Games - Kamigawa

	Games - Kamigawa

In Magic: The Gathering, Kamigawa is the setting for Champions of Kamigawa, Betrayers of Kamigawa, and Saviors of Kamigawa. A world far removed from the other planes, elements of Kamigawa show a strong Japanese influence. Instead of knights, there are armies of Samurai. Demons are referred to as Oni, and spirits as Kami. Kamigawa has experienced a devastating war between the Kami world and the material world, and the story of Kamigawa is revealed through tattered documents and history books.

Notable Locations

Sokenzan

Sokenzan is Kamigawa's largest mountain range. It is inhabited by akki, as well as bandits and ronin ruled by the bandit king, Godo. At its heart are the Tendo Peaks. Hidetsugu, an O-bakemono with a dangerous influence, practices summoning Oni here.

= Tendo Peaks ===== The Tendo Peaks are the steep mountains in the heart of Sokenzan. One of these mountains, the Heart of Frost, was once haunted by a Yuki-onna. Ryusei, the Falling Star, guards Tendo Peaks and the Sokenzan.

Jukai Forest

The Jukai is a dense forest that harbors throves of Kami of all shapes and sizes, not to mention the orders of monks that train to become more in tune with nature and the kami themselves. The Orochi, or "Snake-folk," also inhabit the Jukai. They tend to take a nuetral stance in the Kami War, since they devoutly worshipped the kami before the attacks began. The orochi-bito are the Western edge of known Kamigawa, but they admit that they have no idea what lies to the West of them. This hints that Kamigawa is not as small as the books make you believe, but rather, the books cover a specific area that is civilized, but is not all that is out there.

Towabara

Towabara is a plain on Kamigawa. Its name means "eternal field."

= Araba ===== The Araba is the barren expanse within the plains of Towabara. The name means "ruined land", as the plain is full of craters after the kami attacks.

Eiganjo Castle

Eiganjo Castle is the stronghold of daimyo Takeshi Konda and is at the center of the Araba. A town called Eigan was built around the castle. Yosei, the Morning Star guards Eiganjo Castle and its endless plains. Yosei and all his brethren, the guardian Ryuu, are dragon spirits who are not only loyal to the utsushiyo world, but are bound to protect their separate areas.

Takenuma Swamp

The Takenuma Swamp is a vast area of sticky swamplands that is inhabited by Nezumi-bito, or rat-folk, and various bandits. Toshiro Umezawa, a main character of the Kamigawa novels, used to live here before his previous gang leader, a woman who employed the powerful Kiku, Night's Flower, drove him out. The most gruesome battles of the Kami War are fought here. This area is forever depraved of sunlight due to the corruption created by the masses of major and minor demon spirits that inhabit the deeper areas of the swamp.

Minamo Academy

Minamo Academy is a school that teaches its students utsushiyo, or human, magic and kakuriyo, or spirit, magic. The Minamo Academy is unique in that its foundations are built upon a waterfall, the largest waterfall in Kamigawa. The headmaster and staff of the school regard the Soratami, wise people who live in the clouds and practice magic, as the higher authority, and often pray and ask for advice from them. Keiga, the Tide Star is Minamo's guardian Ryuu.

Oboro Palace

Oboro Palace is the floating castle of the Soratami. It is largely a secret kept from the ground dwellers. According to the Soratami, no ground dweller has ever set foot on Oboro.

Shizo, Death's Storehouse

Shizo is a cursed battlefield that is an eyesore to anyone who views it. Once a beautiful verdant field, it became corrupted when 891 samurai died in its fields in a single battle. Now it is home only to a single spirit, Shirei, who wanders through the corpses, and prevents weaker souls from departing Kamigawa.

Notable Characters

Toshi Umezawa

Toshi (Toshiro Umezawa) is a rogue ochimusha from Numai, a section of the Takenuma Swamp. He used to work under Boss Uramon, the leader of a gang of reckoners from the swamp. One day he was sent with others from his gang, headed by a man named One-Eye, to capture or kill the ogre Hidetsugu. Hidetsugu soon finished off the rest of the gang, but left Toshi due to a special magic Toshi had used called kanji. Using kanji magic to hold off Hidetsugu, he formed a pact with the ogre - he would leave Uramon and together, the two would form their own gang of reckoners known as the Hyozan.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Kamigawa ]