As a dark cloud obstructs the setting sun, bloodshed blankets the countryside in the wake of Japan's fallen central government. Brutal violence thrives as military powers intensify efforts to strenghten their holdings. A new breed of man - the mounted samurai - has charged onto the scene.
Landholders can no longer depend on royal protection against outlaws and predatory neighbors; they must arm their sons and submit themselves to the leadership of chiefs known for their fighting skills. To gain additional strength, the warrior-chiefs of each samll region have banded together and offered their combined services to more important lords. The lords in turn have pledged allegiance to still loftier noblemen who are members of royal families.
Most warrior landholders have become associated with one ofthe two great military families, the Minamoto and Taira. These families rank lower than the court nobles, though each claims descent from early emperors. Both the Taira and the Minamoto have numerous branches, some of which are bitter rivals for land and power and only too apt to desert to the other side. Both have well-established representatives in all long-settled parts of Japan and, in some locations, Minamoto and Taira estates lay side by side, mingled with those of lesser provincial families that give allegiance to one or the other.
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