The Sengoku Jidai has a lot of total badasses who get left out of the "typical" story of the era, which tends to focus on the Three Unifiers and/or the Takeda. And I get why, but it's just such a waste. So expect to see a lot of really cool guys most of the readers have probably never heard of. Guys like Amago Tsunehisa "the Saint of Schemes," Mogami Yoshiaki "the Fox of Dewa," Satake Yoshishige "the Ogre of Hitachi," and Ryūzōji Takanobu "the Bear of Hizen."
And, of course, Oda Nobuhide, "the Tiger of Owari." Edo Period literature actually wrote him off as an incompetent because his endeavors were all ultimately unsuccessful, which is the kind of mindless reductionism that tends to piss me off as a history buff. Nobuhide was undone by his own flaws in part, and I fully intend to show that, but a lack of skill and intellect was not one of those flaws.
Well, "real history" isn't exactly what I'm going to be going with here, otherwise basically every single person we're going to be dealing with is going to be a bigger dick than Nobunaga, who at least only killed the family members who rebelled against him.
Seriously, the historical Takeda Shingen (who I bring up because the Edo Period loved to suck his dick) is a much worse person than Nobunaga, and he's not at all unusual for the period. I won't shy away from portraying the less-than-flattering moments of a lot of the traditional "heroes" of the narrative, but I plan to try to keep a majority of the characters sympathetic or at least understandable in the things they do and believe.
The character threadmark is updated to include the (notable) members of your family and the Kanma clan's mon (emblem). Incidentally, here's what the mon of the Hayashi and Kira are:
And the two clans who have had members "onscreen," as it were, the Oda and Hirate.
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, 7th head of the Matsudaira. Their shining star, who brought them up from the depths of obscurity and threatened to unite all of Mikawa under their banner.
In 1524, at only 14 years of age, Kiyoyasu had embarked on his first military campaign, capturing a small fortress that belonged to the Saigo, a powerful clan that held much of northern Mikawa. On the site of this fortress he raised the Matsudaira's stronghold of Okazaki Castle. Over the next 10 years, he had led a series of stunning victories that eventually brought about the end of the Saigo, and made the Matsudaira the most powerful clan in Mikawa.
But even with this new primacy within Mikawa, the Matsudaira were in a difficult position. To the east, the Imagawa controlled both Suruga and Tōtomi, and their recent civil war had ended with the emergence of Imagawa Yoshimoto as a formidable man with alliances with both his northern and eastern neighbors; already, he was beginning to make movements that suggested a possible campaign in the west for Mikawa.
And to the west, the Oda also eyed Mikawa hungrily. Oda Nobuhide, the "Tiger of Owari," was true to his name, always hungrily eyeing his neighbors for any sign of weakness to pounce upon.
Within the Matsudaira, there was furious debate over how to deal with these threats. Some counseled an alliance with the Oda to check the expansion of the Imagawa, others counseled submission to the Imagawa to break the Oda. Kiyoyasu, perhaps believing he could use the time it bought to build up his forces and cement his hold over Mikawa, favored the Imagawa.
When a secret letter reached Kiyoyasu from Oda Nobumitsu, brother of Nobuhide, promising his aid if he launched an attack against Nobuhide, Kiyoyasu's decision was made, and he sent envoys to the Imagawa and readied for an invasion of southern Owari, all over the protests of several of his most prominent retainers, particularly the Abe clan led by Abe Sadayoshi.
---X---
Within the Matsudaira's camp, Abe Sadayoshi was confronted by his son, Abe Yashichirō Masatoyo.
Masatoyo was nearly frantic. "Father, there are rumors in the camps that you-!"
"Are colluding with the Oda?" Sadayoshi asked calmly, cutting off his son. "I'm aware. No doubt Nobuhide seeks to create dissension within our ranks, to make us an easier foe to face. There is no truth to it, and a proper examination will reveal that."
He sighed. "But… I may not be given a proper examination. Lord Matsudaira is young, bold, decisive. All his life he has succeeded because of it, and now, with the bait of a great victory in Owari looming over him, I must wonder; will he hesitate now for my sake?"
Masatoyo broke out in chills, as his father spoke so calmly about his potential impending death. "Then, we have to do something Father! If he tries to execute you, we can-!"
"No," Sadayoshi said firmly. "That is likely the best outcome possible for the Oda, and will spell doom for the Matsudaira and the Abe."
He put a hand to his son's shoulder. "Masatoyo, I need you to swear to me, that even if Lord Matsudaira should slay me, that you will continue to serve him with the utmost loyalty, and not raise a hand against him."
Tears in his eyes, Masatoyo hung his head. "I… I swear, Father," he choked out.
---X---
That very day, Sadayoshi was put into custody and taken away to be investigated, with Masatoyo put in command of the Abe's forces. However, as Masatoyo went to Kiyoyasu's tent to assure him of his father's innocence, he heard Kiyoyasu speak to a servant about a horse that had grown unruly and needed to be killed. Hearing only part of the conversation, Masatoyo believe that his father had simply been killed on the road like a dog.
Forgetting his oath to his father, Masatoyo charged in and cut down Kiyoyasu, snuffing out the rising star of the Matsudaira at the young age of 26. While all were paralyzed at this action, he rallied his forces and drove away the rest of the Matsudaira army while they were still confused and leaderless. This was the incident known as the Moriyama Tragedy.
Sadayoshi, meanwhile, was forced to accept help from the Imagawa in restoring order in Mikawa and ending the rebellion of his own son. At the Battle of Idano, Masatoyo was cut down and his army pacified. For his role in ensuring that Kiyoyasu's young son, then only 11 years old, was safely installed at Okazaki as the next head of the clan, Sadayoshi and the rest of his family was allowed to live, though the Abe were never again a major power within the Matsudaira.
In exchange for their assistance, the Imagawa essentially reduced the Matsudaira to vassalage. With their head a mere child, the Matsudaira had little chance to effectively resist.
---X---
In Owari, Nobuhide and his closest advisers heard the reports from their spies of all that had transpired in Mikawa.
"It is unfortunate that the Imagawa now have such a strong foothold in Mikawa, but otherwise, this is most fortuitous news," Masahide said approvingly.
"It would have been more to our benefit it things were not resolved to quickly, but weakness in the Matsudaira means opportunity for us, all the same," Nobuhide concluded. "Kiyoyasu was far too much a threat for me to just leave him alive to face me on the battlefield."
The assembled retainers gasped in shock at his words.
Hidesada spoke first. "M-my lord, do you mean that you…?"
"Engineered his assassination? Not in so many words," Nobuhide said, a knowing smile on his face. "I merely whispered in a few ears, and let others do the rest. Kiyoyasu's death was but one possibility. No one is closer than one's kin; and so there is no one that should be watched more closely."
"Ah, we shall be sure to impart this wisdom to the Young Master," Hidesada said, having gathered himself.
"Be sure that you do," Nobuhide said gruffly. "Speaking of which, I must go pay a visit to Nobumitsu. Now that his 'plan' has failed so spectacularly, it is time to remind him of his place in this clan.
"In the meantime, continue preparations for a campaign. The Imagawa may be rushing to reinforce them, but they won't be able to protect all of Mikawa from me…"
Sadayoshi, meanwhile, was forced to accept help from the Imagawa in restoring order in Mikawa and ending the rebellion of his own son. At the Battle of Idano, Masatoyo was cut down and his army pacified. For his role in ensuring that Kiyoyasu's young son, then only 11 years old, was safely installed at Okazaki as the next head of the clan, Sadayoshi and the rest of his family was allowed to live, though the Abe were never again a major power within the Matsudaira.
Wow. Guy had to kill his son in the end. That's kinda sad man. (Then again, when you killed the clan's head, that kinda stops any try at surrendering.)
Also, funnily enough, this reminds me of a certain thing Cao Cao did.
Although, OOCly, do you think Sadayoshi have been executed? Kiyoyasu's stats might have hinted at him being able to see through the ploy, but I think Kiyoyasu might have wanted Sadayoshi's influence neutered nonetheless.
"Engineered his assassination? Not in so many words," Nobuhide said, a knowing smile on his face. "I merely whispered in a few ears, and let others do the rest. Kiyoyasu's death was but one possibility. No one is closer than one's kin; and so there is no one that should be watched more closely."
Although, OOCly, do you think Sadayoshi have been executed? Kiyoyasu's stats might have hinted at him being able to see through the ploy, but I think Kiyoyasu might have wanted Sadayoshi's influence neutered nonetheless.
Wow. Guy had to kill his son in the end. That's kinda sad man. (Then again, when you killed the clan's head, that kinda stops any try at surrendering.)
Also, funnily enough, this reminds me of a certain thing Cao Cao did.
Although, OOCly, do you think Sadayoshi have been executed? Kiyoyasu's stats might have hinted at him being able to see through the ploy, but I think Kiyoyasu might have wanted Sadayoshi's influence neutered nonetheless.
Sadayoshi had never shown signs of being anything but loyal to Kiyoyasu, so execution probably wouldn't have been in the cards. The suspicion might have justified a demotion or a decrease in his fief, but probably nothing more.
Unfortunately, Masatoyo was even more rash than Sadayoshi feared Kiyoyasu might be, and now the Abe aren't going to be a major factor again until 1617, barring butterflies of course.
But yeah, the guy took power at age 14 and started winning battles left and right against a clan that was more powerful than his and more well-established; he could have been one of the great conquerors of the age if Nobuhide were the type inclined to play fair.
Imagawa Ujichika had been one of the greatest daimyō of his day. From the Imagawa clan's traditional heartland of Suruga, he had expanded into Tōtomi and Mikawa, and by the time of his death held a tenuous hold on parts of Owari, which he attempted to strengthen in the 5th year of Daiei (1525) by building a castle at Nagoya. So great was his power that in the 3rd year of Entoku (1491), he provided shelter to the Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshizumi when violence in the capital forced him to flee and then restored him to his rightful place, a feat his grandson would one day attempt to repeat.
However, the year after his construction of Nagoya Castle, Ujichika died of illness at the age of 54, and the clan's tenuous hold on their conquests in Mikawa and Owari practically evaporated overnight. Ujichika had six sons, three of which he had sent off to become Buddhist monks to ensure that his eldest, Ujiteru, would not have to fear rebellion by his own kin.
Unfortunately, though remarkably intelligent and likable, Imagawa Ujiteru was sickly and weak, often incapable of managing the clan's affairs. Much of the clan's administration fell to Ujiteru's mother, who herself had taken vows as a Buddhist nun and the name Jukeini; so great was the authority she wielded over the clan's internal affairs that Jukeini was called "the Lady Daimyō." In war, the duties of the clan's head fell to the Fukushima clan, who grew to make up the backbone of the Imagawa military.
Ten years after his ascension to the head of the clan at the age of 14, Ujiteru finally passed away of his sickness without having fathered an heir. His second brother, Hikogorō, died in suspicious circumstances shortly after, leaving the clan's succession in dire straits.
Two of Ujichika's sons who had been sent to Buddhist monasteries turned their backs on the vows they had made and returned to the material world to claim to position as the 9th head of the Imagawa. These were the 3rd son, who had been called Etan Genkō but was now known as Imagawa Yoshizane, and the 4th son, who had taken on the Buddhist name Shōhō Baigaku but was now Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Imagawa Yoshizane was the eldest living son of Ujichika, and was noted as a fierce and courageous man with a reputation as a great archer. But he was an illegitimate son, and showed disdain for those pursuits which were not related to either religion or warfare.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was also a reputed warrior and skilled archer, though perhaps not so much as Yoshizane. Though younger, he was the son of Ujichika's legal wife, and could hope for some support on that ground. Further, he had a great love of the aristocratic culture that his brother shunned as unsuitable for samurai, taking on many of the affectations of that class.
Throughout the Sengoku Jidai, one could find ideas of what were proper pursuits for a samurai to be in flux. While some believed that samurai should be men of culture as well as warfare, writing poetry, reading works of fine literature and playing games to help sharpen mind and body in times of peace, others believed such things wholly unsuitable for a martial class. Perhaps none would go further than Katō Kiyomasa, who in his clan's code of conduct would lay out that the punishment for any samurai of his domain who patronized or engaged in dance or theatrical performances would be summary execution.
Perhaps as a result of these clashing ideals, or simply to protect their military dominance within the clan, the Fukushima clan and other key Imagawa retainers supported Yoshizane.
On the other hand, while Yoshomoto commanded the loyalty of a few retainer clans, such as the Asahina, his chief supporters were his mother, Jukeini, and the abbot of the temple he had been sent to as a child. This man, who had spent time as a mountain mystic (yamabushi), was the younger brother of the late Imagawa Ujichika, but his nephew and student knew him as Taigen Sessai.
---X---
Planning military strategy to oust his brother in the temple grounds of Rinzai-ji, Shōhō Baigaku - Imagawa Yoshimoto, he reminded himself - could not help but laugh.
"You laugh at a time like this?" his Master admonished sternly. "Are you truly so sure of your victory?"
"Not at all," Yoshimoto chuckled. "But how can you not laugh, when you think of the people involved in this absurd feud?"
"Absurd?" Jukeini repeated, arching an eyebrow in that disapproving way he remembered quite well from his early childhood.
"Of course! We have you, Master, and you, Mother. We have my brother Yoshizane, and myself, Yoshimoto. Each and every one of us has sworn vows to leave the impure world behind for the service of the Buddha.
"And yet, here we are, squabbling over a matter as material as the succession of a clan. Is that not absurd? Does it not amuse you? It must amuse me, for if not a comedy, then this is surely a tragedy beyond compare!" As he spoke, Yoshimoto's voice grew louder, almost frantic. He could feel a stinging in his eyes.
"Yoshimoto."
At that single word, spoken clearly and loudly, his Master called all attention to himself. "You would do well to keep one thing in mind."
"Oh? What is this? A lecture, Master?" Yoshimoto asked. It had been some time since he had had one of those.
"No matter how chaotic the world may become, the Buddha's teachings are the truth. But in this age of war, there are no buddhas."
"I see. So there are nothing but demons here," Yoshimoto said with a wry, mocking smile.
Sessai continued, in the lecturing tone he had employed when Yoshimoto was his student. "Learn from the Buddha, but do not let yourself become a buddha. It may go against everything you have ever learned in the temple. But sometimes, to allow for the peace and prosperity that gives others the chance to rise above the impure world, one must put aside the possibility for himself, and take on the sins of the world."
Yoshimoto turned away, looking out at the familiar greenery of the mountain temple, where he had spent so many years of his life. How long ago it already seemed…
"I see. To save the people, then, I must become a demon, and win no matter what it takes. Is that correct, Master?"
Sessai did not answer aloud, but his silence spoke volumes.
Yoshimoto chuckled. "So be it, then. If only a demon can quell this chaos and allow others to seek the Buddha, then a demon I shall be!"
He turned back to Sessai, and cocked his head quizzically. "One last thing though. Master, Mother, tell me: would you perhaps have any idea as to what happened to Hikogorō? I've been wracking my brain as to who may have been to blame for his death, but for the life of me I can hardly think as to who might have had the will and power to do so. Perhaps one of you might have some nugget of wisdom to pass on to me that will reveal the truth?"
His mother had the grace to adopt a look of profound shame, but Sessai remained a stoic pillar of Buddha-like restraint. "Were you to discover their identity, would it change anything?" he asked.
Yoshimoto laughed once more. "Why no, Master, I suppose it wouldn't. As I said: surely this can only amuse me!"
---X---
Kai Province, Tsutsujigasaki Palace
Takeda Nobutora, the infamous daimyō of Kai, feared and hated as a ruthless and brilliant general. During his reign he had seen many bouts of war with the Imagawa as both attacker and defender. No one thought for even a moment that he would not make some kind of move now that they were engaged in civil war. The only question was: how would he move?
Nobutora and his advisers swiftly dismissed the idea of conquering Suruga. Currently, they were engaged in war over Shinano to the north and Sagami to the south; to take Suruga would tie up their forces for too long to be feasible. Thus, they needed to choose which side to support, to ensure they could get their hooks into the Imagawa by backing the winner.
At a council with his closest retainers, Nobutora laid down his decision: to ally with Yoshimoto. When his retainers asked his reasons, Nobutora grinned.
"I suppose I could say that it's because he's the 'rightful' son, but that's only half-true," he answered. "That boy sprung from the womb of that sly little fox Jukeini, and I've no doubt he inherited her cunning. If we can secure an alliance with him now, I can just imagine the look on Ujitsuna's face!"
"I see, my lord wishes to limit the movements of the Hōjō," mused Amari Torayasu, one of Nobutora's chief generals. "A most excellent plan."
"Isn't it?" Nobutora grinned. "Nobukata, I'll be sending you to help little Lord Yoshimoto out and secure our alliance."
Itagaki Nobukata, known as one of Nobutora's best advisers and a skilled general in his own right, nodded. "Aye, my lord!"
Secretly, though, Nobukata harbored doubts about his lord's plan.
'It is true that an alliance with the Imagawa will limit the movements of the Hōjō,' he thought to himself. 'But why must we continue this fruitless war with them at all, rather than focusing our efforts on Shinano? Lord Nobutora's personal vendetta against Ujitsuna causes us more grief with each passing year.'
Regardless of Nobukata's misgivings, he successfully concluded an alliance with Imagawa Yoshimoto and assisted him in besieging Yoshizane's forces at Hanakura Castle. As a result, Yoshimoto agreed to marry one of Nobutora's daughters. In return, Taigen Sessai paid a visit to the imperial court, and secured a marriage to a child of a noble family for Nobutora's eldest son, Harunobu.
---X---
Sagami Province, Odawara Castle
Hōjō Ujitsuna, the powerful daimyō who exerted near-complete control over Sagami and Izu Provinces, was famous not just for his skills as a commander and a strategist, but for his amazing talent and compassion as a civil administrator, working tirelessly to ensure the safety and prosperity of his people in these times of chaos and war.
Ujitsuna's father, Hōjō Sōun, had been the founder of the clan, and his meteoric rise to power from obscure origins through means both fair and foul gave him a reputation to later generations as the "First Daimyō." Sōun had been a vassal of the Imagawa - Ujitsuna's mother, in fact, was of that clan - and this relationship still nominally existed in Ujitsuna's time. For this and more pragmatic reasons, Ujitsuna had a keen interest in who would take over in the Hanakura Revolt.
He, like Nobutora, had decided early on to assist Imagawa Yoshimoto. But when he heard that Nobutora had offered military aid, and that Yoshimoto had accepted it, he was forced to reevaluate his strategy.
Ujitsuna's son and heir, Hōjō Ujiyasu, nodded in confirmation as he read the report. "Aye. Not only that, Nobutora has even offered his daughter as Yoshimoto's wife."
Ujitsuna scoffed. "Preposterous. So he thinks that's all it takes to get the upper hand against me?"
"What shall we do, father? Support Yoshizane instead?" Ujiyasu asked.
"No. The forces against Yoshizane are not something he will be able to counter with mere military might, even if we assist. He will not win," Ujitsuna said, not a shred of doubt in his voice. "If Nobutora has offered his support to Yoshimoto, then I must go a step further.
"We will recruit the aid of the Kanbara clan, and threaten Suruga itself. We'll drive a wedge between them before their alliance is fully settled."
Though he gave his support to Yoshimoto as he had already decided to do, Ujitsuna used the opportunity to take lands in eastern Suruga, and would prove almost impossible to dislodge. It would be many years before he would be convinced to give them up, in return for Imagawa assistance against the Takeda.
---X---
Only a short time after it had begun, the succession crisis later known as the Hanakura Revolt was resolved. The forces of Imagawa Yoshizane were defeated with assistance from the Takeda and Hōjō. Yoshizane and many of the Fukushima were killed, including the clan's head, Fukushima Masashige; the rest were scattered. Masashige's son made it to Sagami, where he married the daughter of Hōjō Ujitsuna and adopted their name as his own, becoming Hōjō Tsunashige, the man who would be his brother-in-law Ujiyasu's greatest general.
But this was all in the future. Right now, Imagawa Yoshimoto stood at the burnt ruins of his brother's castle. Only 18 years old, he had triumphed in war, slain his brother, and taken full control of the Imagawa clan. It was, in all respects, a glorious victory for the 9th head of the Imagawa.
"Hmph. The Takeda are using me against the Hōjō, the Hōjō steal land from me to turn me against the Takeda… I wonder if you're laughing at me right now, Brother?" he said wistfully. "Perhaps you await your reincarnation as we speak, waiting to be born to a happy family in peaceful times?
"I hope so. Perhaps you can live as a monk again in your next life, and pray for us all. As for me… there will be no happiness in my next life, I fear. Not with the karma I will surely accrue in this one…"
With the exaggerated movements of a performer in Nō theater, Yoshimoto threw open his arms and pointed at the sky. "But so be it! This age demands a demon to bring it to heel, and a demon I shall be! Watch me, Brother, for both Heaven and Earth will tremble at my deeds! This land will know peace because of me!
"After all," he whispered to himself, as the wind picked up and carried the ashes of Hanakura Castle to the sea, "How else would it all make any kind of sense?"
---X---
Imagawa Ujiteru: 1513-1536
LEA 58, VAL 14, INT 83, POL 88
Imagawa Yoshizane: 1516-1536
LEA 77, VAL 93, INT 68, POL 45
With the exaggerated movements of a performer in Nō theater, Yoshimoto threw open his arms and pointed at the sky. "But so be it! This age demands a demon to bring it to heel, and a demon I shall be! Watch me, Brother, for both Heaven and Earth will tremble at my deeds! This land will know peace because of me!
You were 6* years old when you first met him; his name was still Kippōshi then.
It was the first time you had ever been to Nagoya Castle; your father had decided it was time you learn with the rest of the sons of the clan's children, and brought you to the castle for the first time. You were both excited and nervous to be around other children your age outside of your family.
However, your father had been waylaid by another samurai who had gotten into a conversation with him. While you tried to stand dutifully at your father's side as you'd been instructed, when a flash of color caught the corner of your eye… well, what else could a boy your age do but follow it? Curiosity is ever the privilege of a young boy.
Your father and his conversant didn't notice you leaving, and you found yourself somewhere in the castle gardens. You didn't see anything that might be the flash of color you'd noticed, but you could hear sounds of laughter and something being struck repeatedly.
Finally, you turned a corner and saw what it was. A number of young boys, perhaps seven or eight in all, were playing kemari. One boy, taller and older than the rest, was the one kicking it right now; he and his team trying to keep it in the air for as long as possible.
However, one of the boys seemed to enthusiastic when the ball was kicked to him, and kicked it with far too much force, sending it flying far away, towards you.
"Ah! Inuchiyo, you idiot!" one of them yelled.
"Shut up! It's not my fault the ball's too light!" the boy yelled back.
As the boy's companions castigated him, you held out your hands, and the ball fell into it. You looked at it curiously. You'd only ever gotten to play kemari with your older brother before.
The oldest boy was the first to look away from Inuchiyo. "Hey, you there! Pass the ball back!" he called out.
The other boys turned and noticed you for the first time. "Hey, who's that kid?" one of them asked.
"Ah!" Inuchiyo gasped, pointing at you. "You're not supposed to touch the ball with your hands, that starts the count over! You should have kicked it, you dolt!"
"And you shouldn't have kicked it so hard, Dog," the oldest boy said mockingly, giving Inuchiyo a light shove before turning back to you. His eyes squinted. "Hm. I haven't seen you around before. What's your name, kid?"
"R-Rikimaru. Kanma Rikimaru," you said, a little intimidated by the older boy. His appearance was very wild and unkempt, and he looked as though he'd been rolling around in the dirt.
"Kanma?" he said, cocking his head. "Is that so?"
"Kanma? So he's related to Sir Harufusa?" one of the older boys noted thoughtfully. "I suppose I can see a sort of resemblance…"
"Yeah, he's got the look," the oldest boy notes. "He's just like the rest of them. He kinda reminds me of a…"
AN: This next choice is probably the biggest part of character creation. It's going to affect your appearance, personality, and abilities. You'll be able to learn and grow in whatever direction, but this will decide your "template," more or less. This also has some effect on your kinsmen, though to a lesser degree.
[] Boar
Your hair is very thick and bristly, and as you grow older you'll find that you naturally accrue a lot of muscle, especially in your upper body. Physically, you're bound to grow up strong, fast, and durable, able to take wounds that would leave most writhing on the ground in agony and still keep fighting with a terrifying intensity.
By default, your personality is very straightforward, direct and stubborn, even, dare I say, boorish. You'll tend toward decisive action, if not outright recklessness, and while you won't necessarily be stupid, you'll tend to rely on the simplest solutions to your problems if you can help it. In some ways, that's a helpful attitude to have, but at other times, it can cause trouble.
As a general, your greatest strength is likely to be in direct combat, particularly in aggressive charges and assaults. Your strength and stubborn ferocity will likely be very inspiring to those who follow behind, spurring them on to great feats of martial prowess.
However, you'll likely be susceptible to those who can patiently wait you out, or use your temper against you to lead you where they want you to be. When up against very crafty opponents, you'll probably want someone on a more even keel to advise you.
[] Turtle
You're a little short and stout, and likely will be so your entire life. Your face, and especially your eyes, have some strange quality to it that manages to look wise beyond your years; people will probably think you're older than you truly are. Though your body isn't exactly the build that makes for a great warrior, you're tougher than you look, which might be handy for surprising someone who underestimates you.
By default, your personality is going to be very patient, careful and measured, never acting in haste and always thinking of the potential consequences of your actions, and of what those around you might be planning. This can alternately make you seem wise and careful, or simply indecisive and weak.
As a general, your greatest strength is likely going to be in defensive combat; you just seem to have an instinctual understanding of how best to array the defenses available to you to repel attackers, and you're good at keeping those under you calm and efficient in seeing to defensive works.
However, you're not especially well-suited to commands that require a great deal of speed and aggressiveness to carry out, such as a lightning offensive with cavalry or the like.
[] Crow
You're tall, but very slender, almost frail-looking, and will likely maintain your boyish good looks until well into adulthood; the word "bishonen" certainly applies here. Your hair is as dark and as glossy as a crow's feathers, and your eyes have a piercing quality to them that might set others ill at ease. You're not nearly as frail as you look, and can also move quite rapidly and gracefully to make the most of your long reach.
By default, your personality is going to be very stoic and proud; in many ways, the ideal samurai. You'll be quick to take offense but never lose your head to anger or rashness, and you'll be very cultured and well-read; the latter is a rarity in this day and age, where even many samurai are downright illiterate, or else uninterested in the ancient classics you'll love studying.
As a general, you'll excel as a strategist, with a natural talent for translating the ancient texts on war you read into the modern day and age. Whether laying out a grand plan to carry out a campaign or adjusting tactics on the fly to win a single battle, the wisdom of the past will always lead you on a path to victory.
However, you are an innovator and not an inventor. You adapt the old rather than embrace the new. While it's not so bad that you won't be able to figure out, for example, how to work guns into your strategies and account for their abilities, you'll never be the first to do so, and truly novel tactics and technologies can be your bane if you aren't careful.
[] Fox
You're of about average height, but quite slender in build. You'll be a good-looking man in your own way, but your features will add a certain sly look to you that some might find suspicious. Even a genuine, warm smile might be mistaken for a mocking smirk by those who aren't familiar with you, and your voice has a natural tendency toward sounding sarcastic. Physically, you're amazingly fast and have an amazing natural grace and agility that allows you to move circles around most men, who will to you seem like big, lumbering brutes.
By default, your personality will match your appearance, being very devious and clever; even as a child, you're already an inveterate prankster, and you have a natural curiosity that causes you to stick your nose into everything and sometimes gets you into trouble that even your already quick wits can't always get you out of. You'll develop a penchant for profiling that will allow you to predict people's likely reactions and thoughts, which will be handy in all sorts of ways.
As a general, you're likely to become a master of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Your ability to predict people's actions will serve you very well here; you'll have a knack for knowing what flaws and foibles to take advantage of to manipulate your foe into the battle of your choosing, and you'll have a talent for sniffing out who can be convinced to be party to treachery and who will just rat you out for trying.
However, this focus on tricks, traps and treachery give you a weakness. When forced to fight fairly, with none of the little "edges" you typically work to give yourself, fighting on your opponent's terms instead of your own, you suffer a lack of confidence that will likely infect your troops with low morale, and make defeat all the more likely.
[] Write-In (subject to QM approval)
I'm gonna say right now: no dragons or other mythical beasts. No lions or tigers, while we're at it. And nothing that no Japanese person at this time is likely to have any knowledge of, like a giraffe or whatever.
---X---
*The system of calculating ages in Japan (and much of the Sinosphere) at this time is that a person is 1 year old on the year of their birth, and on each new year everyone's age would go up by 1, regardless of the actual date of their birth. Thus, most characters will be 1-2 years younger by our standards than their stated age.
AN: A lot of the biggest names in the Sengoku Jidai were connected with animals, which is largely where I got the idea for doing character creation this way. Nobunaga, for example, is sometimes related in fiction to a hawk or eagle. Hideyoshi, of course, is famously associated with monkeys, and Ieyasu is compared to a tanuki (which is where I got the idea of a fox for an inspiration, since foxes and tanuki have a certain relationship in Japanese folklore; I thought it might be interesting if you ever went to war with him in that case).
Nobunaga especially seemed fond of this, at least if fiction has anything to say about it. In addition to the monkey thing with Hideyoshi, he supposedly compared Maeda Toshiie to a dog and Akechi Mitsuhide to a wolf. Hence he'll be providing you your own animal nickname.
Closest to what I want, Boar is too headstrong and rushing in. Though other animals:
Rat, Monkey, Salamander (they have some big ones up in the mountains), Crane.
According to the Edo Period, every samurai ever who isn't meant to be vilified as an example of what a samurai isn't. Once samurai became a bunch of bureaucrats who mostly never saw a genuine battle in their life, they started coming up with a lot of retroactive addendums to what samurai were and cared about to give a kind of nobility to the whole thing so that antiquarians could long for the "good old days" when samurai were honorable and all that good stuff that they aren't these days.
Of course, this meant taking an airbrush or just outright censoring a lot of what actually happened in those good old days they sighed over all the time.
In the Sengoku Jidai, such a concept is rightly considered borderline laughable, even if they'll often still give lip service to the idea of honorable conduct.
You might notice this longing for the "good old days" that never really existed is an extremely common attitude that has existed since Socrates and probably longer.
I'm gonna say right now: no dragons or other mythical beasts. No lions or tigers, while we're at it. And nothing that no Japanese person at this time is likely to have any knowledge of, like a giraffe or whatever.
