Keihatsu

Keihatsu is a circle of scholars, researchers, and mages whose origins date back several centuries. While originally a cloister of mages who worshipped Tenjin, the Kami of Knowledge, over time its operations expanded to cover more subjects and created new Divisions to encompass this expansion. They're easily recognizable, as most wear deep blue robes and carry a golden emblem of Keihatsu: a number of magatama arranged in a spiral denoting their respective division.

Divisions

Keihatsu is currently broken up into seven distinct divisions, each having their own separate archives and research.

Yogen - Division of Prophecies

Yogen was the first Division of Keihatsu, and to this day holds a sizeable share of power in the organization's affairs. At its inception, most of the populace's interactions with the Kami were through prophecies and stories, and as such its name doesn't accurately reflect its purview. Over time, the division expanded to encompass most things which relate to the Kami, as well as research into deific beings and legends.
In the current day, Yogen has all but been converted into a religious sector, having spheres of influence which cover the running of shrines throughout Hisari, what information gets stored where, and even the building of new shrines.

Rekishi - Division of History

Rekishi was the second Division of Keihatsu. Over time, Yogen became bloated with too many different styles of learning and research, having to encompass the Kami, their relationship with Yokai, and all information about legends. Naturally, legends began to blend with actual historical events, and the archives of Yogen became too complicated to efficiently search through. After a decade of this, Rekishi was formed in order to shift the tracking of the continent's history.
As more and more of history became properly documented, a lot of Rekishi's focus began to shift towards archaeology: seeking locations buried beneath the earth that may provide more hints to ages further and further past. Missions from Rekishi are far less common, as a result, and are often massive expeditions in which sellswords and even the military get involved to create proper protections.

Shizen - Division of Nature

Eventually, scholars began to question the role some of the Kami have in the current age. While initially seen as blasphemous, it would eventually be understood as simply another form of knowledge, and Keihatsu in turn decided to accept the circle's roles in progressing all forms of knowledge. The Shizen and Yoso divisions were created almost simultaneously, and were often seen as separate from the Yogen and Rekishi divisions. There was little cross-pollination between the two sectors, following vastly different paths.

The Shizen division was primarily comprised of pure researchers, looking into fields such as geography and nature. Often, this would result in researching magical phenomena related to nature, taking care of researching portals in woodlands or freak storms in certain areas. The Shizen division, as a result, gained a notorious reputation for having the highest mortality-rate of all the divisions of Keihatsu, having many a scholar fall into an errant portal or becoming the unfortunate prey to a monster in the wild.

Yoso - Division of the Elements

The Yoso division was formed mere weeks after the Shizen division, as the broad subject of "nature" was too massive and far-reaching for one division to hold. While Shizen would handle geography, fauna, and flora, Yoso would then take up the mantle of the elements. Specifically, how the elements interact with one another, as well as ways to potentially manipulate and transform them to a mage's bidding.
Yoso, by comparison to the other divisions, has the most skewed ratio of scholars to mages. Very few scholars decide to join the Yoso division, being mostly comprised of mages with their own selfish desires. As a result, despite Yoso's close relationship to Shizen, Yoso scholars of Keihatsu have a bad reputation for being self-centered and power-hungry.

Igaku - Division of Medicine

Battles between warring daimyos was common, as border disputes became more and more prevalent. Before Igaku was created, all medicinal research was done in part by Shizen, but mostly by individuals who seeked to improve their medicinal knowledge. Once it became clear that battles between daimyos wouldn't stop anytime soon, Igaku, the fifth Division of Keihatsu, was formed.
Igaku handled all advancements of medicinal research, siphoning scholars from Shizen in the process. However, while its title is "Division of Medicine", it encompassed anything to do with anatomy, biological research, and almost anything that could affect a person's body. It rapidly grew into one of Keihatsu's largest sectors, rivalling Yogen within months.
This division is almost a polar opposite of Yoso, being comprised almost entirely of researchers, herbalists, and doctors. Very few mages move into Igaku, and those who do usually either have ulterior motives or have their sphere of magic surrounding that of healing or necromancy. Over time, Igaku would work in close relationship with Senso, the sixth Division of Keihatsu.

Senso - Division of War

Senso is one of the more relatively "recent" additions to Keihatsu, being almost entirely headed by Kuse Mayumi, the member of the Crimson Court delegated to operating Shikotsu Island. Almost immediately upon being initiated, she provided copious amounts of funding and scholars to create a new division within Keihatsu, that of war study. It was done, in great part, due to her insistence on military technology advancement being one of the most effective measures to ensure Hisari's protection from the outside threats.
Senso encompasses all things related to battle: technological advancement, war magic, and the blend of magic and machine. During the Dragon Wars, Senso and Igaku scholars received even more funding from all sources, being funneled resources in an attempt to protect Hisari. Following the conclusion of the wars, Senso began to run nearly autonomously due to its funding, the pinnacle of their progress being represented in Tsuyoi-te, the building for Keihatsu on Shikotsu Island.

Heimen - Division of the Planes

The final current division of Keihatsu is Heimen, Division of the Planes. Over time, research would eventually turn to celestial bodies such as the moon, Tephra, and to planar reaches such as the Abyss or the Fey Courts. This research, while originally being a part of Shizen, was splintered in order to more sharpen the focus of the two divisions.
Heimen primarily deals with portals, managing Torii gates which lead to the Fey Courts or elsewhere, as well as in trying to better understand what The Dark Forest is. As a result, its research is extremely esoteric, and requires heavy cooperation between scholars and mages alike.
Heimen scholars are the rarest to find, as most of them work strictly on Keihatsu grounds in order to create controlled environments for their planar journeys. When they are seen out in the wild, it is usually due to reports of a nearby portal being discovered, and their haste to be the first there often gets them into trouble.

Structure

Despite being comprised of researchers and mages, there is no distinction between the two. Rather, there are three distinct "hierarchies" within Keihatsu, each of which can contain any number of researchers and mages alike.

Scholar

The first and most basic individuals in Keihatsu are referred to as "Scholars". While the name might imply research, it contains a relatively even split between researchers and mages. Anyone who has been accepted into Keihatsu starts as a scholar, working on their individual research and areas of expertise until their work becomes recognized as worthy of a loftier title.
Much of their time is spent being taught by Sages and conferring with one another to work on their individual projects. There is no "curriculum" followed, as Keihatsu isn't a true school. Rather, it's a space to utilize collections of resources in order to further one's own knowledge.
Most people stay as Scholars their whole life, and to many people that is more than okay. There is no sense of "lack of progression" to most of them, as the main purpose of Keihatsu is just to allow them to properly research what they desire. For the more ambitious of the group, their work might become recognized by others as being worthy of becoming a Sage.

Sage

The next "tier" in the hierarchy of Keihatsu are comprised of the "Sages". The number of Scholars in the circle vastly dwarfs the number of sages, at easily a ratio of 50 to 1. To become a Sage, one must perform such exemplary work for a period of time, or to submit a breakthrough in their field of study which would deem them worthy of becoming a Sage.
When one becomes a Sage, they gain a new sense of responsibility. While Scholars do represent Keihatsu, it is often seen as a more informal representation by comparison to Sages. Despite not being a true academy, there are facets of a student-teacher relationship and societal view of such a relationship. Scholars are seen as students pursuing their research to all ends, and are often viewed as individuals practicing their fields of research rather than true agents of Keihatsu. Sages, on the other hand, do represent Keihatsu in all its forms. When a daimyo requests help or counsel, a Sage will always have priority in the response over a Scholar.
Sages will often take on several Scholars who show promise to be their understudies, helping them in their research and providing counsel when necessary. It's known by the more ambitious of Scholars that the best way to become a Sage in the future is to become friendly with a current Sage, as it'll often fast-track your progress. However, there are othe reasons other than status to desire to rise through the ranks. Level of access increases with your status within Keihatsu, with large portions of the archives and resources unavailable to you if you're simply a Scholar. Even a Sage doesn't have full access, with a sizeable portion of the archived information only accessible to the highest members of Keihatsu: the Grand Sages.

Grand Sage

Grand Sages act as the overseers of the compounds. There is one Grand Sage per division within the cloister, totaling seven Grand Sages per cloister. Together, the seven Grand Sages confer and collaborate with each other in order to smoothly run the entire building's operations. They also deal with all matters relating to their own division, creating a segregated system in which each division of Keihatsu was run in different manners, eventually forming a homogenized set of rules that all residents of Keihatsu were to follow.
One can only become a Grand Sage if the current one dies, steps down, or does something which could be deemed as unforgivable to the island or province. To become a Grand Sage is usually a large event hosted within the compound in which most of the Sages attend a coronation of sorts. Certain scholars of enough reputation are invited to attend, as well as those a Sage decides to bring with them. When a new Grand Sage is appointed, it signals a large shift in the entire division's focus, standing, and control.
As each Grand Sage's desires and personalities are varied, a division of Keihatsu can be run wildly differently between two different compounds despite their common goals. Likewise, a compound could focus their funding in different divisions as they see fit, making each compound of Keihatsu unique from one another. As a result of this, the direction and level of influence of a particular division is largely dependent on the level of funding and control the province or island gives them.

Relationship with the Islands

Despite being mostly autonomous and neutral, a good relationship between the Keihatsu compound and their respective islands' leaders is very important to their survival. The member of the Crimson Court who oversees their particular island naturally has a great deal of influence over the daimyos, and by consequence also over Keihatsu. They often decide which division gains the most attention and funding, and are the only people to have more authority over Keihatsu than the Grand Sages themselves. Each island contains only one compound of Keihatsu, which often reports most of their findings at a bi-yearly summit to the Crimson Court.

Sagasu

Shinsato Kin, the youngest member of the court, is one of Keihatsu's most noteworthy alumni. Once the Grand Sage of the Igaku division in his youth, he was hand-picked by the Shogun to become the final member of the Crimson Court several centuries ago. Ever since, he has maintained a very close relationship to the current Grand Sage of the division, often working in tandem with them in joint projects and research. He also provides a large portion of funding to Keihatsu, being someone who very keenly is involved in the day-to-day running of the cloister. Not only does he confer with the Igaku division, but he also has a large hand in all seven of the divisions, often being consulted in what areas they should focus their attention on and even how to properly divide up access to their archives.

Hirashi Island

Yoshida Tatsuo, the guardian of Hirashi Island, is seen as a very simple, straightforward individual. Being the last Dragon Knight, he has always had a reverence and respect for matters of history and tradition. He, like most of the other members of the court, places a keen interest in the operations of Keihatsu. Specifically, he places a greater importance on the Yogen and Rekishi divisions, often guiding them to keep record of certain events. Oddly, he often confers with the Grand Sages there in order to ensure accuracy in their findings even when there is no summit planned, as he is a firm believer in the teachings of the past being important to the success in Hirashi's future.

Otoshi Isles

Nishida Sadao, the overseer of the Otoshi Isles, has never cared much for Keihatsu. The compound of Keihatsu within the isles notably works almost purely autonomously from his oversight, rarely even bothering to set up a summit unless asked for. Likewise, Sadao doesn't meddle with their work and leaves them to their own devices, so long as they don't stick their fingers into his interests. Occasionally, he will work alongside the Igaku division for personal matters, but rarely does he interact with any other division.

Shikotsu Island

Kuse Mayumi, the commander of Shikotsu Island, has always placed an emphasis on the power of knowledge. Like Shinsato, she has direct and consistent access and influence on Keihatsu's running of operations. Being the second oldest of the court, she was there very early on in Keihatsu's formation and being directly responsible for one of the divisions' existence. Naturally, on Shikotsu Island the Senso division garners the most attention from her and the island as a whole. Most of the citizens and daimyos of the island share in her ideals, believing themselves to be one of the largest deterrents for other continents to ever set their sights on Hisari's shores, and the truth is not far from this. She often guides all of the divisions to follow similar pathways, in that she believes that all roads of knowledge lead to personal gain, in which the most important is the power to defend the homeland. She and Tatsuo are considered the two most loyal members of the Crimson Court to the Shogun, and both of their influences on their respective compounds of Keihatsu reflect this.