L5R

Toshisoto

The outermost ring of Otosan Uchi, a diverse collection of people and places.

Komachi's Travel Guide

After the Battle of Four Winds, Otosan Uchi grew well beyond its original architects’ expectations. The Miwaku Kabe (Enchanter Walls) were ultimately too confining for all the people who flocked to the city. The decision was made to expand Otosan Uchi, segregating the new districts from the old (Ekohikei) districts. New walls rose well beyond where anyone thought they would be needed, and work began on fourteen new districts.

Originally the city was designed to appear like a flawless oval from the vantage point of the nearby hills, but this dream was shattered when borders expanded, new districts were formed, or two or more combined. Otosan Uchi very rapidly took on a life of its own, expanding as required without the permission of the first builders.

Tadaji’s Memoirs People of every clan, profession, and social caste can be found in the Toshisoto. It would be easy to say that Otosan Uchi is a microcosm of Rokugan as a whole—that every facet of the empire can be seen here—but that comparison is not entirely accurate. While the rest of the Empire must contend with the Emperor’s Laws on occasion, their principle duty is to their clan: Imperial Laws are often interpreted within that lens. In Otosan Uchi, all local legislature is strongly influenced by Imperial decree, and everyone must meet the expectations of the Son of Heaven.

This has created many unexpected social customs among the people of the Imperial Capital. Perhaps the most important of these is the formation of a new social class—the horosha, or “wanderers”—those without functions, clan affiliation, or social standing. Comprised mostly of people who have slipped through the cracks of society and law, the horosha move between the social casts, no better or worse within their own sub-culture than any other. They are like ronin in that they do not generally have lords, although occasionally a lord will become horosha, taking their family and vassals with them, but the horosha do not suffer from the same stigma as ronin. There are just too many people living in Otosan Uchi for the horosha to be easily noticed. They are invisible, surviving within a system that ignores them.

Another aspect of the Toshisoto’s strange civil equilibrium is that the rules are not always obeyed. In a system as complex and overwhelming as Otosan Uchi, it is easy to ignore minor customs when no one is watching. It is not uncommon in the Outer City for heimin and samurai to feign drunkenness to avoid uncomfortable situations, or for a gift to simply be left at the recipient’s doorstep for them to find later. The atmosphere of the Toshisoto lends itself to interpretations of social customs, and many are too weak to avoid temptation.

In the end, the Toshisoto can distress or corrupt unwary visitors to the Imperial Capital.

Districts within Toshisoto include: