Yamada family

The **Yamada family**, also called the "House of the Turtle Duck", is an influential Earth Kingdom noble family seated in Gaoling. The Yamada's were renowned for their wealth and good connections with other noble families like the Beifong family and the Metal Clan. The family, whose symbol is a turtle duck, continues to be well respected and holds credibility within the Earth Kingdom.

The Yamada Family has long been a minor nobility with a strong earthbending lineage, and began as a family of simple rice farmers and merchants. They acquired their wealth by producing the highest quality rice in the State of Gaoling and its popularity spread across most of the Earth Kingdom. Their success was coined a “Yamada Family secret” and they spread that success across the province, by buying up other rice farms and turning it into a business.

Today, the Yamada Family has become one of the richest and most influential families in The State of Gaoling due in part to a series of brilliant investments made by Akane Yamada, the Great Great Grandmother of Takeshi Yamada.

Important and influential members of the family include business entrepreneur Takeshi Yamada; activist and philanthropist Asuna Yamada; their oldest son, Genji Yamada, the current incarnation of the Avatar; and the two twins brothers, Tarou and Haru, college students in Zaofu studying Metalbending.

## History

The earliest recorded history of the Yamada family showed that they originated in Gaoling as simple Rice Farmers and merchants, sometime during the early 3rd century BG. The Yamadas produced the highest quality rice in all the region. Emiko Yamada, the matriarch of the Yamada Family of the era, had ambition and a keen sense for business, as she was being groomed to take over and run the farm. Instead of owning a single farm, she set her sights on the State of Gaoling’s entire rice industry. With careful investments into other farms and keeping the family’s trade secrets just that—secrets--she slowly grew the wealth and influence of the Yamada Family. Emiko had a love for Turtle Ducks, and despite the criticism, she made the Turtle Duck the symbol of her family.

By the time of Emiko’s passing, The Yamada Family possessed ownership of more than a dozen rice farms. Emiko was a stubborn woman who refused to sacrifice the quality of the rice in exchange for quantity. She also lowered the price on the rice so more people could afford to buy it; her long term business strategy paid off, and elevated The Yamada Family from simple rice farmers and merchants, to a minor nobility with respectable power, wealth and influence, in Gaoling.

The Yamada Family would continue to dominate the rice industry in the State of Gaoling, passing down the family secret and slowly spreading their influence into other industries. They became known for their business savvy, as well as their charity; the family was known to donate to worthy causes and even sell their rice nearly at cost in times of famine.

In 120AG, Akane Yamada, then the Matriarch of the Yamada Family, began investing in the newly growing Energy Sector. At a time when electrical power was new to The Earth Kingdom and the blossoming Republic City, Akane Yamada made many smart investments that wouldn’t pay off for another ten years. She invested in coal, oil, and gas, and oversaw an enormous return on said investment, increasing the Yamada Family’s influence, wealth, and power, while maintaining their humility. In an interview later in her life, Akane Yamada claimed that “the secret of our family’s success, is that we’ve never let our children, or our children’s children, forget where we came from.”

Today, while not quite as influential in The State of Gaoling as the Beifongs once were, the current Patriarch, Takeshi Yamada, continues the Yamada Family’s long history of rice farming, continuing to produce the highest quality rice. His wife Asuna, though married into the family, has accomplishments of her own, including the creation of several charities, as well as several scholarships for entrepreneurship.

The descendants of the Yamada family include Genji Yamada, the current reincarnation of the Avatar. Genji was kidnapped from the Yamada family as a newborn by Yun, as part of a Blue Lotus plot to hide Genji away from his destiny. Genji Yamada eventually returned and reunited with his family in 249 AG, around twenty years after his disappearance. Also a part of the line including twin sons, Tarou and Haru, who study in a college in Zaofu and learn Metalbending.

## Influence

The Yamada Family is influential and greatly respected in The Earth Kingdom and in parts of the United Republic, though not nearly as much as The Beifongs. The name “Yamada” invokes some pride in citizens in Gaoling, due to their humble origins and their rise to prominence.

Their influence is strongest within The State of Gaoling. As such, Gaoling has benefited most from The Yamada Family’s various ventures, from business, to charity, and even education. Their rise to prominence is quite recent, as they were still considered a minor nobility until around 140AG. The Yamada Family is known to have vacation homes in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, Omashu, and Republic City.

## Trivia

* The family name 'Yamada' means 'mountain rice field', a reference to the family's line of work.