The ancestral estate of the Akodo family could quite easily be mistaken for a much more mundane building, were it not for its large size. Indeed, even with its formidable bulk the castle is sometimes mistaken for a fortification of lesser importance. Shiro Akodo is largely free from any adornment or decoration, other than the most basic elements inherent to castle design. It is a perfect example of the Akodo family’s general disinterest in matters of art or politics, in which they engage only as necessary. In fact, because the castle is so simple in its construction and appointment, the Akodo rarely if ever host guests, preferring to allow such duties to fall to the Ikoma
The Akodo philosophy places tremendous emphasis on their duty as officers and tacticians and on the vital and honorable tradition of teaching. In fact, the Akodo are reluctant to combine such matters with the mundane duties of governance, lest the work of administration interfere with the study of war or the instruction of a new generation. For this reason, while Shiro Akodo is every bit the military installation one might expect from a Lion familial estate, its primary function is the governance of the Lion Clan. The family has moved most of its teaching and military training to the Castle of the Swift Sword elsewhere in the Lion lands.