"A History of Ryoko Owari" By Yogo Morosuke

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The City Wall - L1
Very little remains of the original walls of Ryoko Owari, which were quarried from local limestone and gave us the name"City of Green Walls" - a name which is now rarely used. The weakness of the walls was demonstrated during a siege by the Lion clan during the reign of Hantei the Twentieth. At that time, the lands now reclaimed by the Unicorn were being fought over by the Lion,Scorpion and Crab clans, with the Lions having the upper hand. They assaulted Ryoko Owari and easily breached the weak limestone walls. However, they held the city for only a week before attacks on more vital holdings forced them to recall their forces. Before they left, however, they wrought great destruction on the city. The only part of the old wall they left unharmed was those sections supporting the Dragon's Gate, because the Lion general declared that it would be a crime against souls to destroy something of such beauty.

When the walls were rebuilt, the Scorpion Clan brought in granite from the Spine of the World Mountains, and those walls have never fallen.

The Shosuro Palace - L3
The first Governor's Residence was occupied by Hida Atsushige when the Crab clan took the city (G4). Upon his departure, he burned it to the ground in what his contemporaries call a "sullen rage" but which I personally would characterize as a "fit of pique".

The second Residence was always described with the careful terms that only truly ugly structures merit. This is not surprising; after Sanekata returned, he had little money for a magnificent residence, and consequently built a modest structure of wood and brick. Later (and more prosperous) Governors were reluctant to raze a house built by such a notable man, so they attempted to redeem the structure by adding on to it. Sadly, their additions only had the effect of making the central house look shabby by comparison. It was only with the invasion of the Lions that the eyesore could reasonably be destroyed.

There are rumours that the second Palace was destroyed by returning Scorpion troops, not departing Lion ones, so that the Governor could build a "fitting" home. I find this story implausible; maybe during a good year a convenient fire might occur, but not during wartime.

The Scorpion Garden - L5
There's a story that the wife of the second Governor was a great beauty, but that when he found her in the arms of a lover he killed the man and cut off her nose to ruin her beauty. While she looked normal with her clan mask on, she could never appear unclothed again without hearing horrified gasps. Her friends were sad that she could no longer join them at the baths, but she was too ashamed of her deformity. Therefore, they started the mask practice so that she could join them.

The Gates of Condescension - L9
Although such a recent event is not necessarily "history': a crime so heinous was committed at this spot that I feel certain it will become part of Ryoko Owari's history in years to come. It was at the Gate of Condescension,six years ago in the Month of the Dog, in the seventh year of the reign of Hantei XXXIV, Bayushi Genshi was murdered.

No one seems willing to speculate about what she was doing at such a late hour - I suspect returning from the Licensed Quarter. In any event, there was no sign of a struggle - even her facial expression, it is said, was strangely tranquil. She was found lying on her back, arms at her sides, sword sheathed. Her only injury was a gruesome excavation of her lower body; she had been meticulously opened between her lower ribs and her hips, and (it was said) certain organs spirited away. Shugenja found a strange and diabolical stain of dark magic on the area, but were unable to discern who had done the deed. Her brother and her father both have sworn vengeance, and several magistrates have been removed for incompetence - but her death remains unsolved.

The Bridge of the Dragon [L11]
The Bridge of the Dragon was planned by the ninth Governor, who hoped it would encourage merchants to build on the west side of the river. At first this occurred, but the area soon became a den of the most depraved (and highly sought) vices. This pleasure section was destroyed during the Lion occupation, and the next Governor took advantage of the destruction to legislate many of those activities onto Teardrop Island, where they could be more readily isolated from the rest of Society.

Ironically, it was not merchants who settled in the ruins of the former Floating World; it was the eta.

Although initially upset by their proximity to the Noble Quarter, it soon became apparent that there were certain advantages. Using the Dragon Bridge allowed the Leatherworkers to clean the Noble Quarter much more quickly. Few nobles wanted to go to the Leatherworker Quarter, so they used the bridge only for sightseeing, and the Leatherworkers soon became accustomed to waiting discreetly until the nobles had left before completing their journey across the bridge.

The bridge is closed to Leatherworkers during festivals, Cherry Blossom season, and Autumn Moon season, when the numbers of sight-seeing nobles are at their highest

The Temple of Daikoku - L12
Shosuro Kurodo (GI2, G13) is said to have had his idea for making Ryoko Owari a wealthy city after a conversation with a monk at the Temple of Daikoku.

The story is that Kurodo was praying for guidance. He prayed so hard that sweat poured from his forehead and trickled down his nose. He prayed like a man in torment, begging the Fortunes to show him how to make his city prosperous.

As he was praying, a monk entered the temple carrying a great sack, which he flung down on the floor with a loud crash. Kurodo's eyes twitched open, and he watched as the dishevelled monk sat on the floor and mopped his brow.

"What are you doing?" demanded Kurodo. "Can't you see I'm trying to pray here?"

"Really? What for?" asked the monk.

"I want to know how to make my city prosper, but it's clear I'll never receive an answer with you distracting me:'

At this, the monk burst into laughter.

"Truly you are a master of paradox," said themonk. "How can the answer you seek be a distraction from seeking the answer?"

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"The kind of nonsense that will save your city," the monk said.

'' You can tell me?"

"No - but I can stop you from shutting your own mouth. Then you'll tell yourself'

Kurodo was only becoming more and more confused.

All day, I have been carrying this burden," the monk said, gesturing at his sack. "It's heavy. It's bulky. It strains my muscles and pains my back. All day I have been praying to get rid of it, hoping to be free from this burden, wanting nothing more than to get it out of my sight Do you know what it is, this burden I shun?"

Kurodo shook his head. The monk opened the sack, and coins spilled out - copper, silver, even gold.

"It is treasure," the monk said. "I wish to be rid of the very thing which others want. A wise man sees value where others see dross:

At that moment, Kurodo realized what he had to do.

The Little Gate - L15
This unassuming gate is narrow - not even wide enough for a horse to pass - and thick, with heavy wooden doors reinforced with iron. It leads down to a small dock.

The water around the dock is not deep enough for a barge or cargo vessel, but the dock is only used for small pleasure craft. It is from this pier that nobles sail to Teardrop Island to visit the Licensed Quarter. It was to get access to this private dock that the Little Gate was built There was considerable debate over the construction of the Little Gate in the reign of the twentieth

Governor. Conservative samurai argued that putting a gate on the river that close to the Noble Quarter would invite invasion. However, since the walls ended not far away, on the other side of the Bridge of Drunken Lovers (L16), these arguments were dismissed by those eager to visit the Licensed Quarter, but substantially less anxious to travel to piers in the Merchant or Fisherman Quarters in order to gain access.

Moment’s Edge Bridge - L24
This plain and unadorned structure is famous for being the site of a fatal duel between shugenja/ swordsmith Togashi Nyoko and Hida Raiden during the reign of Hantei the sixteenth.

Raiden had mocked Nyoko for trying to be a swordsmith, a shugenja and a samurai-ko at the same time. Nyoko offered to show him that all three were the same by dueling him to the death. Ryoko Owari was settled as a neutral location for the duel.

Raiden was confident that he, who had studied only the sword, would easily defeat a woman who had split her attention between the sword and the temple.

They met at sunrise in the centre of the bridge, and the instant the duel began, Raiden found himself with a deep slash to his belly. He had not even seen her draw.

"Impossible," he gasped. "No one alive is so fast!"

Nyoko shook her head.

"I am alive and dead; dead to the past and dead to the future, because I live at the moment's edge:'

When she saw comprehension in his eyes, she drew her wakizashi and cut off his head.

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