At the farthest northern point of the island, the lush bamboo stands and forests give way to craggy pines and low mountains. The soil thins, and the granite bones of Kagejima break through the greenery, supporting plants as hardy and rough as the stones around them. The air cools and occasionally smells of snow, even in summer. Winding paths cut through the sharp hills and mountains, dotted with stone shrines and snow-topped Tori gates. The storms here are infamous. Winds that howl like the hungry dead lash the earth with stinging, driving rain. Many feet of snow can fall in an hour. Only the most fierce and stoic of men and beasts make their homes here. Many a traveler has given grateful thanks for the sight of smoke rising from the heavy timbered homes that appear suddenly around sharp bends in the roads. These remote and solid villages are the scant signs of civilization found among the cold stone and dark trees in the lands of the Yamazaru clan.
The Yamazaru, much like the lands they inhabit, are strong and enduring, and touched by cold spirits. They display a sometimes bewildering mixture of frosty indifference and glowing warmth. Beneath the flinty exterior their environment encourages, most of them are good-natured, welcoming, and even playful. Their surroundings can be harsh. They must often hack and scratch their livelihoods from an indifferent land, and the climate of their home is unforgiving. While the Yamazaru value stoicism and hard-edged practicality as survival traits, they see the harsh cold of their mountain homes as good reason to be warm and open in their lives. The weather often limits travel, forcing clan members and any visitors to find ways to live closely with others. They often gleefully play pranks on friends, family, and visitors alike. It’s not unusual for neighboring villages to be involved in so-called “wars of smiles”, exchanging a series of elaborate and involved practical jokes, for years.
They are also renowned for their curiosity. Any stranger who can produce a toy, bauble, device, or other object of interesting operation or unusual origin, will find an extra warm welcome among the Yamazaru. Of course, while he may have all his sake paid for, he will also have little peace, as young and old will come in for miles to see the wonder. This interest extends to new stories, rumors, ideas, techniques, and the doings of great and small people across Kagejima . Despite their remoteness, the Yamazaru are often strikingly well informed. Many merchants and travelers remark on this clan’s willingness to try new things and experiment with outside ideas.
For all their famed interest in objects and toys, the Yamazaru almost universally regard material possessions as merely shiny amusements. Tools are useful for keeping body and soul together, and good quality or clever devices can be of great help; but in the end, however beautiful or helpful or enjoyable, they are only aids to the individual or village. The truly valuable things in life are found within oneself and in relationships with others—family, friends, and the clan.
The majority of Yamazaru have rich spiritual lives. The connection to their mountain home and its many kami does as much to support their communities as it does to make their own days rich. The chance to commune with the mountain without the distractions of a busier, more cosmopolitan lifestyle is what first drew the clan’s progenitors here, and it is why so many of their descendants stay.
Yamazaru warriors are famous (or infamous, depending who is telling the story) for their unmatched feats of toughness, endurance, and resilience. Their training exemplifies these traits. Students will stand as still as a statue for days — ‘Catching Snow’ the instructors call it — and swim wide mountain lakes without coming up for air. Exercises often involve traveling days without sleep, striking trees without bleeding, or moving massive stones without bending. This sort of conditioning for the body allows the Yamazaru to let their minds float away from their physical hardships. Thus, they both endure great punishments and learn to perceive the greater wisdom hidden in plain sight.
For over a generation, no Yamazaru warrior has entered the Moonlight Tournament without first undergoing the test called ‘The Mountain Sees’. Outsiders have never understood this ritual. Even those who have witnessed it several times see it as just another excuse to stand outside in bad weather. Every spring, however, those who would compete in the Tournament find places on the mountain where they can see far and feel the wind, and on the new moon after the equinox, they stand in these spots to see what the mountain will show them. It is a reflective time, a test of spiritual endurance, for visions come to each participant. Few share what they see, for such experiences are often deeply personal, but many promising warriors have chosen not to travel to the Moon Court after this test.
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