Togashi Iwao

Togashi Iwao
Togashi Tattooed Man
Clan:	Dragon Clan
Daimyo:	Kitsuki Rikuto
Glory:	10
Honor:	Exceptional
Status:	2.6/3.0
Rank:	4
Player:	John O'Grady

You need no armor, you need no sword. You need only to know that you cannot be defeated. -Tao of Shinsei

Background

Born into the Mirumoto family, Togashi Iwao has been a Dragon all his life. When he was 3 his parents were killed and he was found, barely alive, by a monk. The monk took him in and nursed him back to health, teaching him the Tao as he recovered. After he was returned to his family his fascination with Shinsei's teachings continued to grow, leading him to seek the path to the High House of Light for his training.

Youth

As a student, he excelled in nearly every aspect of his instruction, but it was only the gentle wisdom and firm guidance of the monks who instructed him at the High House of Light that finally allowed him to let go of his troubled history and open his eyes to the world around him.

Art

Iwao has always been fascinated by the strength of rocks and of their many forms and features. To this end he has taken up collecting many different varieties of rocks and is constantly sculpting small netsuke or other things from them. His work has been given as gifts in courts across the empire.

Tea Ceremony

Iwao also is responsible for the creation of a new type of tea ceremony, the Hidden Mountain or 'rock tea' ceremony. In this tea ceremony, small rocks are added to each tea cup with a meaning only known to the one conducting the tea ceremony. This tea ceremony has become remarkably famous across the empire, even attracting the attention of Kakita Kaiten. Togashi Iwao has even begun teaching this new tea ceremony to others who have expressed their interest in learning it to him.

Sculpting

Iwao has crafted a fine tea set out of stone, including tea cups representing all of the clans. This tea set was designed specifically for use during the Hidden Mountain tea ceremony. Iwao has also begun cultivating a friendship with the Ashalan Kouseki, who sculpts netsuke and other small items out of crystal. Iwao is interested not only in the items that Kouseki crafts, but also in his approach to crafting such a material. He has also begun acting as a patron for Kouseki, enabling him to spend more time in the courts of the Empire creating crystal netsuke for a multitude of samurai. One of these crystal netsuke, a small lion, was presented to the Empress, Toturi Tsudao, at her court in celebration of her future school.

Spiritual Advisor to the Dragon Armies

Following his service in the war against the Phoenix, his work for Mirumoto Takejiro, and his efforts at the Bon Festival at Shiro Sano Ken Hayai, Iwao was granted a position as a spiritual advisor to the Dragon armies. This work consumes much of his time while he is in Dragon lands as he trains with the samurai to gain better insight on how he may aid them. He has served faithfully in this position during both the Peasant Uprising and the Ivory Invasion, aiding his squadrons in victory.

Modules Played

SoB 00-11,13-35,38-40,42

Int03A - Summer Storms

Int07B - Defense of the Realm

Int11A - Ivory Invasion

Courts Attended

Int03B - Spoils of War

Int05 - Lights of the Bon Festival

(head of the Dragon delegation)

Int06 - Blessing of the Dragon

(head of the Dragon delegation)

Int07A - Raising the Imperial Standard

(head of the Dragon delegation)

Int09 - Proposal of Peace

Int10 - A Daimyo's Gift

Int11B - Know the School

Fictions

A Stone's Foundation
Leaving the Past Behind
Bringing Enlightenment to the Mountains
Letters on a Page
Words of Crystal, Part I
Into the Mountain