Imperial Advisor

Kakita Chikuma rose to prominence during the reign of the the three-clan alliance known as the Gozoku, becoming one of the first representatives of the conspiracy to show how powerful the group had become when she was elevated to the rank of Imperial Advisor. Assigned the task of using her rank to weaken enemies of the Gozoku through courtly intrigue and slander, Chikuma soon became one of the most feared members of the Imperial Court among the members of the clans not connected to the Gozoku alliance, becoming known as The Black Fan for the many dishonored samurai and orders for seppuku that she left in her wake. Despite her importance to the Gozoku one of the three leaders, Bayushi Atsuki of the Scorpion Clan, never truly trusted Chikuma, considering her too soft for her unwillingness to truly turn against the Emperor himself, and even advising him at times. Chikuma would not live to see the fall of the Gozoku, becoming the final victim of the nefarious Imperialist known only as the Assassin of Otosan Uchi years before the Gozoku was shattered. Surprisingly Chikuma was later spoken of well following the end of the conspiracy by many of the regime's surviving figures, even such staunch defenders of the Hantei Dynasty as the ronin hero Mochiko. Her texts are still studied by Doji (and more than a few Scorpion Clan courtiers) hoping to serve the Empire as advisors either at the clan or Imperial level.

More than a little nostalgia. I hadn't thought about Chikuma (or the Gozoku) in a long time, and it's been a long time since I drew anything about either of them. One of my first drawings up here at DeviantArt (warts and all) was a Chikuma drawing, and when I ran across it during some cleaning I decided to give her another try. It was quite enjoyable.