Asako Henshin
From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings
The Henshin are a monastic order unique to the Asako family. They study the mysteries of the Path of Man, as passed down to them from Asako herself. Asako gained the knowledge from Shiba, who came to speak with her through his son after he died defending the original Seven Thunders. They gain great power through knowledge of riddles to which the universe itself responds.
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[edit] Henshin
In the Rokugani language, the word "henshin" means "change", "progress", or "rebirth". The Asako chose this name for their academy because of their goal to change and guide the progress of mankind through the secrets of the Path of Man. In the last thousand years, the Asako have seen remarkable progress that they believe indicates that man is truly journeying on the Path that Shiba described.
[edit] Selection of the Henshin
To the rest of Rokugan, even the rest of the Phoenix Clan, the Henshin Academy appears to be where the Asako train their historians and courtiers. The majority of the empire believes this is the purpose of the Academy.
In truth, the Asako perpetrate this belief so that they can conduct their true studies in seclusion. The easiest way to protect their knowledge, they think, is to let the rest of the world believe it does not exist. To this end, they let their true students teach themselves as they wander Rokugan, returning to Asako lands only once they are ready to learn their next Mystery.
Early in the training of an Asako student, the student is evaluated by the Fushihai to determine if he is ready to learn the secrets of the Path of Man. If the student is deemed unworthy, he is given the standard training as a historian or courtier. Worthy students, however, are placed under a Henshin sensei and begin their true training.
[edit] Ranks of the Order
The Henshin are one of the most secretive orders in Rokugan. Even their own members are not aware of the full extent of the training within the school.
[edit] The Mayushi
"Mayushi" means "undeveloped". This is the term used for all Henshin except the Fushihai. This is the lowest order among the Henshin, as it is comprised of those who are not yet worthy of knowing the true secrets of the Path.
During this stage, many students of the Henshin Academy are chosen to be sent from the Academy. These are the librarians, historians, and courtiers that give the Asako a public face and allow them to continue their true researches in secret. These students are given basic training and then released to their scholarly positions across Rokugan, never to train again at the Asako Academy.
[edit] The Michibiku
The Michibiku represent the bulk of the Henshin. These are the students who are still learning of the Path, but have been chosen to do so from afar. They wander Rokugan, essentially acting as monks, showing the people of the land how to act and what to believe, trying to bring them to a point of enlightenment where they will return for their next life as an Asako. They do not preach, but offer advice and help, guiding the people where their presence is wanted, and avoiding situations that would cause strife or otherwise add to their family's questionable reputation.
As they wander, the Michibiku teach themselves. These students are allowed to return to the Academy, but do so only when the are ready to learn the next Mystery. These students represent the bulk of the students of the Asako Academy past the rudimentary training that is given to the uninitiated. Because they are seen without a sensei and throughout Rokugan, the presence of the Michibiku only enforces the rest of the empire's belief that the Asako only provides rudimentary training. (Phoenix pp. 62-63)
[edit] The Fushihai
The Fushihai are the Masters of the Henshin. They are the ones who have learned the final Mystery: the Mystery of Fate. No one knows that this Mystery exists, not even those within the Henshin, until the student is ready to learn it. At that point, the Masters will come to the student, tell him of the Fifth Mystery, and have him join them as Fushihai.
The Fushihai have become so advanced in their study of the Path that they are fully aware of it at all times. They can sense their motion along the Path and that of others as well. None are more aware of the cost of human mistakes than the Fushihai. this leads these Masters to follow a very strict code of conduct passed down by Asako herself.
[edit] Apotheosis
Although the desire to become a Fortune is no longer the driving motivation of the Asako, it is still, nevertheless, believed to be the ultimate end result of their teachings (as Asako Isamu proved).
[edit] Powers of the Henshin
While the specialized techniques taught by bushi dojo throughout Rokugan represent an application of the Path of Man allowing the users to focus the elements surrounding themselves, the Henshin affect the elements much more directly. They refer to their abilities as "Mysteries". Through the use of these Mysteries, the Henshin have discovered how to directly manipulate the elemental forces surrounding them, molding them into tangible effects.
To achieve their Mysteries, the Henshin learned Riddles that allowed them, in essence, to trick the elemental forces into doing their bidding. These forces are fairly predictable, and this predictability allowed the Henshin to manipulate them through the effects they knew their riddles would have. there is a danger to the inherent deception in this method, however, and if the Henshin failed to properly trick the spirits they were manipulating, the elemental forces were very likely to lash out at the Henshin instead.
[edit] Current Status
For most of their history, they used these riddles to bend the universe to their will, but it has recently been shown that this was a false path. Now the riddles are used primarily for the entertainment of the universe, not the power of the Henshin. The end result, however, is largely unchanged.
[edit] Training of the Henshin
New Henshin are taught first about the Elements themselves. They learn how the Elements react to outside manipulation and begin to learn how to gauge the reaction of the Elements to their manipulations. This rudimentary training lasts approximately one year, after which the students begin to learn the Mysteries. Students are allowed to choose their own courses of research. This allows the student's lessons to be suited to his own abilities and goals.
The students of the Academy are encouraged to consider carefully the path their training will take, however. Although a student may wish to learn the Mystery of Fire quickly, it may be to his benefit to wait. Once a Henshin learns a Riddle, he will never become more proficient in its use. Thus the student to learns the Riddle of Fire as a novice will always have only a novice's control over it. To achieve better mastery of one of the Mysteries, a student must wait to learn that Riddle until he is a more skilled Henshin.
[edit] Demeanor of the Henshin
The Henshin are very careful to consider all implications and possible results of everything they say or do. Believing themselves to be the pinnacle of human reincarnation, making a mistake at their level is extremely undesirable. To enforce this system of self-policing, the Henshin also know that their words and actions are monitored closely by their sensei and the Fushihai, and that they will be remembered -- and will guide the path their progress is allowed to take by the Fushihai -- for their entire lifetimes.
[edit] Major References
- Way of the Phoenix Pages 44-47, 63-65.
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