Nanashi
Bishamon-myo
Magistrate of the Court of the Ebon Flame
Mandarin of the Path of the Thousand Whispers
Northern Hollow Reed of the Ascendancy of the Darkly-Mirrored Soul
Description
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 119 lb.
Ethnicity: East Asian
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Long simple black
Clothing: Gray business casual or red or blue promenade formal
Comportment/Cadence: Welcoming
Distinctions: A very attractive Japanese woman cusping middle age, finely dressed, with a confidence and command of any social scenario
Supernatural Qualities: Her charisma feels palpable, with many drawn to her without even knowing why or who she is
Accoutrements: Moderate jewelry
Traits: Appearance 4 (pleasing); Style 4 (ethnic); Perfect Protocol
“Be without name, without noise, without hope: they are fetters preventing transcendence beyond.”
History
Date of Birth: June 14th, 1225
Home: Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
Family: Hatatake Narisane and Kiku (parents), Munenao (older brother); Benno (birthname); Miura Sanehide (husband), Katanao (son), Sute (daughter)
Second Breath: Personal Tragedy (Hatatake Benno was born during the Kamakura Period of feudal Japan to a samurai family, married when of age to a noble samurai family that came into conflict with the Hojo regency, which they viewed as usurpers to the shogunate; over the decades, the Hojo gradually annihilated the Miura, her own husband perishing in battle, and when her family castle came under assault, she took up the mantle of an onna-bushi general and led a daring counter-offensive, but treacherous sneak attack on her home murdered all within, even her teenage son [her daughter survived], and she and her forces rushed home too late, and she too was killed in the futile last-ditch effort to survive), 1264
Mentor: Suganuma Towa
The Test: Trial by Wit (she awakened in the frigid hell of Kakuri, when this Yomi Wan was still formulating under the relatively young demon prince Emma-o; she joined a rebellious resistance but was ultimately one of but a few souls to survive and escape Yomi Wan; she returned as chih-mei to her family graveyard on Miura Peninsula, harvested by a Bishamon Rootless Tree, the Dharma she took to with relative ease, given her life already wearing "many hats" as administrator, aristocrat, mother, wife, and even warrior; she proved a quiet and faithful disciple)
Comrades: Ho Pan, Kai Lao, Lei Dian, Hankyo Usa, Nanashi, Yi Lee Ran
Key Event #1: War (at first, she embraced her militant heritage and fought for the uji on the shadow war's front lines, given the Bishamon's rivalry with the Heike and Genji)
Key Event #2: Awe & Wonder (her sensei reminded her that the Road Back was better devoted to self-reflection and meditation and she withdrew from so many combat assignments)
Key Event #3: Awe & Wonder (instead, she began to visit with her mortal family as a grandmother matriarch; she helped guide her descendants while remaining aloof)
Key Event #4: Treachery (but then she made the error of getting too attached to her adult granddaughter; ultimately, Nanashi killed the woman and staged her own "death", which impressed her mentor greatly for her devotion to the Path of Thousand Whispers)
Key Event #5: Awe & Wonder (in her "next" life, she retreated from nobility altogether and became a farmer, running an orchard of cherry trees in Sagami)
Key Event #6: War (now a respected jina, the clan and her sensei, the Mandator, summoned her back to take up the role of Steward of the Axis, often taking on the role of general and warrior, guiding the clan through the civil wars of both humans and gaki in the feudal era)
Key Event #7: Awe & Wonder (she recognized the dawn of the 5th Age when Western explorers and traders began to arrive; she pushed for her clan to adopt faster than the others, taking up guns especially, but did face reluctance among hidebound older Bishamon mandarins)
Key Event #8: Awe & Wonder (when the Tokugawa Era began, she left Japan as an explorer herself, starting a journey that would last many, many years; she took on a variety of roles and identities both at sea and on land)
Key Event #9: Awe & Wonder (over that time, she encountered many different kinds of shen and Kin-jin, and so she threw out the old prejudices she'd been instilled with and formed her own educated assessment of potential enemies and rivals)
Key Event #10: Awe & Wonder (she returned to Japan eventually, meeting with her sensei one last time before the anceint transcended to bodhisattva status and departed from Gui Ren society, while she was elevated to replace him as Mandator)
Key Event #11: Treachery (as Mandator, she guided the clan through a number of shadow wars plaguing the gaki of the late period Tokugawa bakufu)
Key Event #12: Awe & Wonder (during these conflicts, Nanashi balanced her court role with different dharmic lives; she took on and lived out almost all roles of the era)
Key Event #13: Awe & Wonder (when the Meiji Restoration came, she was one of the few gaki of any clan arguing for the changes, demonstrating she had a better grasp of Kuei-jin law; such expertise helped her survive the tumult of the 20th-century)
Transition: Reassignment (her expertise also earned her the right to choose a new assignment, and she opted to become Magistrate of a new court forming in the US, a colony of shen and an opportunity to test her theories about the intrinsic nature of other shen, especially Kin-jin)
The P’o
Appearance: Nanashi's Demon likes to play the part of the witless questioner, challenging every decision a woman ever has the audacity to make.
Trigger: Whenever she's at a loss for words or actions.
Significant Other
Name: Fuyu Nadare, 2012
Nature: Companionship
Nadare
Weakness
Nameless
Nanashi is a successful Rootless Tree. She is very successful. Perhaps too successful: does she even know who she is anymore? Or was that the point?
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
She is firmly on her Path and well on her way to Dâh. Though, of course, deevolution is always possible for even the oldest and wisest Wan Kuei.
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