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Yoritomo Hiromi 
Yoritomo Hiromi 
Born: 1172 
Died: 1200, Month of the Boar 
Parents: Yoritomo Naizen,
un-named Kitsune 
Siblings: Yoritomo Harumi
Yoritomo Dairu 
Titles: Mantis Clan Champion
People

Yoritomo Hiromi, the Growing Storm, [1] was the Mantis Clan Champion in the late 12th century. He was blessed by the Thunder Dragon.

Family[]

Hiromi's father, Yoritomo Naizen, was married to an un-named Kitsune [2] niece of the Kitsune Daimyo, Kitsune Ryukan. [3] In 1172 she gave birth to twins, [4] Hiromi and his sister Yoritomo Harumi. [5] Yoritomo Dairu was another brother. [6]

Mantis Clan Champion[]

Yoritomo Hiromi 2

Yoritomo Hiromi

Naizen had been presumed dead at sea in 1175, [7] ending a long-whistanding complaint of the Lion against the Mantis, for their involvement in the Battle of Toshi Ranbo during the Khan's Defiance. [8] His twin sister Harumi, who had been born minutes ahead of Hiromi, forsook all claim to the championship to take up the duties of a priestess. Hiromi appointed Yoritomo Tomio as his hatamoto. [9]

Demeanor[]

Hiromi was a ruthless man, to whom the words extortion, blackmail, or even piracy did not bother him. He believed the ends justified the means and anything that cemented the Mantis as the economic powerhouse of Rokugan was good in the Age of Conquest. [9]

Lack of Manpower[]

In 1198 at least a quarter of the Fourth Storm remained unused due to lack of manpower. Hiromi felt that the Colonies were a more learning-friendly environment. So, rather than sending newly graduated samurai to the Empire, he decided they had to take over operations in the Colonies and to dispatch his more experienced crews back home to ease the burden on the other Storms. He stayed in the Colonies for a time, visiting the Moshi Daimyo in the Second City, until Hiromi departed from Kalani's Landing back to the Empire. [10]

Mantis-Crane War in the Colonies[]

Yoritomo Hiromi 3

Yoritomo Hiromi

Trade War[]

Tension increased between the Crane and Mantis regarding commerce interests in the Colonies. [11] The Mantis were accused of widespread corruption and forgery of documents by the Daidoji. After a duel that settled the Crane's accusations, the Mantis engaged in retaliation over this slight of honor. Incursions on Crane holdings along the rivers between the coast and the Second City began. The majority of the Mantis' seaborne forces began to mass on the southern coast of the Colonies, and began a movement inland up both rivers, towards Twin Forks City. The Crane were requested to surrender their ports or see them destroyed for their insult. The Emerald Champion Utaku Ji-Yun upheld the complaint of the Mantis and granted permission for war between these clans in the Colonies. [12] Hiromi left the Empire towards Kalani's Landing, where he joined his former sensei Yoritomo Emoto and appointed him as the Mantis commander in the conflict. [13]

Mantis Trade Blocked[]

After the accusations of the Crane the Tax Collectors increased their presence in the Mantis ports, slowing their traffic. Hiromi returned to the Empire to talk with the Imperial Treasurer Seppun Ritisharu. There was met by happenstance by the Crane Clan Champion Doji Makoto, who informed that the Crane would shut down their ports to the Mantis. These actions, combined with the fact that Crab ports were already heavily occupied shipping a great deal more resources back from the Colonies, provoked a blockade of the Mantis trade to mainland Rokugan. In return, Hiromi announced they would take Twin Forks City. [14]

Confronting the Crane[]

Yoritomo Hiromi 4

Yoritomo Hiromi, the Growing Storm

Hiromi moved his fleet upriver, catching the Crane fleet at Twin Forks City on two fronts, Hiromi from the south, and Emoto from the north. Hiromi landed on the docks and eventually confronted in personal duel the enemy commander Daidoji Tametaka. The explosion of Emoto's Third Kama stopped the duel. The Crane fleet was practically wiped out and only few Mantis ships survived. Hiromi allowed the Crane to keep the city, and reparations would be requested. [15] The Crane were beaten, but Hiromi knew he had been betrayed [16] in the confrontation known as the Battle of Ten Thousand Martyrs. He returned to Kalani's Landing to take stock of the damage and speak with Daidoji Tametaka there. [17] Hiromi wished to see the war ended, but not with mewling in court. [18] Hiromi took on Tametaka as a trade advisor back in the mainland. The Mantis Champion had taken quite an interest in his keen mind for strategy and trade. [19]

“The war is over, but I do not intend to lose the pace. Keep an eye on merchants with Crane patrons.”
-Yoritomo Hiromi


The Crane Clan Champion, Doji Makoto and Tametaka visited Hiromi in his estates in Toshi Ranbo, after the war was over. [21]

A Brother's Destiny[]

Iweko Seiken, eldest son of the Empress, was a Traditionalist samurai who had rigid adherence to ancient philosophies. Many believed he would dissolve the Spider Clan as Great Clan if he ever becomes Emperor, and Hiromi feared he could do the same with the Mantis Clan. Hiromi led his Clan to support Iweko Shibatsu as Imperial Heir. [22] The Lion had already rallied to Seiken's banner, and Hiromi made it clear that an example should be made. One of his men attempted to kill a Lion during a skirmish. [23]

Scorpion Betrayal[]

Iweko Shibatsu was advised by the Scorpion Clan, who officially supported his brother as the next Emperor, that a massive attack planned by the traditionalist forces would arrest those loyal to his cause. He shared this information with Yoritomo Hiromi, in the estate of the Mantis Champion at Kalani's Landing. [24] Using illusionary magic, the forces under his command ambushed the enemy ones, led by Matsu Hachiro. [25] The Progressive forces would not have defeated Seiken's supporters without the duplicity of the Scorpion. [26]

The Currency of War[]

In 1199 a disagreement over a merchant caravan detained by the Crane in the Spine of the World Mountains rapidly escalated into a conflict between the Crane and Mantis Clans. The Crane razed to the ground Waystation Village, forcing Hiromi to return from the Colonies to take the field. He requested the Tsuruchi Daimyo Tsuruchi Fusako to defend the Tsuruchi from the impending Daidoji attack. He also wished to avoid any harm on Daidoji Tametaka. Eventually, a cease fire was brokered after the Crane replaced the Mantis losses from their caravan. [27]

Return to Rokugan[]

In 1200 Hiromi returned to mainland Rokugan alongside Yoritomo Saigo, and the younger son of the Empress, Iweko Shibatsu, once Iweko Seiken had been selected as the new Emperor. They were met by his brother Dairu, during the celebrations of the Twenty Festivals. [28]

Reign of Iweko II[]

War on the Empire[]

During the festivals predating Iweko Seiken's coronation, the Imperial Heir had publicly humiliated Daigotsu Kanpeki by announcing that he would remove him as Spider Clan Champion. Seiken's brother, Iweko Shibatsu would join the Susumu family as their daimyo and become Lord Spider. Kanpeki considered this as betrayal of the deal between his father and Iweko I and declared war on the Empire. [29]

Doom of the Mantis is Coming[]

In 1200 the Thunder Dragon, who was living in the Shrine of Lost Sailors of Umi no Jikoju, had a visitor who had come from a far corner of the Empire. She would serve a greater purpose, and when she left, the Thunder Dragon followed her. Before she left the Thunder Dragon informed Hiromi that a Dark Torment would test the Mantis. She could not interfere, but the Dragon blessed the Yoritomo's Kama, so Jigoku could not take them. [30]

Sacrifice of the Mantis[]

This year when the First Seal was destroyed, the Sea of Shadows expanded and the creatures from it threatened the Mantis Islands. [31] Several Mantis forces sailed to fight the new menace. [32] The Shadowlands hordes were endless, and Seiken told to Hiromi that he would evacuate as many people as possible to the Colonies, a place where their traditions, where Rokugan, might continue. The possibility that Jigoku might conquer the Empire had been anticipated by the Empress, it was why Iweko I established the Colonies. The Mantis must marshal their fleet and attack the coastline of the lost Crane provinces, sacrificing themselves to distract the Shadowlands monsters of the evacuation. [33]

Death[]

After Hiromi entrusted Tsuruchi Kaito to secure the Mantis Clan Charter, the Mantis Champion and his siblings confronted the amassing of shadowlands beasts that came from the sea. When the Third Seal broke, all Mantis Islands had been attacked at once. Hiromi died on board the Aramasu's Legacy, fighting a gigantic Kumo. Leadership of the Clan was assumed by Yoritomo Yashinko until a proper bloodline could be established. [33]

Aftermath[]

One of Yoritomo's Kama remained embedded in the shell of the Oni that slew Hiromi. Decades later the other Kama appeared on a beach of a distant island where the Mantis had survived, appointing Yoritomo Koharu as the first Mantis Champion in ages. [33]

External Links[]


Preceded by:
Yoritomo Naizen
Mantis Clan Champion
? - 1200
Succeeded by:
Yoritomo Yashinko
Preceded by:
Yoritomo Naizen
Yoritomo Daimyo
? - 1200
Succeeded by:
Yoritomo Yashinko


References

  1. Yoritomo Hiromi (Promotional flavor)
  2. A New Empire, Part I, by Shawn Carman
  3. Shadows in the Forest, by Shawn Carman
  4. State of the Empire, Week 5
  5. Moshi Yokohime (Emperor flavor)
  6. Yoritomo Dairu (A Line in the Sand flavor)
  7. Imperial Histories 2, p. 274
  8. Rivalry, by Shawn Carman
  9. 9.0 9.1 Emperor Edition Starter Fiction: Mantis Clan
  10. State of the Clans, Part 1, by Shawn Carman
  11. The Shadow’s Embrace, Part 2: The Crane, by Nancy Sauer
  12. Petitions, by Seth Mason
  13. Seeds of Decay: The Mantis, by Seth Mason
  14. Scenes from the Empire 31, by Robert Denton & Seth Mason
  15. The Raised Blade, Part 2 by Seth Mason
  16. Yoritomo Hiromi (Gate of Chaos flavor)
  17. Scenes from the Empire 34, by Robert Denton & Seth Mason
  18. Gates of Chaos (Rulebook Story), by Shawn Carman
  19. Aftermath, Part 2, by Seth Mason and Robert Denton
  20. Merchant Atoll (Ivory flavor)
  21. Age of Ivory, Part 2, by Shawn Carman
  22. Letters to the Clans – November 2014
  23. Strike First (A Line in the Sand Picture and flavor)
  24. The New Order, Part 1, by Shawn Carman
  25. The New Order, Part 2, by Shawn Carman
  26. Devastating Betrayal (The New Order flavor)
  27. The Currency of War, by Shawn Carman
  28. Twenty Festivals, Part 2, by Shawn Carman
  29. Thunderous Acclaim, Part 1, by Shawn Carman & Christopher Hand
  30. Act 3: Complications – Part 2, by Chris Hand, Maxime Lemaire, Mari Murdock, Fred Wan, and Robert Denton
  31. A Cold Wind, by Shawn Carman, Robert Denton III and Fred Wan
  32. Sons of Gusai, Moshi Chiyoko, Moshi Nariko (Evil Portents flavors)
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 Echoes of Thunder, by Robert Denton III, Shawn Carman and Fred Wan



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