Crane Clan

The Crane Clan is one of the Great Clans of Legend of the Five Rings. The descendants of the Kami Doji are masters of the art of politics, duelling, and...art. As the Left Hand of the Emperor, they serve as his diplomats and advisors, with a long and illustrious history of Imperial service, connections, and perks. They are the wealthiest Clan with the most bountiful lands who move (but NEVER shake) the Empire's economics and society, and Crane nobility have frequently served as the Imperial Advisor or the Emperor's brides. Since the dawn of the Emerald Empire, they have shaped the society, etiquette, and art of Rokugan. Some (alright, mostly them) would say its very soul.

And they keep getting shit on for that. See, as privileged "old money" proponents of tradition, the Crane tend to become scapegoats for disgruntled parties everywhere. AEG would often tear them down (often in order to prop up the Mantis), while players and in-game characters alike hate them (whether as a community in-joke or with vehement salt) for being perfecter-than-thou pretty boys born with silver chopsticks in their mouths (whether it's their wealth, political influence, or their duelists) who go crying to the Big E for help at every opportunity. It doesn't help that their own sourcebooks read rather like a Matthew Ward codex, high on its own hype (albeit arguably deliberately to show their ego).

Fortunately for the Cranes, as the ones who made the social rules in the first place, they happen to have the smarts and savvy to use these advantages and hold onto them. With a well-placed phrase at court or a well-timed strike in a duel, Cranes can stop enemies in their tracks, send allies where they're needed, and defuse or escalate a situation in a moment. All while maintaining an immaculate picture of perfection, the way they maintain the perfect and delicate balance of the Empire.

History

The Cranes have always had a disproportionately major role in the history and social hierarchy of Rokugan. And much of that can be traced to the Kami Doji and their connection to the Emperor.

Creating A Civilization

Lady Doji was the first of her siblings to take one look at the world around them and see that the mere mortals had potential and merely needed a guiding hand.

After the tournament they held to determine who would rule, Doji arranged all the social codes and rules of etiquette which hold Rokugan together as much as they tie its hands. She also further defined the caste system of samurai and heimin, crafted the Imperial Court and its economics, sponsored the fine arts...and probably erased the preexisting culture and art of Rokugan's native humans, which the histories conveniently gloss over.

However, it's important to note that while she did leave behind a legacy of snobbery and social repression, Doji was also actually a pretty decent Kami when it came down to it. She did serve faithfully as a wise advisor to the Empire, and genuinely believed in the causes of promoting peace and uplifting the spirit through culture. In fact, she was chill enough to supposedly sit with a peasant and appreciate the ephemeral beauty of snowflakes, a tale which is uncommon even among the Crane.

Doji's star rose with the Empire she helped to shape. She served as Hantei's Imperial Advisor, and was betrothed to Kakita, the first Emerald Champion and founder of iaijutsu. Their little cradle of civilization was blossoming just fine...until their long lost brother Fu Leng returned from the Shadowlands and decided to throw a party.

Champions Of The Empire

Of course, contrary to common stereotypes, the Cranes are just as ready to lay down their lives for the Empire as the Lion, and this was certainly the case when the War of Fu Leng began.

With the Kami unwilling or unable to fully confront their own kin, Shinsei guided them to gather the Seven Thunders in order to defeat Fu Leng with humanity itself and their power to bend fate to forge their own destinies. Among the Clans, he would recruit a son of Doji and Kakita...only for him to be cut down then and there by an oni. But in an honestly impressive display of grit, his twin sister swore to avenge him and volunteered to go in his place, becoming the Crane Thunder.

Doji was also involved in uncovering the fates of the Thunders, and was able to convince Isawa to discover their location, allowing her brother Shiba to rescue Shinsei and Shosuro, though at the cost of his life. The massive price of victory led her husband Kakita further down the iaijutsu rabbit hole out of grief, but Doji would still serve through the centuries to continue guiding the Empire despite her own losses.

Finally, when she and Hida were the last of their siblings left in Rokugan, she vanished with the tide upon a beach at Kyuden Doji. Her disappearance left behind a mystery and a legacy for both her Clan and all of Rokugan, and since then, they've dedicated their lives to her duties: uplifting the culture, honor, prosperity, and peace of the Empire, even if that means you have to subtly goad, manipulate, or repress others.

Families

Crane families are known for their close cooperation, and their form of unity tends to be more harmonious than that of the other Clans. They believe that each family should be deferred to as the expert of its specialization, and all should work towards the Clan's greater goals. A situation that is, ironically, pretty similar to what the brutish, uncultured Crabs do, except with a council of equals instead of a bunch of specialists and one executive head. Unofficially, of course, the Doji hold the most influence because they have active ambitions, but even they will defer to other families for their areas of expertise and cooperate.

Doji Family

Rokugan's premier politicians, the darlings of the court and the Emperor's favorites. Doji are those descendants of Doji and Kakita who chose to take on their mother's name, male or female, and follow the path of the courtier (though like any samurai, they can then devote themselves to other schools depending on ability and duty). Doji traditionally hold high positions at court and there has almost always been one serving as the Emperor's Advisor, while many are often requested to serve as arbitrators and diplomats between two Clans. While they may put on airs of being cultured and peaceful, the Doji are, in fact, entirely aware that the realm of politics can be utterly cutthroat and pragmatic.

Whether facing the meticulous scheming of the Scorpion or the hair-trigger tempers of the more unpredictable martial families, Doji have to know how to take care of themselves what with having targets painted on them. To achieve this, they use their exceptional affinity with twisting their enemies in knots of etiquette, obligations and alliances so that the Crane still maintain their honorable reputation. They are masters of all the steps of the social song and dance (which they invented) in order to make themselves look good or humiliate their opponents socially, and have the weighty duty of trading favors and alliances among the Clans in order to promote the most peaceful and prosperous solution possible. As the Emperor's advisors, their stockpile of political capital is vast and effective, whether from implied, symbolic gestures or bountiful treaties and betrothals.

Kakita Family

Where those who followed Doji's path took her name, their children who chose their father's path became the Kakita. Kakita are known for two things: art and iaijutsu. Kakita, Hantei's first Emerald Champion, developed the art of the quickdraw into THE defining dueling style in Rokugan using the ethos that a single, perfect strike could bring things to a swift and tidy end. With its philosophical bent and meditative focus emphasizing the unity of mind, body, skill, and soul, it took over Rokugan's social scene like wildfire, further popularized by his text on swordplay titled "The Sword". They are most commonly seen at courts as the protectors of the Doji, there to uphold their honor in a duel or to quickly strike down anyone brash enough to attack directly.

While any Clan may produce its own expert duelists, the Kakita have a considerable advantage as THE iaijutsu specialists and creators, with their own Kakita Academy and family culture being very conducive to producing the ideal iai mindset. But his family are also more than just duelists. Kakita are perfectionists who devote themselves to their craft, whether it is dueling, art, or politics. In everything they do, they seek to reach the greatest heights of mastery as an expression of art and culture.

Daidoji Family

Descendants of Doji and Kakita's youngest child, and the manliest of the bunch. He went into the Shadowlands to find his sister, the Crane Thunder, and returned with her sword, as well as white hair and a nasty throat wound. In honor of his heroism, he was given the name Daidoji, meaning "protector of Doji", and many Crane would dye their hair white in his honor. Yes, the white-haired bishounen/bishoujo tradition comes from the Crane Clan's very own dirty tricks squad.

On the surface, the Daidoji are stern and composed guardians of Crane lands; where the others fight in the courts or in duels, they actually do honest-to-goodness fighting, and are tough enough to take all comers (to the surprise of anyone expecting a soft Crane to crumple like origami). But dig below that surface and you'll find that they'll do almost anything to win and protect their Clan: ambushes, traps, sneak attacks, explosives made from BLASPHEMOUS gaijin pepper, the Daidoji are masters of turning any potential battlefield into a devastating trap, using tactics that even more belligerent and/or pragmatic Clans find horrifying and dishonorable. And all of this is supported by another scandalously un-samurai skill of theirs: they are experts of trade and commerce, which is already supposed to be below a samurai's notice, and smuggling, which is below even that. But as a result, the Daidoji are able to supplement and protect the vast wealth of the Crane, keeping both their economic weapons and their actual weapons well-stocked. An economic role which the Crane, ironically, condemned their former members the Yasuki for doing.

Asahina Family

In a family of artisans and diplomats, the Asahina are the most peaceful and artistic, being outright pacifists who use their shugenja teachings to create wondrous beauty and helpful support items instead of crushing their foes with the elements. Their founder was a Phoenix shugenja out for revenge for Phoenix casualties after the Crane intervened to stop a war, but turned over a new leaf after a lone samurai-ko showed him how far he'd fallen.

Asahina are the most deeply committed to avoiding warfare and taking lives unless they absolutely have to defend themselves, so they might get overlooked if you're looking for a more explosive brand of magic. Instead, they mastered tsangusuri: the creation of limited-use magical items, amulets, and fetishes (not that kind) through drawing out the innate spiritual properties of its materials and form, whether it's blessed blades or statues which assist in healing or promoting bountiful harvests. Their delight in coming up with ingenious, inventive creations is tempered by a desire to create practical effects which can help everyday people. However, there's also a more grimdark application of this spiritual magic: meisho, which controls the spirit of a person as opposed to an item. The art of meisho is a closely-guarded secret known only to the Asahina, entrusted only to their most elite shugenja. They typically avoid using it to control people and apply its fundamentals to instead create the most powerful magical items, to the point that sometimes the item's spirit becomes fully sentient...but for the most part, these are dismissed as rumors. As well as the rumors that the walls of their temples might have more spirit in them than is healthy.

Culture & Role

The Crane are the Emperor's main diplomats and artisans, as well as its economic titans. As diplomats and advisors, they help to negotiate peace and alliances between the Clans or terms for war or surrender, along with having the Emperor's ear. Anyone who wants to speak with the Big E likely has to go through the Crane to do it, and pay the required favors and owe the traditional debts to make sure that the Crane help your cause instead of sending it to die under a mountain of petitioners. Or worse, actively work against it. But honestly, given how fractious the Great Clans can be (and when you remember that all of them have waged wars for stupid reasons at one point or another), the social guidelines laid out by Lady Doji actually DO help to keep the peace. Either by providing a social buffer that weighs down aggressive samurai, or through actually encouraging compassion and politeness between the nobility in a "become what you pretend to be" kind of way. These general principles also apply to how they manage the Empire's wealth: they put together trade deals and markets designed to keep the Clans in a sort of equilibrium, while also being profitable enough to help everyone to prosper.

As artists, they create and curate much of the Empire's cultural works like paintings, poetry, landscapes, and so forth while censoring or denouncing art deemed offensive. Their stunning creations certainly do much to raise their prestige, but their intended purpose (so they keep telling everyone) is to make sure that the Empire has things worth living for, beauty so transcendental that it moves the spirit, works of effortless grace and wit which speak of greater truths of life in Rokugan. Not every Clan actually buys this sales pitch...but given the Crane's influence, they can't exactly risk denying art's place in society. Unless you're a Crab and don't give a shit, that is. But in fairness, in a society as rigid and strict as Rokugan's, any creative outlet that gives meaning and introspection to people's lives might very well be incredibly welcome.

As a people, the Cranes are a strange mix of the idealistic peacemaker and the pragmatic politician. While it varies between families and even between individuals within those families, Cranes generally wholeheartedly believe in the honor of their duties to bring peace and unity to the Empire, and the role tradition and culture play in uniting and raising up society. That being said, the common complaints against them aren't completely off the mark either: Cranes are resented for their pride in their privilege, as well as how that colors their interactions. From jealously guarding their wealth and influence to simply believing it makes them better than everyone else, a Crane will be either the most pleasant and compassionate friend you could make at court, or the snobbiest egomaniac you would never want to meet.

But this isn't just a matter of the Crane letting their failings slip from a blind spot; they are KEENLY aware of the power of perception and how people see them. So whether they are eager to please or haughtily judging you, there's a good chance that it's all deliberately constructed to get you to react in the way which best suits them. After all, both the pliable, pleasant peacemaker and the aristocratic fop are likely to be underestimated...which gives them a distinct advantage in observing or influencing others.

Tactics

The Crane's primary battlefield lies at court. This is partly because that is where their duty and expertise lie, and partly because their lands (located within Imperial territory) are so peaceful (because of said Imperial authority) that they can afford to ease up on security. Unless you're the Daidoji, that is.

In court, Doji diplomats trade favors to create intricate webs of allies and debts, which is occasionally supported by their trump card of petitioning the Emperor. They're not just passively stacking their deck, however; Crane courtiers are also experts in manipulating the sentiments and attitudes of a court according to the rules they wrote. They entrap and frustrate their rivals with etiquette and protocol to get them so steamed up that they'll either yield or make a mistake which costs them reputation, and know the best way to phrase and present their own positions to appear the most sympathetic and honorable to everyone else. As mentioned, not everyone actually buys this, but nobody can actually call them out on it unless they're prepared to step into their ring or drag them into a different one altogether. And in the event that someone they're pressuring gets pissed off to the point that a duel seems likely, that's where Kakita duelists come in to defend their charges. If the Crane can't win their argument with words, they'll provoke you into a contest with Kakita steel.

On the battlefield, the common stereotype goes that if the Cranes can't win by killing the enemy commander in a duel, they lose and then complain to the Emperor to get their territory back later. But while that's partly accurate, Cranes do still have unique military tactics that play to their strengths. Should diplomacy fail, Cranes generally delay their enemies with Daidoji sabotage and guerrilla warfare, slowing them down to either perform a decapitation strike or buy time for the armies of their allies to aid them. Their troops may not be numerous, but they tend to be adaptable, well-trained and coordinated, and a melee confrontation with them is a daunting prospect for most opponents given their level of skill. The highest expression of their ethos is the Kenshinzen: the best of the best of the best of their duelists, whose job is to hunt down enemy commanders, best them in a duel, then move on to the next command figure, aiming to shatter enemy leadership and communication with just a few well-placed strikes.

Bushido & Religion

Cranes may not be what you'd call religious, but they do have a spiritual view on art and culture, the pillars of their identity. This seldom comes to light given their very worldly concerns of wealth and influence unless you're dealing with the Asahina (who, being ex-Phoenix, ARE extremely devout) or the Kakita (who pursue their crafts with a meditative mindset which can certainly be described as religious). The result, much like their politician-idealist duality, is a complex mix.

As staunch traditionalists, Cranes most certainly respect Bushido and the main religions of Rokugan as the foundations of their social order. They might be overshadowed by the Lions, Dragons, and Phoenixes in terms of their piety, but from their perspective, they're no less dedicated; they simply live out this devotion in their own ways. For the most part, this involves taking the virtues of these beliefs and applying them to what the Crane do according to their duties and preferences.

To the Crane, a courtier navigating volatile, treacherous politics is no less Courageous than a bushi giving his life in battle against a rival Clan or Shadowlands monstrosity. An artist making a garden of transcendental beauty can enlighten the soul as much as the most insightful sermon from the Brotherhood of Shinsei. The main difference, at least from the Crane Clan's perspective, is that Bushido and the Tao treat battle and enlightenment as separate from "regular" society. The Crane, by contrast, believe that the virtues of a perfect samurai warrior can apply at the highest levels of politics, and that enlightenment can be realized through the world, not apart from it.

The Crane certainly think that this makes them just as genuine as any other Great Clan when it comes to honorably doing their duty. Though of course, to their detractors, this could just as easily be taking the easy way out by slapping a noble coat of paint on all the politicking and wealth-hoarding they were already doing. When it comes to matters of culture and etiquette, however, they are as zealous as the Lion in their devotion.

Clan Relationships

As one of the most political and influential Great Clans in Rokugan, the Crane are almost always involved in everyone's affairs. Like a courtly version of the Lion, they are both admired and resented for being the paragons of their chosen field, being the foremost masters of courtly protocol and politics. They are either generous, beneficial allies to have on your side, or pompous manipulators who stonewall any and all attempts to advance your agenda.

In most cases, opinions of the Crane revolve around their many privileges: peaceful lands, immense wealth, social influence, political cunning, and the Emperor's favor. Their allies (or at least those with something to gain) appreciate the weighty benefits of having the Crane as an ally, while their detractors hate how these advantages are rubbed in everyone else's face and leveraged against them.

Another reason the Cranes are deeply involved with everyone, besides their immense wealth and political clout, is the fact that their lands also produce the most food in all of Rokugan. Because of their vast, fertile, and peaceful tracts of land, Cranes frequently trade and sell rice and other supplies to other Clans, and often with deals which will greatly benefit the Crane and indebt the other party to them.

The Crab Clan: The Crab and the Crane have a very obvious dislike of one another. The Crane see the Crab as brutish guard dogs (and sometimes outright liars making up what goes on up at the Kaiu Wall) who stomp all over the finer manners and culture they live for, while the Crab look down on them as the softest courtiers who are somehow as loud and obnoxious as the Lion, flaunting their wealth and influence at every opportunity while the Crab wage a perpetual war where death and a lack of supplies are daily realities. This goes double for whenever the rice trade comes into play and the Crane are manipulating market forces so it costs the Crab even more. There's also a noteworthy vendetta with the Yasuki, former Cranes who run the black markets and are now part of the Crab, as well as a notable exception with the Daidoji, the only Crane family the Crabs unironically admire and respect. Partly because of how dead 'ard they are, but also because an underequipped Daidoji lord and his retinue gave their lives to help a Crab unit fight off an oni invasion they stumbled upon.

The Dragon Clan: Like almost all the other Great Clans, the Crane don't actively dislike the Dragon Clan, but they are also usually quite confused about them. The Crane Clan, as worldly traditionalists focused on mortal politics, are befuddled by the non-conformist and monastic ways of the Dragons, believing that if they really are so enlightened, they should use that knowledge to benefit the rest of the Empire. But for the most part, they are content to leave them to their mountains while being smugly aware that, like the Crab, Dragons heavily depend on trade to have enough rice and food. The Dragons, being the enigmatic and mysterious bunch that they are, keep their opinions to themselves. They don't actively hate the Crane's materialistic ways, but likely see it as a fleeting mortal concern next to Enlightenment. They are also rather insightful on certain truths about the Crane: that their honor does keep them from being mere greedy bureaucrats, and that their way of life focuses more on the strengths and weaknesses of others rather than their own inner qualities. One exception to these aloof interactions, of course, is the rivalry between the Mirumoto and the Kakita, as the unorthodox Mirumoto two-sword style is the main rival of the conventional Kakita quickdraw style whenever duelists debate the most effective technique.

The Lion Clan: Where the Crab Clan is usually too far to actively war with the Crane, the Lions are right next door and have been bickering with the Crane Clan for generations, like the jock and nerd siblings who have to share a room. Cranes backhandedly acknowledge the military prowess and rigid honor of the Lions (not as great as being the most cultured and honorable artists, of course), but such recognition is far from reciprocated, as the average Lion dismisses the Crane way of life as anathema to their own (peace over war, indulgent wealth over spartan discipline, and social evasion over direct confrontation). Essentially, each looks down on the other as a spoiled, jealous child playing at being the bestest samurai ever. And like squabbling siblings, the Lions hate that the Cranes go crying to Daddy E to reverse their gains which they earned fair and square with blood and sweat, while the Cranes hate how the Lions keep beating up their brothers and sisters to take their stuff.

The Mantis Clan: As you might expect when you put old money traditionalists with new money capitalists, the Crane and Mantis don't exactly get along. The general attitudes are that the Crane see the Mantis as upstarts and social inferiors with an utterly unseemly mercenary attitude (though they'll still happily hire their warriors and navy), while the Mantis think the Cranes are weak cowards who hide behind their many non-military advantages. When it comes to commerce, however, they do have a complicated relationship: both Clans actually understand the importance of trade and economics to a greater degree than the others (except maybe the Unicorn), and have both cooperated and competed in the economic arena. However, the Wasp Clan within the alliance actually respects the Crane, namely because it was a Crane Emerald Magistrate who backed their founder Tsuruchi and led to their creation.

The Phoenix Clan: The Cranes and the Phoenixes have an unambiguously positive relationship, and there's plenty of clear overlap between them (bird theme aside). Both Clans highly prize peace, tradition and culture, and their main strengths lie in non-military areas. This common ground allows them to appreciate (and be wary of) each other's particular forms of strength (particularly since some like the Lion Clan look down on diplomacy and magic as unmanly), making them two nerds looking out for each other against the school jocks. Of course, as solid as this relationship is, their respective egos do mean that each thinks their way of thinking is superior, particularly with the contrast of the worldly politicians and the religious shugenja.

The Scorpion Clan: As the Empire's top politicians, the Cranes and Scorpions have a weird love/hate relationship. They frequently clash at court and look down on the other's failings: Scorpions scoff at the trappings of Crane honor as hypocritical, while Cranes see the Scorpions as treacherous schemers without honor. But unlike other rivalries where they both tend to have an attitude of "Yeah, they're dangerous, but we can easily take them with our SMARTER approach", both Cranes and Scorpions actually take each other seriously as rivals. When working against each other, their polar opposite approaches to politics result in their intricate webs getting tangled up, schemes and fake-outs getting uncovered while agreements and alliances fall apart. But when they work together, they can bring about some pretty impressive results. Cranes also took in Scorpion children as wards when the Scorpions were exiled in one edition. So basically, they're Varys and Littlefinger.

The Unicorn Clan: Like the Phoenix, the Cranes and the Unicorns enjoy positive ties, and that comes from a long history of cooperation. The Crane were the ones who risked their reputation by backing the Unicorn's claim that they were the descendants of Shinjo, and they spent many generations helping them to integrate into the culture of Rokugan. Of course, the degree to which this relationship stays positive depends on just how bro-tier the samurai in question are. At worst, Unicorns stubbornly cling to their ways while Cranes look down on their "primitive" gaijin traditions. But on a day-to-day basis, your average Crane and Unicorn partnership involves each meeting the other halfway: the Unicorns accept (begrudgingly or willingly) that they have a lot to learn, while the Cranes (condescendingly or warmly) attempt to respect the new customs of the Unicorn and find a compromise they can both be happy with. And since the Unicorns are their main military ally against the Lion, that gives the Cranes a huge incentive to keep the relationship healthy.

See Also

• Fulgrim: Another shmexy duelist and perfectionist.
• Emperor's Children: What they think they are (Loyalists, at least).
• Pretty Marines: What their haters think they are.