1. The Chosokabe clan
The Chosokabe clan claim descent from the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Despite their long history, the Chosokabe clan has had mixed fortunes, and has been under the protection of the Ichijo, who helped them to recapture their castle at Oko. Chosokabe Kunichika, the daimyo, is certainly bold and brave enough to have imperial blood in his veins: he once jumped off an Ichijo castle wall for a dare! He has now broken with the Ichijo, rebuilt Chosokabe influence, and vowed revenge on his enemies.
Kunichika can take advantages of the Chosokabe’s traditional strengths: they are phenomenal farmers, and gain extra income from their lands; they produce superb archers and cheap archer units too. With their strength concentrated in Tosa province, the Chosokabe are already at war with the Kono clan of Iyo to the northwest.
Now they have to make an interesting strategic decision: deal with their immediate enemies in Iyo, crush the Ichijo clan at home in Tosa, or attack the Miyoshi clan of Awa province. This last might seem like madness, but Awa is blessed with plentiful warhorses, a valuable resource for anyone planning to expand their clan army. The other nearby resource that will be incredibly useful is the good building stone in Sanuki to the north east. Once these immediate opportunities and problems are resolved, then who is to say the next shogun will not be a Chosokabe lord?
2. The Date Clan
Date warriors have a fierce and unforgiving nature. Their foes learn this on the battlefield, shortly before they die. All Date units have a charge bonus, and their fearsome no-dachi samurai, with two-handed swords, are cheap to recruit and maintain. The Date can also recruit superior no-dachi units as well: attack is a Date watchword!
Seen from their home province of Iwate, there are many rivals worth attacking. Date Harumune, their daimyo, is already at war with rebels at his own door, not to mention the Mogami clan of Ugo and Usen to the west. An attack there could put holy shrines under Date control. To the southwest, matters are a little more settled: the Hatakeyama clan in Miyagi is currently at peace with the Date, but who knows if such a situation will last? The forests of Miyagi represent a useful resource too.
The clan was founded by Isa Tomomune when he was given control of the Date district by the shogun Minamoto Yoritomo at the end of the 12th Century. The clan steadily gained influence until recently, when fighting broke out within the clan over the issue of a marriage alliance with the Uesugi. Date Harumune quarrelled violently with his own father, Tanemune, over plans to marry off his younger brother: a large number of the Date retainers and warriors agreed with Harumune and the old man was removed. Now, Harumune needs a new challenge, perhaps the shogunate?
3. The Uesugi Clan
The Uesugi are proud of their Buddhist faith. They can recruit and maintain warrior monks far more cheaply than any other clan. They can also recruit much better fighting monks and more effective monk agents than any other clan. Despite this religious solidarity, the history of the Uesugi is not tranquil. The current Uesugi leaders were originally the Nagao clan of Echigo, and were vassals to the Yamanouchi faction of the Uesugi clan. The Nagao fought alongside their masters against the Ogigayatsu, another part of the Uesugi clan, in a bitter dispute.
The Yamanouchi, weakened by a war with the Hojo, were forced to seek help from the Nagao lord, Kagetora. His “help” included adopting the name of Uesugi, and taking control of the whole Uesugi clan! Just to make matters even more complicated, Uesugi Kagetora (as he now called himself) changed his name again to Uesugi Kenshin. He was an adherent of Bishamonten, the war god and took Buddhist vows. He then stepped down in favour of his brother, who proved to be staggeringly divisive and unpopular. Kenshin returned to power and now contemplates the future. There is much struggle yet to come if the clan is to be secure and an Uesugi is ever to be shogun!
There are Uesugi rebels in Echigo itself, and to the south there is unfinished business is the shape of the Yamanouchi clan of Kozuke province. Luckily, there are peaceful relations with the Ashina clan of Fukushima, and the Mogami clan of Uzen province, but both of these areas have resources, wood and stone respectively, which could be of considerable use. In keeping with the religious bent of the Uesugi, Kozuke province has a tradition of philosophical scholarship that could be harnessed to the Kenshin’s purposes. A navy might also prove useful, as Sado, off the coast of Echigo, has plentiful gold deposits.
