For this faction's sister branch, see Yashima Taira.
The Fukuhara Taira are a playable faction in Rise of the Samurai. They are one of the branches of the Taira family.
Description[]
The Taira have every right to be a proud family. They have a noble heritage, the noblest because the blood of emperors flows in their veins. They quite properly remember that they are descendants of Emperor Kammu.
They are also a practical family, and are rightly admired for suppressing piracy in the Inner Sea during the Heian period of Japanese history. The family came to exercise exceptional power and influence after the “Hogen Disturbance” of 1156. The Taira backed the right side, helped to crush Fujiwara and eventually saw the Minamoto family banished or decapitated. Taira Kiyomori became prime minister and manoeuvred many of his relatives into court positions, and his daughter into the imperial bed. His scheming apparently came to fruition when he had his grandson enthroned as Emperor Antoku. This act enraged crown prince Mochihito, Antoku’s older half-brother, and he called upon the surviving Minamoto lords to fight the Taira. The result was civil war, a civil war that could be blamed upon Taira Kiyomori and his machinations. He did bypass the legitimate line of succession. That is certainly what the Minamoto would have everyone believe.
Whatever the causes of the war, the Taira have not unreasonable expectations of victory. They control the Emperor and are, in all but name, the legal government. Their enemies are rebels. The Taira are rightly seen as expert seamen, and something of a military family, giving them strength on land and sea. Their shipyards produce high-quality ships and crews, and all Taira troops are given extremely good training: the equivalent of having experienced recruits. They are not, however, a very forgiving people, and they get a repression bonus in any province they control, keeping the people under tight control.
General Information[]
Basics at the Start[]
Clan Traits[]
- Customary armour (+1 to armour for all naginata units)
- Traditional warriors (koryu art already mastered)
- Predominant (rules over more territory and vassal clans)
- Naginatajutsu (-20% to upkeep costs for naginata units)
Victory Conditions[]
Short Campaign[]
Capture and hold 25 provinces, including the following: Awa, Sagami, Settsu, Tajima, Tamba, Kyoto
Complete by the end of your turn in: Winter 1199
Long Campaign[]
Capture and hold 40 provinces, including the following: Awa, Iwate, North Shinano, Sagami, Settsu, South Shinano, Tajima, Tamba, Ugo, Kyoto
Complete by the end of your turn in: Winter 1219
Domination Campaign[]
Capture and hold 60 provinces, including the following: Awa, Iwate, North Shinano, Sagami, Settsu, South Shinano, Tajima, Tamba, Ugo, Kyoto
Complete by the end of your turn in: Winter 1219
The Fukuhara Taira begin the game in a very strong position, with multiple advantages that are unique to it. In contrast to the smaller Fujiwara and Minamoto factions, it starts with three provinces (Settsu, Kii, and Kyoto), allowing it to train a greater number of agents and troops early on. The provinces have good soil and two have useful specialties. It is also the only faction that has guaranteed access to Monomi agents at the beginning of the campaign, thanks to Kii's smuggling specialty.
The Fukuhara Taira begin the game with control of the State Academy, essentially combining the Kubota Fujiwara and Kamakura Minamoto art mastery bonuses. It also has a powerful and loyal ally in its sister faction, the Yashima Taira, guarding its western flank. The Fukuhara Taira also have many good expansion options in the north, south and east. It is the second closest playable faction to trade nodes, giving it the option of establishing a strong navy and trade empire: despite it being halfway across the map from most of the trade nodes, it can still grab three of the five nodes in the western half of the map if it moves quickly. It is incentivized to use traditional Koryu units thanks to its cheaper and better armoured naginata-armed units.
Offsetting the Fukuhara Taira's starting bonuses is its precarious diplomatic situation. Hostile factions may attack from three directions, and short of abandoning its position entirely, there is no way to secure one side completely prior to Realm Divide. It also has two vassals: the Watanabe in Yamato and Sasaki in Omi. While this is initially useful thanks to the increase to daimyo honour it provides, both factions are not of Taira allegiance, and the Sasaki inevitably betrays their overlord if not destroyed early. The Kiso Minamoto is also fairly close by, and it inevitably declares war on the Fukuhara Taira once the two factions discover each other.
The Fukuhara Taira's family tree is average. Its aging daimyo has multiple sons, all of which are likely to come of age within a few dozen turns of the beginning of the campaign.