Idaten clan

Encyclopedia : I : ID : IDA : Idaten clan

A small Ninja clan, which disbanded due to internal disputes, the clan were active during the Warring States period (sengoku period, 1467-1573) the clan was based in a small aread in the south of the Hokkaido Prefecture where the hidaka subprefecture is based now.

While the use of ninja for hire (which the clansmen were) had slowed down after the warring states period, the village still practised these arts over time. The clan believed in a form of animism where they prayed for power from different animals or deities and used this power during their battles this is is similar to the Ainu in the north of hokkaido.

The family members chose the names of their children long after their birth around the age of 5 and often had names written with more then 3 kanji characters. these names were based upon the child emotional, physical and mental attributes.

Note: The Idaten name comes from the ancient Japanese god idaten but the clan actually did not worship him as a deity.

Although officially disbanded as a ninja clan, some of the higher regarded families still practise and teach the arts to their family members, and sometimes outsiders to keep the techniques from dying. Many of the family members travelled to foreign seas after 1789.

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