Isawa Tenzen

Kyuden Isawa - Capital of the Phoenix clan

Tenzen was a twenty-three-year-old samurai who had grown up in the House of the Phoenix. With its lands located in the northern part of the empire, the phoenix clan distinguished itself by training an elite of learned samurai, preferring erudition to combat. Although they had a reputation for arrogance, the samurai of the Phoenix clan were undeniably skilled in a variety of fields, including philosophy, science and technology. Every noble family in the major clans benefited from the instruction of at least one sensei from the Phoenix clan for their young samurai. The Phoenix clan was also highly influential at the emperor's court.

Nakamura dam

Tenzen had been waiting forever for his audience with Lord Iwamori, feeling anxious and uneasy. Even if Bayushi Iwamori wasn't a Shogun, he was certainly no prankster. Early in his career, around Tenzen's age, Iwamori had set out to solve the region's flooding problems and improve the navigability of the river. The river crossed the territory of the Scorpion clan from north to south, all the way to the capital, Kyuden Bayushi. One by one, Iwamori rallied the lords with territories along the river to finance the construction of a dam at the birth of the valley. When the sluice gates closed, he coordinated teams to drain the river and clean up the banks, putting an end to flooding and making the river navigable all year round. The valley enjoyed a decade of exceptional economic growth, enriching all lords with river territories. Bayushi Tokugawa, a lord of the Scorpion clan, expressed his intention to tax the passage of boats through his territory. Iwamori paid him a personal visit, but the negotiations did not go well and ended in a duel between Iwamori and Tokugawa.

Fight between Iwamori and Tokugawa

Rumor had it that the fighters had transformed into dragons to do battle. Tenzen didn't believe a word of it. "We've never found a single dragon bone or scale. Let alone an egg or a claw. No one can lead us to a place where we can observe them. As for me, I'd like to know where dragons live and what they eat before I give credence to those who claim to have seen them," he growled. More likely, according to other sources, Iwamori feinted to the right to thwart Tokugawa's attack, dodging the powerful blade of the no-dashi (two-handed katana) in one fluid motion. Iwamori then delivered a blow to his own back with the tip of his katana, hitting Tokugawa just below the arm, where his armor was most vulnerable. Tokugawa collapsed (or regained human form, according to some), managed to remove his helmet, and with a final sigh, uttered his last words, which only Iwamori could hear: "It was an honor to fall against you...". Iwamori made no attempt to hide the sorrow in his eyes.

To lighten the mood, all eyes turned to Doji Meloku, Tokugawa's wife, a samurai from the Crane clan. She was full of hatred and contempt for Iwamori, but seemed surprisingly relieved, as if the outcome of the fight could not possibly be unfavorable to her. After a short interview with Iwamori, she left with her children, the samurai of her retinue.

Doji Melolku of the crane clan was not impressed...

Thus Iwamori took possession of Tokugawa territory, and all the men who had not followed Doji Meloku enthusiastically pledged their allegiance to him. Iwamori had shown his ability to change the course of the world, he had tamed the river, he had not hesitated to put his life on the line to defend his work, he inspired loyalty in his men less by his birth than by his actions. Today, he was one of the most important lieutenants of Bayushi, the daimyo of the Scorpion clan, and when it came to command, Iwamori knew his stuff. That's precisely why Tenzen wanted to meet him.

The village of Nakamura

Tenzen found the time long in this waiting room, but at least there were no dogs... Downstairs, big dogs had stared at him, seeming to say "You, you're not my friend". At least Iwamori's dogs hadn't barked. This eminent lord of the scorpion clan kept an abundance of trinkets and works of art that had no coherence between them, giving the room a cluttered feel. On the other hand, the overall architecture of Iwamori's home was very impressive. It was built entirely of wood and mounted on stilts above the lake that had formed when the dam closed. The charming little village of Nakamura, home to the dam's servants and maintenance staff, was situated slightly away from the huge stilted castle. This was where Tenzen had arrived that very morning. As he made his way along the path, after a journey of several days from the phoenix lands to the north of the empire, Tenzen remembered his Sensei's words:

"Even your close friends cannot trust you will

In each mind doubt insinuate you will

But your vocation no one will understand

And without love or honor you'll die.

The sound of a door brought Tenzen back to the present moment; a servant beckoned him to follow. The servant ushered Tenzen in before Iwamori. "Oulàlà," said Tenzen to himself as he deciphered Iwamori's face, "I'd be surprised if he took me very seriously, this one, with my owl clan."

Iwamori said nothing and, with a wave of his hand, invited Tenzen to sit in a chair around a desk opposite him. Iwamori looked questioningly at Tenzen. 

"Iwamori-sama, I'm grateful to you for granting me this audience," Tenzen began. "Your time is precious, so I'll get straight to the point." Iwamori's patience already seemed exhausted, but Tenzen continued. "I had the privilege of obtaining imperial permission to found my clan." For such a young samurai, this was truly classy, and Tenzen noticed a flicker of respect, even jealousy, in Iwamori's expression. "My daimyo of the Phoenix clan requested that I choose a bird as my emblem," Tenzen clarified, guessing a smile in Iwamori's eyes.

"What are your clan's values, Tenzen, Daimyo of the Owl clan?" asked Iwamori icily.

Tenzen felt unable to hold Iwamori's gaze; his gaze wandered around the room. There was clutter everywhere in his office, the Daimyo of the Owl clan could do with a little tidying up... He inhaled deeply to regain his concentration and resumed with confidence in his voice, but lowering his gaze with humility."

"Iwamori-sama reason. Reason at the service of knowledge creation and progress. People are confronted with problems, i.e. conflicting ideas, incompatible theories that seek to explain reality. To resolve these conflicts, people must seek and find better explanations, i.e. new ideas that satisfy all rational critics. Some of these explanations contain treasures that can transform the world. The theory of knowledge is one of them." Tenzen paused; Iwamori's gaze was pensive. "The fundamental hypothesis is that there is an objective reality, i.e. one that is independent of our perceptions, universal, i.e. the same for all observers, and comprehensible, i.e. explicable. In other words, the stream exists independently of the fisherman, water flows in the mountains just as it does in the sea, and we can understand the river in order to divert it, or the stone in order to shape it, so as to give birth to a lake in the mountains. To understand reality, to explain its phenomena, is to advance knowledge, to advance mankind. Such will be the mission of the owl clan." Tenzen thought it best not to go into too much detail uninvited by his host, given his taciturn attitude to date. Better to let him ask questions. He didn't expect a warrior from the Scorpion clan to understand his entire philosophy in two minutes, but he hoped he had at least aroused his curiosity. 

Nakamura's dam

"And who are your enemies, young and ambitious Daimyo?" questioned the lord of the Scorpion clan, his gaze as elusive as ever. Tenzen noticed that ambition was certainly a value shared by Iwamori.

"I have two powerful enemies," he replied enthusiastically, "but neither of them carries a katana, nor practices kenjutsu. Yet they exert more influence over men than the daimyos and their armies."

Iwamori squinted his eyelids, at last a clearly legible sign on his face. "The first of these," resumed Tenzen, "is ignorance." The daimyo of the Owl clan paused for a moment; a woody creak could be heard coming from the bowels of the huge stilted building. Iwamori didn't move an eyebrow, while Tenzen shuddered, then continued, "Of my two enemies, ignorance is the weaker, for it rarely reaches brilliant minds. This one, I know perfectly well how to make him bite the dust..."

"But the second takes its source in the hearts of men," Tenzen enthused passionately, "it flows into their intelligence and into their minds. Certainties flood consciences and submerge knowledge. They fill men's egos, surf on reason and block the waves of criticism. Knowledge is a noble and elusive material, which can only be forged between the hammer of criticism and the anvil of reason." Tenzen thought to himself that his sensei would surely have come up with some rhymes, but the main thing was to get the message across.

"Obviously, you didn't come to me for help in fighting ignorance and certainty by force," Iwamori interjected calmly." What do you want from me?"

"Iwamori-sama, I've devoted my whole life to the arts and sciences. I still have so much to learn, everything you can't find in books... I lack command experience, I'm new to politics, I have no allies and no territory. I need a sensei."

Iwamori stood up and headed for the balcony. "Come back and see me tomorrow night. You can stay here until then." 

Tenzen withdrew, leaving a book entitled "The Beginning of Infinity" on the desk.

To philosphe Sensei David Deutsch

Unofficial creation inspired by the "Legend of the Five Rings" universe

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