Shin-Rin an eastern Fantasy

  The Shining Path follows the teachings of Venerable Anro no Nushi, but in a peculiar way. According to them, the Invisible Path can only be followed through martial practice and combat. During the Sacred War, the monks of the Shining Path even managed to checkmate the main island and create an alternative power centre that could only be overthrown by the intervention of the military clans. Today only seven monasteries remain, which are no less militant than before, but their power is so curbed, they'll cannot rise again against the state. They, however, serves as mercenaries in many Daymio armies and renowed monks could become weapon masters or martial teachers in courts. The main martial arts of the Path is the Doctrine of the Twelve Illuminations, which is a directly filiation of the Taizheng Kung-fu school of the same name, but that in Yatai is focused in the use of martial weapons.

They are known collectively as White Monks because of the predominant colour of their robes. Their official name, however, is Office of Supernatural Harmony. They are not disciples of a single temple or creed, but are the state exorcists. Those with special talents in fighting spirits can be recruited from the Haeda shrine and become members of the white monks. This is not an offer that can be taken lightly, as this is an order that conducts spiritual - and sometimes earthly battles on behalf of the imperial throne.

  Although the term "Age of Strife" refers to the last twenty years of the 13th century, a Yatai's period of profound instability, for a seventy-year period or so the Cherry Empire was rocked by a whole succession of dynastic clashes and clashes between powerful rival clans, which saw the rise of a new class of soldiers. The territorial militia (or Infantry Soldiers), or the Ashigaru. This type of soldier was not unknown even in earlier centuries where it had been used by both demon kingdoms and military clans. The real current revolution (probably borrowed from the Taizheng Empire) is the creation, especially during the reign of Go-Akira, of a class of heavily armed soldiers who form a middle ground between the actual Bushi military class and the militia class. Indicatively, this reform is not sitting well with the military class, but there is no doubt that a heavy infantry, but even the most conservative of the military clans have realized the usefulness of such troops....

  Suijin is the eldest son of the Kokuden family and the elder brother of Arashin. Although Suijin is not old enough to remember the days of the Bakemono no Ran (War of the Monsters), he does remember the days of the Age of Killer Swords, when the Kokuden chose to support the wrong side and were brutally suppressed in blood. Suijin is therefore obsessed with revenge. His greatest desire is to bring back the former demonic empire. Suijin is calculating and cold. He hates humans with a passion and despises his brother Arashin for not siding with him. He would like to retrieve Yōsō, the Grim Claw, Arashin's sword in order to reunite it with Inevitable Destiny, his sword and reunite the regalia of the demonic empire. He is not only a skilled swordsman, but thanks to Kuroten he is also able to use some magical Mantras and tame the lower spirits.   

The soldiers of the Kokuden clan are generally classified as heavy infantry. Large regiments whose purpose is to attack breaches in the enemy formation caused by samurai cavalry charges. They wear metallic armour striped or banded with the clan colours (black and red), often wielding a spear or an uchi-gatana (if using a spear, they have a tantō or short sword as a second weapon). Sometimes, like the soldier in the picture, they have javelins to throw at the enemy. These are also heavy and only strike over short distances. After the defeat of the clan, it is rare to see such armour around the country. However, some of the small loyalist clans, or minor clan members resisting in hard-to-reach areas, still deploy this type of soldier.  

  Ōttsumae Kyōdai are the best friends of the Summer Emperor Toshyo. The two boys are descendants of a small vassal clan of the Taga family, which over the centuries has gained a reputation for unswerving loyalty to the imperial house. Traditionally, the commander of the imperial guard is chosen from among the younger sons of the Daisu clan (usually the second born), but the flag-bearer (Hatamochi) is always chosen from the Ōttsumae clan. At this time, the position is held by the father of the two boys, Sato, who also serves as commander since Norinobu left the court. Yoton (Left) is the older of the two, and also the more serious and thoughtful. A master of the use of short swords, he is convinced that his brother and his imperial majesty are too foolhardy for their role. Shige(Right) is a few years younger, has quickly demonstrated skills with the spear and the sword and is Toshyo's closest friend, because he shares his sunny and daring character, the two often get into trouble.

  Born with the name Toshyo, the Summer Emperor ascended the throne as Tsukikage (Shadow of the Moon). A couple of years younger than his brother Yasan, Toshyo was taken into custody by the powerful Shōgun Taga no Eiron. Unlike his brother, Toshyo does not mind being called by his throne name and often rebukes those who are too familiar with calling him by his birth name. He is, in contrast to Yasan, a boisterous and jovial boy who, perhaps, has not yet understood his role. He has many friends, but his two best friends are the Ōttsumae brothers, Shige and Yoton. With whom he makes palace escapades that make life difficult for the servants. Toshyo reigns from the city of Natsukyō, the summer capital of the empire, but does not yet seem to have understood his duties. For now, the thing he cares most about is seeing his brother again every summer during the ceremony of the lustration of the Cherry Tree God at the Haeda shrine.  

  Yasan is the so-called winter Emperor. The child ruler who reigns from Fuyukyo, the winter capital. In Yatai, it is customary for the ruler to assume a programmatic name when he ascends the throne and so, the young emperor, under the guidance of his stepmother Lady Myuki, has assumed the name Kōgen (Source of Light). In public he is always called by his throne name, but in private he prefers to be addressed by his real name. Although he is one year older than his brother, as his father Ryūō (Go Akira) had not yet chosen which of the two boys would ascend the throne. Yasan is an often sad boy, little inclined to participate in court life and also not very fond of parties and debauchery. His best friends, assuming a celestial ruler is allowed to have friends, are the monk Eison and the mysterious nekomata dancer Minuyo.      

  The Gods of Yatai are not truly Gods, but they are more like powerful spirits that inhabit objects, plants, mountains, rivers or animals.  Yatai religion is, in substance an animist one.  Great trees, strange stones, imposing waterfalls or venerable animals are the living deities of Yatai. The gods of the islands are tangible and present in the world. Although the gods have control over the world, just as they do in the West, in the myths of the Island the skies are empty because the gods descended, in mythical time, into the ‘Forest’ where the Cherry Tree grows. In fact, according to the mythology of Yatai, before Yaezakura No Mikoto Kami, The Auguste Goddess of the double-crowned cherry tree, descended from the sky, Yatai was just an immense swamp where reeds grew and where sea monsters and dangerous swamp birds lived. The Goddess decided to descend to a low hillock, which rose up out of the water. This hill was named by the Goddess Hae-da (栄妥 or Appropriate Honour). ...

The Taga are one of the most prestigious Shisei clans. The Shisei are the clans that have a male kinship with the Imperial Dynasty. That is, they are in fact collateral branches of the Dynasty. Traditionally, such a prestigious clan could not aspire to the shogunate, but the emperor Ryūō succeeded and imposed it on the great clans who accepted it albeit with strong reservations. His figure is no less controversial than that of Lady Miyuki. Eron has, in fact, kidnapped Prince Tashyō, removing him from the legitimate custody of Empress Consort Miyuki. Although he claims his actions were dictated by distrust of a woman of humble birth, not all the great clans uncritically accepted his defence.

  Norinobu is the youngest son of the Daimyo of the great Dayasu(出簎) clan. Like many in his father's court, he is a Bakemono, a Kitsune, a fox. A long time ago, at the time of the Monster War (Bakemono no Ran), the kitsune of the Dayasu clan chose to support the Masa clan against the Fūe clan, and then against the empire of darkness of the Oni kings.     As is customary within the Dayasu clan, the eldest son assumes the throne, while the second son takes over as master of the Mount Wind school (風山流派), a powerful school of martial arts that focuses on the use of the sword. Norinobu had been chosen, also as a customary use, to be the commander of Emperor Go-Hanei's personal guard. But when the latter died of illness and the court split, rather than choose either side, he preferred to declare himself Ronin and venture out into the world. Norinobu is quite young, his gaze always covered with a veil of sadness. This is because, although his choice has honoured him, his st...

  The Little Flaute Player - a short story  The music sounded cheerfully at the entrance to the tea room. Most of the customers, who came in or out, hearing the cheerful notes of the flute, threw a few coins into the small wooden bowl of the boy who was playing while sitting on the wooden steps of the entrance. The notes also entered the tea room, where the customers, not many in truth, sat on the rough tatami that formed the floor, discussing at the low tables. Most were merchants, who were negotiating trade agreements in front of a cup of steaming tea, there were also some imperial or Bakufu officials, easily recognizable by their richer clothes, who were having lunch reading some document or just distracting themselves before returning to work. Everyone, however, was casting frightened glances at the central table. Sitting across from each other were a young monk, whose cat ears and tail identified him as a Nekomata, and much more worryingly, a young warrior who sport...

  Ryo is a young Nekomata, a cat-man. Raised in the Temple of the Claw, he is one of the priests of the Sōga shinobi clan. The Sōga are inextricably linked with the Daiasu clan, and by tradition offer their services first to the noble clan, and only later serve their own interests or those of others. They are devoted to the great cat god: Gō-Byō-Kami. According to tradition, the monstrous Bakeneko are those nekomata who preferred to side with the Oni instead of the Fox Queen and the Cat God. Ryo grew up to become a priest of the Cat God, he knows little or nothing about the Shinobi arts. However, the mantras and spells he learnt in the temple allow him to juggle quite well against disembodied spirits, while against more physical enemies he runs the risk of being hurt more than he should. 

  Hisame is a priestess of the God of Fortune at the temple of Gama. The young priestess belongs to the tribe of the tanuki, of all the bakemono the most closely related to Kaiun who commands fortune and luck is one of the most beloved among the myriad of gods. Hisame's father, like many Tanuki, is a small trader who makes kimonos. He would have liked his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but Hisame is very good at mantra recitation and was noticed by the priests of Kaiun's shrine. Hisame is a cheerful girl, very skilled in mantra recitation and extremely capable in the fight against evil spirits and demonic yokai. In a short time, Hisame became an excellent exorcist, not only powerful, but also well-liked by the people of the villages around the main shrine of God, where she moved. Here she met a young oni samurai, about her age, Arashin. Although the boy has a gruff and surly demeanour, Hisame, seeing his intimate, good and refined nature, fell in love. ...

  The Kokutan clan was once the most powerful of the demon clans and one of the most powerful and strongest of the monster clans (Bakemono). During the Bakemono no Ran they paid for their support of the Fue clan with defeat. Only the easternmost possessions of the house were saved, but even these were conquered by the Yatai Empire about a century later. After millennia in which they had been masters of their own destiny, the Kokuden were eventually forced to surrender and become vassals of the Daikura clan. This act of surrender led to serious consequences in the demon clan. On the one hand there were those who accepted the surrender, believing that it was not dishonourable to serve those who wandered stronger, others killed themselves by performing seppuku so as not to be ashamed of their defeat, and finally there were those who went into hiding together with the ninja clan of the Demon Flower. Again humiliated during the era of slaughter, the clan meditated revenge. For centuries...