Shiba Kenji

Please note: This article is about the Imperial Tax Collector. For other uses of the term, please see Kenji (disambiguation).
Shiba Kenji was the Imperial Tax Collector stationed at Porisuko.
== Early Years ==
The third son of his family, Kenji lacked the skills proper of a bushi, but his uncle, an Asako Loremaster, noticed Kenji's talent for numbers and recommended him as a Tax Collector. The appointment was enough for him to petition to marry his neighbor's daughter, Shiba Kuriko, his childhood love. Strongholds of the Empire, p. 161
== Cursed ==
Kenji noticed small problem in his reports and accounts, but initially ignored the incidents. Month by month, the problems grew, both in magnitude and in malice. His work was mixed up or even missed completely, and he even began to suffer minor accidents. Whispers began to circulate through the office that Kenji was cursed. Eventually his superior Kitsuki Katashi, an honorable and dedicated man, requested his seppuku for covering with obscene doodles the margins of his reports. Kenji retorted and Katashi realized the horrid drawings could not possibly have been done by Kenji. He removed his request for seppuku but sent him far away, to the remote village of Porisuko. Strongholds of the Empire, pp. 161-162
== Tricked by Mujina ==
Kenji and his young wife set out for Porisuko, a ronin village led by the otokodate known as the Guards' Wrath. Near the village a mujina appeared, spooking Kuriko's pony, throwing her off and then trampled her to death in panic. The trickster spirit had followed Kenji, and the creature had been the cause of all his problems before. Kenji decided to commit seppuku, and wrote his final haiku, but he realized he needed vengeance. Kenji vowed he would join his wife in the afterlife as soon as he finally kills the mujina. Strongholds of the Empire, p. 162
== Porisuko ==
Shiba Jiro was his yojimbo in the village of Porisuko. One corner of his residence housed a shrine dedicated to his late wife. Strongholds of the Empire, p. 159
== See also ==
* Shiba Kenji/Meta
Category:Phoenix Clan Members