The “senior” Imperial family, outranking the Seppun and Miya chiefly by virtue of their focus on political authority rather than any specifically granted status. The Otomo maintain the Imperial bureaucracy that keeps the Empire functioning
The Otomo name is often invoked with an undertone of fear, a sentiment easily understood in Rokugan. The Otomo are frightful predators of the Empire’s courts, utilizing every advantage of their rank to its utmost potential. The Otomo are manipulative, fiendishly clever, and seem to have no remorse in verbally and politically devastating their foes. It is said that the court is a battlefield deadlier than combat, an adage the Otomo seem to gleefully prove every day. Members of the Emperor’s family who do not inherit the throne are expected to swear fealty to the Otomo in order to prevent dynastic quarrels.