Kikuta Family

The Kikuta Family are the most powerful of the five families of the Tribe (originally called the Spider Tribe), the children of Lady Tora, a spider deity. They are descended from her eldest son Kiku, later known as Master Kikuta. Kiku and his siblings initially sought the favor of one of their fathers, the sorceror Shikanoko. However, when they accidentally killed Akihime (the woman Shikanoko loved), he rejected them, driving them to the Darkwood. Kiku managed to forge a mask that enhanced his powers, leading to a conflict with his brother Mu over Mu's kitsune wife. Dominating his other siblings and leaving Mu behind, Kiku sought employment in the lands to the southeast of Miyako. He soon established a profitable brewing business, and began establishing contracts with mercenaries and assassins, impressing them with his powers and cunning. Fathering many children who inherited his talents, he eventually approached and reconciled with Mu, forming a marriage-alliance between their eldest children. Kiku then took his band of mercenaries, known as the Crippled Army, to support Shikanoko in restoring the true Emperor. Despite this service, Kiku was rejected again by Shikanoko. Noticing Shikanoko's son by Akihime, Takahashi, Kiku tried to kill him with the Kikuta sleep, but Shikanoko's enchanted sword Jato broke Kiku's gaze, cutting lines across his palms. Shikanoko then used the last of his magic power to force Kiku into submission, banishing him from Miyako. Kiku obeyed, but vowed that his descendants would forever plague those of Shikanoko; this came true during Tales of the Otori, as the Kikuta targeted the Otori and Maruyama Clans, both descendants of Shikanoko. Jato left scars across Kiku's palms, which would be passed on to his descendants.

As Kiku took multiple wives and fathered the most children of the five Spider Brothers, the Kikuta remained the largest Tribe family for much of history. Many, like the other families, possess the common gifts of invisibility or the second self, or the ability to perceive it; some are able to leap or glide great distances or move in complete silence. There are three particular traits, however, that always indicate Kikuta ancestry (though not all Kikuta have them): a straight line across the palms, highly enhanced hearing, and the ability to render a person unconscious (or, in rare cases, kill them) simply by meeting and holding their gaze. This last trait, known as the Kikuta Sleep, is one of the rarest of all Tribe talents.

Like all of the Tribe, the Kikuta frequently serve as illegitimate merchants or moneylenders (carefully guarding much of their wealth from taxation) but also maintain hidden villages in different parts of the Three Countries and beyond, often in mountainous, sparsely populated regions. Although settling across many parts of the Three Countries, the Kikuta remained most prevalent in the East, around Inuyama and the High Cloud mountain range. Also like the other families of the Tribe, the Kikuta frequently serve as spies or (more commonly) assassins, for various warlords. This usefulness enables them to evade the warrior class' potential disapproval at the fact that the Tribe exists outside the traditional social order.

Despite each of the five Tribe families having a Master, the Kikuta have always been given seniority over the others. They usually form a loose coalition with the Muto; those two families are by far the most numerous, and have the majority of the Tribe's most talented members. Among the Tribe, the Kikuta have always been the most ruthless, raising their children in complete obedience and training them in extreme conditions from an early age, so that they can become masters of stealth. It is often treated as a game, but punishments are severe. Unlike the Muto or the Kuroda, the Kikuta do not favor marriage with other non-Tribe members; many of them are obsessed with preserving as many blood ties as possible to "keep the talents strong" and keep their members in an obedient mind-set. Ironically, overtime this has resulted in the Kikuta bloodline producing fewer and fewer children with strong Tribe talents, as their gene-pool has been depleted. The Kikuta will claim anyone who has Tribe ancestry, but if that individual refuses to obey the ways of the Tribe, they are always put to death. Though the Kikuta always treat other Tribe families with respect and vice versa, this stubborn dogma is sometimes frowned on by the other families, particularly the Muto.