The Igawa Revolt or civil war was an internal power struggle of the Igawa clan, in which some of the Igawa Elders tried to murder and usurp the legitimate clan leadership.
Mentioned in the Online Universes. It occurred ~12 years before Taimanin RPGX, in the year 2070.
Event Timeline[]
Pre Event[]
This conflict might occur in the normal visual novels in some form but would be strongly different to how it is portrayed in RPGX.
Igawa Asagi was the shining new star in the Igawa clan, the daughter of the clan chief Igawa Shuzen, and granddaughter of the Igawa Elder, Hattori Seishu, was skilled enough to be seen as the strongest Taimanin in history. She was able to create peace between the Igawa clan and Kato clan, which made the rounds among the Taimanin Clans. Next to the befriended Mizuki Shiranui, she outclassed even her grandmother Hattori Seishu, which had been using her own Ninja Art to remain perpetually youthful and strong.
Meanwhile, year 2068, general distrust in the Fuuma clan, resulted in Fuuma Danjo losing the position of Taimanin Captain. The Igawa Elders, which had more influence during that time had many skirmishes with the Fuuma clan, a constant back and forth. The other daughter of Seishu, Igawa Senshu would with the assistance of the "hound of the Igawa", take the arm of Fuuma Amane, which was seen as a danger, and weakened the clan even further.
The Igawa, were the next to be assigned as representatives of the government. Danjo, in a quest not to lose influence, started a revolt, which he in turn lost and died in. The Igawa Elders reacted violently, but clan chief Shuzen and daughter Asagi calmed the matter to avoid a full on revenge war. The three-year-old Fuuma Kotaro, made his way to Asagi, and avoided the hound of the Igawa to make peace and allowed the Fuuma to be part of the Taimanin Unification process in Gosha Village, giving them protection against the Elders.
Shuzen was appointed, de facto leader in the year 2069 and become official second Taimanin Captain in the year 2070.
However, Hattori Seishu saw her own position become weaker. As steward (second in command) of the Igawa and a side family member, which also was the mother of clan head Igawa Shuzen, she held immense influence in the clan and was kept young by her rare Ninja Art. However, Seishu desire for more power and to be eternally on the top of the clan, created conflict with her son Shuzen and her very skilled granddaughter Igawa Asagi, which was rumored to be even stronger than Seichu. Now as Asagi became old enough to be clan leader and the other younger daughter of Shuzen, Igawa Sakura also potentially standing in her way, her chance to become clan head were shrinking with each year.
Event[]
As a result, Seishu started to scheme and formed the revolt group, year 2070. At some point, Seishu killed her own son Shuzen and started to send multiple assassins after her granddaughter Asagi. Seishu forced her own daughter Igawa Senshu to join her, which witnessed the death of her brother Shuzen and feared her mother more than anybody.
Some of the Elders also supported Hattori's goals. As a result of the combined death of Asagi and Shuzen she would become the next in line as clan head, as Sakura was still too young. Seichu made sure that Mizuki Shiranui a very strong Taimanin of that time, could not interfere and tried to blackmail her, by taking her young daughter Mizuki Yukikaze and husband as implied hostages. A plan that backfired, as Shiranui instead joined and helped Igawa Asagi that escaped her first assassin. With other support of Asagi arriving including Yatsu Kuro, Igawa Senshu was forced to retreat to her mother, which waited with her forces near a forest.
Additional help arrived with the Koukawa Oboro and her Koukawa clan (former enemies of the Igawa), and even the remaining Fuuma clan members including Fuuma Tokiko, which she had been spared in the past, came to her defense. Now with Mizuki clan, Koukawa clan and Fuuma clan members, the two sides collided in combat. Shiranui defeated Igawa Senshu and Asagi herself was able to defeat her own grandmother Hattori Seishu. Both Revolt Group leaders were hurt badly and near death, but Hattori Seishu was able to escape using her Ninja Art, teleporting far away.
With that, the Igawa Elder Revolt Group was defeated.
Post Event[]
Senshu was captured and brought to Amidahara Prison where she spent the next 14 years under the watchful eye of Tekkain Kaworu. The instigator, Seishu, escaped with her wounds and was able to survive. Seishu joined the Internal Affairs Bureau but her wounds were so grave, that she would be unable to fight and to solve this she became part of a special Cyborg program. In this program, her brain was implanted into another host body. Her new host body was Mine Funako, an important figure during the Taiwan Crisis. Now with a new body and influence, she became the leader of the Internal Affairs Bureau and used their resources to kill Igawa Asagi, without fighting herself. The Koukawa clan also used that chance to gain influence in Gosha as their main issue were the Igawa Elders, but the clan later faced its own destruction in the Koukawa Massacre.
Asagi herself became closer friends with Mizuki Shiranui as a result, and became more responsible. Young Asagi, had been shown to be against the unification of Taimanin under government control, as she viewed to be "pawns" and it is creating more discord in the Taimanin Clans. However, it can be assumed that the support of different clans was what, changed her view on the matter in the long term. Around 2072 until 2077, Asagi was supported by Shiranui, which would act as assistant and deputy principal of Gosha Academy.
The Igawa Elders, which still existed in the clan had lost of their influence and now would only bother Asagi, with finding a new husband, as she had shown no interest in love in the RPG timeline.
Trivia[]
- The conflict is only pointed out in RPGX, and it isn't clear if it is canon in the Canon Universe or other timelines. An issue is the timing of the Koukawa Massacre, as well as the not existing ONT Conflict and Chaos Arena Captivity, in RPGX.
- In Taimanin Asagi ZERO, which also plays on its own timeline. Asagi is around the same age, if not a bit older, than she was during the time of the Igawa Revolt. However, Sakura is closer to her in age.