Toyamoto

The Toyamoto clan of Yakuza are the oldest in Ousho City. It first established itself in 2272CE, coming over with one of the first large wave of settlers from Japan. It is the wealthiest Yakuza clan, having it's hand in both legal and illegal money-oriented businesses. It currently reigns supreme over all organized crime, being in control of the powerful Kumo clan, and wary enough of the Shinotei to prevent them from expanding their limited claim. It is rumored that the Toyamoto secretly control the Corporation, either because their upper management members are Yakuza, the Yakuza own gross majority interest, or both. All these claims have been officially denied by the Corporation, which espouses a "No Yakuza" hiring policy. They are stereotyped as a bunch of monied, educated, suit-wearing aristos with a fine eye for art and a finer eye for money. The image not entirely unfounded, either - as the wealthiest family, money made at the top often finds its way down to the very bottom, and the family does stress a sharp dress code where practical. Their dealings are in the money industries, and they do favor High Japanese Culture.

Leadership

 * Ieyasu Serizawa, boss of the Toyamoto.
 * Karubo Hiroya, Advisor of War.
 * Tatsui Okura, Finance Advisor.
 * Miyake Tsunayoshi, Law Advisor.
 * Shuncho Yosano, Intelligence Advisor.
 * Kato Yoshimochi, Affairs Advisor.
 * Terao Matsumoto, Chief of the Hatamoto.

Philosophy
The Toyamoto clan subscribes to the teachings of Bushido. They stress the whole of the code, from personal conduct to rectitude to loyalty. They heavily support the secondary, peace time attributes, from artistic accomplishments to drinking properly. They value loyalty and responsibility above all other core virtues.

In business both legal and illegal, the Clan values money business above all else. Insurance companies, collection agencies, illegal gambling dens, money laundering and loansharking. This is the world of the Toyamoto - that of "proper" crimes.

They are the most conservative of the clans, patronizing "traditional" (male dominated) Japanese culture. They prefer their members to be distant, reserved and in control of themselves at all times, dressed well and acting respectable. They are warrior aristocrats; they must represent the very best of Bushido.

Public Affairs
The Toyamoto clan runs a number of public fronts. They dominate the public insurance and collection companies. They have, almost for sure, infiltrated the local branch of the First Interstellar Bank, where they recruit those denied for the loans they seek. They operate at least one creative arts school and likely back several others, a concert hall and support at least one art gallery. They own several funeral parlors in the city (with controlling interest in others), in addition to a few upscale hotels.

Private Affairs
The Toyamoto family claims sole right to operate underground casinos, where they generate enormous sums of money. They have a stranglehold on black market loans; if you know someone who visited a loanshark, they were either Toyamoto or one of their associates. They also collect significant amounts of protection money from various businesses within their territories.

Relationship with other Clans
They control the Kumo clan, and receive a portion of their quarterly earnings. They have traditionally kept a thumb on them since the Culling several decades back, a fact that Kumo clan doubtlessly resents. The Shinotei have proven to be cooperative, often hiring out their experts in various specialized fields, and selling information for reasonable rates. This, coupled with the lack of aggressive territory expansion and their refined behavior has kept these two clans on favorable terms.

With the Watosabi, there is only contempt. The Watosabi represent everything that the Toyamoto stand against - recklessness, corruption, disrespect and chaos. Once the Toyamoto clan discerned that the Watosabi were invaders rather than rivals within the city and that they would respond to no parley nor attend any meeting for formal agreements, they declared a pogrom against them. Since then, Toyamoto has made use of Shinotei agents working in conjunction with their own to uncover and eliminate known cells of this invading clan. Considerable sums of money have gone towards buying out people with any knowledge of strange groups, and purchasing the loyalty of "associate" groups not directly under what passes as Watosabi leadership. More funds have gone to paying the Corporate Police from getting involved. This private action has not spilled over onto the streets, and has not become a full on war. The Watosabi have no declared territories, and their cells move frequently. Information is not always completely reliable,targets must be checked and checked again, and civilian witnesses rarely have a complete picture to tell Yakuza agents. The Watosabi have pushed back several times, successfully eliminating two full cells of Toyamoto yakuza, even killing one of the elite Hatamoto. Beyond this, their responses have been sporadic and ineffectual at best.

To this point, the Toyamoto has not enlisted the aid of the Kumo, preferring to settle this matter (as master of the city) with their own manpower.

Art of War
The Toyamoto put their money to good use. In pragmatic combat, they favor overwhelming firepower - and they have it. The Clan is wealthy and well connected enough that their soldiers are equipped with a standardized (or semi-standardized in some cases) line of weapons, greatly simplifying logistics. They have access to actual assault rifles (though not of current military issue due to the shear lack of lose ones available) and their Hatamoto have access to quality body armor. Their money allows them to actually use large amounts of ammunition in training scenarios, and skill with the rifle is admired. They prefer to strike targets fast and hard, in large numbers. The clan owns a number of armored vans for the purposes of moving their troops around where needed. They prefer to avoid open combat, using hit squads to do much of the leg work in actual wars, but their numbers, training and equipment make them the only clan that can endure prolonged warfare. This has allowed them to operate as an untouchable force; even the Corporate Police, with their APC's and helicopters will not start fights with them.

Swordsmanship
In less pragmatic combat, they revere the sword. The sword is the secondary weapon of all their soldiers and the primary badge of honor. Little Brothers are required to become proficient with both the wakizashi and the katana. Big Brothers may wear their diasho (though on combat deployments they typically take one or the other). The sword is used in duels to settle internal or interpersonal disputes, and it marks one as a guardian of true Japanese culture and the successor to the noble Samurai.

The Toyamoto family values a balanced approach to bladed combat, never advising one to abandon defense for a stronger attack. They will form a solid defense while they study their opponent, awaiting the moment for a precision strike. Their system of swordsmanship takes much time to study and perfect, teaching a broad spectrum of techniques useful in duels, actual combat or both. In more recent times, as they have a monopoly on firepower and have little need to rely on swordsmanship at all, their bladed combat teachings have become more and more artistic, focused on perfect form and expression. While still deadly, it is less pragmatic and best used against others who practice the art themselves or those of much lower skill. They do not heavily stress these arts. All members are required to learn basic handing and the principals of their art, but only particularly dedicated members are required to reach any level of mastery. That said, their skill is still considerable, even amongst the lower ranks.

Their wealth allows them to import kenjutsu instructors from offworld, and operate their own forge for high quality, traditionally made swords. They have created their own style of swordsmanship, called Kotabanzen-ryu.

Other Martial Arts
The Toyamoto family, having access to overwhelming firepower way beyond that of any other street gang or Yakuza clan, do not train their members in any other combat style beyond their school of swordsmanship. While some may enter the gang with a background in some unarmed skills (or rarely, other armed skills), its not taught to members as any sort of requirement.