Introduction
Competitions and tests are a normal part of the life for the Great Clans of Rokugan, but they are not alone in their pursuit of glory... The minor clans of Rokugan, unable to often compete in the Great Clan competitions due to lack of influence, have organized their own events through the years.
The Tournament
The Tournament of the Emperor's Favored, known to most throughout the Empire simply as the Tournament of the Minor Clans, is an annual event conceived, sponsored, and run by the assembled Minor Clans. Although there are numerous tournaments that are well known in Rokugan, the Tournament of the Emperor's Favored is one of only a few that are held annually and perhaps the only one open to virtually any member of the samurai caste who wishes to participate. Individually, of course, the Minor Clans would be incapable of conducting a tournament of any significant size or prestige; they simply lack the resources to do so.
Collectively, however, they can carry out an event that rivals anything hosted by a Great Clan, and perhaps even those conducted by the Imperial families. The tournament is designed to recognize personal achievement among the contestants. A wide variety of skills, predominantly those practiced by individual Minor Clans, are tested and rewarded, culminating in a large event that pits the finest competitors against one another to determine the one among them most worthy of distinction. It is in this that the true purpose of the tournament lies. First begun centuries ago, theTournament of the Minor Clans was designed to foster allies among the Great Clans. Consistently lacking both the military resources and the political influence to ensure their continued survival if they go it alone, most Minor Clans consider it essential to cultivate alliances '€"and the strength and durability of a Great Clan can make it worth a considerable investment in treasure to gain an alliance with one. Thus, this tournament can play a significant role in the long-term viability of a Minor Clan. Participation in the Tournament of Minor Clans is open to any samurai, although it is focused primarily on attracting the attention of Great Clan members. Minor Clan samurai are free to attend, although it is an unspoken custom for such individuals to remove themselves from competition if they feel that doing so will benefit the alliance of Minor Clans in some manner. While in theory this rule of open participation could result in an overwhelming number of contestants, in reality a samurai must receive both permission from his lord and be temporarily released from his duties in order to attend, and few Clans can afford to lose a significant number of their samurai for such are latively minor reward.
History
The Tournament of the Minor Clans is nearly as old as the Empire itself. Its foundations were laid when the first Hantei watched as his sister Shinjo led her people through the northern mountains and into the lands beyond, never to return in his lifetime. Despite his terrible and lingering wounds from the war with Fu Leng, the Emperor recognized that if Shinjo could depart the Empire unimpeded, even with such a large force, then an unknown force of enemies could just as easily enter his Empire and strike at its heart before anyone realized that danger was among them. With the Clans of his brothers and sisters dramatically weakened after the epic conflict with their fallen sibling, Hantei knew that a second invasion would destroy everything they had built The Emperor died only a short time later, but before his death he wrote in detail about his concerns regarding the northern mountains When his son Hantei Genji assumed the throne, he made certain that those of Shinjo's followers that had remained with in the Empire guarded the passes to the north. More than 60 years after Genji's coronation, he turned again to the northern passes with a concerned eye. The Lion had displaced the few remaining followers of Shinjo, but Akodo's Clan had little native knowledge of the passes through the mountains. Determining that a radical solution was required, Genji held a great tournament to measure both the strength and fighting capability of the contestants. The tournament was won by a servant of his uncle Hida, and as such it was a Crab who earned the right to create a Minor Clan and guard the northern passes leading into the Empire. Thus the Badger Clan was born.
The Badger were not the first Minor Clan, but they were the first created through something so capricious as a tournament. Out of necessity, if little else, the Badger soon made contact with both the Fox and the Mantis and suggested the idea of sharing resources. Although the three Clans were reluctant at first to share freely what little they had, they did agree that they required allies and recruits. So all three accepted new members on a regular basis, provided they could prove themselves useful. The three Clans came together and held a tournament, wherein any warrior who could prove his worth would be granted the chance to join one of the Clans and serve as a samurai Naturally, this tournament was controversial for quite some time, as it involved a considerably investment in time and resources Fortunately for the Clans involved, it was not held on a regular schedule, as the three Clans could ill afford such expense on a regular Basis. Over time, more Minor Clans joined the alliance and it became possible to hold the tournament on a dependable schedule But by that the time, the development of the ronin '€" a samurai who could get along without a master '€" restricted the Minor Clans in their ability to recruit new members. Still, the opportunity to attract allies was quite tempting, and it was at this point that the tournament was opened to Great Clan samurai in the hopes of winning allies. It was a long-term investment on the part of the Minor Clans, but one that has paid off to a sufficient degree to keep the tournament alive for centuries.
Location
The tournament has been held in various places throughout the centuries. Originally it moved with each instance between the lands of the Badger, Fox, and Mantis. When it was decided that the Badger and Mantis holdings were simply too distant to encourage attendance, the event was moved to the Fox Lands on a more permanent basis, and has remained there for the most part. Conflicts in the surrounding area have caused it to be moved on occasion, and there have even been periods when the tournament was suspended altogether, although never for more than three years. It always returns after these absences, most frequently near the outskirts of the vast and enigmatic Kitsune Mori, in the heart of Fox Clan territory. Locations of interest in the general vicinity of the tournament include the following:
Kitsune Mori Mura This village is the closest settlement of any significant size to the tournament grounds, and is perhaps an hour's travel from the tournament if one knows where to go. Many merchants and spectators that attend the tournament are actually from the village, which lies within the confines of the forest itself. Most contestants tend to visit the village either before, during, or after the tournament is concluded, if for no other reason than to see its unique architecture. Ever the naturalists, the Kitsune have built the village in harmony with the forest rather than carving out a location within it. Still living trees factor prominently into most buildings, while other houses exist entirely within the base of especially large trees grown precisely for that reason. Rice paper has been almost entirely replaced by fine sheets woven of fallen leaves, and this particular material is among the most commonly sold commodities within the village despite the peril in transporting such a delicate substance.
Ookami Toshi This Crane city lies a day's ride east of the tournament grounds, and is a common destination for Crane contestants once the tournament has concluded. The city, built on a cliff overlooking the passage through the mountains to the coast, is well defended and in truth is more of a fortress than a city. Although the Crane are generally distrustful of visitors, they do not forget their obligation of hospitality, and the city is large enough to support almost any creature comforts that a contestant living near the edge of a forest for a week might appreciate.
Meidochi Lying a little more than a day's travel to the northwest, there are admittedly few reasons for any contestant to travel to Meidochi, although many travel through it coming to and departing the tournament. The village is a minor holding of the Hare Clan despite its great distance from Shiro Usagi, a fact that many blame on the Clan's dissolution and reformation nearly a generation ago. The village now comes under the administration of the tiny Ujina Family, the most stalwart of the Usagi's servants, and they conduct most of their affairs from this village. Given the somewhat questionable nature of the Ujina Family's origins, many choose to avoid the village altogether when possible
Kaia Osha Mura and Kyuden Kitsune These two sites, both extremely important to the Fox Clan, are on the opposite side of the Kitsune Mori. While it is possible to reach them by traveling through the forest itself, the danger associated with such a trip generally makes it wiser to simply go around the forest altogether. A handful of times throughout the tournament's history, contestants from the tournament's final test have emerged on the opposite side of the forest, nearly 50 miles from their intended location. While such incidents are obviously viewed with some degree of humor, the Fox nonetheless respect individuals such as these. After all, their survival in the forest for such a distance clearly indicates that the spirits were watching over them, and for that they will always be well-regarded by the Kitsune Family. In one rather famous incident, one featured in at least three plays, a contestant emerged from the forest after disappearing at the tournament seven years previously, apparently no older and none the worse for wear, but having no memory of the intervening years. A shrine
to the man's memory still stands in both villages.