Sunshine History (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sunshinehistory) wrote2015-03-29 04:40 pm
sunshinehistory) wrote2015-03-29 04:40 pm
Entry tags:
Shimura Clan
Attitudes
A Shimura, above all other things, must have two very important, and specific, qualities. They must have total self-control, characterized by the ability to blend into the background at a moment’s notice and keep hold on their emotions so that it would not put them at risk of losing valuable information over their own difficulties. The other quality, however, is the ability to get into the situations that would so allow them to ever need the first quality at all. Information is everything. The management, the acquisition, the ability to use it, that is the Shimura clan's tenet.
Emotions and attachment were thus often stamped out of clan members at an early age, though many forgot why control was so important as the Warring States era dragged on, and it led to control turning into obliteration, meaning that the original purpose was often lost. Unfortunately, it also led to some unsavory practices and prejudices within the clan, and it was not unheard of for those who were grieving to be scorned, and in the case of children at times even punished, for being attached enough to do so in the first place.
The clan is one that doesn’t hold to the idea that any individual is ever worth more than what they have to offer, be it information, protection, money, or anything else. If you are useless to a Shimura, then you are nothing to them… and if you are a useless Shimura, then you are nothing to the clan.
History
Before Konoha, the Shimura were one of two clans that people came to for information they couldn't get themselves. The other that brokered in this trade was the Yamanaka, though given that the Yamanaka were a protected clan, it makes sense that their connections differed greatly from that of the Shimura, who used a different frame for their tactics, approaches, and even appearance.
Their only defense as a clan was what they could pull out information seemingly at the drop of a hat and use it as leverage either for or against someone else. To a Shimura, no rumor was ever useless, no lie without a background that could be exploited. This made them a clan that no one wanted to deal with, but everyone needed to be aware of. They were dangerous, but incredibly useful, but above all else they had a reputation for not building permanent alliances with anyone, often being wary of betrayal to the point of near paranoia.
It was a truth made more difficult by the fact that the Shimura were not a remarkable looking clan. They didn’t have vibrant sunlit hair, or eyes as dark as pitch. They could easily fade in among the civilians, listening and watching without a concern, feigning ignorance and practically vanishing when someone hunting them was moments before right on their trail.
After coming to Konoha, things were not all peaceful. While brought to Konoha due to information about the way the villages were forming, that they finally were opening themselves to alliances was still a shock, one even Madara was bewildered to need to handle. The Shimura clan was still well despised. They had secrets the other clans didn’t want them to have, and the leaders of the fledgling village knew that. They let them in anyway, inviting them to settle and make a home much as they had other villages who had gotten there before them.
Of course, some people went out of their way to try to deal with something that they saw as a problem that needed to be resolved. One such encounter is what gave Danzo his scar as a child, and it taught him that even children were not above being targeted by clan conflicts… which he’d only known as an abstract before. It also showed Madara and Hashirama that they had to step in and deal with the problem before it got out of hand, which unfortunately led to Madara being kept up to date on matters that ultimately helped him make his decision to leave the village.
It took time, but after a generation the Shimura began to integrate into the civilian populace of the village, turning mostly into a soft network of information and rumor instead of an active shinobi force. That is not to say that the clan ever faded as a clan. They’re still careful, opportunistic, and above all, aware. The Shimura clan is not a clan that would ever fail to remember its origins, after all, because that would mean forgetting hard-won information. Even if, by then, it was simply history.
Special jutsu
The Shimura is a clan that knows their seals. When one has information, it’s useless if it never gets to anyone who can use it. It’s unacceptable, wasteful, and above all, a security risk. Thus, seals. There are a few very specific seals to the clan, that can only be used in a state of perfect tranquility. In spite of vaunting control above all else, very few Shimura can reach the state to use such seals, and Danzo is one of these. They’re dangerous, destructive, but perfect for keeping information out of hands that it should not be in.
These tranquility seals are not something that needs a bloodline to use, however, the requirements are hard enough to meet that it at times would seem as such, and the clan rarely allows their members to try because of the dramatic repercussions of failure.
A Shimura, above all other things, must have two very important, and specific, qualities. They must have total self-control, characterized by the ability to blend into the background at a moment’s notice and keep hold on their emotions so that it would not put them at risk of losing valuable information over their own difficulties. The other quality, however, is the ability to get into the situations that would so allow them to ever need the first quality at all. Information is everything. The management, the acquisition, the ability to use it, that is the Shimura clan's tenet.
Emotions and attachment were thus often stamped out of clan members at an early age, though many forgot why control was so important as the Warring States era dragged on, and it led to control turning into obliteration, meaning that the original purpose was often lost. Unfortunately, it also led to some unsavory practices and prejudices within the clan, and it was not unheard of for those who were grieving to be scorned, and in the case of children at times even punished, for being attached enough to do so in the first place.
The clan is one that doesn’t hold to the idea that any individual is ever worth more than what they have to offer, be it information, protection, money, or anything else. If you are useless to a Shimura, then you are nothing to them… and if you are a useless Shimura, then you are nothing to the clan.
History
Before Konoha, the Shimura were one of two clans that people came to for information they couldn't get themselves. The other that brokered in this trade was the Yamanaka, though given that the Yamanaka were a protected clan, it makes sense that their connections differed greatly from that of the Shimura, who used a different frame for their tactics, approaches, and even appearance.
Their only defense as a clan was what they could pull out information seemingly at the drop of a hat and use it as leverage either for or against someone else. To a Shimura, no rumor was ever useless, no lie without a background that could be exploited. This made them a clan that no one wanted to deal with, but everyone needed to be aware of. They were dangerous, but incredibly useful, but above all else they had a reputation for not building permanent alliances with anyone, often being wary of betrayal to the point of near paranoia.
It was a truth made more difficult by the fact that the Shimura were not a remarkable looking clan. They didn’t have vibrant sunlit hair, or eyes as dark as pitch. They could easily fade in among the civilians, listening and watching without a concern, feigning ignorance and practically vanishing when someone hunting them was moments before right on their trail.
After coming to Konoha, things were not all peaceful. While brought to Konoha due to information about the way the villages were forming, that they finally were opening themselves to alliances was still a shock, one even Madara was bewildered to need to handle. The Shimura clan was still well despised. They had secrets the other clans didn’t want them to have, and the leaders of the fledgling village knew that. They let them in anyway, inviting them to settle and make a home much as they had other villages who had gotten there before them.
Of course, some people went out of their way to try to deal with something that they saw as a problem that needed to be resolved. One such encounter is what gave Danzo his scar as a child, and it taught him that even children were not above being targeted by clan conflicts… which he’d only known as an abstract before. It also showed Madara and Hashirama that they had to step in and deal with the problem before it got out of hand, which unfortunately led to Madara being kept up to date on matters that ultimately helped him make his decision to leave the village.
It took time, but after a generation the Shimura began to integrate into the civilian populace of the village, turning mostly into a soft network of information and rumor instead of an active shinobi force. That is not to say that the clan ever faded as a clan. They’re still careful, opportunistic, and above all, aware. The Shimura clan is not a clan that would ever fail to remember its origins, after all, because that would mean forgetting hard-won information. Even if, by then, it was simply history.
Special jutsu
The Shimura is a clan that knows their seals. When one has information, it’s useless if it never gets to anyone who can use it. It’s unacceptable, wasteful, and above all, a security risk. Thus, seals. There are a few very specific seals to the clan, that can only be used in a state of perfect tranquility. In spite of vaunting control above all else, very few Shimura can reach the state to use such seals, and Danzo is one of these. They’re dangerous, destructive, but perfect for keeping information out of hands that it should not be in.
These tranquility seals are not something that needs a bloodline to use, however, the requirements are hard enough to meet that it at times would seem as such, and the clan rarely allows their members to try because of the dramatic repercussions of failure.