#Samurai Sample: Kagura Masamune (神樂正宗)

Contents

"I will hold this Front Zone."

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#1st Dan — Young Commander

#Scent

A low-ranking commander of Kagura Domain. He inherited his father's uchigatana and now stands on the battlefield for the first time. Serious and taciturn, he cares for his subordinates more deeply than anyone. He does not yet know the cruelty of war.

#Background — How the Adventure Began

The Kagura house was once a martial family of standing, serving as the lord's vanguard for three generations. After the previous Kagura Masatsugu died in battle during a yoma expedition ten years ago, and part of the estate was absorbed by a neighboring local clan, the house fell into the condition of a "fallen noble." What remained was one old manor, two retainers, and the uchigatana his father had used.

In the spring of the year Masamune turned sixteen, Koizumi, Kagura Domain's military officer, came in person. "Your father's shadow still remains on the battlefield. Do you intend to raise that sword again?" It was the only path to restoring honor. Masamune could not refuse, and had no reason to refuse.

His first deployment was the extermination of ko-oni on a border mountain road (山道). When he took an immovable stance on a narrow bridge with five ashigaru spearmen, Masamune finally understood in his body why his father had not yielded a single step. When the battle ended and the eyes of the surviving spearmen changed, that moment decided what he would choose to do.

#Law

Kagura Masamune — Samurai 1st Dan
Wounds 4, Defense 14(heavy armor), Energy 11
Courage+2, Finesse+1, Physique+1, Wisdom+0, Presence+0, Fate-1
Background: Fallen Noble (route unchosen) | Heart: Loyalty (Way of Rites)

Weapon: uchigatana (Issue Gear)

• Horizontal Cut (Courage, 2 Energy) / Thrust (Finesse, 2 Energy, [Pierce 2]) / Parry (reservation 1/improvised 2)

Maneuver List:

Squad: ashigaru spearmen (5 Minions, suyari, Defense 12, Cohesion 3+1(Family Name)=4)

Typical Breath: Horizontal Cut(2) + Horizontal Cut(2) + Parry reservation(1) = 5.

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#5th Dan — Veteran Commander

#Scent

His name has become known after many battles. Promoted to Front Zone commander of Kagura Domain. His subordinates call him "Iron Wall." As his background route, he chose Path of Restoration (A): the house's old retainers have begun to gather one by one.

School: Katori Shinto-ryu (Famous School). The path of the sword that seizes initiative.

#Background — How He Came This Far

For 4 years after 1st dan, Masamune was assigned to Kagura Domain's border defense and fought three major close engagements. In the second engagement, he failed to stop an ashigaru squad from being destroyed, and that night he cried for the first time in his tent. The next morning he went to a Koga artisan's workshop himself and had his father's sword polished again. "This sword is now mine. But the blood on this sword is my responsibility."

In the third engagement, the siege of Eizo Castle, the allied Front Zone was about to be broken. Masamune blocked the collapsing line with Immovable Formation. He held out for an hour in a melee of ko-oni and ashigaru, and during that time the Rear Zone successfully reorganized. After the battle, the lord of Kagura Domain summoned him. "Your line did not break." With that single sentence, the Kagura house's fief was restored.

Once the house was rebuilt, Masamune chose Path of Restoration (A). His father's old retainers, those who had left when the house collapsed, returned one by one. They were older now, and the hands that held their swords were not what they had been, but their eyes were still those of a warrior house. Masamune organized them into a Veteran squad. It was a squad of people who had regained their name.

He entered Katori Shinto-ryu around that time. The old instructor told him, "You already know half of Katori from the battlefield. The other half is the art of reading initiative (先)." It took 2 more years before he received his license.

#Law

Kagura Masamune — Samurai 5th Dan
Wounds 5(3+Physique 1+Tough 1), Defense 14, Energy 12(10+Finesse 2)

![Kagura Masamune as "Iron Wall" general, masterblade Mikazuki Munechika (blank crescent tachi), immovable full guard, heavy armor](../../../../assets/interior/20260624/batch-5-additional/CDAN-01.webp)

Courage+3, Finesse+2, Physique+1, Wisdom+0, Presence+0, Fate-1
Background: Fallen Noble Route A (Restoration) | Heart: Loyalty (Way of Rites)
School: Katori Shinto-ryu (Swordsmanship)

Weapon: uchigatana (Fine Work, his father's keepsake polished by an artisan)

• Horizontal Cut (Courage) / Thrust (Finesse) / Parry / [Licensed] Issen / [School Licensed] Blade of Initiative (stance)

Additional Maneuvers:

Squads: Kagura elite spearmen (5 Minions, Defense 13) + retainer squad (3 Veterans, Defense 13)

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#10th Dan (Tatsujin) — "Iron-Wall Masamune"

#Scent

A legendary commander whose name resounds across the Sengoku. The de facto military commander of Kagura Domain. The saying "the Front Zone where Masamune stands does not break" travels across the land. For his Renown Title, he chose Class Capstone: Muso Zenshin (武雙全身).

#Background — How He Earned His Renown Title

The nickname "Iron Wall" spread beyond the army and into neighboring domains during the Shikoku Rebellion. When the rebellion's sorcerer group used a great yoma to tear through the allied Front Zone of Kagura Domain in a single breath, Masamune remained alone behind the five retreating squads and controlled the zone for three hours. Everything that entered that zone fell. The moment the retreat route was secured, Masamune also fell to his knees, but his Defense was not pierced even once. The allied commander said: "As long as that man stands there, Kagura Domain's Front Zone will not break."

The decisive event that became legend was the Edoku Disturbance. When Tatarigami of the Hannyakai aimed directly at Kagura Domain's main camp, Masamune protected the daimyo's head and endured seven rounds. During that time, Enku, an esoteric monk of the domain, secured enough time to prepare a great seal, and Tatarigami was sealed. But the price was the death of Masamune's Katori instructor. Before dying, the instructor gave Masamune Mikazuki Munechika, the famous exorcism blade handed down in the house. "You are now the only one who reads initiative."

After the disturbance, the lord of Kagura Domain gave Masamune all the house's former lands plus two neighboring villages, granting him daimyo-grade status. When he chose a Renown Title on reaching 10th dan, Masamune chose the class capstone Muso Zenshin. He now makes the Front Zone more often than he stands in it, but as the Renown Title says, when enemies approach, his whole body enters the Check posture. He becomes a wall that does not collapse.

People call him "Iron-Wall Masamune." Yet when he grips his father's sword, he still murmurs: "I will hold this Front Zone."

#Law

Kagura Masamune — Samurai Tatsujin
Wounds 7(3+Physique 2+Tough 2), Defense 16(heavy armor, Physique offsets penalty), Energy 13(10+Finesse 3)
Courage+3, Finesse+3, Physique+2, Wisdom+1, Presence+0, Fate-1
Background: Fallen Noble Route A (Tatsujin Capstone: Daimyo) | Heart: Loyalty (Way of Rites)
School: Katori Shinto-ryu (secret art)
Renown Title: Muso Zenshin (automatic counterattack against all enemies while in the Check posture + Domination +5)

Weapon: Mikazuki Munechika (masterwork, exorcism blade)

• Mounted Wild Cut / Entry Cut / Back-of-Blade Guard / Spinning Drop Cut / [masterwork] Demon-Breaking Issen (yoma 3 Wounds)
• [School Secret Art] Heaven-Earth-Man (3-strike combo; when the 3rd hit lands, additional 2 Wounds)

Additional Maneuvers:

Squads: regular-army squads x4 + retainer Veteran squads x2. Legion scale.

"This Front Zone has not fallen yet."