And why haven't we been discussing this?

Colonel Mustard, in the billiards room, with the candlestick.

8 minutes ago, Vlad3theImpaler said:

Colonel Mustard, in the billiards room, with the candlestick.

I just watched that movie last week. :-D

Well, since his death is generally mentioned only briefly and in passing, there isn't much to go off of aside from pure speculation.

That said, if someone indeed masterminded his death, of the known characters my money is on Kachiko. She has the most motivation, having shown an interest in placing a Scorpion in the emerald champion seat. She also has shown an interest in manipulating/destabilizing the Crane.

My runner up choice is the dark horse option, the emperor. He's showing some stubbornness towards his advisor and chancellor, making surprise decisions and going against their counsel. Someone like Satsume may have been too overbearing or in the way of whatever the emperor is planning (and he's in no hurry to refill the position or make new laws while it's empty). At the same time, Satsume was greatly respected and it would have been very suspicious to just execute him out of the blue without cause (even for the emperor), so having him killed secretly would be the next best thing.

Because there's no evidence to speculate on and the opportunity to replace him as Emerald Champion gives every Clan a motive.

It's Kachiko. My money is she hates him for Hotaru, and conveniently Shoju wouldn't mind having an Emerald Champion.

Looking forward to the opinions of others as well given that not enough information has been provided yet other than Kachiko's ambitions.

I won't be surprised though if the culprit was......*DRUMBEAT*....

..the Ageless Crone !

"It is good to see you again, Grandmother. You have not aged a day. Ever." - Ikoma Ikehata

"Drinking Doji blood regularly is the secret my boy. Always." - Ageless Crane Crone

Kuwanan suspects Scorpion. But so does Hotaru. Of course, Hotaru would rather believe her father simply died - both because of her misguided bitterness toward him as well as her misguided love of Kachiko.

Were the potential benefits of Doji Satsume's death certain enough for Kachiko to risk having him murdered, especially in a manner that could only be explained by (Shosuro) poison? Yes she wanted a Scorpion appointed Emerald Champion - but she didn't get her way (albeit to her own surprise). On the other hand, she has been working to undermine Crane influence. And she believes the Scorpion should pursue greater power, for example, by having Aramoro appointed Emerald Champion.

But it just feels a bit obvious. Too obvious for Kachiko.

Who else stands to benefit? The Otomo and/or Miya always want the Great Clans at one anothers' throats and holding an Emerald Tournament is a good way to do it. But it's the Emperor himself who insists on the tournament - to Kachiko's surprise - and even grinds the politics of Rokugan to a halt until the new champion emerges victorious.

Kachiko believes Hantei XXXVIII has lost Heaven's favor. Let us ask, if it is true, why might that be the case?

Honestly, the list of people who DIDN'T have something against Satsume at present appears to consist of Kakita Yoshi and no one else.

I'll place a completely Serious And Valid (TM, offer not good on days that end in "Y") bet on Toshimoko, looking to clear the path for Hotaru to become a better leader by removing the source of her lack of confidence- and not coincidentally, someone he hated anyway.

Or maybe it was the Ikoma, who seem to coat themselves in a bit more slime then they used to in this incarnation.

Or Akodo Kage, looking to sow instability to make people question the legitimacy of the throne and thereby advance the Kolat's interests.

Or just some servant who'd had it with the miserable old jerk.

Or Prince Daisetsu, trying his hand at removing an important personage to smooth his own path to power.

Or the Pure Land Sect.

Or a dimension-hopping rabbit with a penchant for dress-up and a tendency to make a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Kakita Toshimoko resented Doji Satsume's demanding attitude toward his sister Teinko as well as his niece Hotaru. Like Hotaru, he blamed Satsume for Teinko's death. But the Grey Crane is no murderer.

Unlike his brother, Kakita Yoshi admired Satsume. But he was hardly alone in that. Kunawan and Shizue both have high opinions of their late father. Satsume was apparently well-respected throughout the Empire and seemingly a figure of authority and stability.

The motive for killing him, therefore, is most likely to destabilize Imperial politics.

32 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Kuwanan suspects Scorpion. But so does Hotaru. Of course, Hotaru would rather believe her father simply died - both because of her misguided bitterness toward him as well as her misguided love of Kachiko.

I'm not convinced that either of those are actually misguided.

I like Hotaru but she has a lot to learn.

38 minutes ago, Vlad3theImpaler said:

I'm not convinced that either of those are actually misguided.

I dunno, loving Kachiko is not generally a thing that works out...

2 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

Or a dimension-hopping rabbit with a penchant for dress-up and a tendency to make a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

So the Hare Clan was behind the murder! I knew it all along!

But honestly, the question is impossible to answer accurately at this stage, because we don't actually know much. We know about a handful of people with personal motives for seeing him dead, and even then political motives for seeing him dead or removed from office would implicate the entire empire.

Edit: I mean, we don't even know how he died at this stage.

Quote

"Very well. What has this less-than-official source heard?"

- Doji Hotaru.

"That Satsume’s death remains a complete mystery. He appears to have simply…died. That has, of course, led to all sorts of speculation among the rumormongers."

- Doji Shizue.

I'm gonna say that Satsume is actually alive. He found out something important something that could get him killed. So he staged his death to draw out the people behind whatever "it" is. In order for him to make it seem real he didn't tell his family or likely anyone within the Crane clan. Only Satsume and maybe a very small circle know what's really going on........ah crap I spoiled it.

No, the real spin will be he died of.......Natural Causes. There was no conspiracy here ignore the ninja in the corner he's just there to make sure we have a neutral observer for all important events it someone needs to give testimony.

Suicide

An interesting possibility - but drinking (Shosuro?) poison seems an unlikely method for him to choose. The usual samurai method leaves no doubt to cause of death.

Maybe Satsume killed himself, but in a way meant to implicate someone else.

Maybe he felt Hotaru would be better suited than him to lead the clan for some reason, but leaving the title of Champion in a time of need would be seen as a sign of weakness. He therefore orchestrated his suicide to leave doubts as to what happened. Maybe he even tried to directly implicate the Scorpion as one last gift to Hotaru: ''Beware of Kachiko''.

Hotaru was Champion for something like a year before Satsume's death, thanks to the Kakita brothers lobbying for this.

9 minutes ago, Tetsuhiko said:

Maybe Satsume killed himself, but in a way meant to implicate someone else.

Maybe he felt Hotaru would be better suited than him to lead the clan for some reason, but leaving the title of Champion in a time of need would be seen as a sign of weakness. He therefore orchestrated his suicide to leave doubts as to what happened. Maybe he even tried to directly implicate the Scorpion as one last gift to Hotaru: ''Beware of Kachiko''.

Not necessarily, retirement to a monastery is a proud Samurai tradition and if he felt that he needed to leave the position for any reason he could have taken that option without much fuss. And if his intention were to implicate the Scorpion in his death you would think he would have left more overt clues than that. I'm still putting my money on it was natural causes and the fear that it was something else is stocking the fires of the distrust between the Clans and will lead to further aggression.

The fiction suggests not only that it could be natural causes (although where's the fun in that) but even that whether Satsume was murdered or merely died may not matter. Shizue reflects that what really matters is what Hotaru and Kuwanan believe, and that they don't agree.

Perhaps this will remain a mystery for a long time or even forever. But with the next Dynasty Pack focused on magistrates, I'm hoping for a little investigation.

1 hour ago, Schmoozies said:

Not necessarily, retirement to a monastery is a proud Samurai tradition and if he felt that he needed to leave the position for any reason he could have taken that option without much fuss. And if his intention were to implicate the Scorpion in his death you would think he would have left more overt clues than that. I'm still putting my money on it was natural causes and the fear that it was something else is stocking the fires of the distrust between the Clans and will lead to further aggression.

Probably, I just like to go into Conspiracy mode.

Maybe Satsume was actually replaced by a Scorpion infiltrator years ago and discovered only recently by Daidoji Uji and the harriers, who discreetly got rid of him.

Satsume is in fact a Tsuru, a crane Animal Spirit, and couldn't hold his human form anymore. No wonder why there is such a majestic crane wandering around the gardens surrounding the Doji Palace.

Satsume never existed. He is a figment of everyone's imagination created by the Lying Darkness to fill the blanks of memory created when the latter erased everyone's memory of a dramatic event that occured a few years ago.

14 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

Honestly, the list of people who DIDN'T have something against Satsume at present appears to consist of Kakita Yoshi and no one else.

That’s exactly why Yoshi is suspect number one!

My bet is that, given their positions, Satsume has to treat and speak with Yoshi everyday. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and killed himself. Anything better than having to hear that fool day after day.

Yoritomo. What fun this one would be. He's got secret ways into and out of the Imperial City. He'd likely have access to gaijin materials (poisons?) that possibly wouldn't be recognizable by the Emerald magistrates. Maybe he'll even show up to the tournament and try for a shot as Emerald Champion (Piracy is legal now! Woo-hoo!).

The Scorpion. Too obvious and not fun at all. Surprisingly that Shoju wouldn't be **** bent on finding who done it however, unless of course he suspects his own family and wants to play it close to the chest.

The Imperial Heirs. Highly likely to be how it turns out. Everyone is already claiming that since an imperial prince has a name that starts with a "D" he's gotta be the new Daigotsu.