Shimizu family

The Shimizu family were vassals of the Akodo family formed in the 743rd year of the Empire, by Akodo Shimizu, as a reward for destroying the Maho-tsukai Agasha Enshoku, who was then masquerading as a Crane - Kakita Edako, one of the proposed brides of the Emperor. Bearers of Jade, p. 98
== Lands ==
The new family was granted modest holdings in the southwestern Akodo provinces. Secrets of the Lion, p. 88
==The Beginning of the End==
During Shimizu's time as daimyo of the family, all was well. It was not until the time of his great-grandson, Shimizu Tamayu that the family fell into maho.
In 827, Tamayu launched a military campaign against the neigboring lands of Ikoma Kuniomi, which ended in disaster. After this failure Tamayu turned to maho, summoning the oni that would become knowns as Oni no Tamayu.
His forces strengthed by his use of the foul blood magics, Tamayu subjugated Kuniomi's lands, as well as adding lands from Akodo Oko, Akodo Nage, and Akodo Kitako in the following years. 
==The Fall of the Shimizu==
In the year 911 Tamayu's great-grandson, Shimizu Otori launched a war against Akodo Miyawa. Miyawa's tactical skills were legendary, and not even the oni-enchanted force of Otori could overcome them, and the two forces were drawn into a war that would last a decade.
During the war, Otori's wife, Shimizu Riko, was trapped away from the family's lands. Shimizu Ohoshi, the child of Riko and Otori, was born away from the conflict, and saw none of it.
Having already begun his training as a bushi with the Akodo family, Ohoshi took their teachings about duty and honor to heart, although his parents didn't realise this until it was too late. Even at his young age, Ohoshi could sense there was something wrong with his parents, and he crept into the sub-chambers of the palace at night. What he found terrified him, as he witnessed his entire family engaging in the ritualized giving of blood unto an Oni.
Ohoshi left that night, and walked the 50 miles to the Akodo who had been his teachers and friends all his life.
Six years later, a vast Lion army marched towards the holdings of the Shimizu familiy, lead by a young man who had taken the name Akodo Giri at gempukku. The entire Shimizu family was slaughtered to the last man, and their holdings burned to the ground, Bearers of Jade, pp. 98-100 including their ancestral castle, Shiro Shimizu. Secrets of the Lion, p. 23
Most believed that the Shimizu were wiped out by a plague, although the Ikoma Historians knew otherwise, and no Lion was permitted to speak of the true downfall of the Shimizu, upon pain of death. 
== Legacy of the Shimizu ==
A lone Shimizu escaped the purge of Giri, carrying a larval offspring of the oni. He rebuilt the cult worshipping the Oni, who cautiously presented themselves to the Tsuno. Although the Tsuno consider the Shimizu untrustworthy and pitiful, they entered into a shakey alliance with the decimated Shimizu. The Tsuno taught the Shimizu a ritual that allowed them to summon the spirits of those slain during Akodo Giri's assault, and allowed the spirits to possess a living body. Secrets of the Lion, pp. 88-89 
=== Working against the Lion ===
Ikoma Tsanuri chose to follow the Fu Leng-possessed Emperor near the end of the Clan War counseled by an advisor pos­sessed by a Shimizu. Kitsu Okura turned to maho to aid the Lion, following an idea of a Shimizu. A Shimizu was there when Okura discovered the link between the Meido and the Imperial Palace, a link that could be used to release Fu Leng's spirit. Secrets of the Lion, p. 89 A handful of ronin descended from the Shimizu had discovered the existence of the Shimizu Hall within the Hall of Ancestors and tun­neled in from the outside. The dark family in 1159 was using their sealed-off Hall of Ancestors as a meeting-place. Secrets of the Lion, p. 54
== Shimizu Legacy discovered ==
During the Winter court of 1170, historian Ikoma Hanshiro discovered that the brothers Kitsu Tenshin and Kitsu Tinshu were secret descendant of the Shimizu family. Luckily for them, Hanshiro could not find anything damning and so their secret remained hidden. The War of Dark Fire, Part 10, by Shawn Carman
=== A Matter of Honor ===
A corrupted descendant of the Shimizu summoned in 1199 a Minikui no Oni within the Lion lands. It eventually led in a conflict with the Crab Clan, until the summoner was exposed. A Matter of Honor (Story)
Category:Lion Clan Leaders
Category:Lion Clan Families
Daimyo Shimizu
== Shimizu Daimyo ==
Akodo Shimizu 	743 - ?
Shimizu Tamayu	(c. 827)
Shimizu Otori 	? - 927
* Secrets of the Lion Pages 87-88.
Category:Lion Clan Leaders
Category:Lion Clan Families
Daimyo Shimizu