Matsu Hokitare

Please note: This article is about the bushi. For other uses of the term, please see Hokitare (disambiguation).
Matsu Hokitare was a bushi of the Lion Clan.
== Appearance and Demeanor ==
Hokitare was a honest, cheerful man, thin and wiry, with large teeth, and a winning smile. Way of the Lion, p. 76
== Station ==
Hokitare served as scout of the Matsu army. Way of the Lion, p. 75 He served under Matsu Tsuko, who sent him to the Phoenix court, where he excelled as a forthright, honest, and quick-witted diplomat.
=== Scorpion Court ===
Hokitare was reassigned to Scorpion court as a permanent post. He uncovered a brutal blackmail, masterminded by Bayushi Goshiu. The Scorpion knew of it, and tried to bribe, and threat Hokitare to get his silence, and finally murdered his younger sister. Anyhow he revealed all he knew to the Emerald Champion and fled from Scorpion lands. 
=== Tsuko's Bodyguard ===
Tsuko recalled him to her personal guard, giving counsel in battle. During the Lion-Crane War spent several months in the field, defending his lady Tsuko from Crane aggression. But a lingering wound had forced him to retire from that post, and he returned to the Imperial Capital in 1123. Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, p. 118
== Scorpion Coup ==
Hokitare had retired to find solace in the Hinjaku district, governed by the monk Mirumoto Hinjaku. When the Scorpion Coup began he advised Tsuko that Bayushi Shoju's prodigy Bayushi Kyono was a significant threat. Bayushi Kyono (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 2 flavor)
== After the Coup ==
In the last days of the Coup Hinjaku's cousin, Mirumoto Hojize had died of a heart-attack, leaving the Hojize district without leadership. Hokitare had seen the active resistance of Hinjaku against the Scorpion, so he spoke in Hinjaku's defense within the Imperial Palace when it was considered to merge both districts under Hojize's command. Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, pp. 118-119
== Death ==
Hokitare died several days after the Coup. Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, p. 119
== See also ==
* Matsu Hokitare/Meta
== External Links ==
* Matsu Hokitare (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 2)
Category:Lion Clan Members