Doji Retsu

Please note: This article is about the Tsume Daimyo and Toshi Ranbo's conqueror. For other uses of the term, please see Retsu (disambiguation).
Doji Retsu of House Tsume, was the grandson of his family founder Doji Kigura. Secrets of the Crane, p. 49
== Family ==
Retsu had a son, Tsume Takashi. Honor's Veil, p. 7 Sidebar His wife died during an epidemy, and Retsu survived her eleven years more. Honor's Veil, p. 10
== Demeanor ==
Retsu was a cruel and ruthless samurai. Dominated his family, cursing his son for their meager accomplishments. He cared little for the heimin, raising
taxes in times of drought, floods or epidemics. The only reason the Crane Clan Champion Doji Satsume tolerated him was for his noble birth and history of loyalty to his family. Honor's Veil, p. 6
== Military prowess ==
=== Toshi Ranbo ===
In 1118 Strongholds of the Empire, p. 115 Retsu seized Toshi Ranbo from the Lion Clan in a daring and violent incursion that destroyed the Goseki family. Time of the Void, p. 14
=== Kyotei castle ===
Retsu was and agressive and covetous man who grabbed Kyotei Castle, the Damasu family castle, vassals of the Akodo. He defeated the Damasu Daimyo Damasu Kojima in the battlefield and wiped them out to a man. Retsu commanded the defeated family's execution and the seppuku of all its samurai. It created a feud with the Lion, and the brash Ikoma Ujiaki would like to take revenge. Retsu conceeded command of Toshi Ranbo to another Crane General and made Kyotei Castle the ancestral home of the Tsume. Two Damasu children who had survived were killed to avoid any future revenge, and Kojima's daughter was sold as a slave. Honor's Veil, p. 20
=== Phoenix Clan ===
Twenty years later Retsu tested the Phoenix border patrols of Shiba Katsuda, following his eagerness for conflicts. This skirmishes was testing the Phoenix defenses, and the first stage to a full assasult in the lands of Shiba Katsuda. The attacks on the Phoenix, allies of the Crane, disliked Satsume. He sent Daidoji Uji to warn Retsu to change his course of action upon menace of being outcast from the Crane clan. Retsu refused, only death would change his will. 
== Death ==
In 1122 Imperial Histories, p. 130 Retsu was assassinated this night during the Bon Festival, stabbed in the heart. Honor's Veil, pp. 7-8 Tsume Takashi was made the new Daimyo. His son had fallen in love with a geisha, Reika, and used Takashi to gain access to the castle. She reached Retsu's chambers and before Retsu was killed Reika told her true ancestry, as the daughter of Damasu Kojima. 
Tsume Retsu