Hanzagiri Clan
Hanzagiri Clan
The Hanzagiri Clan is a Tokuno noble family whose attempted coup against the Empress is the founding lore of Treasures of Tokuno I (2005). The clan's failed plot — looting the Imperial capital city of Zento, loading a great fleet with stolen artifacts, and being lost at sea during a phenomenal storm — produced the in-game economic event in which the Imperial Minister of Trade Ihara Soko offers Britannian adventurers artifact-redemption rewards in exchange for hunting down and recovering the storm-scattered treasures from the Tokuno monsters that claimed them. The Hanzagiri clan is referenced canonically in the BNN article Daizen's Despair and in supporting material across the four Treasures of Tokuno cycles (2005, 2006, 2009, 2020).
The clan and its grievance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Clan type | Tokuno noble house — military / merchant lineage |
| Home base | Tokuno mainland (precise estate disputed across BNN sources) |
| Patriarchal head | Daizen Hanzagiri (canonical leader at the time of the loot) |
| Era of activity | Pre-2005 (lore date) — backed up by the Daizen's Despair BNN article |
| Casus belli | Political opposition to Empress Toshi's rule following her ascension; perceived dilution of Tokuno autonomy |
The clan's grievance was political: the Empress had centralized power in Zento at the expense of the regional noble houses, and the Hanzagiri viewed this consolidation as a betrayal of traditional Tokuno governance. The decision to loot the capital and use stolen Imperial artifacts as bargaining leverage was framed (within the clan) as a legitimate political action — though external observers (including the Empire and Britannia) regarded it as banditry.
The raid on Zento
The Hanzagiri executed a multi-stage operation against the capital:
| Stage | Action |
|---|---|
| 1. Infiltration | Clan agents posed as merchants and dignitaries to gain access to the Imperial Palace |
| 2. The looting | At a coordinated signal, agents seized the Imperial treasury and key artifacts: ceremonial weapons, sacred relics, court regalia |
| 3. Fleet boarding | Loaded loot onto a great fleet of ships waiting in Zento's harbor |
| 4. Departure | Sailed at sunrise — claiming open sea before pursuit could organize |
The raid was tactically successful — the clan escaped with substantial Imperial treasure and reached open sea before the Imperial fleet could deploy.
The phenomenal storm
The Hanzagiri's escape was abruptly ended by a phenomenal storm at sea — a tempest of unprecedented violence that broke the entire fleet. Ships were sunk, crews drowned, and the stolen Imperial artifacts were scattered across the seabed and beaches of the Tokuno archipelago.
The storm's intensity is described in canonical Tokuno lore as divinely directed — a manifestation of the Empress's Mandate of Heaven, sent by the gods to punish the clan's transgression. Modern retrospectives in BNN material treat this framing skeptically; the storm was extraordinary but plausibly natural.
The fleet's loss is the central in-game event that produces the Treasures of Tokuno mechanic: artifacts are now carried by Tokuno monsters (Yomotsu Warriors, Bake Kitsune, Lady of the Snow, Hiryu, Oni, Tsuki Wolf, etc.) that recovered them from the wreckage and beach-debris.
Recovery — Britannia steps in
In the wake of the storm, Ihara Soko, the Empire's Minister of Trade, opened the artifacts-for-rewards exchange to Britannian adventurers. The exchange offered Tokuno-themed rewards (including Treasures of Tokuno artifacts and rare hues) in return for artifacts recovered from the seabed and beach-monsters of Tokuno.
The exchange ran in four major cycles:
| Cycle | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Treasures of Tokuno I | 2005 | The founding Hanzagiri-clan-loss event |
| Treasures of Tokuno II | 2006 | Follow-up — same mechanics, expanded reward pool |
| Treasures of Tokuno III | 2009 | Casca-decree authorization (Casca was Britannia's prosecutor at the time) |
| Treasures of Tokuno IV | 2020 | Modern revival — the Hanzagiri lore is re-told for new players |
Daizen Hanzagiri — the patriarch
Daizen Hanzagiri is the canonical clan head at the time of the Zento raid, named in the BNN article Daizen's Despair. The article relates Daizen's post-storm exile — surviving the storm but disgraced and pursued by Imperial agents — and his eventual disappearance somewhere in the Tokuno wilderness. The article frames Daizen as a tragic figure: a noble whose political grievance was legitimate but whose chosen response (banditry) was fatal to his clan and lineage.
The fate of Daizen's body and his last known retainers is a Tokuno cold case — periodically referenced in subsequent BNN material but never resolved.
Cultural footprint
The Hanzagiri clan's name persists in Tokuno cultural memory:
| Reference | Source |
|---|---|
| "Hanzagiri" as a Tokuno verb | Colloquial usage meaning "to loot one's own" — a noun-to-verb transition reflecting the betrayal |
| Tokuno children's stories | The Hanzagiri Plot is told as a cautionary tale about ambition and divine justice |
| In-game NPC dialogue | Several Zento and Homare-Jima NPCs reference the clan obliquely |
| BNN: Daizen's Despair | The canonical secondary lore source |
Connection to other Tokuno lore
| Concept | Hanzagiri connection |
|---|---|
| Treasures of Tokuno | The in-game system the Hanzagiri loss founded |
| Ihara Soko the Imperial Minister of Trade | The exchange-NPC who organizes recovery |
| Zento | The capital city the clan looted |
| Homare-Jima · Isamu-Jima · Makoto-Jima | The three Tokuno islands where artifact-bearing monsters spawn |
| Tokuno Islands | The broader archipelago context |
See also
- Treasures_of_Tokuno — the four-cycle event the Hanzagiri loss founded
- Ihara_Soko_the_Imperial_Minister_of_Trade — the exchange officer
- Zento — the capital looted by the clan
- Tokuno_Islands · Homare-Jima · Isamu-Jima · Makoto-Jima — recovery zones
- Ultima_Online:_Samurai_Empire — the expansion that introduced the Tokuno setting
- Casca — authorized ToT III (2009)