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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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 Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:21 pm
Your guide to past and present tutors, historical figures, w'ev.
Rika only please! heart
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:24 pm
Jin...traveling any direction in time sie pleases and wandering where sie likes... The mysterious dollmaker
Homeland: Silver World(?)
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: ?
Deathdate: --
Profession: Doll-maker and merchant
Funds: More money than the gods.
Elemental Name: ?
Tutored: ...? Despite hir understated appearance, a very beautiful Porcelain who has a kindly air. Jin sells dolls from a little cart sie brings into the marketplace on holidays. Sie does some sewing and painting herself, but largely assembles parts bought from other artisans in the Palace in hir house, not a big studio or workshop.
Despite the sporadic nature of hir work, sie never seems to lack funds and lives quite comfortably in hir apartment. Sie doesn't go out often, though, and doesn't seem to have many close friends.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:19 am
the Celestial Chaos
...the Celestial Oracle cannot do anything but wrong...
ninja
The Chaos of Heaven
Rank: Lucid
Element: Heaven
Sorcerer: Hyouka (Golden World)
Boyan (Gaia) dun dun dun! etc.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:37 pm
Hyouka
Who's your daddy?
heart
The Celestial Oracle
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Wilds on the eastern edge of Toukoku
Birthdate: Sometime in T652?
Deathdate: ?
Profession: Celestial Chaos Sorcerer
Funds: The richest Sorcerer... but that's not saying much.
Elemental Name: Earth
Historical Figure Yes, he's fathered ALMOST EVERYONE. How is it possible for a male Porcelain to be so promiscuous...!? Well... ninja Children
Rika (f Lucid, by Rishi) b. 704
Shuuken (f, of Shuutoku) b. 713
Ako (f, of Chourou) b. 718
... and others o.O~
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:35 pm
Rishi
...
heart
The Porcelain Empress
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: 5-16, T671
Deathdate: ?
Profession: the Porcelain Empress
Funds: the Imperial Treasury is at her disposal
Elemental Name: Heaven
Historical Figure The Porcelain Empress in the year T720 is Rishi, a woman whose image has gone through many changes over the 49 years of her life. Born in T671 to the Minister of Western Toukoku, she was an intelligent but shy child, later blossoming into a reserved, shrewd, and peerlessly elegant young woman. In T685, the year that she became a Secretary of Western Toukoku, the Celestial Oracle visited her mother's house and predicted Rishi would rise to greatness.
In T687 she married the son of a Court Minister, a relative of the reigning Empress Jiwa, and everyone believed it to be an excellent match. She never bonded with her husband, however, and at the same time she was treating him with cruelty and coldness at home she was becoming progressively more ambitious and ruthless in her profession. Yet even as she discredited and humiliated rivals in order to rise in rank, she appeared to maintain the utmost devotion to the law and the betterment of the common people, and so her enemies could not call her evil.
In T695 Jiwa died. Rishi's allies stalled the election process until Rishi rose to become the Minister of Western Toukoku and then blocked the other hopefuls while Rishi secured the throne for herself. She was elected in the late months of T695, the reign year becoming Rishi 0.
Shortly afterwards, Rishi's first husband died, leaving behind two daughters, Souken and Soukyou. Rishi was unfazed and immediately chose a pretty grand-nephew of Jiwa for her next husband, but she did not bond with him, either, and in T697 when the Jiwa faction attempted to question her harsh policy towards malcontents in Bukoku she sent him away to die a wretched death as a warning to her enemies.
The court had grown terrified of Rishi, who simultaneously terrorized the nobles while currying the commoners' favor with reforms and propaganda. At her wedding to her third husband, Sekiga, a group of hooded poets outside the Palace recited elegies instead of praises. As expected, he met his own grisly end in T702. At this point most of the nobles were convinced Rishi was evil, and many commissioned artists to make plays mourning Sekiga in attempts to turn the populous against her.
These attempts did not work as well as planned, though, as despite her cruelties Rishi ran an extremely effective, efficient bureaucracy. Indeed, Rishi would never excise a lady of the court for committing no crimes; every fine, exile, or stripping of rank could be connected to some sort of corruption or mistake. The courtiers' terror of her led them to be exceptionally circumspect in their dealings, and some historians are already speculating that Rishi will be praised for her ruthlessness in later years.
In the year T703, at the very height of her "reign of terror," the Celestial Oracle paid a month-long visit to the Imperial Court. He criticized the Empress before the whole court, brazenly speaking of her fearsome reputation (as well as less serious charges of gluttony and her obsession with saucy plays.) Surprisingly, he became not only the darling of unhappy courtiers but a favorite of the Empress herself, and he spent long hours "advising" the Empress in her private library. Seven months after he left, the Empress's fifth daughter, Rika, was born.
Although during this period none of the old nobles were willing to sacrifice sons or grandsons to be Rishi's fourth husband. A rising star, Hiwa, saw their reluctance as an opportunity for herself. In T705 she offered Rishi her younger brother Kouwa, a "profoundly unattractive" man, and, perhaps in a fit of boredom, Rishi accepted him. As with her other husbands, she did not at first bond with him, but then something miraculous occured; Kouwa's gentleness and little eccentricities charmed her, and a few months after their marriage she did decide to give him her heart.
In the time that Kouwa was Emperor Consort the Empress's personality seemed to drastically change. Though still demanding of courtiers, she favored demotions over drastic punishments, and put less pressure on artists and scholars to conform to her decrees. The Hiwa faction, by exploting Hiwa's ties to Kouwa and by putting on liberal airs, rose to prominence. These years were also marked by good harvests and relative cooperation by the dominions, and even those who had once denounced Rishi began to praise her as a just and virtuous Empress.
However, Kouwa died in T716 after suffering a terrible illness. Amidst her grief, Rishi suddenly lost much of her ambition and drive and began relying heavily on her Court Ministers instead of making decisions herself. Her ambitious daughter Souken saw her opportunity, and as soon as Rishi stopped paying attention to court matters, began making connections, raising herself to the official rank of Minister of Current Affairs but actually wielding far greater power by new institutions of corruption she covertly installed into the regime. Her most powerful ally was Jyuukou, daughter of Jyuurou, whom Rishi had frequently snubbed. As part of her courting of Jyuukou, Souken made Jyuukou's nephew Eifu the Fifth Emperor Consort (though Rishi certainly never bonded with him.)
In T720 Rishi is still mourning, though she is no longer quite as emotionally frail as she was at first. The Hiwa faction, now with the considerable asset of the brilliant Princess Rika, hope that as the Empress returns to her senses she will denounce Souken's machinations and once again bolster the law. Yet they also fear that Rishi may never regain her old strength, and if one of Souken's faction becomes the next Empress, the opportunity to extend Rishi's old reforms into a new Golden Age will slip by...Children
Souken (f Lucid, by Raiji) b. 687
Soukyou (f Dreaming, by Raiji) b. 690
Reihi (m Dreaming, by Raiji) b. 692
Seian (f Dreaming, by Shinji) b. 696
Kin'an (f Dreaming, by Sekiga) b. 698
Rika (f Lucid, by Hyouka) b. 704
Shun'a (m Dreaming, by Kouwa) b. 706
Renmei (f, by Kouwa) b. 709
Rihi (f, by Kouwa) b. 710
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:36 pm
Souken
...
heart
First Imperial Princess
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: T687
Deathdate: ?
Profession: Imperial Princess
Funds: rather a lot
Elemental Name: Heaven
Historical Figure ...Bio later.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:37 pm
Rika... heart Fifth Imperial Princess
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: 1-13, T704
Deathdate: ?
Profession: Imperial Princess
Funds: Rather less than Souken, but quite a bit
Elemental Name: Earth
Historical Figure Rika is the "blood and water" daughter of Empress Rishi and the Celestial Oracle, Hyouka -- but the latter only stayed at court for one month before leaving, and on all his return trips to the Palace has not once specially arranged to see his daughter. As a result, Rika is not close to him, and even nurses a sort of resentment for him; instead, she considers her father to be Rishi's husband during Rika's childhood, Emperor Consort Kouwa.
Kouwa and Rika were indeed, as the expression goes, 'thick as thieves'; from an early age, Rika proved herself just as intellectual and eccentric as her social-father, but without his verbal weakness and much of his social awkwardness. Indeed, Rika was always several years ahead of other children and would argue with the court philosophers before she was nine years old. Rishi regarded her brilliant daughter with immense pride, but for fear of Rika becoming arrogant kept this admiration to herself.
Perhaps it was this lack of affirmation that caused Rika to have no interest whatsoever in the courtly arts during her childhood; more likely, there was just not enough room in her brain for the courtly arts and her love of history, physics, chemistry, mathematics, alchemy, astronomy/-logy, comparative religion and culture, and her childhood love, entomology. As she approached her Naming Ceremony, she was sure she would become a scholar and never bother with palace politics. However, the death of Kouwa in her twelfth year and the subsequent rise of her ambitious half-sister Souken changed her; motivated by a mixture of grief, indignation, and righteous fury, she took up moral philosophy as her primary interest, and allied with Hiwa in the hopes of reforming the government.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:38 am
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?page=1&t=13936075#170340983Genka
...
heart
The (less than beautiful) beautiful-artist
Homeland: Silver World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: 5-21, T981
Deathdate: --
Profession: Musician, poet, dancer, consummate entertainer!
Funds: Doesn't have a terribly large allowance, but he makes enough personally to fund his clothes habit.
Elemental Name: Fire
Tutored: Jilan (Child II to Youth I, SW T1004-1007) Ever since he can remember, this young Lucid male has been fascinated by the beautiful and the sublime, and has wanted to become fluent in every beautiful art. After much study, he proved to be a skilled poet, actor, and player of the zither and two-string fiddle, and a better than mediocre dancer and painter as well. After his Naming Ceremony, he went to the Imperial Palace to study.
... However, the officials there decided that while he was skilled at the beautiful arts, the strange-looking boy was not really beautiful enough to perform them for the Empress, and he was not given many opportunities to advance. Disgusted, he quit the Palace, and became something of a vagabond roaming the Capital City, supporting himself by performing here and there, offering lessons in the arts to the children of wealthy parents, and begging from his friends, notably the inexplicably rich Jin.
But, no longer. After marrying Kinkyou, a lady of the court, in T1002, Genka no longer has to worry about food... though he still works to supplement his little allowance.
In person he comes across as playful and charismatic, though his laziness, somewhat hedonistic lifestyle, and tendencies to flirt beyond what is proper have not made him terribly popular among the more proprietous citizens of the Capital. He is a good-hearted person, however, who ungrudgingly offers assistance whenever he is able to give it.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:05 am
the Mist Chaos
...
ninja
Lucid Chaos of Water
Rank: Lucid
Element: Water
Sorcerer: ...???? !?!??!?!
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:06 am
the Blood Chaos
...
ninja
Lucid Chaos of Wood
Rank: Lucid
Element: Wood
Sorcerer: ...???? !?!??!?!
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:59 am
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?page=1&t=13936075#170579269Reisho
...
heart
Mr. Grumpy
Homeland: Silver World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: 5-14, T979
Deathdate: --
Profession: Civil servant under the Minister of Commerce
Funds: A small but respectable salary, which he judiciously saves and spends only on fine goods
Elemental Name: Heaven
Tutored: Tsubei (Child II to Youth I, SW T1001-1004) This man, still quite young, is quite intelligent, skilled in mathematics, showing propriety, and especially in calligraphy and formal writing. But, perhaps surprisingly, he is Dreaming; afflicted with a severe verbal stutter, he could not speak well at his Naming Ceremony and so could not be named Lucid.
He was bitterly disappointed in himself for this failure at the time, but has come to accept it; Reisho is, after all, a man who likes nothing better than to serve. He currently works as a secretary to another official who herself serves under the Minister of Commerce to the Silver Empress, and while his duties mostly concern managing files and correspondence, he is sometimes called upon to use his substantial economic knowhow.
In personal affairs he is quite serious and reserved, an exceedingly feminine male. Perhaps this excessive gravity and lack of sweetness is the reason that, at his age, he still has not found a wife -- or perhaps it is because of his stutter. He is rather anxious about his single status, and is currently trying to make himself more likable and attractive, in the hopes that some nice lady at the Palace will start to notice him.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:39 am
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?page=1&t=13936075#171691702Shoukan
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heart
Shoukan doesn't speak needlessly
Homeland: Silver World
Residence: Wanders about
Birthdate: 1-12, T977
Deathdate: --
Profession: Small-time mercenary
Funds: Relatively little; doesn't own a permanent house
Elemental Name: Wood
Tutored: Shuuken (Child II to Youth I, SW T1004-1006) This calm, quiet Lucid woman can be seen hanging around blacksmiths' shops and lower-class restaurants, resting a spear on her shoulder as she observes passers-by. If questioned about her homeland and occupation, she replies with vague references to the north and to part-time work guarding travelers and caravans -- which may not make a terrible lot of sense, considering how peaceful the Silver World is these days.
Though she usually seems stoic and intimidating, Shoukan has a warm and maternal side as well. In between her little jobs, she teaches local youths basic martial arts. It often seems as if she is a tough teacher, but she carefully tests her charges to help them learn their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, though she seems highly skilled with her weapon, she has not been known to kill or even to inflict serious wounds on her enemies; intimidation is her preferred weapon, followed by deft and painful but ultimately harmless strikes.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:41 am
Kouwa
...
heart
Fourth Emperor Consort
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Capital City
Birthdate: 7-20, T680
Deathdate: T716
Profession: Emperor Consort of Rishi
Funds: a small allowance from Rishi
Elemental Name: Earth
Historical Figure The second child of a scholar-couple in the Capital City, Kouwa disappointed his parents first by being a boy and second, as he grew older, by manifesting such a severe stutter that even his projections were affected, making him very difficult to understand. He very quickly realized this himself and, after several years of trying very hard to speak and think correctly, eventually decided he would never be able to please his parents or the rest of society and chose to become verbally and mentally mute, walling himself off from the world and hiding in his room, building Rube Goldberg Machines.
At his Naming Ceremony, the presiding priestess sensed that the boy was exceptionally sensitive and intelligent, but the rules of the ritual require keen speaking ability for Lucids. Kouwa did break his silence once to attempt to answer one of the priestess's questions, though, and so she sympathetically declared him Dreaming Earth. This was still not good enough for his parents, however, and he once again withdrew to his room.
Kouwa never courted, and his parents never tried to help, believing him to be too stupid and plain to attract any worthwhile wife, and so until he was 25 he was still living in their house, still reclusive and extremely shy. In T705, however, his elder sister Hiwa was nursing political ambitions. As Empress Rishi was unmarried at the time but no lady of the court willing to sacrifice their sons to her, Hiwa decided to offer Kouwa. After heavily pressuring high-ranking Temple officials, she was able to have Kouwa re-Named Lucid, and, making him up as prettily as she could, she presented him to Rishi.
Kouwa was awed and dazzled by the majestic Empress. Although this certainly did not help his stutter, something about his shy and awkward manner interested her, and she accepted the match. At first, the Empress did not plan to bond with Kouwa, as she had not bonded with four mates before him; but his adoration of her, his sweet submissiveness, and his strange and interesting hobbies intrigued her more and more, and so for the first time she gave her heart to her husband in Autumn of that year.
After receiving the love of Rishi, Kouwa became much less fearful and withdrawn, though he was still shy around strangers and hid himself in the Imperial Palace, mostly only associating with the Imperial family. Before and after his own children, Shun'a, Renmei, and Rihi, were born, he cared for Rishi's other children, especially the young Seian, Kinan, and Rika, as his own. Nurturing them seems to have given him confidence, and he developed a much warmer personality, his stutter improving though never entirely going away.
Though Kouwa himself had no political ambitions, the softening effect of his presence on Rishi's personality seems to have led her to take a more tolerant approach to correcting her inferiors, and Hiwa and her faction used Rishi's gentle mood and the influence of Kouwa to push their own liberal, scholar-driven political agenda.
But this idyllic period of the Empress's life ended when Kouwa contracted a mysterious disease and died, after nearly a year of suffering, in T716, at only 36. The Empress, much of her court, and especially her daughter Rika mourned him bitterly, though one of the Empress's daughters secretly celebrated...Children
Shun'a (m Dreaming, of Rishi) b. 706
Renmei (f, of Rishi) b. 709
Rihi (f, of Rishi) b. 710
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:24 pm
Setsuka
...
heart
The lame dancer
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Spring Cove
Birthdate: 3-16, T667
Deathdate: T691
Profession: Retired Imperial Dancer
Funds: an allowance from his wife, who is a 6th Rank courtier
Elemental Name: Water
Historical Figure The only child of two relatively unknown tradespeople, he was orphaned at age 8 after the same illness claimed both his parents' lives. Although many of the people living nearby were afraid that by taking the boy in they would expose themselves to the disease, his neighbor and the mother of his best friend decided to take that risk. She was a writer of plays, and as she observed the boy grow into a tall and graceful young man, she proposed that he become a dancer, as he had the talents and she was sure the costumers would love to design fanciful outfits for his unique frame.
Shortly after receiving the name of Water in T680, he entered the Imperial Palace with his adoptive brother to learn dance-drama. He was noted as being quite good, though not so exceptional he would make history; he was a skilled dancer and versatile actor who was especially good in complex cold maiden or villain roles.
He and his friend both debuted in T682, as part of the ensemble; both of them received marriage invitations as a result of their beauty, but while his friend accepted, Setsuka declined, wanting to develop his art further for the time. After several years he would consider this a grave mistake, as he had great trouble finding a match later.
In T685 he received his first and only hero role; in subsequent performances he would always play a villain or supporting character or work backstage. He rather enjoyed this, however; he found he liked choreographing and mentoring younger dancers as much as performing himself. Just as well, as in T690 he injured his back in an accident during renovations on the stage, and from that time he was unable to dance.
He did not have much time to become depressed about this, however, as a legal secretary in the palace, Chiyo, whom he had met earlier at an informal performance, suddenly asked him to marry her. Though surprised at her rejection of tradition in skipping the courtship process and also proposing to a man four years older than her, he admired her demeanor and intelligence and accepted her proposal.
Chiyo was then appointed Judge of Spring Cove, and Setsuka followed her there to be her domestic husband. Sadly, he had not avoided tragedy after all; after only one sweet year of marriage Setsuka died, as far as Chiyo was able to tell from a heartbreak resulting from his violation by an unknown assailant.Children
Setsushi (m Lucid, of Chiyo) b. 691
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:51 pm
Chiyo
...
heart
The good judge
Homeland: Golden World
Residence: Spring Cove
Birthdate: 1-10, T671
Deathdate: T708
Profession: Judge of Spring Cove (6th Rank)
Funds: One of the richest people in Spring Cove
Elemental Name: Water
Historical Figure Chiyo was born to two somewhat elderly scholars who had retired to the small town of Spring Cove. She was a bright and kind-hearted child, but had few friends, having been raised by parents of a different generation than her peers'. As a result, she tended to socialize with older children and developed a cool, reserved, but generous and virtuous character. In her thirteenth year the presiding priest had no trouble naming her a Lucid Water, and she applied her prodigious mind to the courtly arts and the study of law.
By T685 she was serving in the Palace as a Secretary and gathering much praise for her skills and good character, and by the year T690 she was in the Seventh Rank. She was, however, growing irritated by the political games of the Imperial City and somewhat homesick for Spring Cove, and requested her superiors demote her to a Secretary of Eastern Toukoku so she could work there.
As they were deliberating on this request, she learned that one of the Imperial Dancers, a man somewhat older than her named Setsuka, whom Chiyo found rather handsome, had injured his back and was unable to perform. Feeling sorry for him and a little lonely herself, she offered to rescue him by making him her husband and taking him back with her. On the same day that she received his letter giving his consent, she received a letter from the Minister of Eastern Toukoku informing her that she had not been demoted but promoted to the position of Judge of Spring Cove.
Chiyo and Setsuka moved to Spring Cove and spent one very happy year together. Unfortunately, they were only to have one year, as Setsuka died of heartbreak in early T691. Though Chiyo was devastated, she was pregnant at the time, and resolved to swallow her agony and live on for the sake of their child. And so, in Autumn of that year, their son Setsushi was born.
Chiyo showed remarkable strength despite her loss, retaining her position as Judge and ruling the town with honesty and magnanimity. She also devoted herself to the care and education of her son, encouraging him to cultivate himself to the fullest and not to let political or gender barriers stop him. At the same time, she somewhat smothered him for fear that he would be wounded as her husband was.
It was after Setsushi matured and moved away that she was finally able to experience her grief fully, and she slowly became weaker and more depressed over the years. In T706 she deemed herself too frail to act as Judge and retired, and in T708 she contracted an illness and died with her son at her side.Children
Setsushi (m Lucid, by Setsuka) b. 691
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