Daidoji Chiroku

Please note: This article is about the samurai-ko who was granted a Ki-Rin tattoo. For other uses of the term, please see Chiroku (disambiguation).
Daidoji Chiroku was a samurai-ko of the Crane Clan who was granted a Ki-Rin tattoo.
== Glimpse of the Ki-Rin ==
Chiroku was a beautiful samurai-ko whose abilities with the sword were legendary. She was the only daughter of the Daidoji Daimyo, and was well loved by her parents. One day she was meditating on a sunrise by the sea when she was struck with a vision. Forsaking her parents and family she left the lands of the Crane to seek an artisan who could fulfill her vision. She was not seen for years, and her parents mourned her as if dead. Then, as if she never had left, she returned, speaking of travels to the mountains of the Togashi but she had no recollection of how much time had passed or what had happened. Her father had died while she was away, and she wept at his grave for days. She seemed ageless now, as if time had no meaning, and when she eventually left she was as young and as beautiful as the day she had left. She traveled to meet with the Daidoji Daimyo Daidoji Jubei, and she had spoken of dreams and journeys in the lands of the Crane. When she was finished she walked to the balcony and turned to face the daimyo. He looked to where she had stood and she was gone, a silver Ki-Rin leaping into the heavens. Some Crane claim to have seen a strange pale spirit take the form of a young samurai-ko, often waving them away from danger. Way of the Crane, p. 124
== Ki-Rin Tattoo ==
Records written by Togashi Ueshiba state that a beautiful Crane samurai-ko had arrived before Kyuden Togashi and received a tattoo by the Master Tattoo Artist Togashi Tsuneyo. The tattoo was of a silver Ki-Rin, so in all likely hood the woman was Chiroku, Way of the Crane, pp. 10-12 and the tattoo the Ki-Rin tattoo. Ki-Rin tattoo (The Harbinger Title)
== External Links ==
* Shiryo No Chiroku (Soul of the Empire)
Category:Crane Clan Members
Category:Characters with Pictures