The Crab Clan
The ruling clan of Port Minato, currently displaced by the Laozi invasion. Most of their samurai have been killed, and most of their nobility are under house arrest under the occupying force.
Culture
The Crab are merchant mariners, and fishermen. They started as several unorganized families along Hokkai's coasts, but during The War of 10 Shoguns, they decided to ally with Hanzo's armies, provding much needed supplies via covert coastal-hugging ships. Though several strongholds of the Crab still exist on the coasts of Hokkai's islands, most of their power is consolidated in Port Minato.
The daimyo's family has adopted the fineries of Hokkaidan nobility in the way that many nouveau-riche families do: by flaunting it. Though they are kind to their people, and more than willing to share the wealth of Port Minato amongst its denizens, the Crab wear very fine clothing and jewelery on an everyday basis, and decorate their homes and offices with foreign art and sculptures.
The Crab are the most cosmopolitan of Hokkai's Six clans: given their frequent interactions with Occidean cultures- as well as the broader continent of Oresis- they tend to be more multicultural than the other clans. Their short history as a major clan adds to this as well- they don't have the same sense of tradition and propriety as, say, the Heron, the Phoenix or even the Hare. They are content to interact with foreigners, and to avail themselves of their goods and ideas. Crab samurai wear suits of armor reminiscent of Occidean knights, often made of shaped steel plates instead of the lamellar-style o-yori armor Hokkaidan samurai are usually known for. Additionally, as most of their holdings are represented by the city, the Crab samurai are more like a police force than a standing army: many of their weapons and fighting styles are designed to be non-lethal, geared more towards capturing thieves and criminals. As such, Crab samurai more often than not utilize soderegami man-catchers, jitteand sais, as well as weighted nets and tridents, tools that they adopted from Ellenik mariners with whom they trade. Other Hokkaidan samurai tend to look down on the Crab for incorporating foreign, less "pure" fighting styles and weapons, but the Crab live well enough that they don't much mind what their peers think of them, and are happy to demonstrate their skills whenever challenged.
Public Agenda
The Crab Clan is tasked with keeping Port Minato running, and they do a good job of this. Keeping stevedores and other merchants happy is their highest priority, with most of the common folk living in the city fulfilling one of these jobs.
Assets
In their heyday, the Crab clan prided itself on having huge assets: Large vaults of gold, the infrastructure of the port itself, valuable trade contracts with foreign nations, and fleet of trading vessels to help transport goods.
History
Originally fishermen, the Crab clan rose to prominence during the 10 Shogun War, by siding with Hattori Hanzo against the rebellious Heron Clan, the original stewards of Port Minato. Using their knowledge of the eddies and currents around Hokkai, and employing a fleet of small coast-hugging vessels, the Crab were able to bring supplies to the beleagured armies of Hanzo and his allies, while the overland roads were shut down by rebel lords.
After winning the 10 Shogun War, and divesting the Heron of their coastal holdings, Hanzo gifted the port city to the Crab, who had proven their loyalty and tenacity during the conflict. The Crab pounced on the opportunity. While the Heron had made some deals with foreign merchants- notably the Chonsi to the north, and the Marajoans to the far west- the Crab opened trade more broadly, and sought out new contracts with foreign dignitaries. They loaded many of Hokkai's finest goods onto fleets of ships and sailed all around Oresis to introduce themselves to the other kingdoms, and try to acquire their business
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Comments