Kumo

The Kumo clan of Yakuza are the second oldest in Ousho City. The first arrived in 2297CE, establishing themselves in the image of the already 25-years established Toyamoto. It is a greatly diminished clan, having climbed to the dizzying heights of wealth upon a wave of drugs and whores before facing internal unrest, an inheritance dispute and finally a full-on culling that killed half of the family and removed most of the clan's access to income. Even a sizable portion of what remained had to be paid as tribute to the Toyamoto. It has regained strength, reforging itself from the fires of that crucible, but still lacks the wealth, prestige and power of its oppressor. They are stereotyped as a bunch of brazen, aggressive, head-strong punks with little refinement and far too much testosterone. While it is true that their family emphasizes the fighting arts and eschews suits for looser, more "combat oriented" attire, they are far from a bunch of meatheads. They have taken it upon themselves to train their clan in multiple forms of combat, bringing them to a high level of proficiency if not mastery. They understand the importance of tactics and strategy, and they have not abandoned Bushido.

Leadership

 * boss of the Kumo.
 * Advisor of War.
 * Finance Advisor.
 * Law Advisor.
 * Intelligence Advisor.
 * Affairs Advisor.
 * Chief of the Hatamoto.

Philosophy
Kumo clan's brand of Bushido is a product of it's experience. Early on, the family was all but a carbon copy of Toyamoto (which itself was emulating other strong clans back home). As it expanded in the underworld it eventually met resistance from their role models, and began to turn towards uncapitalized markets - illicit street drugs, whores and fighting. As the whoring and the drugs got the best of the clan, Bushido's teachings of loyalty, rectitude and the other virtues fell on the wayside. This lead to the succession crisis and ultimately to its culling and domination by clan Toyamoto. To survive, they expanded their only remaining markets, which was based in the underground dojos, weapon shops, fighting pits and legal martial arts schools. The family molded itself around its industries, releasing a tight hold on the more "refined" aspects of art and music in favor of specialized literature and the fighting arts.

The current family does not disrespect the civil aspects of Bushido. Simply, they no longer care to involve themselves in it. The family encourages literary pursuits, particularly those that pertain or are related to the fighting arts - books on strategy, tactics, weapon and equipment repair, warrior ethos, combative histories and fighting manuals. Common pass times focus on games of skill, particularly chess, shogi and go. The Book of Five Rings and The Art of War is required reading for anyone hoping to become a Big Brother, and incentives are given to any member who passes written examination on aspects of those two books. Personal fitness is a huge part of the clan's membership, as are the physical martial arts. Lacking access to the kind of firepower the Toyamoto possess (assorted pistols with automatic conversions at best)), they instead ramp up their combatives. They see the pursuit of a martial ideal as the key to connecting with the old samurai past - the trappings of high culture and refined tastes do not suit a true warrior.  They are the down and dirty fighting men to the Toyamoto's warrior aristocrat image, but they make it plain and clear that they are not blood-thirsty killers - they fight with dignity, honor and respect for the man across from him.

Public Affairs
The clan owns several gyms, a few game houses, several public fighting rings and either own or have controlling interest in every dojo in the city. They are also permitted to collect protection money from various businesses within their territories.

Private Affairs
The Kumo clan has a well rooted underground culture, based around the violence and fighting arts that typify their clan. They operate underground dojos teaching forbidden martial arts, underground fighting arenas where these forbidden martial arts come to fruition (occasionally to the death) and animal fighting rings. They also operate a number of small, illicit machine shops dedicated to machining bladed instruments of death, and are reasonably well connected smugglers of small arms - though their shipments are monitored by the Toyamoto, preventing them from amassing enough serious firepower to rival them. The clan also operates a few underground hospitals, mostly devoted to patching up the wounded from the pit fights but also used by the population rejected from public hospitals.

Relationship with other Clans
The Kumo clan deeply resents being held in check by the Toyamoto. New members must be approved (dire consequences have been threatened otherwise). All incoming shipments connected to them are checked by Toyamoto agents, requiring the Clan to bear additional expense to get around them. 45% of all collected monies are quarterly surrendered to the Toyamoto, which does not permit them from expanding into markets earmarked for them, even if the two clans could not possibly outdo the other.

Kumo clan does not associate much with the Shinotei, but occasionally hires their agents or solicits their smuggling services. The Kumo clan has had a few dealings with the Watosabi in the past, when they were only newly finding their way to the city. All contact has since been lost, with no fortune found in further communication attempts.

Art of War
''In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. Lord Takanobu said, "If discrimination is long, it will spoil. " Lord Naoshige said, "When matters are done leisurely, seven out of ten will turn out badly. A warrior is a person who does things quickly. When your mind is going hither and thither, discrimination will never be brought to a conclusion. With an intense, fresh and undelaying spirit, one will make his judgments within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break right through to the other side. '' - Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

This is one way to snapshot the clan's way of doing war. They favor speed of mind; one should make his decision quickly and then commit himself to it, striking hard and fast.

The Kumo are no longer a rich clan. Their weapons smuggling rings were severely curtailed after the culling, making it hard for the clan to land any serious firepower in significant quantity. Toyamoto agents monitoring incoming shipments known to be connected to them make it even more difficult, increasing the cost of already inflated goods trying to get around them. Their ballistic armories are limited to a handful of mismatched rifles and submachine guns, and a large quantity of pistols, typically of the T-77 Wolverine and Stub gun variety. While significant numbers of these have been tampered with to provide automatic fire capability, they don't have the firepower to oust their overlords. Their access to body armor is even less regular, making it impossibly expensive. To compensate, the gunmen of the Kumo clan have become very quick and accurate shots, specializing in close range firefights to maximize firepower potential and minimize ammunition usage. Their members are the most consistently accurate pistol shots in the whole city.

On top of their precision pistol drills the clan focuses heavily on their combatives. A wide spectrum of martial arts are known to them, some of which they teach to the public in their dojos and others to a select few outsiders in underground schools. In addition to the kenjutsu expected of them, they train in knives, grappling, striking and throwing styles. This synergies with their close-combat oriented fighting style.

Swordsmanship
Kumo clan swordsmanship is simple and pragmatic. They eschew perfect form and perfect technique for solid form and deadly techniques, preferring to enter a fight strong and end it quickly. The basis for their swordsmanship lies in the ancient Toyama-ryu. It is a simplified sword system designed for quick and easy teaching and effective battlefield deployment. It eschews fancy technique in favor of direct combat results. All members are expected to master the principal drills and advance their technique out from there. Before one can become Hatamoto, he must prove himself proficient at a much deeper and more inclusive version of the Kumo Sword System.

Other Martial Arts
The Kumo Yakuza engage in a variety of other martial studies. This results in a well-rounded fighting man, best deployed in close-in situations. Kumo yakuza responsible for teaching or aiding at the gyms and dojos learn fuller and more complex systems built off these basics, and the Hatamoto are expected to have extreme proficiency in two full arts. It is said that a skilled Kumo warrior is a master of four weapons: The mind, the body, the sword and the gun. As mentioned above, the clan trains their members in knives and various hand to hand styles. The grappling arts are stressed, built around grappling while still armed with various weapons. Striking arts are a close secondary, though not as important as throws and holds (which allow you to stab or shoot your opponent easily).

Without access to many exquisite artisans of the sword, all but the very highest ranking Kumo carry swords that the clan artisans (machinists) has machined and mounted. They tend to be plainer, their blades ground from barstock and their fittings mostly if not entirely synthetic. Some of their number carry old gunto-style military blades, which are occasionally smuggled in by various small-time gangs, as there are tens of thousands of them floating around the Colonial Sphere. The Kumo are exploring the possibility of setting up manufacture to replicate them as there has been some notable street demand.