Otemi

Ikoma Otemi was Captain of the Deathless, Protector of Kyuden Ikoma, Island in the Mist, Part II, by Rich Wulf husband of Ikoma Yasuko, and nephew of Ikoma Sume. Secrets on the Wind - Part 1, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman He became the Lion Clan Champion in the stewardship of Matsu Yoshino. He committed seppuku to show his disagreement with the Imperial Edict that granted Great Clan status to the Spider Clan. Ten years later the Empress Iweko I elevated Otemi as Fortune of Recovery.
== Family ==
His father was a sheltered omoidasu, his mother an Akodo bushi who had met via a political marriage arranged by Otemi's uncle, Ikoma Sume. Secrets of the Lion, p. 40
== Station==
At the Castle of the Swift Sword Dojo, Otemi trained beside the likes of Akodo Ijiasu and Akodo Kaneka. Before his Gempukku Otemi was named Ichiro. He defeated Matsu Nimuro when he was 12 years old in a kenjutsu trainee. He studied history, was a prepared swordman, expert horseman and even become quite accomplished at the art of taiko. Island in the Mist, Part III, by Rich Wulf Otemi entered in the Lion elite cavalry unit, the Lion Wardens. Secrets of the Lion, p. 29 Otemi was assgined to defend the Ikoma Histories. 
=== Preparations of the Winter Court ===
His uncle, Ikoma Sume, proposed to Otemi should vie for the favour of the Four Winds to gain the Winter Court in Lion lands. If successful, Otemi would then apply for a title that had been vacant for many years, the Protector of the Imperial City. Secrets on the Wind - Part 1, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman
==== Failed Winter Court ====
The Winter Court was a disaster, when a Pekkle no Oni was unmasked at Court, and the Four Winds ended it unresolved. Secrets on the Wind - Part 2, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman Otemi was at hand afterwards to rescue Akodo Kaneka from an assassination attempt by bandits, when the bastard was traveling to Lion lands alone. Secrets on the Wind - Part 3, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman
=== Bandits in the Ikoma land ===
Otemi took care of bandit brigades of Lord Hayato, clearing them out from Ikoma lands. From the saddlebag of a dead bandit's horse, his chief shugenja, Ikoma Tashiro found the map which shown the location of a lost island holding, the Island in the Mist. Island in the Mist, Part I, by Rich Wulf
== Island in the Mist ==
In 1158 Secrets of the Lion, p. 9 alongside Matsu Kenji, Otemi discovered the headquarters of the notorious pirate Yasuki Fumoki, the Island in the Mist, alongside with his vessel, the Deathless. The island was inhabited by nezumi of the Chipped Tooth Tribe, like K'chee, the Nameseeker H-Tach'kir, and the nezumi chieftain N'tuk, who was possessed by the ghost of the dead pirate Fumoki. Fumoki had been borrowing bodies to attempt to fulfill his destiny. Kenji was possessed by the dead pirate after she defeated N'tuk in combat.
Kenji and Otemi boarded the Deathless, and Otemi used his taiko knowledge alongside nezumi drummers to stun the gaki of the Sea of Shadows, defeating the giant beast living there, King Orochi, and claimed the vast riches in the name of the Lion Clan. Island in the Mist, Part IV, by Rich Wulf
== Betrothal to Shosuro Yasuko ==
In 1159 the Imperial Chancellor, Bayushi Kaukatsu, and his uncle, Ikoma Sume, decided Otemi would marry Kaukatsu's protegee, Shosuro Yasuko. An Entertaining Game, by Shawn Carman Otemi was quite disgusted about the choice of his betrothed. Clan Letter to the Lion #18 (Imperial Herald v2 #3)
=== Kenji's Love ===
Otemi succumbed to temptation and requested that Kenji be granted a permanent post as first mate on the Deathless, which was granted, alongside with an entire unit of the Lion's Pride. Secrets of the Lion, p. 41
=== Protector of Otosan Uchi ===
Otemi became the Protector of the Imperial City, and guarded Otosan Uchi by captaining of the Deathless stationed nearby. 
=== Matsu Domotai Kidnapped ===
Otemi also served as the protector of the Hall of Ancestors and Governor of Shiranai Toshi until Matsu Domotai's released from Tsuno captivity. Enemy at the Gates
=== Wedding ===
The Protector of the Imperial City married Shosuro Yasuko in Otosan Uchi. Clan Letter to the Crane #20 (Imperial Herald v2 #5) Otemi was granted the governorship of Shiranai Toshi as a wedding gift from his uncle Ikoma Sume. Otemi put the city under the watch of Otemi's newly appointed advisor, Ikoma Chikao. Secrets of the Lion, p. 36 Togashi Giri, the holy man who would perform the ceremony, accused the bride to be a vile temptress from the Shadowlands. Soshi Eiji worked to quickly stop the ensuing chaos. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 88 After the wedding Otemi returned to the Deathless and to the sea; making it clear he did not love his new bride. Sailors for Hire (Broken Blades flavour) Four Winds, p. 45 Once married both Kenji and Otemi chose never to pursue their passions for each other, instead remaining far apart to ensure neither could fall to dishonor. Great Clans, p. 125
== Fighting Daigotsu's Army ==
=== Fall of Otosan Uchi ===
During the Fall of Otosan Uchi, Otemi defeated the Shadowlands ships commanded by the undead Garen from his own ship, the Deathless, sinking Garen's flagship the Revenant. Otemi landed and faced Garen in a duel in the streets of the city, being able to wound him and when he was ready to strike the final blow, the undead was rescued by the Shadow Dragon and disappeared. Lost at Sea, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf The position of Protector became defunct when the Lion Clan burned Otosan Uchi, until the title was resurrected by Toturi Kurako in 1168 and gave it to Bayushi Norachai. Winter Nights: Sowing the Wind, by Nancy Sauer
=== Battle in the Ruined City ===
This year Otemi got words that a Lion expedition in the Ruins of Otosan Uchi Ruins of the Past (Training Grounds Story), by Rich Wulf had been cornered by Shadowlands and Bloodspeaker forces. Matsu Hyun had ridden to the Kitsu Tombs and had reported to the Kitsu Daimyo, Kitsu Juri. The Iuchiban's followers had opened a gate to Jigoku and the Lion boarded the Deathless to sail toward Otosan Uchi's beaches. They prepared a counterattack that released their brethren and Juri closed the portal in the Battle in the Ruined City. (Training Grounds Cards flavor) It looked the last time the ship remained in Lion hands. It was passed to the nezumi and I-m'jek became his captain. A Scene at Sea, by Rusty Priske 
=== Assassination Attempt ===
Otemi, his wife Yasuko, and Matsu Kenji were hunted by assassins, but they survived them. Superior Stance (Heaven and Earth flavor)
== War of the Rich Frog ==
=== Nimuro's Orders ===
Otemi was the Chief Shireikan of the First Matsu Army. Masters of War, p. 74 He was at Kyuden Ikoma when he was ordered by Matsu Nimuro to take command of the Lion forces at Kaeru Toshi. The War of the Rich Frog against the Unicorn had been at a standstill for months, and the arrival of the Dragon had only made things more difficult. His wife Yasuko decided to be with him despite Otemi wished her safe at home. Otemi begged his uncle Sume to use his connections between the Kaeru to protect his wife. The War of the Rich Frog, Part Two, by Shawn Carman
=== Relieving Hasaku's Command ===
The city had changed hands several times during the course of the conflict, but currently was under Lion control. Otemi took the place of Ikoma Hasaku, and the record of orders received by Hasaku from Nimuro were somewhat erratic. The same weakness that Nimuro denounced Hasaku for appeared to stem directly from the Champion's change in orders. In the Hasaku's seppuku Otemi was his second. His first action was to dismiss the gunso Ikoma Korin, who had not had success in discovering the traitor who was informing the Unicorn about the Lion movements. 
=== Kaeru family ===
Otemi met the Kaeru Daimyo, Kaeru Tomaru, and his son Kaeru Meiji. Both were warned of the leaking information, and that the traitor could be a Kaeru. Shortly after his visit Otemi knew that Tomaru had died poisoned. 
=== Matsu Nimuro ===
He saved the situation, but the strange orders of Nimuro complicated his task. Driven by Bayushi Kaukatsu, Nimuro then came himself to lead the conflict, The War of the Rich Frog, Part Five, by Rich Wulf and died against Moto Chagatai, the Unicorn Clan Champion, in a violent duel; Otemi picked up the Celestial Sword of the Lion Clan, ordered retreat The War of the Rich Frog, Part Six, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf and put an end to the war, thus losing the town of Sukoshi Zutsu but saving the property of the City of the Rich Frog. The War of the Rich Frog, Epilogue
=== Yasuko during the War ===
Otemi noticed his wife had a strange behaviour before while they were at home, but did not know that she intercepted the reports that passed through Kyuden Ikoma and passed to her former Clan. Ikoma Korin had discovered it but decided to not inform because deep in his heart Korin knew that Yasuko was good for the Lion, and became a ronin. Yasuko informed Korin it was her last act of treason to the Lion Clan. She came to respect Otemi, to love him, though she knew Otemi's heart was elsewhere. The War of the Rich Frog, Part Three, by Rich Wulf Yasuko aided Korin and his Clan since then. The War of the Rich Frog, Part Four, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf Yasuko engineered the dead of Kaeru Meiji, for his treason to the Lion. 
== Lion Clan Champion ==
When Matsu Ketsui believed her son, the Lion Clan Champion Matsu Nimuro to be dead, she named Otemi as his successor until Nimuro's eldest son, Matsu Yoshino, came of age to assume the Lion Clan Championship. She had no real authority to act so, but her declaration was well received by the Clan, and Otemi himself accepted the championship in this way. 
=== Ikoma Masote's death ===
Yasuko convinced Ikoma Masote's supporters that his failure to neutralize Doji Domotai, Doji Kurohito's daughter and Crane heir, when he engineered the death of Doji Akiko was a sign of weakness. Ikoma Korin and Vacant Throne, p. 16 Otemi ordered him to die a coward's death for this treachery, and Domotai herself dealt the killing blow. Old Rivalries, Part III, by Shawn Carman Masote had not asked for a yojimbo to stand in for him and accepted his own death with courage. In this way Yasuko had answered the request for help her husband made, and the ancient wounds Kurohito's death had opened were bound again. The Bitter Shadow of Shame (Path of Hope flavor) Blossoming Conflict (Path of Hope flavor)
=== Proving leadership ===
The Lion had been lost a war, and its leader Otemi believed the Lion needed a leader who would inspire them, a hero. Rapid Deployment (Path of Hope flavor) In 1167 the leaders of a broken peasant uprising had been fleed to Dragon lands. Otemi ordered Akodo Natsu to pursue them, and to request free pass to the Dragon. The expected refusal would be used to begin the conflict. The Empire would learn to respect the Lion once more, even if the cost would be measured in Dragon lives. Dawn of Lotus, The Lion Clan, by Shawn Carman It led in the begin of the War of Silk and Steel, which quickly would evolve in a war between the Dragon and the Lion's allies, the Crane Clan. Box texts (Drums of War)
=== Matsu Yoshino ===
Matsu Yoshino, Nimuro's son and future Lion Clan Champion, was appointed by Otemi under the command of Ikoma Fujimaro shortly after his gempukku. Matsu Yoshino (Path of Hope flavor)
=== The Wanderer ===
In 1168 the Kitsu Daimyo and Lion representative at the Court, Kitsu Katsuko, sent words to Otemi that the Emperor Toturi III was not in seclusion as they had been lead to believe. He had spent the past few months traveling the Empire as a disguised wanderer in search of enlightenment and lately entered the Shadowlands. The Emerald Champion Yasuki Hachi had requested all clans send a small force of warriors at Crab lands to join him in finding and protecting the Emperor. Otemi sent the young and untested Beastmaster Matsu Benika at the command of their fleetest unit, the Lion Wardens. The experienced Matsu Takuya would hold command until the border to the Shadowlands was crossed. After that point, Benika would make decisions regarding battle and tactics, best suited to an adaptable commander not bound by the conventions of traditional tactics as Benika. To Defend the Emperor, Part 2, by Shawn Carman
=== Two-War Front ===
The Khan Moto Chagatai was seeking a covert path to Toshi Ranbo and sent an expeditionary force that was crushed by Yoshino and Ikoma Fujimaro's forces. Otemi sent Matsu and Ikoma forces to strengthen their western border and Akodo Shigetoshi aided by Akodo Kobi would lead the Akodo joining the Crane against the Dragon. Yoshino did not believe that the Khan would falter until he found a safe passage to Toshi Ranbo. The Father's Legacy, by Brian Yoon
== Otemi steps down ==
After Matsu Yoshino, tutored by Otemi and Ikoma Fujimaro, proved himself worthy and became the Lion Clan Champion, The Father's Legacy, by Brian Yoon Otemi remained on as the young champion's advisor, Timeline (Lotus) and gained the nickname "The General". The General Falls (Khan's Defiance Title and flavor)
=== Toturi III's death ===
After the death of the Emperor Toturi III he and his wife were summoned by Matsu Yoshino. Yasuko lobbied to give the Lion support to the Empress Toturi Kurako, who was specifically left in charge of the Imperial Court while the Emperor withdrew, until a new heir was officially crowned. Otemi had arranged the marriage of Yoshino who accepted it as a part of a Champion's fate. After the meeting Otemi let his wife to investigate if Tsuruchi Etsui, a young who also had returned from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders knew more than he said about who Naseru wished as the Emperor's heir. Gifts of the Ancestors, by Nancy Sauer
== Khan's Defiance ==
In the winter of 1168 the Unicorn Clan Champion Moto Chagatai began a campaign to seize the Imperial Throne, the Khan's Defiance. The attack was sudden and captured Shiranai Toshi before the Lion could mount a decent defense. Words arrived Otemi at Kenson Gakka, and as the Khan marched upon Kyuden Ikoma, Yoshino and Otemi laid out a plan that would strike at the command post of the Khan, attempting to cut the head off the beast. The Khan's Defiance, by Shawn Carman
=== Otemi Wounded ===
Otemi lay in wait in a small village, and when the Khan's banner became visible Otemi and his men charged, taking the Unicorn by surprise. The advantage lasted only for a short time, and Chagatai shot Otemi twice with arrows. Otemi's life was just barely saved thanks to Yoshino's forces collapsing the castle gate and striking out at the command unit. Otemi was whisked away to safety but was severely wounded. The Khan torched the castle in the Fall of Kyuden Ikoma and took all the supplies his army could carry from the castle stockpiles. Vacant Throne, p. 56
=== The Khan's Assault on the Capital ===
Otemi's wound prevented him from aiding Matsu Yoshino in the defense of Lion lands and the Capital in 1169. The Truest Test, Part I, by Shawn Carman
=== Recovering ===
From his wounds Otemi had a limp he was unable to overcome. He trained to be ready when one year's time Yoshino would march to Shiro Moto. One Year, by Rusty Priske A scar on his throat was the remind of how he was close to be dead. Honor’s Veil, Part I, by Nancy Sauer
== Vacant Throne ==
During winter of this year Otemi made the planning of a campaign against the capital, aided by Matsu Aoiko. Ikoma Akiyama was unsure that it would be a good idea, but Otemi pointed out that the Phoenix occupation had shown that only those strong enough to take and hold the capital should be allowed to claim the throne. 
=== Lion Candidate for Emperor ===
Toturi Shigekawa, cousin of the late Empress and general of the Imperial Legions, was nominated for Emperor by the Lion Clan, which had been his clan of birth. Rulebook Story (Stronger than Steel), by Shawn Carman During the Race for the Throne other Lion saw Otemi as another possible option. Harbinger, by Shawn Carman
=== Fall of Shiro Moto ===
Still not recovered from his wounds, Otemi aided his lord to devise a plan which eventually would lead in the Fall of Shiro Moto. Inspecting the Charts (Honor's Veil flavor)
=== Library of the Kitsu discovered ===
In 1170 the nezumi crew of the Deathless, captained once again by Otemi, discovered a lost treasure, the ancient Library of the Kitsu race within an island the Lion claimed for their own, and named Shima no Quehao. Of Past and Future, by Rusty Priske
=== Ikoma Hagio ===
When Korin was murdered in the Night of the Assassins Otemi rejected the seat of the Ikoma daimyo in favor of Ikoma Hagio, Korin's son. He felt too old, even to take place in the Celestial Tournament as asked by Shigetoshi, Preparations, Part II, by Lucas Twyman, Nancy Sauer, Brian Yoon, and Fred Wan as he finally did. A New Empire, Part II, by Rusty Priske, Brian Yoon, and Shawn Carman
== Celestial Tournament ==
While the Celestial Tournament was taking place, a group of renegade maho-tsukai and followers of the shokansuru conducted a ritual in the Ruined City to summon an army of lesser oni, including some wanyudo. A group of Lion bushi led by Shigetoshi arrived at the scene as the ritual was being performed, and managed to stop the group's plan. Otemi was escorting the Kitsu Daimyo Kitsu Kiyoko, who blessed the Lion before the attack and purified the survivors. Defenders, by Nancy Sauer
== War of Dark Fire ==
In 1171 during the War of Dark Fire Otemi returned to battlefield to led a combined Lion, Crab, and Dragonfly army against the yobanjin Army of Fire. Hida Hikita was under his command. The ancestral lands of the Tonbo had been attacked and Otemi evacuated the villages to lure the raiders deep into a trap they had planned, to enclose their ranks completely. The Dark Oracle of Void Tonbo Toryu, appeared and unleashed his wrath against the invaders of his former Clan. The War of Dark Fire, Part 11, by Shawn Carman and Nancy Sauer
=== End of the War ===
Despite suffering heavy causalties, the Army of Fire prepared for a final assault. Otemi got words from Shigetoshi that all known yobanjin forces had withdrawn and appeared to be heading east. They were massing on the Dragon Heart Plain to attack south, to Toshi Ranbo. Shigetoshi commanded to marshal Otemi's forces and met him there. Shosuro Naname, of the Sixth Imperial Legion, joined Otemi. The War of Dark Fire, Part 15, by Shawn Carman In the Battle of Dragon Heart Plain the minions of Chosai were defeated by a combined Rokugani army, ending the war. The War of Dark Fire, Part 16, by Shawn Carman
=== Festival ===
In the ensuing festival announced by the Empress Iweko I Otemi and Shigetoshi agreed to send the Lion hero Akodo Setai at the forefront of it. A Warrior's Peace, by Brian Yoon
== Plague War ==
In 1172 Otemi took command of the Ikoma Wardens and met Akodo Hiroshi and his Legion. They talked about the next actions to be taken. Hiroshi had his men exhausted, but Otemi pressed to intercept a number of plague-infected, both refugees and a number of undead following in their wake, who were fleeing toward Scorpion lands. The heated discussion ended with the arrival of Matsu Benika, bearer of the Hand of the Jade Dragon. She spoke to both officers about the duty they shared, and that they must all stand together against this implacable threat. The troops and steeds were somehow invigorated, inspired, and the march began. Letters to the Empire
=== Fighting the Destroyers ===
Lion reinforcements led by Ikoma Otemi arrived to the southern front, in the Scorpion lands. In his first mission Otemi retook to the Destroyers a Scorpion village with tactical value, aided by the forces of Shosuro Ritsuko. Heroes of the Empire, by Shawn Carman
=== Mass seppuku ===
In 1173 after the end of the Destroyer War the Spider Clan had been conferred the status of Great Clan as part of an arrangement with Daigotsu, the Master of Jigoku at that time. The Imperial edict issued by the Empress Iweko I respect the Spider and the bargain she made with Jigoku was seen by many Lion samurai as acts that they could not reconciled themselves to. Shigetoshi allowed to all of them to commit seppuku, as a denouncement of Iweko's actions. Aftermath, Part 4, by Yoon Ha Lee
== Death ==
Otemi also disagreed with the Empress. Shigetoshi gifted him his own Wakizashi and the Lion General took his life with Matsu Kenji as his second. 
== Ascension as a Fortune ==
On the tenth Festival of Ascension, which celebrated the anniversary of Empress Iweko's coronation, she rewarded the Great Clans for their service by permitting each to choose one of their venerated ancestors to be elevated to the position of Fortune. The Lion selected Ikoma Otemi, hero of the Winter of Red Snow. He then ascended as the Fortune of Recovery. Scenes from the Empire 33, by Robert Denton and Shawn Carman Years later an area in the Colonies was named Otemi's Sacrifice to honor him. 2012 Kotei: The Age of Exploration
== See also ==
* Ikoma Otemi/Meta
== External Links ==
* Ikoma Otemi (Gold)
* Ikoma Otemi Exp (Broken Blades)
* Ikoma Otemi Exp2 (Lotus)
* Ikoma Otemi Exp3 (Emerald and Jade Championship)
Ikoma Otemi
Category:Fortunes