(http://www.roadragebunny.com/Portfolio/LJ/japanese_village.jpg)
Moriachi village stationed on the coast of the Mori domain, surrounded by tall forests and a large river that feeds into the ocean. The village is ancient, and the people here have lived the same life for thousands of years. Men fish, hunt, and farm for their food while the women weave, clean, and care for the children. This village is special, for it has been said that the ocean god favors them, together with the spirit of the great river. Never has this village been hit by a sea storm, never have rains destroyed their crops. This is likely due to the large Ocean-river temple located just outside the village. The temple, Terayama, is even older than the village and has worshiped all forms of water spirits for thousands of years. The village is ruled by a distant relatives of the Mori Daimyo, the Kurokawa clan. They have protected the village for hundreds of years, being renowned for their swordsmanship skills. They train Samurai far and wide in the arts of the sword, and the oldest of the Kurokawa sons, Nobutsu, is one of the greatest swordsmen in all the land; even having championed the entire Mori clan in a feud against the Oda once before.
The village is largely traditional, and still remains very tiny. After years of peace though, a band of rouge warriors have begun to pray on the citizens and travelers within the city. The head Samurai of the village, Kurokawa Iamatsu has called forth his band of retainers from the other samurai families within the area, the Shiatsu and Goto. Since their is still a general ban on modern weaponry outside of the army, this had to be dealt with the old fashion way.
Speech is very formal so honorifics are used.
San - Most common, denotes Mr. or Mrs. or can be used before a job title (Butcher-san) & companies.
Kun (informal) - Addressed towards males of equal or lower status such as students or children by parents and teachers.
Chan (Informal) - Female version of Kun, may be used as a term of endearment towards a woman.
Sensei - Used when referring to masters of a particular subject, such as teachers, Martial Arts masters, doctors, lawyers, & Authority figures.
Sama - A much more formal version of San, and is used when referring to one of much higher rank, or objects, things, and persons one wishes to show great respect for.
Dono - Used for lords, usually Samurai. Peasants refer to all Samurai as Dono, while Samurai refer to other Samurai of higher ranking by Dono.
Open to all you may be a Samurai from one of the three families Kurokawa, Goto, Shiatsu. Or you may be a common villager or monk, or anything you can think of that could fit (maybe a bandit, but you will probably die). This takes place in the Mori domain, and read a little on our religion and society in Joukai Info thread.
Current Characters -
Kurokawa Iamatsu, Head of the Kurokawa clan and the Village - Joukai
Kurokawa Nobutsu (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/blog/pics/last_samurai_5.jpg), Master swordsman and eldest son of Iamatsu - Joukai