Post by Nakajima Kimiko on Aug 18, 2022 14:33:14 GMT -5
[ N I J Ū K A N ]
Nijūkan (二重漢, "Twofold Hall") is a martial arts institution, or dojo, currently owned and mainly maintained by the Captain of the Gotei 13's Eleventh Division, Nakajima Kimiko, and her first official disciple, Emile Nelson. It is currently located in the 40th western district of Rukongai where it rests upon a large mountain behind sturdy stone walls and a great wooden gate. At a first glance, it is composed of several infrastructures designed to allow a multitude of individuals to remain within them, which causes them all to appear as very large and encompassing constructs. However, most visitors will instead focus on its main courtyard. Bigger than a football field, it stretches on and on, easily allowing several individuals to wander onto its stone slabs without feeling constrained, all the while enjoying some of its uncovered areas which allow for the growth of grass and sakura trees. Despite the enormity of the institution's foundations, the sun never seems to be hidden behind the edifices, always shining a light from above that allows the dojo to always beam energetically and powerfully, no matter the time of day.
For many years, this dojo has had several masters, many of which held different beliefs as to what would be taught within it. Some of them taught karate, while others would instead teach jujitsu. There were times during which the dojo was not even a dojo, but rather a stronghold for people now long gone. Nowadays, however, the main purpose of the institution is to welcome those who wish to become students of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu - a school of swordsmanship which was created by Kimiko - as accessibly as possible. It accepts men and women from all across the Soul Society every day, be they simple residents of Rukongai or proper Shinigami officers, and within its walls, these people learn how to wield the sword in the way the Captain believes to be best. These teachings have been believed to be incredibly successful, so much so that it awakened the spiritual potency of a few individuals.
Although this particular establishment has been the crux of the 40th western district's reputation, it does not compose the entire district. In fact, at the bottom of the stone steps leading towards it is located a peaceful ancient village surrounded by greenery set on top of rising mountainous grounds. The settlement, once small and somewhat meager with a specialty for rice farming and cooking, has grown into a prosperous location ever since the rise in popularity of the dojo above. The number of residents has tripled over the course of the last decade, and the town has since began to specialize itself into another domain: fighting. With the majority of the town being students of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu, many people of Rukongai now believe the area to be composed of very powerful warriors, even if not all of them are capable of using spiritual energy. This has caused the village - and therefore the entire district - to be eventually referred to as Shutokendō (首都剣道, "Capital of Swordsmanship").
Due to the latest attacks against the Soul Society which was conducted before the founding of the school, the Gotei 13 sought to welcome more people to Shin'ō Academy in order to replace the many officers who lost their lives defending their home. This has resulted in several residents of Rukongai wishing to visit Nijūkan in order to hone their skills and eventually become Shinigami. Though Kimiko was eager to train them, these new numbers have resulted in a significant boost of visitors to the school that still persists to this day, something which was difficult to maintain at the time despite the sheer size of the institution. In so doing, the construction of similar institutions began in the other 40th districts. A few years later, their construction was finished, bringing forth in their finalized state the beginnings of a figurative barrier whose purpose is to defend both the earlier and later districts of Rukongai. This barrier is today known as the Hakabe (刃壁, "Blade Wall"), and is designed to remain active in service of the Soul Society for as long as possible.
While each of the branches forming the Hakabe all share the same name, as they are themselves all part of the Nijūkan school, it was eventually decided by those of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu to disassociate them so as to properly identify them. Thus, the first institution founded by Kimiko and Emile is nowadays referred to as Nijūkan West, while the others are respectively Nijūkan North, Nijūkan East, and Nijūkan South. Much like their western brethren, the other villages part of the 40th district greatly prospered thanks to the presence of their school, and are now also referred to as Shutokendō.
[ N A F U D A K A K E ]
A wooden display will usually be found near the great wooden gate of Nijūkan. It is located to its left side, and will usually contain several wooden plaques. This showcase is traditionally referred to as a nafudakake (名札掛け, "Nameplate rack"), and displays the names of those who regularly attend the lessons that are taught within the institution. Each name is associated with a rank granted to those who follow the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu, a grading inspired by the likes of the popular dan system used in the Living World:
- Shodan: A person who is considered to be a master of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. A Shodan is qualified as such because they are capable of not only efficiently using the four main pillars of the school, but also create their own techniques around them, thus allowing them to reach an ultimately-unique sword style. Due to this, there is a very limited number of Shodan, with the majority of them being such powerful warriors that they often tend to occupy very important positions within either the Gotei 13 or another military organization.
- Nidan: A person who is considered to be a very experienced student of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. A Nidan knows about all there is to know about the four main pillars of the school, and so they are most often considered to be naturally stronger than any other student. At this point, they can decide to further hone their mastery of their pillars, or they can seek greater heights.
- Sandan: A person who is considered to be a decent learner within the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. A Sandan knows how to use Kagami Kanmeki alongside two other techniques of the school, thus causing them to be a much more dangerous fighter in comparison to a Yondan. At this point, students begin to understand that they are close to learning all that the school has to offer them.
- Yondan: A person who is considered to still be a beginner within the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu, but at least an experienced one. A Yondan is capable of using another technique of the school in conjunction with Kagami Kanmeki, which allows them to be a slightly-more versatile fighter in a real battle, though not much more than a Godan.
- Godan: A person who has begun to follow the path of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. A Godan is capable of at least employing Kagami Kanmeki in battle, thus causing them to have a certain knowledge over the Iaijutsu technique and its intricacies. However, they will most likely not actively attempt to stray from the use of this technique upon learning it.
- Rokudan: A person who knows how to use the blade. A Rokudan typically has several blade techniques at their disposal, and are to be considered as being quite powerful in battle. They will also, by that point, have shown signs of awareness of the spiritual energy they possess, or have already used spiritual energy in one way or another. It is impossible for an individual without spiritual energy to reach a rank higher than Rokudan.
- Shichidan: A person who begins to have a good understanding of the sword. A Shichidan is aware of a few blade techniques and are usually legitimate wielders of the blade. They will typically be capable of defeating those below them in proper sword fighting, though will at times still show signs of struggle.
- Hachidan: A person who has a small understanding of the sword. A Hachidan knows at the very least how to swing their weapon, but they will most likely only be able to remember how to swing it in a certain way, thus causing them to be very predictable warriors. Should they remove this one swing from their repertoire, there would not be a great difference between them and a Kudan.
- Kudan: A person who has a vague understanding of the sword, though not enough to be considered a true swordsman or swordswoman. In combat, a Kudan will most likely not use the sword appropriately, instead mainly sticking to the weapon's main concept. In other words, they know they must swing the blade in order to cut something with it, but do not quite know how to properly swing it.
- Jūdan: A person who has never once used the sword in their lifetime. A Jūdan is usually an individual that has typically never witnessed combat before, or at the very least has never participated in a battle themselves. Shinigami officers who visit Nijūkan, by default, cannot be classified as Jūdan.
Currently, the nafudakake located within any of the four Nijūkan school displays the following information:
Note: Only PCs and named NPCs appear on the nafudakake.
