Ichiro Kihongo

Ichiro Kihongo was a Elite Guardsman who became the Badger Clan Champion.
== Trademark Items ==
His pipe was among his most prized possessions, a precious gift from the Unicorn Clan. Vignettes II: The Thrill of Adventure, by Shawn Carman Keibatsu was his favorite sodegarami. Secrets of the Mantis, p. 77
== Clan's Destruction ==
In 1126 died the Badger Clan Champion, Ichiro Chuga, under the rampage of Hideo no Oni. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 19 Kihongo was just a boy who survived because he was visiting the Dragonfly with his father. He reached his gempukku shortly before the Clan War, fighting in Toturi's Army. The clan's borders were watched by the few Brotherhood Monks within his lands, and a squad of ten bushi guarded the clan's surviving peasants. Fealty and Freedom, p. 17
=== Claiming at Court ===
Kihongo knew that the Imperial Magistrate who discovered the clan's destruction, Kuni Osuki, had claimed in the Imperial Court that he and his men had destroyed the rampaging oni. This was a lie, and Kihongo sent his daughter Ichiro Rinko to Otosan Uchi, and eventually managed to restore the Badger's honor, while Osuki was forced to commit seppuku. Fealty and Freedom, p. 18
== Clan Champion ==
Near the end of the war Kihongo's father died fighting Yogo Junzo's forces, and Kihongo assumed leadership of the surviving Badger, being dead the rest of the ruling family. Way of the Samurai, p. 75 Ichiro Tashimi, sensei to Kihongo, had refused to take the championship to himself. The Touch of the Void, by Shawn Carman
=== Mercenary ===
As a mercenary, Kihongo had a reputation for loyalty and quality of service. He was on good terms with most large ronin and mercenary bands, welcomed in Nanashi Mura, the Yotsu Dojo, and the Mantis Clan. Kihongo eventually founded the Fallen Mountain Dojo in the City of the Rich Frog. 
=== Mantis Affairs ===
The Badger were hired by the Mantis during the Second Yasuki War to supplement their own forces. The Mantis switched their loyalties to the Crab after the war began, and they betrayed both sides and allied themselves with Akodo Kaneka. Kihongo withdrew his forces to express his discontent with Yoritomo Kitao. Kihongo dispatched messengers asking to meet with Yoritomo Kumiko, who might prove to be a more reliable Mantis Clan Champion than Kitao. 
=== Doom of the Dragonfly ===
After he left the Yasuki conflict Kihongo journeyed north, seeking any survivors of the Dragonfly Clan, destroyed in 1158 by their ancient enemies, the Lion Clan. They reminded Kihongo of his own clan's fate, and he did whatever he could to help the Tonbo rebuild. 
== Hideo no Oni is Back ==
In 1166 a new jade vein had been found but the mine collapsed, killing sisty workers. Kihongo was suggested by his chief advisor Ichiro Jinzaburo to request military aid from the Crab. They sent Kaiu Tasuku and his elder cousin Kaiu Sugimoto. The Badger were planning to attack the yobanjin Mountain Wind Tribe, that had been seen near the mine. Sugimoto turned the opinion of the offcider assembled toward the real menace, a respawn of Hideo no Oni. The oni was nowhere, and they supposed it fled after the oni saw the Yobanjin and the Badger would not weaken one each other in battle. Sugimoto proved he was Enlightened and became the Keeper of Earth. Duty, Like a Mountain, by Rich Wulf Kihongo decided to kill the Oni as his ancestor did before. Traveling Ronin (Fall of Otosan Uchi flavor) 
=== Imperial Scrutiny ===
In 1166 the princess Otomo Hoketuhime knew the Emperor Toturi III was being defied by the second Gozoku. The Otomo wished the Emperor to appear stronger, and to do that his clans must appear strong. She saw the Badger a Clan that did not show strength to the Empire, and sent Miya Tsurugi to assess whether Emperor Toturi I made a mistake in allowing the Badger to retain the Minor Clan status. The Crane guessed they would seize the Ichiro territory if the status was revoked, and sent the diplomat Doji Koin and his advisor Asahina Hira. 
=== Keepers ===
The four known Keepers, Kaiu Sugimoto, Kakita Tsuken, Doji Jun'ai, and Mirumoto Masae, appeared at Shiro Ichiro. When they knew the Kihongo concern, they offered their aid. The Badger had to prove they were fulfilling their duty as a Clan. Kihongo regreted his homeland became a place where samurai journeyed to seek glory by overcoming Badger shame even while the Great Clans plotted to parcel off their lands. 
=== Hideo no Oni destruction ===
Hideo no Oni had been during thirty years the Badger nemesis, and it again had appeared. The Ichiro sent his forces led by Kihongo's grandson, Ichiro Ryozan, to track and kill the oni, aided by all the guests presents. Ryozan returned as the oni's murderer, and with unexpected news. 
=== Tomb of Ryoshun ===
The Ryoshun's Grave had been recognized in a old temple the Badger had guarded since their foundation. The real duty of the Badger had been set by Hantei himself, to avoid that mortals entered this temple until the Tenth Kami walked the earth once more. When Tsurugi knew of it, he recognized the Badger were fulfilling his oath to the Hantei family. The Miya would use the Emperor's Blessing to fund the Badger and the Crane would pay the taxes of the next year. The Crab would fortify the temple, and they would provide food enough that the Badger warriors could return from abroad to protect these mountains. And no less surprising was that Asahina Hira had been proved to be enlightened, becoming the last keeper, the Keeper of Void. 
== Badger's Restoration ==
Once the Badger's secret duty was exposed, the Clan finally had the respect it was earning all along. Fealty and Freedom, p. 13 His grandson Ichiro Ryozan was sent back to their ancestral lands by her mother, who wanted him to grow up among his people, not stifled in the manipulating schemes of the Court. Fealty and Freedom, p. 19
== Yobanjin Plot ==
In 1168 Kazumasa, one of the ronin Shogun's Advisors and a favored explorer, came to Shiro Ichiro to inform Kihongo about a yobanjin plot. During his travels he made a short stay in a Yobanjin port far north of the lands. There he knew that a yobanjin tribe was plotting to pit the Badger against the friendly Mountain Wind Tribe. The manipulators hoped to use the Badger attack on the Mountain Wind as a rallying point to marshal a united offense against Rokugan by multiple Yobanjin tribes. Kihongo sent word to the Mountain Wind and ensured that this deception did not come to pass. Kazumasa joined the Badger Clan at the behest of the Shogun Kaneka. 
== Massive Yobanjin army ==
In 1170 in the Month of the Rat several scouts, including the former Shogun's Advisor Kazumasa, sent into the lands were the Yobanjin tribes dwelled, reported there was an army massing north of the Empire, an army that numbered countless legions of Yobanjin. The First Touch of Flame (Imperial Herald v3 #1) This threat far outstripped the Badger Clan ability to defend Rokugan, and Kihongo knew they would be overrun. He sent words to the Empress Iweko I, knowing that no one would be prepared to carry on in his place when the enemy reached the Empire. News Report on Northern Attack (Imperial Herald v3 #Special) Ichiro Hikenru traveled to winter court at Kyuden Bayushi with the advice. It would be the begin of the War of Dark Fire.
=== Shiro Ichiro abandoned ===
The Ryoshun's Grave was presumed lost, and Kihongo realized the only action to take was to withdraw against overwhelming odds. They used a tunnel beneath Shiro Ichiro to avoid the minions of the Dark Oracle of Fire Chosai who had cut off the only escape route south. The War of Dark Fire, Part 3, by Shawn Carman
== See also ==
* Ichiro Kihongo/Meta
== External Links ==
* Ichiro Kihongo (Ambition's Debt)
* Ichiro Kihongo Exp (Drums of War)
Category:Toturi's Army
Category:Badger Clan Leaders