Third Yasuki War

The Third Yasuki War was a war fought between the Crab Clan and the Crane Clan for control of the Yasuki lands, following the death of Yasuki Hachi in 1168.
== Beginning of the War ==
Hida Kisada received information on the Yasuki family's line of succession from Shosuro Higatsuku during the Crab-Scorpion War. Peace at the Point of a Sword, by Rusty Priske and Shawn Carman Hida Kuon met with Doji Domotai to discuss the succession of the Yasuki Daimyo and, using that information as evidence that Hachi's claim was a false one, demanded the next Yasuki daimyo swear fealty to the Crab alone. Domotai refused to accept that, as it would be questioning the word of Doji Kurohito. Family Troubles, by Rusty Priske and Fred Wan
== Opposing Tactics ==
The Crab had larger armies and battle-hardened veterans, they pushed the Crane forces back to the margins of the province. A New Empire, Part III, by Rusty Priske, Nancy Sauer, and Lucas Twyman
The Crane had superior maps of the area, and their courtiers prevented any other clan from helping the Crab. As the Crane had a much stronger economic position, they sought to drag the conflict out until the Crab could no longer afford to continue it. They had shut the markets down to the Crab, had managed to stop hundreds of shipments that the Crab relied on every day to continue in their duties, both on the warfront and the Kaiu Wall. Those who still sold to the Crab charged astronomical prices; when pressed on the issue, they would only state that they had received pressure from outside sources to change prices. The Crane did not even leave the market on jade intact. The Crane were doing everything in their power to prevent the Crab from continuing. A Tale of Bushido, by Brian Yoon 
== Conflict ==
=== Cherry Blossom Snow Village ===
The Crab captured Cherry Blossom Snow Village after the battle there in 1169. However, Kakita Kensho-in slew all the workers of the village's renowned brewery, rendering it useless. Kuon did not take the news well, and a mocking gift from Domotai shortly after compounded his hatred of the Crane Clan Champion. The Flowers, the Snow, by Nancy Sauer and Fred Wan
=== Death of Art ===
When Jade Champion Kuni Daigo decided to march the Jade Legions out into the Shadowlands, he decided to appropriate supplies of jade from the Crab Clan. Hida Kuon, however, persuaded Daigo to raid the Crane. Hida Sozen, backed by Jade Legionnaires, ransacked Shinden Asahina, taking any sculptures or artwork made of jade. Asahina Hideki tried to stop Sozen, but Sozen and his guards easily overpowered Hideki, destroying a priceless sculpture carved by Asahina Kamatari, known as The Council, in the process. Sacrifices, by Rusty Priske
=== Mantis trading ===
The Mantis Clan traded war supplies for both Clans, but they favored the Crab. They provided the best quality supplies to the Crab with small profit, while giving the worst material to the Crane at higher prices. In this way the Crane financed the supplies for both themselves and the Crab, while the Mantis ensuring that they got the worst of those supplies. Economic Matters, by Rusty Priske
=== Changing Tactics ===
In 1170 Daidoji Fumisato became the Daidoji Zoushi's advisor. The elderly man commanded the fight in all but the name. The Crane's tactics became more unpredictable. The Heaven's Will, Part I, by Shawn Carman
== Phoenix Intervention ==
Isawa Ochiai and her yojimbo Masakazu visited the Crab and Crane generals, Hida Sozen and Daidoji Zoushi respectively, to attempt to end the war peacefully. Both refused the Phoenix intervention. Following the meeting The Fire’s Peace (Imperial Herald v2#25), by Rusty Priske the Phoenix Clan Champion Shiba Tsukimi led the Shiba Army into Yasuki territory. The Crab and Crane fronts ceased to crash against one another and now, instead, they unified and turned against the Phoenix. The Phoenix realized it and withdrew their forces out of Yasuki lands. The Heaven's Will, Part I, by Shawn Carman
== Stalemate ==
The Crab had used their lock on last year's tea crop ruthlessly, after Yasuki Jinn-Kuen managed to negotiate several large multi-year contracts last year, and they would serve to keep the cost of tea high. Despite it, the Crane had the upper hand economically, but not enough to get rid of the Crab's armies. In the field the Crane had been pushed to the margins of the Yasuki provinces, but when the Crab gathered to drive them out of one area the Crane infiltrated another area with the aid of their superior military maps, drown in the times of Yasuki Hachi as Yasuki Daimyo. It was a stalemate with no clear conclusion. A New Empire, Part III, by Rusty Priske, Nancy Sauer, and Lucas Twyman
== End of the War ==
The war was resolved shortly after the ascension of Empress Iweko I.
At the beginning of winter, the leaders of the Crab met to discuss the progress of the war. Hida Otoya claimed that their forces would be able to push the Crane out of the province by spring, but Yasuki Jinn-Kuen said that the Crab's supplies would last no more than a month, due to the Crane's economic sanctions and the high cost of maintaining the Wall. Otoya suggested they deploy the Damned, but Kuon was outraged by the notion. Left with no other options, Kuon sent Jinn-Kuen to ask Domotai for terms. Glory of the Empire, Part II, by Rusty Priske and Nancy Sauer
In exchange for Crab testimony that Kurohito's word was true and the Crane's claim to the lands was legitimate, Domotai arranged for Jinn-Kuen to marry a Crane woman, and gave him control of the Yasuki lands as her dowry. 
== Known Casualties ==
* Hiruma Aya
== External Links ==
* The Third Yasuki War (Words and Deeds)
Category:Battles
Category:Articles with Pictures