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History[]

Historically the Daidoji family had been the military arm of the Crane Clan, having dealt with centuries of agression from the Lion Clan. In the end they realised that moving troops from Shiro Daidoji every time Lion troops were spotted was rather ineffective and a new fortress, Kosaten Shiro, was created, located between Crane lands and Shiro Matsu. The Daidoji knew they could not match the Lion in strength or numbers, but instead they learned the methods of skirting on the edges of dishonor, using ambushes, sabotage, explosives and exploting the lay of the land to their advantage. They were the masters of guerilla warfare, and it was the only reason they had survived for so long. Kosaten Shiro served as a base of operations in the Clan War, War of Spirits and Crane Civil War. [1]

Traditions[]

The Daidoji were the least traditional family of the Crane, adopting unconventional (if not unethical) military tactics. Their tactics had to be constantly changed so they could not be predicted. They did this because the believe conformity was both impractical and foolish. One tradition they adhere to however was that at their gempukku the passing student recieved a tattoo of the family mon on their wrist. All daidoji who graduate received this tattoo, with no exceptions, as it was a physical symbol of their loyalty to their clan. [2]

Training[]

The training was a mixture of both martial and academics. The students were taught the use of virtually every weapon imaginable but mostly favored the katana or yari. Academical teaching focused mainly on history, tactics an geography.

Their most important exercise was when a small unit faces a larger, better equipped foe. The students were expected to use any resource at their disposal to defeat the enemy. This exercise rarely resulted in a victory for the students, but when they occasionally won the students went on to do great things. [2]

Dojo Benefits[]

The graduates from the dojo were rarely very sociable, but widely recognized as canny and unpredictable foes on the battleground. Large, well equiped foes often thought twice before entering Daidoji lands, and graduates could be recognized by a twin crossed yari symbol beneath their family mon on their kimono or armor. [2]

Sensei[]

When a change in sensei occurred typically the entire dojo would undergo a shift in both instrucitonal style and military tactics. This was necessary because of the daidoji needed to evolve their tactics as even the most devious and unforseen tactics could be overcome if repeated too often. [2] There was always a high-ranking member of the bizarre Hiramori in the dojo to serve as a sensei. His lessons were found among the more difficult, and the most popular, of the school. [3]

Notable Sensei[]

Notable Students[]

References

  1. Way of the Samurai, pp. 26-27
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Way of the Samurai, p. 27
  3. Emerald Empire: Third Edition, p. 85



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