Kyoujiro Kirumasa

Kyoujiro Kirumasa [Akashiren: キョウジロキルマサ] was an Akashiren official, being a member of the esteemed Daijō-kan and an important figure of the Shogunate. Kyoujiro served as Akashiro's Minister of Culture and fought in the Muhō Jidai under the Akashiro Clan, a revered war veteran. He also served on the high council of the fallen kingdom of Soijiro, and was the co-founder of the KKG, as well as the special Akashiren diplomat to the nation. Kyoujiro was a devout follower of the Tenshin religion, writing many historical scripts and poems, (most famously Enduring Truth and Pure Beauty, 62 AU), often involving or mentioning his faith. Along with his wife, Yuzuki Kirumasa, Kyoujiro had two sons, Yumeruto and Kubota Kirumasa. He died in 95 AU, at the age of 295, passing away at the Murakami Estate, his residence in Tsumikami.
=History =
==Early Life ==
Kyoujiro was born in the Akashiren capital of Tennyoku in 200 BU, just a few months before the passing of the first Shōgun. He was born to Kirumasan parents Kouki Kirumasa and Harumi Kirumasa, with his mother tragically passing in labour. Shortly after Kyoujiro's birth, Akashiro was swiftly thrown into the conflict of the Muhō Jidai, meaning as a young child, he spent his time within the city of Tennyoku, protected from the war outside. Kyoujiro was often ridiculed by others due to his limited serpent features compared to those of his family, having only a limited amount of scales and no horns. Taking an evening stroll one night as an adolescent, Kyoujiro encountered the patron snake kami of the Kirumasa Clan, Kiirumei, the kami of insight. The kami offered him a deal; in expense of whatever physical powers he was gifted as a Kirumasa, he would receive a more spiritual connection with serpents, allowing him to call upon them during battle, unleashing them like vines, to which Kyoujiro accepted.
==Muhō Jidai==
===Fall of Seuku===
During the war, Kyoujiro was appointed as a military advisor, due to his studies of battle and Akashiren culture, by the then leader of Akashiro, Ōgosho Akira. This earnt him the government rank of Mandokoro. However, following the fall of Seuku [Soijiro] to the hands of the Hiragawa Clan in 120 BU, Kyoujiro believed his efforts would be best spent elsewhere, inspiring him to join the front lines. 
===The Kadono Battles===
Fighting in the outskirts of Akashiro territory, known as the Kadono battles, Kyoujiro aided in defending against the advancing Hiragawa and Fujishina Clans, earning him the rank of Rōjū. Despite efforts over multiple years, Kyoujiro and his forces were outnumbered and overwhelmed as Akashiro suffered crushing defeats, losing control of their most strategically important castles and outposts. Upon order of Akira Akashiro, Kyoujiro returned to Tennyoku in 20 BU, after almost a century of battling, to further aid in the logistical side of the conflict.
===The Siege of Tennyoku===
Shortly after Kyoujiro's return to Tennyoku, the Akashiro Clan was cornered within the capital, the city surrounded by Hiragawan forces as they commenced a final siege to at last claim the Shogunate under their own banner. During this time, his leader Akira, sought desperate solutions to quell the conflict. Therefore, like the first Shōgun before him, he ventured into the abyss, searching for divine reason and disappearing from the material world. The Siege of Tennyoku then saw Kyoujiro and the Akashiro, decisively led by Akira's younger brother Tsukikage, defend their ancestral stronghold against relentless assaults, creating a longstanding stalemate. Following the emergence of Akira from the abyss along with the first Shigen-sha's lost blessed necklace, the Siege of Tennyoku finally came to an end, as the Fujishina and Kaguro Clans came together with the Akashiro to form an alliance in 15 BU.
===The Seuku Campaign===
This alliance of clans then lead their forces against the Hiragawa, completely quelling their military and reclaiming the land of Akashiro. Kyoujiro was then tasked with leading the Seuku Campaign, a military operation to liberate the neighbouring nation of Seuku [Soijiro], after a Hiragawan rule of almost a century. During his campaign, he became very acquainted with the nation, becoming close allies with the Sajo Clan. Along the way, Kyoujiro also met fellow Akashiren soldier Yuzuki Kirumasa, who he married subseuquently. Following immense victory in liberating Seuku [Soijiro], the Hiragawa Clan then collapsed, with Tsukikage Akashiro granting Kyoujiro the esteemed rank of Daijō-kan.
===Reunification of Akashiro===
After the end of the Muhō Jidai, a period of reorganization occured, seeing a few clans leave, including the Kaguro Clan, sparking a reset of the Akashiren calendar to the year 0 AU. The Akashiro Clan reunified the nation under the original clan banner, Tsukikage was elevated to Shōgun of the realm, and Akashiro entered a peacetime era, restoring the Shogunate, with Kyoujiro in his high council. In 3 AU, Kyoujiro's wife, Yuzuki gave birth to their first son, Yumeruto, in Tennyoku.
==Post Re-unification==
===Relations in Soijiro===
After displaying his prowess and now his familiarity with Soijiro, Shōgun Tsukikage Akashiro assigned Kyoujiro as the special diplomat to the nation, founding an embassy in the capital of Honbu. With his great friend, Ajin Sajo, Kyoujiro created the Kanōto Hearts Party, or KKG, in order to run in next Soijiran High Council election. Winning with a large majority, Kyoujiro was admitted into the High Council in 49 AU, also as a representative for Akashiro.
===Akashiren Organization===
Due to his well-renowned studies of Akashiro, Kyoujiro was appointed as Minister of Culture within the national government. The following year, colonizers from lands far away arrived in Abeshiro [Abexilas]; the Shōgun and his Daijō-kan observing them with a watchful eye. Seeing them scramble to claim all the land they could and fight with each other over mere meters of land, some nations settled near the Akashiro. As they did so, the Shōgun, Tsukikage Akashiro, sent them an invitation to a regional meeting, in which he, Kyoujiro, and the rest of Daijō-kan discussed borders and boundaries with the new settlers, as well as friendships, potential trade routes and alliances. The Shōgun offered them Akashiren sake as they all shared stories with one and other, of the past and of lands not yet seen by the Shogunate. After which, they wrote up a treaty, with each neighbouring nation signing it, marking the creation of 'The Five Winds' Alliance. A few years later, Kyoujiro and Yuzuki had a second son in 56 AU, named Kubota.
== Soijiro ==
===Soijiran Crisis===
In 51 AU, Juno Osabu also known regnally as Princess Ingyeo, was crowned Queen of Soijiro. Queen Ingyeo’s reign started off well, with her introducing new laws allowing common folk to join the government and funding the reconstruction of ruins following the liberation of Soijiro from the Hiragawa Clan via the Seuku Campaign, led by Kyoujiro. However, the Soijiran Court then split into two factions: The Kanoto Hearts Party, led by Kyoujiro and his friends in the Sajo Clan, and the Pahin Party, led by Juno Mura, Queen Ingyeo’s sister, who was aggressively anti-Akashiren influence. Queen Ingyeo soon began to favour the Pahin Party due to her familial connections, further causing a rift in the court. In 58 AU, Queen Ingyeo unstable half sister, Meeju, secretly began banditing and murdering across other nations. The following year, the head of the Sajo Clan, Prince Keichi, confronted Queen Ingyeo about the an incident where Meeju had been caught in the act killing a peasant, but without evidence Keichi was accused of treason, further isolating Kyoujiro and Sajo Clan in the court further. 
In 60 AU, Salamdeul, a town run by the Sajo Clan, was infiltrated by Meeju, leading to the death of Governor and Princess Sajo Asan’s bestfriend. Greatly angered, Asan locked down Salamdeul, with the court petitioning Queen Ingyeo once more, but again were disregarded and accused of treason. The Sajo Clan then fled to the fortress town of Gowon, meeting with Kyoujiro, where together, they plotted to overthrow the corrupted Queen Ingyeo and her government. After months of planning, the Sajo Clan gathered their forces and those of other dissatisfied noble families and surrounded the capital of Honbu. In a last resort effort to maintain their power, Juno Mura petitioned the Shōgun Tsukikage Akashiro and his Daijō-kan, including Kyoujiro, to enter the crisis as mediators to prevent a violent conflict and judicate a conclusion.
After just a day, Shōgun Tsukikage, Kyoujiro and the Daijō-kan decreed that Queen Ingyeo shall step down from her position along with her government, installing Prince Sajo Keichi as the new King of Soijiro. Although a complete civil war was avoided, the Royal Palace was still stormed, leading to the hanging of Meeju by Sajo soldiers and King Keichi being mortally wounded. Despite this, peace in Soijiro was at last restored.
===Dissolving of Kanōto Relations===
Once the Royal Palace in Soijiro's capital of Honbu was claimed, King Keichi, against the original plan with the Sajo Clan and Kyoujiro, allied himself with the impeached Queen Ingyeo's sister, Juno Mura. King Keichi decreed that Ingyeo would be exiled to the distant island of Seubu, forming her own new nation, but was later poisoned by her own sister, removing all remnants of her past power. In her last days, Ingyeo reached out to Kyoujiro's friend and fellow Daijō-kan, Daigo Fujishina, concurring that the Kingdom of Seubu would be fully integrated into the Shogunate. Once the old queen was eliminated, King Keichi and Juno Mura created their government council with the previously discussed members, however, removing Kyoujiro due to Mura's strong anti-Akashiren sentiment. 
Upon hearing this Shōgun Tsukikage was completely outraged due to all that Kyoujiro had done for Soijiro and its people, with the whole nation of Akashiro feeling utterly betrayed by King Keichi. Due to this, the relations between the two Kanōto culture nations broke down, with defence treaties dissolving. The following year, King Keichi succumbed to his wounds obtained in the rush of the Honbu Royal Palace, leaving his sister, Sajo Ajin becoming the new queen. Queen Ajin, newly known by her regnal name Jihwa, reformed Soijiro into the Hwaryeong Niruku, with Jihwa becoming the first Niruha and Kyoujiro, as well as Akashiro, limiting their contact with the new nation.
== Modern Shogunate ==
=== Cultural Advancements ===
After the Soijiro Crisis, Kyoujiro devoted much of his time to Akashiro's cultural history as well as still serving as a Daijō-kan. In order to restore what was lost during the Muhō Jidai, he conducted thorough research into the Shogunate's literature and art as well as elements of Tenshin, particularly kami. The research enabled Kyoujiro to discover much of Akashiro's cultural valuables and texts that were misplaced or forgotten during the war. His profound investigations not only expanded his knowledge as Minister of Culture, but further accentuated his passion for art, and predominantly, literature. This lead to Kyoujiro writing many historical texts, including subjects such as abyssal kami and the evolution of Akashiren art, as well as religious poetry, most famously ‘Enduring Truth and Pure Beauty’, written in 62 AU.
=== Geographic Work ===
Following Akashiro's absorption of Yun-Tsau and Gyeondo, the Shogunate expanded massively and faced an influx of various cultures. In response to this, Kyoujiro officially drew up 3 new regions and 14 new prefectures in 83 AU. This was to better distinguish and represent each area based on their cultural differences, heritage, regional customs and traditions. Subsequently, Kyoujiro conducted a nation-wide population census of each prefecture, with his polling concluding that Akashiro had, and still currently has, a population of 12,392,000. The studies motivated Kyoujiro to visit the Akashiren colony of Hōu Zhanaland in 86 AU for the first time in his life. Once he returned home, Kyoujiro wrote the two-part novel History of Akashiro. The chronicle recounts over 2700 years of the Shogunate's past, beginning at Akashiro's very founding, making it one of the most-well known pieces of literature in the nation.
=== Tsumikami ===
In 88 AU, through his cultural investigations, Kyoujiro rediscovered the land of Tsumikami. A countryside expanse in Akashiro's Tuyoto Prefecture, Tsumikami was recognised for its scenic rice fields and its status as holy site in Tenshin due to its historical significance regarding the god Ryula. However, following the conclusion of the Muhō Jidai and the reunification of Akashiro in 0 AU, the land remained in ruins for several decades. Kyoujiro realised Tsumikami’s importance as a sacred and agriculturally valuable area. So, he reconstructed some of the destroyed ruins and restored the rice fields that had once made it famous. His revitalisation not only brought prosperity back to the land but also revived the cultural significance of Tsumikami, reconnecting it with the people of Akashiro. During this period, Kyoujiro also built the Murakami Estate, a traditional Akashiren manor, providing him with an alternative residence to escape the bustle of Tennyoku in his older years. The Estate stores the majority of Kyoujiro's literature, carefully preserved.
== Death ==
7 years after his restoration of Tsumikami, Kyoujiro died of old age in 95 AU, passing away at the Murakami Estate. The following day, a state funeral was held in Tennyoku, with the Shōgun giving his friend a royal tribute.
Category:Akashiro
=Legacy=
Kyoujiro is a pivotal figure of the Akashiro Shogunate. Serving the Akashiro Clan during the Muhō Jidai, Kyoujiro fought in multiple battles and most notable led the Seuku Campaign, which successfully liberated Soijiro from the Hiragawa Clan's control. As a member of the Daijō-kan, Kyoujiro was an esteemed political official. He conducted important diplomatic relations for almost a century, and alongside Shōgun Tsukikage, aided in resolving crises such as the Soijiro Civil War. Kyoujiro’s dedication to Akashiro’s culture impacts the nation to this day, with his discoveries making up much of the Shogunate’s knowledge of its history and religion. As well as this, Kyoujiro’s literary compendium includes some of the most influential Akashiren pieces of writing, such as his novel History of Akashiro and poem Enduring Truth and Pure Beauty.