The concept of a “Shogun” was conceived by the ronin general Sun Tao, the revered master of warfare and leadership. During his lifetime he created 145 treatises on warfare, combining observations he made from time spent among each of the Great Clans with his own personal theories and meditations on the art of warfare. These collected scrolls and treatises are known as the Book of Sun Tao, and have influenced many successful Rokugani generals.
Among these musings was the concept of a great general in service to the Empire, answering to the Son of Heaven but acting independently of the Throne. This general would have the ability to muster an army from the Imperial Legions for the protection of the Empire. He would be a master of tactics and strategy, an ideal general in every sense of the word, commanding the respect of his officers by virtue of his character and skill.
As Sun Tao conceived it, the purpose of this general would be to advise the Emperor in all matters of military conflict, protecting the Son of Heaven from the spiritual stain of warfare and from concerns that were beneath him. If the Emperor were unwilling or unable to lead in war, the role of this general would be to lead in his stead.
The proposal of this position and the duties it encompassed was controversial, to say the least. The Imperial Legions were under the purview of the Emerald Champion, and had been for many years. The only other person with the authority to muster those forces was the Emperor himself, and the idea that the Emperor might someday be unwilling or unable to lead his people seemed heretical. If any military burden did arise, it should be taken on by the Emerald Champion. Sun Tao disagreed; the Emerald Champion already commanded much influence and power as the Emperor’s yojimbo and chief of all magistrates, and it would be too much power for one man if he also commanded the Empire’s armies.
Moreover, Sun Tao foresaw that in the future the Empire would become ever more vast, its forces ever more varied, and the duties of the courts would gradually draw more and more of the Emperor’s attention. Through no fault of his own, the Emperor would eventually become too busy to lead a standing army, and would have no choice but to delegate his authority. Better that such a position be conceived ahead of time, its duties plainly written and the laws put into place.
Sun Tao also argued that the Emperor was a symbol of Heaven’s reign on earth, too godly to stain himself with the dirty business of war. Let the Shogun be the earth beneath the Heavens, he argued. Let the Shogun be the mountain that bowed to the Sun.
Duties of the Shogun
- To act as General and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Legions, second only to the Emperor
- To Maintain a Standing Army and Navy
- To Advise the Emperor In All Matters of War
- To Protect the Empire from All Threats, Foreign and Domestic