Kuni Watabe

Kuni Watabe was the Kuni Daimyo during the reign of Hantei XII in the 6th century. Imperial Histories 2, p. 85
== Heresy of the Five Rings ==
In the year 519 the monk Gorinno exposed his radical doctrine of Five Rings, Five Clans, and proposed to merge the Scorpion and Crane Clans as a cure for the imbalance he perceived in the Empire. The famous monk was arrested by Emerald Magistrate for heresy, but the personal intervention of Hantei XII released him. The prominent Phoenix shugenja Isawa Amiku and Watabe treated Gorinno's proposal as a valid idea, and they eventually created a religious movement which would be known as the Heresy of the Five Rings. A series of peasant revolts followed, and soon the Brotherhood of Shinsei itself was plagued by acts of violence between its various sects. Imperial Histories 2, pp. 84-85
=== Open Conflict ===
In the year 526 Watabe pleaded Gorinno to help break the Siege of Shiro Kuni, which was lasting several months. A rag-tag army of monks and heimin led by Gorinno drove back the Shadowlands beasts, albeit at heavy cost. Despite their support, the Order of the Five Rings was expelled from Crab lands the next year, ordered by the Crab Clan Champion Hida Oshu. Imperial Histories 2, p. 86
== Death ==
In the year 531 Watabe was challenged to a wrestling match by Ugoie, a monk of the Order of Osano-Wo, for his support of the Five Rings sect. During the combat he slipped and his neck was broken. 
Category:Crab Clan Leaders