The Otter Clan, like many others, was created by Imperial decree, some years after the Battle of White Stag. At the time, an epidemic of a disease similar to pox was ravaging the Empire. The daughter of the Emerald Champion was dying from it. An old Asahina Shugenja had opened a small aisle of his mansion, on a mountain lake near the Phoenix-Crane border and was doing wonders in treating the illness. His family and he were welcoming everyone the disease had struck, regardless of cast or status. Working tirelessly, they were saving many lives.
The Emerald Champion's wife heard about the place and wanted to send her daughter there. The Emerald Champion stubbornly refused that his daughter would "fray with heimin". Afraid that her daughter would die, the mother sent a message to the Asahina Shugenja praying him to come cure her daughter. Although it was only a couple of hours trip, the shugenja respectfully refused, arguing in his answer that he could not condemn others to death by his absence, just to save the pride of one stubborn father.
This answer made the Emerald Champion reflect on his previous position and he was
ashamed of himself. He agreed to send his daughter to the Asahina's house, although it was already quite late. The Shugenja and his family doubled their effort to cure her and, after a week of exhausting magical and natural healing, were eventually successful.
The Emerald Champion was so happy about the outcome and felt so much remorse about his arrogant attitude that he petitioned the Emperor to give minor Clan status to the old Asahina and his family and he gave his daughter in marriage to the Asahina's son. The Otter Clan (named after the animal most common around the eponymous lake) was born. After the Asahina's death, his son and daughter in law thus took the Kawauso (獺) name.
Geography & Economy
The Clan estate is limited to a small village and a mansion, half on the Otter Lake itself and built pier-like, half on the bank. The mansion is at the highest point of the village and has a beautiful South-West view on the lake. Most villagers on the lake are fishermen, while most inhabitants on the firm ground are retainers of the daimyo (yojimbo, nurses, apprentices, cooks and so on), craftsmen or local shopkeepers. There is a small inn with a corral, an herbalist shop, a baker, a clothier and several basket makers. Otter Lake Village is peaceful and doesn't have much of a defense. The proximity with the residence of the Emerald Champion makes it an unlikely target. Only the mansion itself is fortified and there is a watch tower about a mile away in the hills, at the border with the Phoenix, while another is planted in the lake waters, approximately where the Crane border begins.
64
The Clan lives on fishery, like its animal symbol, as well as some rice production and basket making. Most of the revenues of the mansion come from donations from rich ex-patients and from the taxes on the locals (rather light ones by Rokugani standards).
Demography
The Clan has about 500 heimin and a half dozen Shugenja with about 20 bushi and other retainers at any given time. The population is extremely grateful and loyal to its daimyo and his family for everything they do for them. This gratitude is shown in various ways, such as small gifts to the mansion's hospital, flowers being spontaneously thrown under the feet of family members when they walk in the village, songs being made in their honor and so on. In the extremely rare cases when the daimyo seemed to have been threatened from outside forces, heimin also spontaneously took arms to defend the mansion and help the bushi. Such displays of affection can feel inappropriate or even excessive propaganda for many visiting foreign samurai and heimin, but it is nearly always genuine.
Customs
The customs of the otter Clan are fairly similar to what can be met in Crane lands. The only oddity is that, in case of sickness, the cast and status of the patient is always totally disregarded by the Clan members, at least upon complete healing. While foreigners can be shocked by this, all Clan members seem to find this totally normal and will abundantly quote the Tao of Shinsei if questioned about the topic. In general, Otter samurai and shugenja are famous for their hospitality and fairly popular amongst those who know of its existence. Otter Lake Village, home of pious people, has two very small shrines, one at each opposite side.
The first is a temple to several local minor gods: Okuni-Nushi (Fortune of magic medicine), Gama-Sennin (Fortune of pills and drugs) and Binzuru-Sonja (Fortune of curing illness and good vision). It is a simple square house with a double roof, build pier-like on the lake's shore. A wooden statue representing a toad (Gama's symbol) sits on the middle altar. The shrine is often full of simple offers from various locals or travelers and is attended 24 hours a day by an old monk or a retired shugenja from the Kawauso family.
The other one is a wooden Torii, at the village entrance near the road, with two blocks of stone serving as altars to Hoso-no-Kami (minor fortune of pox) and Ekibyogami (Fortune of plague and epidemics). There are usually no less offers at the Torii than at the temple, as inhabitants are careful about not attracting the attention of these dangerous gods by their lack of piety.
War
The Otter Clan is as pacifist as the Asahina family where it originated, if not more. Its location makes it unlikely to be attacked and the only time it had to actually defend itself was after the Rain of Blood, when Bloodspeakers tried to raid the mansion. The fight was bitter and many lives were lost, but reinforcement arrived in time to save most of the Clan. Some were lost to the Rain too, but the Clan had no serious difficulty in