Background Kakita Yorito
My childhood
Born in the honorable Kakita family was a blessing, but not an easy gift. From early on, I was forced to always follow the rules of Crane etiquette. A strict regime of complex rituals for everything. Drinking tea, walking, talking to my parents, etc. Everything I did, said and lived was laid out before me, like a plan forged by the family. Quickly, it became clear that I would not be the new Hida No Are, nor would I form a famous Biwa Hoshi, become a talented dancer or excel in any other art-forms for which the Crane are so well known.
I was a restless and very vain kid and my parents never sought to change that. I learned from early on that my reflexes were excellent so my father made the decision. I would become the greatest Crane Duelist Bushi of our times. My father talked to the monastery of Samui Kaze Tochi, whose monks still had obligations towards my family. I also liked the idea of becoming the heir to Kakita Rensei, my famous greatgrandfather. In my 7th year I enrolled in the Crane Monastery. Life was good, I was the best and for years I was never beaten in combat.
But then came the horror of defeat.
Born in the honorable Kakita family was a blessing, but not an easy gift. From early on, I was forced to always follow the rules of Crane etiquette. A strict regime of complex rituals for everything. Drinking tea, walking, talking to my parents, etc. Everything I did, said and lived was laid out before me, like a plan forged by the family. Quickly, it became clear that I would not be the new Hida No Are, nor would I form a famous Biwa Hoshi, become a talented dancer or excel in any other art-forms for which the Crane are so well known.
I was a restless and very vain kid and my parents never sought to change that. I learned from early on that my reflexes were excellent so my father made the decision. I would become the greatest Crane Duelist Bushi of our times. My father talked to the monastery of Samui Kaze Tochi, whose monks still had obligations towards my family. I also liked the idea of becoming the heir to Kakita Rensei, my famous greatgrandfather. In my 7th year I enrolled in the Crane Monastery. Life was good, I was the best and for years I was never beaten in combat.
But then came the horror of defeat.
My Gempukku
My father, used to my omnipotent succes in swordfighting, came to my Gempukku only to see me beaten by the son of a poor lesser noble. A very promising duellist, but not one of my standing and pedigree. Enraged, my father called out my defeat to the whole family, shaming my name and cursing the day I was born. I did not realise back then that this is normal behaviour for noble Crane. He too, was just following the strict code of the family and of our house. But it was too late, shamed I took revenge on the poor little kid that had beaten me (by a fingers-length). Doing so, I proved to be not so noble and the monks thought it wise to show me the ways of the outside world, where defeat and shame were things that happened on a daily basis. I was rejected from the monastery and sent into the harsh, cold world. I was 17 and my ten year training abruptly came to an end.
My days in the Sekai
Wondering around in the mountains surrounding Samui Kaze Tochi, I found new interests. I joined a wandering band of travellers, which later turned out to be Wokou, but this I did not realise before it was too late. Roaming from village to village I became impressed by one of my newfound companions. He had a few books with him which he gladly shared with me. The passion for stories, the strength of words, the truth of the Kana, it all spoke very strongly to me. I lend one of his books to study it, it was the Art of War by Sun Tzu. I was impressed because it integrated two of my strongest interests. A new world opened.
My days in the Sekai
Wondering around in the mountains surrounding Samui Kaze Tochi, I found new interests. I joined a wandering band of travellers, which later turned out to be Wokou, but this I did not realise before it was too late. Roaming from village to village I became impressed by one of my newfound companions. He had a few books with him which he gladly shared with me. The passion for stories, the strength of words, the truth of the Kana, it all spoke very strongly to me. I lend one of his books to study it, it was the Art of War by Sun Tzu. I was impressed because it integrated two of my strongest interests. A new world opened.
My shaming
And then, as quickly as my new world opened, it closed again. The Wokou I was travelling with got caught on a nightly raid on the house of the prefecture. And I got arrested, allegedly for stealing a copy of Art of War from a Kyuden where we stayed a few months ago. Quickly, the news came to my father's ear and I was released into the hands of my family. My father, shamed again by the reckless and unruly behaviour of his thought to be prodigal son, took extreme measures. A stay on The Wall would benefit me, he thought. And so I changed from being free to being a Koma.
My redemption
And that is the truth about how I ended up with Hida Buruke.
I guess that I can learn a lot from my stay on The Wall, from the Crab and from this redemption. But I long so much for the day I can rejoin my monastery and my family. My honour will be regained, it will take time but it will happen. And when that day comes, I will be ready to become a worthy heir of Kakita Rensei.
My redemption
And that is the truth about how I ended up with Hida Buruke.
I guess that I can learn a lot from my stay on The Wall, from the Crab and from this redemption. But I long so much for the day I can rejoin my monastery and my family. My honour will be regained, it will take time but it will happen. And when that day comes, I will be ready to become a worthy heir of Kakita Rensei.