The ronin known as Kinsei was born Akodo Shinobu of the Lion Clan nearly twenty years hence. From his coming of age, he served faithfully under his father, Akodo Itagi, and was his youngest, best loved son. It was because of this love for his son that Itagi ordered him to accompany his eldest brother, the brash and unruly Akodo Gochu, to the lands of the introspective Phoenix Clan where, with some luck, the Phoenix sensei would be able to instill some amount of calm and reason into the daimyo’s heir. Shinobu agreed, of course, and, along with Gochu, left for Phoenix lands soon after.
After three months in the lands of the peaceful Phoenix, Gochu and Shinobu received a message. In their absence, their elderly father and his small lands had been the target of a surprising bandit attack. While defending his people from the bandits, Itagi had fallen to a mortal injury. Both sons were requested to return so that the family’s home could receive its new daimyo, Gochu. The brothers could scarcely believe the news and traveled home with heavy hearts.
Upon arriving home, the two first set out to avenge the death of their father, killing all but a handful of the bandits who escaped into the territory of the Crane Clan to the north. Shortly afterward, Gochu took on the mantle of daimyo of the family’s lands and called Shinobu before him. With angry words, the new daimyo accused Shinobu of failing his duty to protect their father, instead traveling to Phoenix lands on a “fool’s errand”.
“If you had not gone, our father would not have died on the battlefield and it would be he and I that were now avenging your death.” Those were the words that turned Shinobu’s life on end. He begged his brother to be allowed to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide, but Gochu denied him that, commanding that he renounce his name and become ronin instead -- the most painful punishment a samurai can be asked to endure.
Shinobu gathered what belongings he could carry, including the daisho his father had given him at his gempukku ceremony, and left all that he knew behind.
Since that time, Shinobu has dedicated his life to the path of the sword and has, in light of that, taken on the name “Kinsei”, which means both “Sword Saint” and “Humbly Made”. He travels the countryside, seeking rivals schools to test his technique against and, above all, seeks the men who were responsible for the death of his father.