The Celestial Order was basically the Rokugani caste system. [1] The will of Tengoku organized all of existence into a hierarchy, ordering both Heaven and the Emerald Empire. [2]
The First Court[]
Legends said that long ago, all animals, including humans, were equal. Each species had its own society, religion, culture, and stories. Each one believed a different truth about where they all came from. Periodically, the animals convened to discuss important matters. Every meeting included a vote on whose reality should supersede the others, so that all the animals and humans could agree on a single worldview. Each time, each species voted for its own reality, and that was that. One day the humans persuaded the dogs, their closest allies, to vote for human reality instead of dog one, to be later rewarded by humans when they were in power. humans and dogs voted together, and the humans' way of seeing the world prevailed. From this arose Rokugan's history and the system that exalted humans and their gods above all others: the Celestial Order. [3]
Rokugan's Social Order[]
The social order of Rokugan was divided mainly into three castes, [4]
The clergy were also considered a caste, but with specific terms. [5]
Dharma, Karma, and Celestial Wheel[]
Belief and religion were inculcated into a samurai from birth, faith in the gods, faith in the cycle of reincarnation, and faith in the divine mandate that bound the Empire together. A person's place in the Celestial Order was determined by their "soul duty", or Dharma. How well they performed this duty during their life would be measured by their Karma, and if it was performed well enough it could lead to a higher rank in the Celestial Order the next time they were reborn into the world. Only when dharma was completed was the soul permitted to shuffle off the Celestial Wheel and entered Yomi, the Realm of the Sacred Ancestors. [2]
References
- ↑ Her Father's Daughter, by D. G. Laderoute
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 10
- ↑ Celestial Realms, p. 21
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, pp. 10-11
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 143
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