8 hours ago, Manchu said:

@Shiba Gunichi So then did Kakita Yoshi just show up to the meeting to rub it in? No, that's preposterous and (as we can now say) totally out of character.

Indeed not. He showed up because the Emperor told him to.

A daimyo- even one as bumptious as Taka- who journeys to the Imperial Capital for an audience cannot be sent away without meeting someone. Kachiko just saw to it that a man she has no respect for and clearly regards as a pawn (witness the Fan Incident in Yoshi's POV fiction) served her purposes.

8 hours ago, Manchu said:

Kakita Yoshi was making a subtle accusation against Crab, that Crab wants Mantis to attack Crane.

Subtle? No.

Subtle would have been, "unless of course, the Yasuki merchant fleet is willing to brave the passage, where the Mantis strike with such impunity."

8 hours ago, Manchu said:

Whether Yasuki Taka knew he would be kidnapped by Yoritomo or how much Kakita Yoshi knows about this, we can't say for sure right now. I would guess it was a surprise to both. But what definitely isn't surprising is that Yoritomo sought out Yasuki Taka. This is exactly why Kakita Yoshi was right to suspect that if any Crab vassal might have insight into what he suspected was a Crab-Mantis racket, it would certainly be Yasuki Taka. Again, we shouldn't be surprised that the man appointed as Imperial Chancellor should be so astute.

You mean even a total fool could wonder why the Mantis bothered to loot jade from Crane lands when they have no particular need of it.

That doesn't require being astute.

Not overplaying your disdain without actually acquiring information, however, does.

Frankly, from that angle, it seems that Yoshi danced to both Kachiko and Yoritomo's manipulations.

You raise a good point: Mantis had already stolen Crane jade by the time of Yasuki Taka's meeting with Kakita Yoshi. In other words, Kakita Yoshi could have had a tangible basis for suspecting Crab/Mantis collusion - it wasn't just a matter of, say, Crane prejudice against the Yasuki family or contempt for Yasuki Taka's "I'm just a simple merchant" act.

Note that Kachiko anticipated that Kakita Yoshi would allow Unicorn first hearing at court and acted to forestall the Crane/Unicorn scheme to undermine Lion. But she did not succeed in convincing the Emperor to appoint the new Emerald Champion. Who suggested the moratorium on legislation? Nor is it clear whether she convinced the Emperor not to inform the Imperial Chancellor of his decree beforehand, although she clearly wanted Kakita Yoshi to blame her for it - possibly to undermine his confidence in his position or even his opinion of the the Emperor (as her own opinion of the Emperor has been crumbling).

But it seems likely that the Emperor has his own agenda. He cannot allow a coalition of Great Clans. Let the advisor and chancellor fight. And keep in mind, he was the one who guided Kachiko by expressing disinterest in meeting with Yasuki Taka. It was only to be expected that she would then suggest sending the Emperor's official substitute, the Imperial Chancellor. Can the Emperor have forgotten the war between Crab and Crane? I think not.

His insistence on the torunament is also interesting - not just in that he is insisting on having the Great Clans compete but also that he would create a political full stop in anticipation of the outcome, making the Great Clans all the more eager to win.

The Emperor was not unaware that Bayushi Shoju was winning their game of Go.

I think the Mantis would rob a shipment of Jade just because Jade is valuable. I don't think stealing Jade would naturally make him think it was some Crab collaberation. Jade is used in jewelry across Rokugan. As Yoshi said each clan has their dibs on their Jade first - do you think every clan is using this to fight the shadowlands? Or that it might simply be a commodity that they use as a source of revenue? Just because they are all samurai lords doesn't mean they don't need to make money. It takes money to fight a war militarily and politically.

7 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Note that Kachiko anticipated that Kakita Yoshi would allow Unicorn first hearing at court and acted to forestall the Crane/Unicorn scheme to undermine Lion.

I don't think you can say she anticipated his action. The day's schedule for who would have been petitioning when would have been available in advance.

16 minutes ago, Manchu said:

But it seems likely that the Emperor has his own agenda. He cannot allow a coalition of Great Clans. And keep in mind, he was the one who guided Kachiko by expressing disinterest in meeting with Yasuki Taka. It was only to be expected that she would then suggest sending the Emperor's official substitute, the Imperial Chancellor. Can the Emperor have forgotten the war between Crab and Crane? I think not.

And since the Crane-Yasuki hostility is so well know the Crab are more likely to blame their lack of supplies on the Crane rather than the Imperials.

Jade is precious and becoming more precious given the shortage. Any customer could expect to pay a lot for such loot. But who would pay the most? Perhaps more than mere koku.

Yes, the identity of the petitioners was known in advance. But it was up to the chancellor to determine the schedule. Thus Kachiko anticipated that Yoshi would allow Unicorn first hearing.

The Mantis wouldn't have singled out a ship for "acquisition" because it had jade on it. Nor would a ship's hold be filled with jade. Maybe there'd be a crate or two of raw jade. More likely there would be jade art pieces or jewelry among a shipment. Yoritomo would have had this planned out, stockpiling, waiting for the Crab to be desperate enough to accept his proposal. It's possible that if anyone other than the Wily Trader would have flat out refused Yoritomo's offer out of a matter of "honorable conduct". This is why I think Taka was impressed with the gambit. Perfect timing, place, and people involved.

Fool or not, Yoshi was merely a messenger. When Taka saw that he was meeting with the chancellor, he should have known the answer to his petition immediately. Maybe he did. My memory of the story is already foggy. Yoshi could have played the apologetic host, without shaming the emperor. I don't feel he did. Maybe he was bored that day. Maybe he realized he was there to deliver a message and wanted to be done with the task so he could move on the the next order of business or so he could take a walk in the garden. Yoshi surely is powerful but powerful doesn't necessarily mean wise either.

My opinion is that Kachiko was just as surprised as Yoshi about the moratorium on policy and law. I think her glance at Yoshi was a suspicious glance, the same as his. Since that tale was from Yoshi's perspective I think we were lead to believe that it was her idea when it was really the Emperor’s own craftiness trying to keep everyone off balance.

Yasuki Taka concluded no aid would ever be forthcoming - not sure if he realized that during the conversation but it didn't seem like he understood it as soon as he saw Kakita Yoshi. Yoshi for his part didn't shame the Emperor. His verbal sparring with Yasuki Taka demonstrates he anticipated some kind of Crab/Mantis angle was afoot, something Yasuki Taka actually did not yet know. Kakita Yoshi's suspicions need not be founded on stolen Crane jade; but they could well have been.

Whether the moratorium was Kachiko's idea or not, she clearly knew about it before court. That's why she brought along a fan referencing that Lady Asami is a hostage. I am thinking the Emperor is playing Kachiko a bit.

11 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Yasuki Taka concluded no aid would ever be forthcoming - not sure if he realized that during the conversation but it didn't seem like he understood it as soon as he saw Kakita Yoshi. Yoshi for his part didn't shame the Emperor. His verbal sparring with Yasuki Taka demonstrates he anticipated some kind of Crab/Mantis angle was afoot, something Yasuki Taka actually did not yet know. Kakita Yoshi's suspicions need not be founded on stolen Crane jade; but they could well have been.

Whether the moratorium was Kachiko's idea or not, she clearly knew about it before court. That's why she brought along a fan referencing that Lady Asami is a hostage. I am thinking the Emperor is playing Kachiko a bit.

Again absolutely nothing we've seen from this or the follow up fiction suggests that Yoshi has any reason to suspect there is a Mantis/Crab alliance. He uses the Mantis as an excuse to decline sending supplies and troops by sea but there is no hint anywhere in the fiction we've seen since with Yoshi that he suspects the Crab have anything to do with the Mantis. He has no idea that the Mantis have specifically approached Taka or he would have referenced that in his inner monologue from Court Games. Mantis raiding of the Crane lands have been an ongoing problem since the first story when we got the mention of Hotaru's husband being sent to deal with the pirates. Funny thing about raids is that they will take everything that is nailed down so to say that they were specifically taking Jade is a bit of a stretch. No if anything the Mantis would be taking advantage of having scored a large cache of a valuable resource that they can "gift" to the Crab to grease the wheels of the alliance they are now trying to form. There was no plot afoot between the Crab and Mantis prior to Taka's kidnapping, what there was is proof that Yoritomo has better access to the court and the workings of it since he knew the Crab were getting the shaft from the Emperor (again read back to Taka's story where he notes that most of his attendants are likely spying for some one and the only real question is who are they working for) than we suspected, and that he has methods of getting into and out of the city without people knowing.

As much as you want to give Yoshi some sort of prescient knowledge that the Crab/Mantis alliance was coming on strong there is nothing to support that. If there were any sort of set up to suggest the same anywhere prior to this I would maybe give you some leeway there but nothing leading up to this has suggest it.

And again there is a difference between (a) Crab wanting to provoke Mantis raids on Crane and (b) Crab and Crane colluding to raid Crane. Kakita Yoshi demonstrably suspects (a) and, because of the missing jade, could easily suspect (b).

There was a plot afoot before Yoritomo kidnapped Yasuki Taka - it was Yoritomo's plot. It's irrelevant that Yasuki Taka did not yet know about it. What could Yoritomo buy with Crane jade? Sure, it's valuable in its own right. But Crab will surely be the highest bidder. Perhaps Crab would even come around to paying Yoritomo by supporting his radical agenda. Kakita Yoshi knows Crab wants jade. He very likely knows Mantis stole Crane jade. He could therefore reason that Mantis might use said jade to treat with Crab, at Crane's expense. It doesn't require prescience.

6 minutes ago, Manchu said:

And again there is a difference between (a) Crab wanting to provoke Mantis raids on Crane and (b) Crab and Crane colluding to raid Crane. Kakita Yoshi demonstrably suspects (a) and, because of the missing jade, could easily suspect (b).

There was a plot afoot before Yoritomo kidnapped Yasuki Taka - it was Yoritomo's plot. It's irrelevant that Yasuki Taka did not yet no about it. What could Yoritomo buy with Crane jade? Sure, it's valuable in its own right. But Crab will surely be the highest bidder. Perhaps Crab would even come around to paying Yoritomo by supporting his radical agenda. Kakita Yoshi knows Crab wants jade. He very likely knows Mantis stole Crane jade. He could therefore reason that Mantis might use said jade to treat with Crab. It doesn't require prescience.

If the Crab was trading for stolen jade with the Mantis, why would they even bother having their delegate to the Imperial Court request Jade shipments to begin with?

Frankly, at this point, I'm more interested in why you are so insistent that Yoshi engaging in some kind of masterclass obfuscation is so much more likely than Yoshi simply being the stereotypical Crane jerk. Because the former is an interpretation that seems almost exclusive to you.

28 minutes ago, Manchu said:

And again there is a difference between (a) Crab wanting to provoke Mantis raids on Crane and (b) Crab and Crane colluding to raid Crane. Kakita Yoshi demonstrably suspects (a) and, because of the missing jade, could easily suspect (b).

There was a plot afoot before Yoritomo kidnapped Yasuki Taka - it was Yoritomo's plot. It's irrelevant that Yasuki Taka did not yet know about it. What could Yoritomo buy with Crane jade? Sure, it's valuable in its own right. But Crab will surely be the highest bidder. Perhaps Crab would even come around to paying Yoritomo by supporting his radical agenda. Kakita Yoshi knows Crab wants jade. He very likely knows Mantis stole Crane jade. He could therefore reason that Mantis might use said jade to treat with Crab, at Crane's expense. It doesn't require prescience.

Than why does he not reference his suspicions anywhere else. If it was that much a concern for him that he was as outright rude to the Daimyo of a major family in the Crab Clan (remember he is a Crane they are the masters of the backhanded compliment and he was not showing any of those skills that he is the master of here all he did was insult Taka at every chance) than he should be coming back to it, he acknowledges the kidnapping but makes no effort to consider it in the light of the Mantis plot that you insist he must have some knowledge of to form an alliance with the Crab. All hints are that the Jade was a happy bit of treasure that came along in one of the Mantis raids that, and again I'm going to be reiterating this as you seem to be ignoring this fact, have been an ongoing concern for the Crane since the FIRST FICTION.

You can't attribute some sort of superhuman insight to Yoshi based on the meta knowledge we have from looking at the story from the outside. All we can do is look at the characters reactions in the moment and from the information that we are provided from them directly. In Yoshi's case what we see is a man consumed by his own sense of self importance (his reaction to someone having the gall to step out in his way while on the way to the Crane residence in Court Games before he even considers who the person may be) and his observations of the how he wishes he could just pick the flaws that others had so he could make manipulating them even easier while blind to his own failings (its not his fault he did something as a child that so angered his brother that he almost "murdered" him). Even his habit of using a War Tessen rather than a normal court fan plays to his arrogance, all traits that set him up to be the unintentional villain of a piece whose self serving machinations serve to further the plot and set up the disaster that we will be dealing with in the second and third acts (read cycle two and three) of the story. I've said it before and I'll say it again he's the Jar Jar of this piece, he thinks he's smarter than he is and is unknowingly dancing to the tune of the true mastermind (either Kackiko or the Emperor) who is moving all the pieces behind the scenes.

@Mangod

Honestly, it's absurd to believe Kakita Yoshi is a fool. It's completely unsupported in the fiction, old or new. It makes no sense in the setting. The only "arguments" in favor of it rely on gross hyperbole and outright misinterpretation. It reeks of anti-Crane bias and obviously plays on the meta-reputation of Crane - what you yourself call " the stereotypical Crane jerk" angle.

If I'm the only person willing to say it, so be it.

Why would Crab ask for more jade if Crab was already getting stolen Crane jade from Mantis? Simple: to get even more jade and, if it comes to Kyduen Hida safely that's fine but if it could be pillaged off the Crane coasts by Mantis pirates, all the better - at least from the POV of someone suspicious that Crab and Mantis might work against his clan.

@Schmoozies

By all means, emphasize that Crane have been worried about Mantis since the FIRST FICTION. It just demonstrates that Mantis piracy would definitely have been on Kakita Yoshi's mind during his meeting with Yasuki Taka. Mantis have been pillaging Crane lands and here is the Crab emissary petitioning for more valuable goods that the Mantis will raid to pass through Crane lands.

I've already demonstrated that Kakita Yoshi's suspicions require no superhuman insight. Why keep leaning on such hyperbole? Calling him the "Jar Jar" of L5R ...

As I said, I can only hope the Imperial Chancellor's enemies in the setting underestimate him to the same degree as his enemies among the fans. It would make his job so much easier.

We know that there is not an OPEN Crab + Mantis alliance on the onset.

I feel we can reasonably gather that, due to Taka's surprise at being met in his room, and that the negotiations were actually handled in this story, that this is the beginning of a possible Crab + Mantis alliance. I don't think they had any relations before this or Taka wouldn't have been surprised to see Yoritomo in his room, or have used the check-with-his-wife excuse before signing the deal.

In the meeting with Yoshi the primary piece missing for Taka was leverage. Yoshi had no reason to take his appeals any further than this room.

IF Yoshi was concerned about a Crab + Mantis alliance it would only be about a potential alliance. He wouldn't have any reason to believe there is an existing alliance.

A potential alliance between Crab and a minor clan that are taking things that they aren't given would probably have provided Yoshi with incentive to work with Taka and try to support him. If Taka knew Yoritomo would be there that night, and if Yoshi knew Yoritomo would provide the Crab the jade and weapons the Emperor wasn't giving him... then I think Yoshi would have worked to be the supplier to head off the shady alliance. Rather than using the Mantis as a scapegoat for his refusal (the mantis would target any ship we sent) he would have ventured a joint effort (You provide protection against the mantis and we'll bring you ships)

Based on this I don't think Yoshi believes they were already working together, or that they might form an alliance. I think Yoshi simply sees the Mantis as raiders who are looting all they can, and that the Crab aren't proving their sincerity in their need or they wouldn't have rejected offers of troops from both Lion and Scorpion (scorpion is unsaid in this fiction, but I imagine Yoshi would know of both)

2 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Honestly, it's absurd to believe Kakita Yoshi is a fool. It's completely unsupported in the fiction, old or new. It makes no sense in the setting. The only "arguments" in favor of it rely on gross hyperbole and outright misinterpretation. It reeks of anti-Crane bias and obviously plays on the meta-reputation of Crane - what you yourself call " the stereotypical Crane jerk" angle.

If I'm the only person willing to say it, so be it.

Why would Crab ask for more jade if Crab was already getting stolden Crane jade from Mantis? Simple: to get even more jade and, if it comes to Kyduen Hida safely that's fine but if it could be pillaged off the Crane coasts by Mantis pirates, all the better - at least from the POV of someone suspicious that Crab and Mantis might work against his clan.

The issue is you seem to be confusing fool to mean stupid when in this case its blinded by your own arrogance and unable to conceive that someone may be able to see past your veneer of perfection and able to exploit the flaws within yourself that you are blind to. He's William Atherton in Ghostbusters, a city official tasked to deal with what he sees as a con-artists and since he won't see past that image ends up putting the city in greater danger when he interferes with their operation tries to exert his power to shut them down.

All signs we've seen are that the Empire is aware of the situation that the Crab find themselves in. His own Champion makes reference to it in the first story and doesn't follow up with I wonder if they're trying to pull one over on us, no she laments that the Crane cannot send aid as they are so hard pressed themselves a that point.

There is no fault in him being the villain at this point, its the role that he needs to be in for the narrative to progress. Remember he has his role as much due to the failings of the rest of his family (his older brother declined the role of Champion since it would get in the way of the lifestyle he prefers to live) and the traditions of the Empire (the Crane have packed the court with their own people and he as Kakita Daimyo gets the credit for everything that goes well). I don't deny that he will be very good at his job as he doesn't rise to the top by being a complete imbecile (if that were the case he would have been quietly moved off to a less visible position and a suitable replacement found) but he also doesn't need to be the paragon on skill you have made him out to be in your arguments for him.

Quote me one bit of actual text where we see Yoshi giving any suspicion that the Crab and Mantis are colluding together. All we have is your supposition based on him using the Mantis as the excuse that they can't ship supplies to the Crab by sea as they threat of the Mantis is too great (again implying a fact that you've long since stopped trying to defend that the Empire is too weak to protect itself from pirates, therefore showing weakness before one of the Emperor's vassals). He doesn't even bring up the lose of the Cranes Jade to the Mantis when Taka pushes for that as the most pressing need of the Crab at the end of their conversation (again a good way to let the hint drop that he knows or suspects the Mantis and Crab are working together).

I have explicitly stated that while Kakita Yoshi can perceive the flaws in others so readily, he has much more trouble perceiving his own flaws. This is not something I'm overlooking.

This will be the third time I have explained: Yoshi suspects Crab wants Mantis to attack Crane. Separately, if Yoshi knows about the stolen Crane jade (which is likely) he could reasonably suspect that Mantis would use it to treat with Crab at Crane's expense.

If he does, then he would be trying to draw out Yasuki Taka on that point - not giving away important information, which Taka may not know (in fact, which he did not know at that time). Again, it seems those who paint Yoshi as a fool are in the habit of criticizing him for not doing foolish things.

2 minutes ago, Manchu said:

This will be the third time I have explained: Yoshi suspects Crab wants Mantis to attack Crane. Separately, if Yoshi knows about the stolen Crane jade (which is likely) he could reasonably suspect that Mantis would use it to treat with Crab at Crane's expense.

If he does, then he would be trying to draw out Yasuki Taka on that point - not giving away important information, which Taka may not know (in fact, which he did not know at that time). Again, it seems those who paint Yoshi as a fool are in the habit of criticizing him for not doing foolish things.

And I've said give me one quote from anywhere in any fiction that suggests he has that suspicion. You suspect he feels that way which is how you are justifying your arguments but point to one in fiction statement by Yoshi to back your argument up.

@shosuko

You say that if Kakita Yoshi suspected existing or potential Crab/Mantis collusion, he would have offered Yasuki Taka jade. Whose jade? As Imperial Chancellor, Yoshi was not authorized to give any aid. That leaves Crane jade. But Crane is in no position to give jade thanks to economic crisis and Mantis piracy.

In fact, Kakita Yoshi would have no incentive to hand over Crane jade given his suspicions - just the opposite. And indeed would what measly jade Crane could scrape together to pay off Crab be sufficient for Crab's needs? No. Therefore, could such a gesture actually prevent Crab from buying stolen Crane jade from Mantis? No. And as we know, would handing over jade have obstructed Yoritomo's plan? No.

@Schmoozies

The whole theme of the meeting was Kakita Yoshi's suspicion of Crab intentions. They even reference the Crab/Crane wars. Every suggestion Yasuki Taka makes regarding aid, Kakita Yoshi bats down in terms of Crane security.

Just now, Manchu said:

@shosuko

You say that if Kakita Yoshi suspected existing or potential Crab/Mantis collusion, he would have offered Yasuki Taka jade. Whose jade? As Imperial Chancellor, Yoshi was not authorized to give any aid. That leaves Crane jade. But Crane are in no position to give jade thanks to economic crisis and Mantis piracy.

In fact, if Kakita Yoshi would have no incentive to hand over Crane jade given his suspicions - just the opposite. And indeed would doing so have prevented Yoritomo from kidnapping Yasuki Taka? No. Would what measly jade the Crane could scrape together to pay off the Crab be sufficient for the Crab's needs? No. Therefore, could such a gesture actually prevent Crab from buying stolen Crane jade from Mantis? No.

So show me the proof where his great suspicion is drawn from. I want one quote from any fiction where any Crane is suspicious of the Crab working against them. His own Champion has laments the fact that they can not offer any further assistance to the Crab.

Yoshi represents a Clan that finds itself beset on multiple sides Lion aggression drawing more and more heavily on their military forces, the Scorpion pressing them for control of the courts. Yoshi is a master of the political favour (he has described himself this way in Court Games where he observes that normally he would extract some sort of concession from the Unicorn for placing them at the top of the supplicants list for the next meeting of the Imperial Court but will overlook that step to aid his loyal vassal who fears for his daughter who is a hostage of the Lion) and he doesn't use the Emperors inability to support the Crab as an opportunity to insert the Crane as a substitute ally is again an example of his foolishness.

As explained, the story we are discussing is in its entirety an example of a Crane suspecting the Crab of working against them.

I explained above why Crane would not (and perhaps also could not) make up for the lack of Imperial aid.

2 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

he observes that normally he would extract some sort of concession from the Unicorn for placing them at the top of the supplicants list for the next meeting of the Imperial Court but will overlook that step to aid his loyal vassal who fears for his daughter who is a hostage of the Lion

As an aside, this is a complete misinterpretation.

Yoshi reflects that he would normally extract a favor from anyone asking a favor of him - this was a reference to Kakita Yuri, who is the one asking for the favor, not the Unicorn delegation. He even explicitly says, it doesn't matter to him that Kakita Yuri is a Crane or even his direct vassal, because the Imperial Chancellor is the Emperor's servant first and foremost. He also explicitly notes that Kakita Yuri is simply doing his own duty (and, by extension, Lady Asami is only doing hers). What's not explicit is why he grants Yuri's request despite the fact that he owes nothing to Yuri and Yuri offers him nothing.

I believe he does so because he respects Yuri's action. Unlike Ikoma Ujiaki, who simply demanded pride of place, Yuri acted with composure, compassion, and humility. Kakita Yoshi despises disorder and presumption but he also cherishes upright action and righteousness. (Hardly notable qualities for a villain.) He not only honors Yuri's request but also rebukes Lion impertinence.

6 minutes ago, Manchu said:

@Schmoozies

The whole theme of the meeting was Kakita Yoshi's suspicion of Crab intentions. They even reference the Crab/Crane wars. Every suggestion Yasuki Taka makes regarding aid, Kakita Yoshi bats down in terms of Crane security.

I call foul. The theme of the meeting had nothing to do with Yoshi's suspicions of the Crab. Taka was expecting to meet with the Emperor, and the only reason he didn't was because Kachiko convinced the Emperor to send the Imperial Chancellor instead.

Quote

"The weight of the Imperial Court would mean nothing to Taka, who would just be angry that he wasn't meeting with the Emperor himself. But if there was no good news to offer, it might as well be Yoshi who said so. And anything that kept the chancellor busy left him less likely to interfere in other matters..." -- Blind Ambition p. 3.

Based on how well they got along (sarcasm), I imagine her intentions were not to let the Crab down easy, but rather stir up contentions to keep the Crane and the Crab occupied elsewhere. As stated (or, rather, thought) by Taka in A Difference of Lanterns , Crane-Clan relations are at their absolute lowest. And she was definitely trying to distract Yoshi.

The time between the meeting between Kachiko and the Emporer and the meeting between Yoshi and Taka is not very clear, but it must have been a rather short period of time, same day, I imagine. Short enough, anyway, that Taka didn't hear of any changes, and short enough to distract the chancellor long enough for Kachiko to do... something.

34 minutes ago, Swordbreaker said:

The time between the meeting between Kachiko and the Emporer and the meeting between Yoshi and Taka is not very clear, but it must have been a rather short period of time, same day, I imagine. Short enough, anyway, that Taka didn't hear of any changes, and short enough to distract the chancellor long enough for Kachiko to do... something.

Like convince the Emperor he should make a new decree (possibly, maybe, who knows...).

1 hour ago, Swordbreaker said:

I call foul.

But why? I agree, the Emperor sent Kakita Yoshi on Kachiko's advice. That is not related to the fact that Kakita Yoshi took the opportunity to probe Yasuki Taka for information.

1 hour ago, Swordbreaker said:

the only reason he didn't was because Kachiko convinced the Emperor to send the Imperial Chancellor instead.

Not entirely correct. The Emperor hinted to Kachiko that he did not wish to grant Yasuki Taka an audience. Kachiko then suggested sending Kakita Yoshi. As chancellor, Kakita Yoshi was the natural choice. But I a do agree that Kachiko likely wanted to put the Crane and Crab least likely to get along in the same room. She also explicitly thinks to herself that she wants to distract Kakita Yoshi. But the important thing is, the Emperor could be subtly playing Kachiko.