A Brief History of the Emerald Empire, from Origins to 1090

Most of this information is the same as the GM’s guide.
Some of the events have been minorly altered.

More than 1000 years ago
The fall of the kami and the establishment of the empire under the line of the Hantei and the seven great clans.   The official historical records of the empire begin.

Circa 44
The Day of Thunder, one of the greatest legendary events in Rokugani history.   The prophet Shinsei gathers one mortal from each of the seven great clans and takes them into the Shadowlands to defeat the fallen god Fu Leng.   All the Thunders died there, save Shosuro, who brought back the Black Scrolls and then died.  

Circa 80
Departure of Shinjo on her wanderings. Formation of minor clans of Fox and Mantis.

Circa 110
Creation of the minor Badger clan to guard the northern passes to Rokugan.

353
Battle of Victory of No Strike, the first indisputable date in Imperial History.

372
Creation of Dragonfly minor clan.

387
Yasuki split and Crab-Crane war, first large-scale internal war. Yasuki family transfers their allegiance to the Crab Clan.

440-442
Arrival of gai-jin ambassadors in Imperial court closely followed by their attack, the Battle of the White Stag/Raging Seas. Since this time, gai-jin have been barred from Rokugan. The peninsula where the battle took place is given to the Tortoise minor clan to guard.

510
Battle of Stolen Graves, the fight against the Bloodspeaker Iuchiban.   Because the sorcerer Iuchiban raised the bodies of the dead to fight, cremation becomes the only acceptable funerary arrangement.   Iuchiban is eventually captured, killed, and entombed in a enchanted structure.   In the same year, the Mantis family name ‘Gusai’ is removed, but the clan is allowed to endure despite their lord’s treachery.

712
Battle of Sleeping River, as Iuchiban’s soul, freed from its prison, wreaks havoc in Rokugan.   After Iuchiban’s defeat, a young ronin named “Reichin” is elevated to the nobility for his selfless bravery and cunning.   He is awarded a family name by Hantei XI, which he takes from the month “Usagi,” which sounds lucky. Thus, the “Hare” minor clan is born.

716
Battle of Cresting Wave, the foremost invasion of the Shadowlands since the Day of Thunder. Hiruma castle is destroyed and the Kuni lands laid waste. The result is the creation of the Carpenter Wall, spanning hundreds of li as a bulwark against invasion and eventual victory for Hida Banuken against the Oni known as the “Maw.”

815
Return of the Unicorn; bursting through the Kaiu Walls and thereafter fighting the Lion and Scorpion in the Battle of White Shore Plain and Seven Day Battle Plain. However, the Miya bear the fan of lady Doji to court and the return of the Unicorn is finally accepted in Rokugan.

950
Ryoko Owari, the city of Green Walls, becomes the second largest city in the Empire, a trading nexus controlled by the Scorpion, but lying near Unicorn and Lion lands with river access. Otosan Uchi, the capital remains the largest, but the city limits of Ryoko Owari are fixed by imperial statute.

1056
The Fox, Hare, and Sparrow clans begin an annual competition of ronin, held on hills on plains between their lands, which later come to be known as “Ronin Chiki,” the plains of the ronin. This tournament proves popular and becomes a way for Ronin to make their names.

1091 to present, see History 1090-1122 and following.

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