Tsuruchi Minayami
Born the second son, and third child, of Tsuruchi Yaritomi and Tsuruchi Minaki, who married into the Tsuruchi family from the Yoritomo as a part of the merger of the two Minor clans into the Great Mantis Clan, Minaymi was raised by the traditions of both families. Yaritomi, a Bounty Hunter of some repute, and Minaki, skilled courtier of the Yoritomo School of Negotiation, raised their children well, guiding each to the place of their greatest strengths.
The eldest son, Tatsuki, followed his father to become one of the premier archers of the Tsuruchi Guardians, while daughter Yanami followed her mother into the ways of the Court. However, for a time both Yaritomi and Minaki despaired at finding a path for their youngest, Minayami. He had only a middling capability with a bow, and no talent what-so-ever for the refined arts of the Court. Indeed his grasp of any form of refinement was poor, and he often was punished for speaking out of turn, or with over-much straightforwardness. It was Minaki's younger brother, Yoritomo Atomo, Captain of The Windshaker, who provided a reasonable alternative. On a family journey to the ancestral home of the Yoritomo, Minayami showed a great love and skill for handling a ship, and Atomo suggested that he may be more apt following the way of his own school, the Yoritomo Wave Riders School. Thus it was decided, with Atomo as his sponsor, that Minayami would be fostered with Sensei Yoritomo Kaite, and learn the ways of the TRUE Wave-men.
Minayami saw little combat while training, but his family was shattered upon learning that Tatsuki was lost in the failed attempt of Yoritomo to lay claim to the Phoenix lands, his ship shattered by a Phoenix shugenja with all hands lost during a routine tax inspection. On that day, Minayami swore an oath before his Sensei and in the Temple of Hofukushu, the Fortune of Vengence, that he would seek out and kill the shugenja responsible. He did not, and still does not, know what ship was to be taxed or the name of the shugenja, but his search has not slowed.
Thus driven, Minayami redoubled his training, becoming a master of the Yoritomo art of Kama use, gained a proficiency in the direction and reading of battle, and his beloved sailing. Upon reaching a level of proficiency his Sensei deemed worthy, Minayami underwent his genpuku. His guidance led his team to easy victory in the challenge of sailing, having been selected as the steersman. He proved himself a valuable combatant in the capture and subjection of the mock enemy ship piloted by his own uncle, and Minayami was declared an adult.
Upon return to the dojo, his first act was to bow to his Sensei, then to bow to the Daimyo of the island, and finally to bow to his parents. His first words as an adult were “I AM Tsuruchi Minayami. I choose this as my name, for the honor of my family.” He continued, “My father has no katana, my brother had no katana, and I shall carry no katana.”, then in an act now infamous, threw his katana into the depths of the ocean. When asked why he had chosen to do such a dishonorable thing, his response was, “I am born Tsuruchi, and I shall hold with the ways of my fathers, even though I cannot wield their chosen weapon.“
Minayami was quickly transferred back to Ashinagabachi, to begin his duties as an adult and temper his “recklessness” and head-strong tendencies. As a punishment, the tasks he has been given have required him to keep his feet well away from his beloved sea, and though Minayami understands, he grows impatient for the day he can return to the sea as a proper Wave Man. Indeed, the punishments are such that he is only allowed to board ships as a passenger, and never allowed to aid in the sailing of the ship.
To date, no offers of marriage have been made, nor attempts to engage a matchmaker, as his infamous reputation tends to proceed before him. Minayami is still young, and not yet worried about his future prospects, though his parents worry he may wait too long to find the proper match.
