Shimogakure (霜隠れの里, Village Hidden in Frost) is a hidden village located in the Winter District. Shimogakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Shimokage, of which there have only been three in its history. The current kage is Tsurara Reisui of the Reisui Clan. Shimo resides in the very center of the Winter District, surrounded by various tall mountain peaks and blanketed by a fierce blizzard on the worst day of weather, having only one entrance, and one exit. Multiple walls exist just outside the mountains, covering the blind-spots coming into the village, and each one is manned. The village has also been entrenched in a civil war with the neighboring village, Yukigakure as both villages seek to expand their political bodices to become a stronger economical presence within the Shinobi Continent. Due to the low numbers of ninja residing in the village due to the civil war, Shimo has employed the Samurai of the Land of Iron.
Shimogakure has also historically been headed by a ruling royal clan, the Reisui Clan, who were the founders of the village and has thus kept the firm control of the Kage succession within the family as there have been no other Kage to be born outside of the clan.
History[]
Shimogakure came to be formed by the Reisui Clan, a clan of Ice Release users who specialized in making weaponry out of ice from thin air with keen chakra control. After a long war, the Frost Daimyo of the time tasked the strongest ninja in the Winter District to spearhead a pilgrimage and lead a sect of talented ninja to establish the first Hidden Village in the Land of Frost.
The man who would go on to become the First Shimokage, was the same man who had led the successful journey through the frozen tundra. The group traveled a fair distance through the ice and snow, with their leader never stopping for more than a days rest as he urged the group to press on and keep faith. It soon became aware to them that he had been walking them in a large circle in the tundra, at the base of multiple snowy sheer mountains. While they had indeed became over come with anger as they had walked in a direct circle within these lands, it was for a reason. The kage devised that the settlement would be built at that particular location, naturally defensed by four tall peaks, blanketed by a perilous blizzard at worst and a light snowstorm at best. Furthermore, they were more than a weeks journey from where they had started making it fairly remote and discreet meaning anyone who wasn't from the village or knew of its whereabouts would be ultimately lost in the frost.
It is said that it takes a Shinobi or squad no less than just under one week from the border of any side of the country, and two days from the capital city.
Founding[]
After building up the defenses and getting the first housing units operational for residential use, the first Shimokage was to be elected, and with an unequivocal victory, the head of the Reisui clan the same ninja who led the pilgrimage to their new home was to be selected as their first leader to start the Reisui legacy. The First Shimokage was a strong, and benevolent leader, a powerful shinobi in his own right, working closely with the Daimyo to build economical structure, training the next generation of shinobi, while also looking to further its research in chakra empowered technology which eventually would lead to the first prototype of the Chakra Armor which would go on to become a signature tool amongst the ninja who dwell in this country. The First Shimokage's reign was prosperous, peaceful and most importantly, stable. The governing bodies were so pleased with the Reisui Clan's efforts maintaining prosperity in a new settlement, granting them an ancestral home, as a show of gratitude for their efforts. After long and peaceful decades, the Founding Kage would pass away in his sleep, leaving his son to become the next leader of the village.
Civil War[]
After the death of the First Shimokage, the Second Shimokage was less than an equal replacement for his predecessor. Failing to continue to progress left by his father, the Second Shimokage was irresponsible in his duties and squandered the funds of the village leaving it in poor standing worldwide, forcing them to outsource to other lands and borrow more than they can very well wish to pay back. Problems would further ensure for the Reisui family as the Second Shimokage had an insatiable lust for women, and thus sired a son not only out of wedlock but to a base born woman of whom he had no love or care for. Tossing her aside once the news came, he would deny her everyday until the son was born to him, Ryohei, and felt the guilt and responsibility of being a parent. He would take on the son to ward as the mother died in the birthing bed, raising him as not apart of the family, but as a servant.
Years would go by and the boy would grow into a young man, capable and strong, yearning for the affections of his father. Ryohei would go on to become a talented Shinobi in his own right, being born with the Ice Release kekkei genkai, coupled with his innate talent and fine tuned control over his chakra and inner energies, Ryohei trained and acted on the thought and principle that if he were to show his father how devoted he was to the village, family and the country, he would have no choice but to acknowledge him and present him with the last name Reisui. Rising through the ranks and gaining the respect from most ninja in he village, he however was still loathed by the upper council which still consisted of only Reisui elders. It didn't matter what Ryohei did, they always advised the Kage against making him his legitimate son and heir.
It wouldn't be after this however that Ryohei would give up his dream, it was when his father took the hand of marriage with another woman, urged by the clan to have another child to disallow for the Kage line to pass to Ryohei, swiftly finding him a suitor and not long after that a daughter would be born to the family, Tsurara Reisui was now born. An enraged Ryohei finally has reached his breaking point, devising a plan to usurp the title of Kage. After plotting for over little around thirty years, feigning loyalty to his village and "family", while building up his supporters within it, Ryohei finally carried out his plan on the day his sister was meant to become the third Shimokage. By poisoning his father, he then threw the village into chaos and civil unrest, having mobilized and taken control of half of the elite jonin and chunin level ninja, placed them into squads and tasked them to destroy and attack the village and its citizens while he stole valuable technology and destroyed whatever would have been left for them to salvage. He then took the surviving ninja and escaped the village to form and establish a new one in the far wastes of the Winter District. With the saved up money he accumulated over the years of plotting, and hiring builders in secret by using clan funds to pay for this project, Ryohei then declared himself the Yukikage of the Village Hidden in the Snow, Yukigakure.
Ever since, the two villages have raged with war, with Yukigakure being the aggressors in the conflict. After many conflicts over many years, this has left Shimogakure with very little ninja which has forced them to seek assistance from the neighboring country, the Land of Iron, to hire their Samurai to not only man the wall that protects their home but to also fight alongside them in the conflicts that erupt in the Winter District.
Locations[]
- Shimokage Office
- The Market District
- The Wall (village entrance)
Artifacts[]
Chakra Armour[]
The Chakra Armor (チャクラの鎧, Chakura no Yoroi) was an artifact created by the scientists of Shimogakure. After Ryohei's poisoning of the Shimokage, he immediately had multiple squads of ninja swarm and attack the village while he made his way to the laboratories with a squad of his own to destroy the labs and steal the data on the armor.
Since the beginning of the war, Shimo although has the leg up in financial resources and the natural defenses of their home, however, it has left them with a small sect of capable ninja and the technology for their armor that would have otherwise shielded and protected them in the skirmishes with the Yukigakure shinobi.
Clans[]
Reisui Clan[]
The ruling family of Shimogakure and arguably the most famous clan hailing from the Winter District. They have since gained a reputation for the use of their ice release and ice creation techniques. Not to be confused with the Yuki Clan of the Mist District, as the Reisui specialize in the creation of ice and constructs as apposed to specialized ninjutsu. Along with their political grasp in all of the minor countries. Often called the "Icy Aristocrats" by most in the world who knew of them, instead of being known for their battle prowess, they are instead famous for their astute politicking, talents for diplomacy and proud nature. They are the creators of various powerful ice techniques and are directly responsible for the construction, conception and strength of the Wall that protects the village.
Trivia[]
⊚ Shimogakure has only ever had three Kage in its history, and only one of them has been a woman which who is also the current Kage.
⊚ The creative conception of Shimogakure and its history is based loosely on the Winterfell from the Game of Thrones series and novel, with the wall surrounding the village taking direct inspiration from the Wall looming over Castle Black that is guarded by the Night's Watch.
⊚ While the Frost Daimyo has commended the Reisui Clan for its establishing of a Hidden Village, including building and gifting them an ancestral home some few leagues away from the village, he has never once stepped foot inside of the village.
⊚ The Second Shimokage had the longest and least prosperous reign, while his predecessor's reign was half of the length and was the village's most prosperous.