Kitsu Tombs

Although the Kitsu Tombs was not the ancestral home of the Kitsu family it was the seat of their power, and all the greatest Kitsu heroes had their remains interred here. Most other Lion families had their dead placed in the Hall of Ancestors. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 293 The Tombs laid in the Kaeru province. The Atlas of Rokugan, p. 96
== Founding ==
Following the Kitsu race custom, the Kitsu family began interring their heroes and leaders beneath the ground in a massive tomb constructed shortly after their family's founding. After cremation was mandated following Iuchiban's rise, the sarcophagi were replaced with urns, but otherwise ritual interment in the Tombs continued. The presence of the remains of the dead made one's passage into the Spirit Realms much easier. This custom lent itself to the formation of a school for the Kitsu Shugenja and Kitsu Sodan Senzo. Way of the Shugenja, p. 43
=== Appearance ===
A large torii arch stood above the entrance, with serene gardens in the outside, keeping the shrines to the individual founders of each Lion family, and a small lake nearby. The first floor had a temple and the renowned library of the Kitsu Tombs. The second floor contained living space, and a small dojo. In the third floor the bloodsword Revenge was taken into custody for years, the prison of Okura's Remnant, and the study of the Kitsu Daimyo. The four floor was completely occupied by the Shrine of the Ancients. Secrets of the Lion, pp. 82-85
=== Underground ===
The first of the lower levels had many tombs including the alcoves with the remains of the Kitsu, while the second level was the mausoleum of the Sodan Senzo. In the third level resided the urns of the First Five, and the place where the Kitsu opened portals to other Spirit Realms. Secrets of the Lion, p. 86
== Tradition ==
The Kitsu performed old-fashioned lenghty rituals, the same than those that their ancestors performed when alive. The attention paid to the interment of the family's greatest heroes, the records of the life and deeds of every prominent Kitsu, and the accumulated magical research into the Spirit Realms passed to every new generation of Kitsu. 
=== Gempukku ===
When a potential sodan-senzo was prepared for his gempukku, the family's ancestors gathered to pass judgment. Worthy students were accepted as equals, but those who were found wanting were stripped of their magical talents and banished from the family.  The most gifted student from the Kitsu Tombs was nominated to tend the Shrine of the First Five, which sheltered the remains of the founders of the Kitsu family. Secrets of the Lion, p. 48
== Training ==
The Kitsu Shugenja and Kitsu Votary were taught there. Masters of Magic Web Supplement, p. 4 Students sought in the family's extensive records, learned the complex rituals they practiced, developing the patience and knowledge students needed to speak to their ancestors. Before their gempukku each student crafted his own mask, a mental construct the Kitsu created when journeying through the Spirit Realms. The mask identified the shugenja, and also protected him from the dangers of less hospitable realms. 
== Sensei ==
The sensei of the Kitsu Tombs was the Kitsu Daimyo. The only exception was when the Kitsu daimyo did not possess the gift for communing with ancestors, and the sensei was selected among the daimyo's cousins. 
=== Notable Sensei ===
* Kitsu Juri
== Notable Students ==
* Kitsu Hisashi
== History ==
=== Corruption ===
The tombs were once corrupted by the traitorous Jade Champion Kitsu Okura, but have since been cleansed of that dishonor. 
=== Burned by Tsuno ===
In 1159 a Tsuno attack caused extensive damage, Burning the Tombs (An Oni's Fury flavor) the defender of the Tombs, Matsu Domotai was kidnapped and the sacred scrolls vanished as well. Stolen Records (An Oni's Fury flavor) Tsuno Soultwisters had opened a passage from Toshigoku, where the Tsuno dwelled, to the battlefield where Akuma no Oni had fought the Otaku Battle Maidens, allowing their rapid invasion of the Kitsu Tombs. Fortunes & Winds, p. 93 Four of the five urnes with the ashes of the original Kitsu were lost, limiting their ability to reach other Spirit Realms.  The Kitsu could still reach the other Realms so long as they possessed the remaining urn.  The Tombs were repaired. 
=== Attacked by the Scorpion ===
In 1199, while the Imperial Bureaucracy debated the Lion's petition for war against the Scorpion Clan, the area around the Kitsu Tombs saw a surprisingly large amount of pilgrims who revealed themselves as disguised Scorpion forces, Shikomizue (A Line in the Sand flavor) and the sacred area was attacked. Kitsu Watanabe (A Line in the Sand flavor)
== External Links ==
* The Kitsu Tombs (Ambition's Debt)
Category:Articles with Pictures
Category:Lion Clan Dojo
Category:Kaeru province