Clan of Origin: Ki-Rin
Dojo: Shinjo Dojo

Description: Students of the Shinjo School are known for their strange, flamboyant maneuvers that seem at odds with the more straightforward Schools found throughout the Empire. Historians are quick to point out that Lady Shinjo was known to be more open than her brothers and sisters, and that her personal combat techniques drew from many sources even before she and her followers left the Empire. Adding in centuries of experience with new and unknown styles that the Ki-Rin discovered all throughout the gaijin lands, and it is no small wonder that the Shinjo School is unlike any other.

While the School still relies on the use of the traditional katana, it employs a number of gaijin techniques, including the infamous “Shinjo Parry,” wherein incoming strikes are intercepted with the flat of the blade: a technique completely alien to most Rokugani. Also unknown to the majority of Swordsmen in the Empire is the riposte, and in this case, a lack of familiarity leads to difficulty countering such a maneuver.

The primary weakness of this School is its reliance on a katana for defense as much as offense. While the Shinjo Parry is a unique development to this School, once one was become accustomed to it, it is easier to strike around the blade or detect the subtle movements that precede an attack.

Basic Curriculum: Athlete, Kenjutsu
Knacks: Exploit Weakness (Shinjo), Flourish (Kenjutsu), Lunge (Kenjutsu), Parry (Kenjutsu), Riposte (Kenjutsu)

New Swordsman Knack: Flourish. When attacking an enemy, you can declare a Flourish. You roll Panache + Flourish, and must take a number of Raises equal to your enemy’s Panache in order for your Flourish to be successful. If you are successful, he cannot avoid the attack using any Active Defense. The Raises taken on this roll add Unkept Dice to your damage roll as usual.

New Swordsman Knack: Parry. Parrying is the act of putting your weapon between yourself and your enemies’ strikes. This Knack can be used as a Defense Knack while you are wielding a Kenjutsu weapon.

Apprentice: Students of this School learn the secret of the Shinjo Parry. It is unique to this School and can be extremely frustrating to the Swordsman’s opponents, unused as they are to dealing with blade-to-blade contact. When using his Parry (Kenjutsu) Knack to determine his Passive Defense, his TN to be hit is equal to six times his Rank in the Knack plus five.

Apprentices of this School study at the Shinjo Dojo, where they learn to keep their blades between themselves and their opponents: a tactic that requires opponents to think twice, and twice again, before attacking. The Apprentice may add twice his Mastery Level in Shinjo as a bonus to his Initiative Total while using this School.

Journeyman: Once a Shinjo Swordsman has completed his study of the art of parrying, he begins to train in the art of the counterattack. When executing a Riposte, the Swordsman receives a number of free Raises equal to his Mastery Level. These free Raises can be applied on the Active Defense or the Attack portion of the Riposte; however, the use of these Raises must be declared before the rolls are made.

Master: The Master of Shinjo has perfected his Riposte training: he receives an additional free Raise when performing a Riposte in addition to the Raises provided by his Mastery Level, for a total of four free Raises. In addition, he learns to sacrifice speed for defense if the flow of the battle calls for it. At the beginning of every Round, the Master may choose to apply the Initiative bonus provided by his training at the Shinjo Dojo to his TN to be hit for the entire Round instead.