Editing /tg/ Custom L5R Minor Clans (section)

==History==

The Octopus Clan is one of the least known clans of Rokugan, and one of the most bizarre – and they prefer both of these things to be true. Their motto has always been “nobility is art, but not all art is noble” – they are a clan that blends the roles of artisan and shinobi together in equal measure – like the Kasuga, Daidoji or Yasuki, they have deep roots amidst the more unsavoury parts of Rokugani culture. 

The formation of the clan is cloaked in quite a bit of mystery. What is known is that their founder was Kakita Tako - though even this is uncertain, for Kakita Tako admitted himself to altering his name at least once to give himself a new identity. Tako was a Kakita Artisan who had nothing notable about him, except, perhaps, his lack of notability. He was constantly compared unfavourably to his classmates, and his sensei deemed him worthy of only a life of mediocrity. Disillusioned and wanting for money, Tako let his honour slip in order to make ends meet, killing his integrity as an artisan and happily making goods for rich merchants or upstart local magistrates, who were eager to gain “Authentic Kakita Artwork”. Usually such objects would only be obtainable through gift giving or large sums, but Tako made offers that were considered quite reasonable, at least by his new clientele. Tako soon found that his new contacts opened up a whole new, disreputable world for him which he took to with a gusto that surprised even himself – for the first time in his life, he no longer felt like he was useless. It was a dishonourable living – but it was a living! Tako was a flexible artist – one reason he had never really excelled at his studies was because he dabbled in many fields, a little interested in all of them. Now he found himself forging documents and artwork, inventing poems for merchants to impress their mistresses and even printing propaganda leaflets for people he never asked questions of.

To Tako’s surprise, his skills started to earn him work from higher and higher in the Rokugani social structure – while no one had wanted Tako the honourable artisan, now many people had need of the “Ronin Artist”. Tako realized there were certain things that Shiba and Kakita artisans simply would not do. Soon samurai patrons were requesting, very discreetly, for him to make wedding night manuals, portraits of their favourite geisha and personally commissioned pieces that regular society would find shocking. Tako was so useful because he would happily produce these pieces, while, at the same time, having a level of quality beyond the normal peasant artists who would usually create these sorts of things. It wasn’t long before Tako had to get help in meeting the demand – he scraped together some of the least prestigious members of the famous artisan schools, and began to tutor ronin samurai seeking a touch of refinement. 

What is still vague is exactly what earned Tako the grandest prize of a Minor Clan, for whatever it was apparently it was sworn to secrecy. The records only state that he did a “Great Service to the Imperial Family”, without saying anything more on the matter. Tako took the Octopus as his symbol to represent how he was not the master of one focus, but of many, and as homage to one of his personal favourite works. The Octopus also represented the distribution of the clan – instead of having any central holdings, the clan instead established humbler bases in most major Rokugani cities. To this day the Tako Family, as they became known, provides a coarse, freewheeling, anarchic approach to art, existing in the shadows beyond the higher artisan families. This position never bothered Tako much – to him, all art served a purpose, in one way or another.