Isawa was a spiritual leader of great ability from a Yobanjin Tribe who held the confidence of the Fortunes and the kami. He saw no value in placing himself and his tribe under the protection of the Children of the Sun and Moon, when they appeared in the lands which would be known as Rokugan. [1] He was a dour man who refused Shiba's offer to welcome him and his people into the fledging Emerald Empire. [2]
Clan: Phoenix
Family: Isawa (founder)
Born: Unknown
Died: 42
The Empire founded by the Kami Hantei was assaulted by a dark army from the Shadowlands, led by the fallen Kami Fu Leng. [3] The Kami Shiba and the Little Teacher, Shinsei, entreated Isawa and his tribe to join them in fighting the forces of the Shadowlands. While Isawa saw their wisdom, he would not surrender his tribe to the rule of the Kami. When he refused, Shiba bent his knee, swearing fealty and pledging that if the tribe joined the Empire, Shiba's line would forever serve Isawa's. With this humble gesture, Isawa accepted to join them and Shiba founded the Phoenix Clan. [4] Shiba's oath was known as the Promise. [5]
Years later Jigoku, the Realm of Evil, threatened to swallow Ningen-dō, the Realm of Mortals. The Seven Thunders and Shinsei made their way deep into the Shadowlands, where they found Fu Leng and defeated him on what became known as the Day of Thunder. The cost was heavy, as only Shinsei and the Scorpion Shosuro survived the fight. Shiba stayed the hordes of oni and the undead while Isawa sealed their eternal enemy into the Black Scrolls. Shosuro could escape the Shadowlands with the scrolls, pursued by the armies of the Shadowlands. [6]
Isawa wrote his knowledge about the elements in the treatise Elements. [7] He also created the Isawa Calendar, which measured the passage of years beginning an occasion which happened the same year in which the Kami fell from the Heavens. [8]
Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 11 ↩︎
Celestial Realms, p. 54 ↩︎
Dark Hands of Heaven (FFG News) ↩︎
The Great Clans (Learn to Play Rulebook) ↩︎
Repentance Does Not Come First, by Robert Denton III ↩︎
Whispers of Shadow and Steel, by Mari Murdock ↩︎
Prodigy of the Waves (Into the Forbidden City flavor) ↩︎
Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 11 ↩︎