Re: [D1, LM, Open] The Wind from the East: Seppun Tomaru

[Agasha Yuna]

She gives him the book.

"This is a copy of my favorite book in the Ageki library. Our House. The purpose of our House is shugenja research into spells of the earth and interaction with the earth kami. Much of the library is by shugenjas, for shugenjas. Academic research and spell scrolls. This book is by Lord Ageki Akira in the 2nd century. A shinseist earth shugenja like all the other heads of house. But it is written about leadership. Problem-solving, in general. Managing interpersonal relationships with his subordinates. Decision-making, considering the greatest good. The aspects of his life that could not be solved with spells, but nonetheless, he felt benefited keenly from his time in the earth, in the underground shrine that he built on our lands to the earth kami. And particularly the values he found resonant with and present in the earth kami that he worked with over his lifetime. It was a book relevant to non-shugenja, so I treasured it all the more. There are only three copies in all of Rokugan. The one in the Ageki library, my personal copy, and now that one. I am so glad for you to have it."

She smiled at the reference to ronin in a boat. "I haven't heard that one. I suppose there could be some guidelines to steer content towards appropriate topics. Though it may be better to include something that is banal but harmless. Banning a thing can give it unexpected power."

[Seppun Tomaru]

"I shall look forward to reading the book," Tomaru says.

"But the concept of the ban...you have an example, perhaps, young Dragon?"

He leans forward--admittedly, with a bit of difficulty, hips protesting slightly and some belly in the way--but with intent.

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"Banned content... It's not something we've needed to pursue on Ageki lands, but once I had my placement at the Izaku library in Heibeisu, I had the opportunity to observe the challenges of blending the library collections of two clans, and then expanding the collection. It's a Dragon-Phoenix joint library."

"The focus is on shugenjical scholarship, so we generally avoid some topics like gossip and hearsay that might be an issue in say ... a legal library or a court's records of its own proceedings."

"But occasionally something comes up that is both ... not particularly helpful to anyone's research but ... exciting to the imagination. It is rare, but a good example is a shugenja from one House who included a particularly unflattering portrait of an easily identifiable figure in the marginalia of a report who ought not to have been treated in this manner. Did it actually do any harm? The knowledge that the picture *existed* but had been removed excited the imagination of some of our junior staff. They wouldn't have even seen it likely, buried at the back of a long set of notes. Removing it made people aware that it existed and eager to see it. And - the related margin having beeen trimmed and unavailable for review - they then began to imagine all the ways a caricature could be unflattering of this particular person, and suddenly there were exploratory doodles cropping up, each less flattering than the last. A contagion of a thought that was ... not to the credit of anyone who let themselves think about it overlong, and inherently discourteous."

[Shiba Ryusei]

All right, time to see about this Seppun, i should try to get a feel for the field, before I commit, but-

Damn, he seems to be in conversation with that staggeringly attractive young woman.

But I can't just lurk around like some absolute creep.

Ryusei did his best to look like he was perfectly at ease as he sauntered closer.

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna turned at the arrival of the newcomer. She rose to her feet and gave an elegant bow.

Any person arriving likely out-ranked her in status or influence. Oh! A bushi in Phoenix colors. (Could it be the Shiba contact known only to her by name who she had been so eager to meet??)

Etiquette had her turn back to Seppun Tomaru first. "Seppun-sama, forgive me. In my enthusiasm,I have taken up so much of your time and there are others eager to meet you. It has truly been a delight."

She turned back to the young man. "Good morning. I am Agasha-ke no kashin Ageki Yuna. It is my honor to be part of the Dragon delegation."

She will remain standing, and courteously remain until the Seppun dismisses her or encourages her to sit back down. Happy to linger or to be dismissed.

*(ooc: Player is going to be AFK for many hours so you may want to dismiss her. Or have her linger quietly while you two talk and then rejoin later...)*

[Shiba Ryusei]

She turned back to the young man. "Good morning. I am Agasha-ke no kashin Ageki Yuna. It is my honor to be part of the Dragon delegation."

Wait, THAT'S Ageki Yuna?!

He'd been looking forward to meeting her, of course, from her letter, she had seemed like someone he'd get along with, someone he could chat to during social events and the like, but...

I hadn't thought she'd be, well. Gorgeous.

...

Okay, Ryusei. Focus.

She introduced herself, and I should introduce myself to her AND to Seppun-sama.

"I fear I must apologize for the intrusion."

He bowed to each in their turn.

"This one is Shiba-ke no kashin Shigi Ryusei, with the singular honor of being part of this winter's delegation from the Phoenix Clan. I have already had the pleasure of an exchange of letters with Agasha-sama, but, alas, Seppun-sama, I have no such easy entree as that with yourself."

[Seppun Tomaru]

Tomaru gestures to Yuna to resume her seat, and he looks at the Shiba. For a moment, his eyes coldly assess the young man, then he nods, and he smiles crookedly.

"Young Phoenix," he says, his beard waggling, "it is a pleasure to meet another diligent son of the Empire--and to see amity among the upcoming men and women of the Clans. Does a grandfather good to see it."

He gestures to Ryusei to sit and motions for another tea setting to be delivered.

"I trust the journey was pleasant for you, young Phoenix?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Oh, very much so, Seppun-sama. It's quite a ways from the Phoenix lands, but... I can hardly deny a certain enthusiasm for the journey. It's good to travel through the Empire in peace, after all. To see what other Clans might have to teach me, so to speak."

He accepted his tea and inhaled the scent.

"And of course, to have the Imperial Winter Court as your destination adds a bit of excitement for someone unused to the experience."

[Seppun Tomaru]

Tomaru nods.

"The years have shown me that there are beauties everywhere in the Empire," he says. "They are not always easy to find, of course, but they are there.

"I take it this is your first time going abroad, young Phoenix?"

He takes a drink from his own tea, rests the other hand on his belly.

[Shiba Ryusei]

"That obvious?"

Ryusei smiled. And sipped.

"Before this journey, I had never been farther from home than the Isawa Mori, and that little jaunt was more of a cautionary training exercise."

Give him the gift, fathead!

"Oh, speaking of the journey..."

Quite literally. A small netsuke carved in the likeness of Isora, the Fortune of the Shore- well-made from polished wood, and very old

"This once belonged to my grandfather's grandfather. I... brought it along for luck. Nerves, you know. And now that I've arrived safely, I would be honored to pass her protection along..."

[Seppun Tomaru]

"The ancestors' guidance is a valuable thing," Tomaru says, hand lifting from his belly and waving the gift away. "What kind of man would I be to take away your reminder of it?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Our ancestors are always with us, Seppun-sama. Everything I have, everything I am, reminds me of them. Please, I would be honored if you were to accept it."

[Seppun Tomaru]

"Young Phoenix," Tomaru replies, his hand waving in a second refusal, "even with that being so, I could not take from you your protection for the journey home. After all, I am a grandfather many times already, but you have the look of a man not yet graced with children. You have much more yet to do than I, and so far more need for safety in yourself."

The crooked smile remains under the older man's moustache. He clearly enjoys this part of the game.

[Shiba Ryusei]

Ryusei was also warming to it. He liked the creativity it fostered, and fact that it really was a game.

"Ah, but Seppun-sama, Isora has already guided me here. I now know the route, the way, and the waves... The Fortune will guide me, whether I bear this netsuke or not, so long as I think to call upon her blessings."

He'd been sorely tempted to say something about Courage being a bushido virtue and show off in front of the Agasha bit, but no.

No, no sense in being a hormonal young fool and acting like a swaggering lout he wasn't.

[Seppun Tomaru]

"Then I thank you for your kind gift, young Phoenix," Tomaru says, accepting the netsuki.

He glances aside to Yuna. "It is always good to see young folk with good manners."

The crooked smile remains very much in place.

Returning to Ryusei, Tomaru continues.

"Agasha-san here," and he gestures to indicate her, "was voicing some fine ideas about teaching. I know the Shiba value the life of the mind; it would do an old man good to hear your thoughts on the matter."

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna had smiled brightly at the confirmation that this was Shiba Ryusei, and gratefully reclaimed her seat and teacup when Seppun-sama encouraged her to remain.

She listened quietly as they spoke. A demure and attentive presence. She was most curious about the new arrival! Shiba-san was indeed polite and well-spoken. And he appreciated times of peace. He enjoyed opportunities to learn. She nodded at those words.

The netsuke of Isora from his grandfather's grandfather was a good gift. He was likely a Fortunist. She had studied Fortunist theology during her school years in Phoenix lands, though her own practice and her family's was Shintao. Isora. The shore. But also, a partner in a pair. The longing and marriage between sea and shore. In this case, to bring him luck on his travels. And how fortunate that he was here now!

Then, when Seppun-sama complimented her words about teaching, she blushed. "Seppun-sama, you are too kind. It is a topic I enjoy discussing. An important one." His crooked smiles felt so reassuring on this first daunting day of court. She could almost pretend for a moment that he was her own grandfather.

She turned back to Shiba Ryusei, eager to hear his thoughts.

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Hm, well, I hesitate to venture an uninformed opinion, but if Seppun-sama is asking for my thoughts on education in general..."

Sip.

"One of the most critical things I've learned came up recently. I've been hand-copying texts from the family library, to improve my calligraphy and also to make sure there's more than one copy of any given text- the Tao of Shinsei isn't in any danger of being completely lost, but the journals of Second Century kobune captains of House Shigi are a bit less widespread!- and I noticed something... I was simply setting out to copy, you understand, but if I were to copy the text and its marginalia and commentary in my own hand, it ran the risk of making it seem like some of the commentary was part of the text- specially if a certain young bushi got tired and forgot to offset a passage or make the proper notations. And doing that would change the meaning of the original, sometimes distorting it beyond recognition. And this is just one samurai with no particular agenda!"

Sip.

"It really hammered home the importance of proper libraries, with a staff that understands the texts in their care, who can help anyone consulting them understand... context."

He paused, and cocked his head to the side.

"It also did a great deal to hammer home the importance of the copying process. Fortunately, professional scribes are better at this sort of thing than I am, but... one transcription error I made turned a captain from a bit of a blunderer who discovered shoals by running aground on them into some brilliant genius who actually noted the conditions he'd missed, all because I was a bit tired and forgot to offset the comment by a captain with a similar name who made notes two decades on."

[Seppun Tomaru]

Tomaru smiles widely at Ryusei's discourse.

"Young man," he says, "this young lady and I were speaking of much the same thing just before you arrived--and in much the same manner, if with less pointed an example. It is a delight to have you join us!"

He starts to lean forward, but his belly stops him going too far in that direction.

"I wonder, Agasha-san, if you might speak to this young Phoenix about what you were telling me."

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna smiled at his example, and his compliment to the importance of libraries and their staff.

"Ah, Shiba-san, do you enjoy calligraphy? I like practicing it very much. Oh, and playing Go also, to answer the question from your letter."

"Seppun-sama and I have been talking about opportunities for education in the empire. That more might be provided, and to more people. How knowledge can be shared and taught. And, when there should be limits to access. And other controls in the process."

"My suggestion - or, rather, the evolution of our conversation together - was to consider using wood-block printing to distribute copies of key documents very broadly across the empire. That would give everyone a common foundation. And certainty that all were receiving the same text. You'd need teachers every bit as much, but each village and shrine would have the most important texts. The Tao, of course, most importantly. But other texts also. And there would be the opportunity to plan future volumes. The best poetry from each clan for that year? A historical account of one key event from each clan's perspective?"

"If you could recommend one text to be disseminated widely like that, what would you recommend?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

Try not to drool, Ryusei.

He settled for a grin instead.

"Only one, Agasha-sama? Well. You've already mentioned the Tao of Shinsei, so there goes the easy one! I could be glib and suggest Leadership or The Book of Sun Tao, but... I think something more universal. A solid treatise on farming, or a collection poetry from each Clan, or.... n accessible history of the Empire."

The Phoenix chuckled and shook his head.

"I can't pick just one! There are too many... so much to know."