City of the Rich Frog (TCG)

The City of the Rich Frog was one of the most vital river ports in all of Rokugan, located at the junction of the Three Sides River and the Drowned Merchant River. The city facilitated trade between the Dragon, Lion, Unicorn, and the Dragonfly Clans, which considered the city as being of vital strategic and economic importance. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 87
== Strategic City ==
The City of the Rich Frog was one of the most vital river ports in all of Rokugan, as it was located at the junction of two major rivers and three Great Clans’ domains. Despite being neutral territory according to official imperial records, the Dragon, Lion, and Unicorn clans had all claimed a city district for their own. The sole exception was the governor’s manor, located on an island at the center of the river junction, from whence the governor’s agents collected taxes and issue tariffs on behalf of the Emperor himself. Secrets of the City of the Rich Frog (FFG Website)
=== Ronin Enforcers ===
In what was seen by many as an unusual arrangement, the city governor relied on rōnin deputies instead of clan samurai to ensure that law and order was maintained in the city. As there was no shortage of conflict to be found there, several generations of rōnin had been able to serve the governor and their magistrates. They had claimed the family name Kaeru for themselves over the years, and they accepted capable warriors and administrators into their ranks no matter their past. For it took talented swordsmen and bureaucrats to survive in a city that, even at its most peaceful, was a powder keg. 
== History ==
=== Imperial Holding ===
Originally known as the Village of the Rich Frog, it was violently contested for by the Lion and Dragon Clans for centuries. When the Unicorn Clan returned from their self-imposed exile, they laid claim as well. The Emperor declared the city an Imperial holding and dispatched an Imperial governor to run it. 
=== Kaeru Family ===
The city governor relied on rōnin deputies instead of clan samurai to ensure that law and order was maintained in the city. After several generations, these rōnin claimed the family name Kaeru for themselves, and accepted capable warriors and administrators into their ranks no matter their past. 
== City Layout ==
The city had three clan-controlled districts. The Imperial Governor's manor was on an island at the center of the river junction, and it was the governor's Imperial agents who collected taxes and issued tariffs. The island housed Rokugan's largest and oldest willow tree, named Saibanshoki. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, pp. 87-88
=== Unicorn District ===
The Unicorn Clan controled the entire western bank of the Three Sides River. Its impressive wharf was made of polished black granite with softwood inlays for traction. They maintained a handful of violet-roofed stone buildings, including a single tall tower at the southern end of the wharf. 
=== Lion District ===
Along the east bank of the Three Sides River south of the Drowned Merchant River lies the Lion's district and one of their most important trade hubs. They traded foodstuffs and clothing for iron and stone used in construction and arms. The river banks were marked with a defensive wall that dated from the port's violent history. Instead of a wharf, there were a half-dozen canal gates, a canal network that used the river current to move goods to massive storage complexes for foodstuffs and textiles that straddled the canals farther inland. 
=== Dragon District ===
The Dragon granted use of their profitable riverbank lands to the Dragonfly and focused on a strange collection of shrines at the junction of the two rivers. Fifty soldiers garrisoned near the shrines. On the northern and eastern banks of the Drowned Merchant River lies a modest wharf that occasionally saw use by travelers from the Phoenix Clan, who floated their goods downriver toward the sea, to the place known as Phoenix's Nest, where they were shipped up the coast back to Phoenix lands. On the north side of the Drowned Merchant River, west of the Phoenix wharf, was a sizable artificial basin with eleven wharfs and one open side, forming a dodecagon. Each side corresponded to a month of the year, featuring identifying animal statuary and iconography. A large lantern was moved one bollard clockwise each sunrise, acting as a communal calendar. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 88
== Known Governors ==
* Miya Tetsua (1116 - Present)
== External Links ==
* City of the Rich Frog (Rokugan at War)
Category:Imperial Holdings (TCG)