When the world was new, and the first cities were being built, groups of warriors came to defend those early settlements on Ikaiguchi. These warriors were the first Samurai, though they had not yet earned that name, and their leaders were called Daimyo.
By the time the Third Age began, the Samurai had become both warriors and political figures, influential in their own right. Daimyo were generals and warlords, owning land and pledging their loyalty to the emperor or the clans.
Clan Daimyo
When Benjiro Sorano took power, he attempted a recentralisation of power that was intended to prevent a struggle similar to the War of the Five Daimyo. Instead of having a vast number of minor lords, Benjiro insisted that each Ring was led by a single Daimyo, who directly swore loyalty to him.
The peace was uneasy, and not to last. Over the years, the growing influence of clans and the constant ebb and flow of the emperor’s power led to Daimyo reinstating themselves, an elite of warriors and landowners whom the emperor had to lever and placate.
Chief among these were the Clan Daimyo, who were in charge of vast swathes of the various Clans of Ikaiguchi. These Clan Daimyo remain some of the most important figures of the clans today, and have considerable sway over the future of their territory – and the island itself.
Daimyo of the Honor Guard
Following the disastrous attack on Minatoshima, the current Emperor declared a return to the days of Sorano, with directly loyal and oathsworn Daimyo serving under the imperial throne. These were drawn from the Honor Guard, and the emperor decrees they wield power over their original clans.
The clans, however, have other ideas. Having lost so many of their number, they too desire sovereignty going into an uncertain future. Some still honor their Clan Daimyo, while others pay lip service to the orders of the emperor. Either way, this is the start of a growing rift between the clans and the throne, and it comes at perhaps the worst time for Ikaiguchi.