; after he defeated the Otori army and Takeo secured Hagi for him, he betrayed Takeo and made clear his intention to storm the city and wipe out the rest of the Otori. He hesitated only when Takeo revealed that he held Daiichi's illegitimate sons- Zenko and Taku, both members of the Tribe- hostage, threatening the Arai clan's only means of succession (Daiichi's younger, legitimate son had died earlier that year). This hesitation allowed Terada Fumio to kill Daiichi with a firearm. Daiichi's army was simultaneously destroyed by a massive earthquake that nearly wiped out Hagi. The Otori then became the new overlords of the Three Countries, but Takeo granted Kumamoto- the ancestral Arai domain- to Daiichi's eldest surviving son, Zenko, and made him his vassal. He attempted to bind Zenko in alliance with the Otori by marrying Kaede's sister Hana to him. Zenko and Hana had three sons- Sunaomi, Chikara and Hiromasa.

In outward appearance, Arai Zenko remained a loyal vassal of the Otori during the almost two decades of peace that followed. However, his bitterness towards Takeo over his father's death never faded, and aided by Hana (who wanted to destroy the Otori for personal reasons) he plotted to resurrect the Arai as the preemenent clan of the Three Countries. As an outward gesture of loyalty he offered his two eldest sons to Takeo, knowing Takeo's reluctance to harm children made them useless hostages.

He secretly defied Takeo's restrictions on importing firearms and other weaponry to build up his own arsenal. Zenko also directed the Otori's attention elsewhere by negotiating with Lord Saga Hideki, who by then had conquered most of the rest of the Eight Islands in the Emperor's name. Zenko made a secret deal to submit to Saga's rule if Saga named him overlord of the Three Countries after Takeo's abdication or defeat. While Takeo went to Miyako to deal with Saga and the Emperor, Zenko used his lack of supervision to enable Portuguese foreigners into Kumamoto, making a pretense of converting to Christianity (here God is referred to as "Deus") to gain their military and financial support. Subsequently, while the Otori and their various vassals were locked in a massive battle with the Saga army far to the East, Zenko secretly marched his army across the barely-defended Middle Country, sacking Hagi (with his wife's help) and conquering Yamagata. However, Zenko's ally Saga Hideki ultimately changed sides, making a betrothal-alliance with Takeo's successor and heir Otori Shigeko. Their combined, overwhelming armies eventually encircled the Arai forces at Yamagata and decisively defeated them. Zenko and Hana were ordered to take their lives, and the Arai were deprived of their rights to Kumamoto; although Hana killed Hiromasa rather than leave him, Sunaomi and Chikara were spared as long as they renounced the Arai name and retired to the temple at Terayama.

Akita Clan: Eastern Country (Samurai turned Daimyo)
The Akita were a minor warrior family, originally personal retainers of the Arai clan, who held Inuyama in trust for Arai Daiichi after his conquest of the Tohan and continued to occupy it during his subsequent campaigns against the Otori. Their head, Sonoda Mutsuru, was ordered to kill Shirakawa Kaede's sisters Ai and Hana (who were being held as hostages) during the battle of Hagi, but he refused to do so. After Otori Takeo's final victory, he prudently surrendered Inuyama and formally submitted to the Otori; for this, and out of gratitude for sparing the Shirakawa sisters, he was rewarded with the Eastern country, making Inuyama the new seat of his clan. The Akita were formally allied with the Otori and Maruyama-Shirakawa clans through the marriage of Mutsuru and Shirakawa Ai; subsequently, the Akita clan remained loyal allies of the Otori.

Maruyama Clan: West (Minor Daimyo)
The Maruyama are the most prestigious of the secondary clans, as well as one of the most prosperous. Descended from their founder Lady Kuromori Hina and her husband, the legendary sorcerer-warrior Shikanoko, they are unique in that their succession passes through the female line, by decree of Emperor Yoshimori (who granted Hina the domain). It is unknown how they are descended from the Seisshu, but presumably through various marriage-alliances; in any case, they are counted as one of the most important families of the Seisshu. They are based in a castle-town on the central-western coast bearing the name of Maruyama; their crest is a pine tree on a hill. The Maruyama are also known for their longtime tolerant attitude towards believers of the Hidden, in contrast to the cruelty and persecution of the Tohan.

The Maruyama were forced into an uneasy submission to the Tohan via hostages following Yagaehara, as their current head, Maruyama Naomi, had secretly been forming an alliance with Otori Shigeru (the heir to the Otori, and later her lover) beforehand. As Tohan repression grew, hatred against them grew in Maruyama and the Otori alliance was secretly maintained in spite of the many failed efforts of Iida Sadamu to wed Maruyama Naomi. Fearing she would not escape Inuyama during the events proceeding its' fall, Naomi named her cousin, Shirakawa Kaede, as her heir. After her and her daughter Mariko's deaths, Kaede secured the loyalty of the clan's retainers, but lacked the manpower to hold the domain; her marriage to Takeo attracted them some followers and they were ultimately able to defeat the other claimant (the husband of Naomi's stepdaughter, Iida Nariaki) at Asagawa and take the domain. It temporarily submitted to the Arai after Daiichi's defeat of Takeo, but was restored to Kaede after Daiichi's fall at Hagi. When Takeo and Kaede's daughter Shigeko came of age, she was declared Lady Maruyama and ruler of the domain in her own right. As of the end of the series, although she is betrothed to Lord Saga Hideki (the most powerful warlord of the Eight Islands) as Lady of the Three Countries, she continues to rule and govern both Hagi and Maruyama. The latter, she will pass on her death to either her own daughters or to her sister Miki.

Noguchi Clan (Extinct): Middle. (Samurai)
The Noguchi were a clan based in the castle-town of the same name on the south-west coast of the Middle Country. Formerly the strongest vassals of the Otori, they were bribed by Iida Sadamu into switching sides at the Battle of Yagaehara, causing the Otori's catastrophic defeat. They were rewarded with some of the lands in the south as well as the valuable trading port of Hofu, by which they became the Tohan's most powerful vassals.

The Noguchi, although generally more mild-natured than their new overlords, emulated the Tohan in their cruel persecution of the Hidden. However, the Noguchi lost Sadamu's favor after they foolishly released Arai Daiichi (one of the Seisshu hostages they held on Sadamu's behalf). Daiichi promptly returned with the Arai army and decisively defeated both the Noguchi and the neighboring Shirakawa. His hatred of the Noguchi was immense, and those of the clan who were not killed in battle were mostly hunted down and executed after he became overlord of the Three Countries. Their domain was handed over to one of Daiichi's vassals, and Hofu was eventually restored to the Otori after Otori Takeo came to power. It is unlikely that any of the Noguchi survive, and in any case they are no longer recognized as a noble clan either by the Arai or the Otori.

Kitano Clan: Middle (Samurai)
The Kitano clan, former vassals of the Otori, were based in the minor castle-town of Tsuwano, between Hagi and Yamagata. Although not cruel and treacherous like the Noguchi, the Kitano are not particularly loyal, though they pragmatically seek the middle ground. Prior to the Battle of Yagaehara, the Kitano and the Noguchi were bribed by the Tohan to betray and attack their own Otori overlords; the Kitano ultimately chose not to, though their failure to act when Shigeru ordered them to attack still helped the Tohan win the battle. Kitano was punished by Iida Sadamu for his failure to attack the Otori by surrendering some of the borderlands around his domain. The Kitano remained within the much-reduced Otori fief following the end of the war, but they were never trusted by the Otori again. Nonetheless, as far as is known they continued to govern Tsuwano.

Shirakawa Clan: West (Minor Daimyo)
The Shirakawa are one of the three cadet branches of the Seisshu clan in the west; their domain is on the south-east border of the Western Country, between the castle-town of Noguchi to the east and the estates of the noble family of Fujiwara to the west. Unlike the Maruyama or the Arai, their domain, while large, does not have a central castle-town and is thus more vulnerable; it also includes the ancient shrine of the Sacred Caves. Their crest is a white river in flood, representing the local Shirakawa river from whence they get their name.

The Shirakawa were not approached by the Otori prior to the Battle of Yaegahara and did not participate on either side. However, the Tohan strong-armed them into an alliance afterward, requiring them to send a hostage (Shirakawa Kaede) to the Noguchi. Kaede was later betrothed to Otori Shigeru as part of Iida Sadamu's plot to murder Shigeru, but while this was happening her former ally (and fellow Noguchi hostage) Arai Daiichi raised an army to fight the Tohan. He defeated both the Shirakawa and the Noguchi in quick succession, wiping out the latter and forcing the former into a vassaldom.

The Shirakawa domain was claimed by Kaede after her father died without male issue. During the War of the Otori Succession, however, she abandoned it in favor of the more defensible Maruyama. After she was captured by Lord Fujiwara, Arai forces occupied the domain and turned it over to Fujiwara (who forced Kaede to marry him). Following the deaths of both Daiichi and Fujiwara, Shirakawa was restored to Kaede. After briefly taking the side of the Arai during the Saga-Otori conflict twenty years later, she relinquished her rule of the domain to her daughter Shigeko and retired to Terayama.

Yoshida Clan: East (Samurai)
The Yoshida are former retainers of the Tohan, who have pragmatically avoided most of the conflicts in the Three Countries since the Battle of Yaegahara; their seat is the town of Matsue on the northeastern coast. Like the Tohan, they often employ the services of the Tribe in all capacities. They were absent from Inuyama during its' fall to the Arai, and largely retained their position, joining neither the Tohan survivors nor the Arai in subsequent campaigns. However, the Yoshida defied Daiichi's campaign to eradicate the Tribe, continuing to make use of their services. It is unknown what their status was following the Battle of Hagi.

Niwa Clan: West (Samurai)
The Niwa are minor retainers of the Arai clan. Following the downfall of the Tohan, Niwa Junkei is put in charge of Kibi, a town on the border of the Western country that remains under dispute between the Maruyama, Shirakawa and Arai clans. He ultimately loses his sons in several skirmishes with a group of bandits led by Jin-Emon, an ogre. Although loyal to Arai Daiichi, Junkei prudently does not attempt to fight Otori Takeo's army when they pass through Kibi. His clan's status is unknown at the war's conclusion, but they are likely spared (and possibly rewarded) by Takeo for having acted with prudence and honor.

Terada Clan: Oshima (Ronin/pirates)
The Terada are not, strictly speaking, descended from a warrior family- they were originally captains of the Otori's fishing fleet- but they amassed such power that they were often treated as a clan. Driven to rebellion by increasing Otori taxation during the years of Shoichi and Masahiro's rule, they eventually absconded with many of the Otori's ships and best sailors and fled to the volcanic island base of Oshima, from whence they raided the coasts as pirates and explorers. They also made several expeditions to the mainland, other islands, and landmasses further south, from whence they made contact with "foreign barbarians" (westerners, most likely Portuguese). They constructed a small, fortified port and a magnificent residence near Oshima's volcano; it was a well-chosen position, for it was defended by attack from the mainland by the sea, frequent storms and local superstition about the volcano being an entrance to Hell.

Terada Fumifosa, the man who brought the Terada to power, always had a grudging respect for Shoichi and Masahiro's nephew Shigeru, the rightful heir to the Otori; his son Terada Fumio had also formed a friendship with Shigeru's ward and heir Otori Takeo, and that friendship eventually led to an alliance during the War of the Otori Succession when Takeo traveled to Oshima to negotiate. In return for promising the lowering of fishing taxation and the recognition of the Terada's dominion over Oshima, Takeo received their military/logistical support and access to various devices they had gained through foreign trade, including a telescope and- most importantly- firearms.

The Terada were vital in Takeo's invasion of Hagi, as they provided manpower and ships for his amphibious attack on the castle. During the following confrontation with the armies of Arai Daiichi, Fumio killed Daiichi on Takeo's order with an arquebus (Japanese musket) thus leaving the Arai clan leaderless. As a reward for their loyalty, in addition to his prior promises Takeo gave the Terada authority over all the naval forces of the Three Countries, in return for recognizing him as overlord.

Saga Clan (Daimyo turned Shogun)
The Saga Clan is a highly warlike clan from the northern provinces of the Eight Islands. Their crest is two golden mountain peaks rising through the clouds. They are noted for their superbly disciplined troops in battle.

By the time of The Harsh Cry of the Heron, Lord Saga Hideki has conquered much of the Eight Islands outside of the Three Countries (including the lands around the Imperial Capital, Miyako). Having been declared the Emperor's general with the purpose of keeping the peace in his realm (in other words, Shogun) Hideki seeks to further his unification of the Eight Islands by subduing the Three Countries, the largest part of the realm outside his control. He attempts first to gain it by claiming Otori Takeo's rule is illegitimate due to his having not paid Imperial tribute or sought the Emperor's formal consent to rule the Three Countries; his plan is to replace Takeo with Arai Zenko, whose father had previously gained Imperial approval before Saga came to power.

However, Takeo makes a pilgrimage to Miyako and formally submits to the Emperor. They agree that a special contest will be held to determine who rules the Three Countries; If Takeo wins, he will remain in power and his reforms will stand, whereas if he loses he must abdicate and forfeit the Three Countries (and his daughter Shigeko) to Hideki. However, Takeo ultimately both wins the Emperor's favor and the contest, threatening Hideki's position as the prospective leader of the Eight Islands.

When the kirin Takeo brought as a gift breaks free and follows him home, Hideki claims its' preference of Takeo over the Emperor is an insult, and uses it as an excuse to declare war on the Otori. There is a costly battle on the easternmost border of the Three Countries, but Hideki ultimately retreats in disorder after he is injured by Shigeko's arrows. Impressed by both Takeo and Shigeko, and recognizing that she will win more loyalty among the people of the Three Countries than the treacherous Arai Zenko, Saga finally offers her a formal marriage-alliance on equal terms, allowing the Otori to continue ruling the Three Countries in exchange for submitting to him. Now allied with the Otori, the Saga clan then helps them decisively defeat the Arai.