Posted by Josh Ford on January 27, 2001 at 11:49 PM:
In Reply to: Just out of curiosity... posted by Scott Fowler on January 27, 2001 at 0:32 AM:
: I was wondering about this feudal system that existed in Japan at the time Usagi Yojimbo was set in. I know that a samurai whose lord was killed became a ronin (as Usagi did), but what if there was some sort of emergency like say, a Mongolian invasion (hey, it coulda happened!) or several Daimiyo were ganing up on the province. Under those circumstances would the samurai still be reduced to a ronin, or was there a chain of command they would answer too?
I don't quite understand the question but hopefully my answer will help you a bit.
However, in the former feudal system, if a daimyo died who had an heir, all power (vassals included) would transfer to that heir. If there wasn't an heir, usually the territory would then go up for grabs to the one vassal or neighbouring daimyo who could best procure and protect it. However, this usually degraded into scwabbles as the smaller vassal families made their grab for power. At any rate, any samurai who didn't swear fealty to the new lord either became a ronin, commited seppuku, or were put to death.
Though currently, in Usagi, the Shogun's peace is on the land, so not too many battles will break out.
Anyone got anything else to add?