Hi guys, I've been lurking around on this forum for quite a while, since I'm really intrigued by L5R and "convinced" my group to give it a try! I'm completely new to L5R (apart from the Rule Book, I got all my info about it from this forum and a few wiki pages^^), so naturally I've got a few questions, both about the setting and the rules. 😀 I'm gonna start with a few questions regarding the beginning of our session (and will probably post other questions later on this forum).

I want my players to have a familiar location for the first meeting of their characters, so my first question is, whether it is logical for samurai in Rokugan to sleep in some kind of inn (are there inns along the roads or just in towns/villages?), repectively whether there are inns just for samurai or if they would also rest in an inn, which also serves peasants?

Our group consists of two betrothed characters (a courtier and a shugenja) on their way to meet each other and my idea was, that the other two characters could be their yojimbos (it would fit clan-wise), but one of them is a Togashi Tattooed Monk... So, could such a monk be assigned the task of acting as a yojimbo, at least for a short time, or would this be totally impossible? And, related to this question, would a Tattooed Order Monk be allowed to be the champion of her charge in a duel or are they not allowed to participate in a duel ever?

Last one for this post: When the group meets the local governor (probably the uncle of our Doji Diplomat, not sure yet), who invited them, do they still need to give him a gift, even if they already know him/have met him before/are family? Maybe it would be appropiate, since they are going to enjoy his hospitality for at least a few days if not longer? What about the yojimbos, would they be expected to bring gifts of their own or do they not really count as "individual guests" (since they are just there because they have to protect the other two characters) and are thus freed from this obligation? 😀

I would be really glad, if you guys could help me with these questions - I don't want to make too many mistakes regarding the setting! There will already be enough of them, I fear... 😉

Travelling samurai will stay at inns if they are available, yes. Really swanky places will only serve those with sufficient means, but generally speaking inns serve both samurai and peasants - samurai getting preferential service, of course. There are waystations along major roads, inns typically will be part of a settlement (it's a lot easier to provide for your guests if there's a local village you can get common supplies from).

Tattooed Monks are not samurai (unless they are part of the Togashi bloodline, but even then they don't really act as normal samurai do). They wouldn't be assigned as yojimbo. That said, if a monk believes his path is to look after a couple of soon to be newlyweds nobody's going to think that's odd - or rather, it's the sort of odd that isn't odd for a Tattooed Monk, they are known to have some batty notions. If the couple doesn't mind, it's all good. Tattooed Monks don't normally act as champions in formal duels though - most don't even know how to use a katana properly to begin with.

Gifts for your hosts are always appropriate. If the yojimbo are there strictly because of their assignment, they don't need to bring a gift of their own - the gifts of those they are protecting count for the entire "entourage".

Have fun, and don't necessarily sweat the setting details too much. The setting is really important, don't get me wrong, but the occasional mistake is not a problem. The Emerald Empire sourcebook is supposed to be released any day now and will have a ton of setting info if you decide to keep playing.

There are inns. Many villages won't have one, but most samurai aren't in the villages. When there is no Inn, they tend to stay at the local samurai's house, or if no samurai, in the headman's house. A samurai in a population center need never sleep outside... provided he's polite about it.

Travel is almost exclusively "purposeful" - you don't go on vacation, you go because you were ordered to, or on pilgrimage, or on business.

Exception: Monks, either Shinseist or Togashi. Shinseist Monks basically go wherever whenever, and politely get ignored when papers are asked for but they don't have them. Togashi Monks have been known to show up, uninvited, and in places they shouldn't have been able to, because Togashi-kami decided to send them.

Monks as bodyguards - it's not implausible for The Togashi to assign one to guard someone who is to be important long enough for them to become important. Keep in mind that ALL Togashi monks are literally infused with the blood of Togashi-kami... it's part of the tattoo ink! Togashi-Kami also can use them as spies, seeing through them. Also, page 89 of 5E notes that Clan-monks generally fill the same roles as Shugenja, and shugenja can, at times, be assigned as guards.

One nice thing about Togashi PC's... they can be drug by the nose into adventures... as Togashi-kami can direct them himself. Also, they are perfect for the player with the random work schedule... popping in and out of adventures as needed.

As for gifts, any "auspicious event" should have at least small gifts. nothing over a few bu for most things, and often, even just a few zeni worth. Especially if its something inexpensive but not locally available. Bigger the occasion, bigger the gift. And, as Nameless Ronin notes, Yojimbo are exempt. CLan Monks can be exempt or not, depending upon their role; non-clan monks are almost never expected to gift, for they are expected to be broke.

I would say that a monk can certainly be a guard, but probably isn't an official yojimbo. He would likely be referred to as a spiritual advisor, or "my teacher of Shinseist philosophy." Of course, the teacher wouldn't let his student come to harm, and might need to deliver a sound drubbing to any ruffians encountered.

As for gift-giving, if the monk's player wants in on the fun, there's nothing inappropriate about it. It would probably be something very humble. A fine but abstract carving, a well-tended bonsai tree, or the teachings of a certain philosopher, written with simple, but skilled brushwork.

On 12/8/2018 at 2:51 AM, Stollentroll17 said:

Hi guys, I've been lurking around on this forum for quite a while, since I'm really intrigued by L5R and "convinced" my group to give it a try! I'm completely new to L5R (apart from the Rule Book, I got all my info about it from this forum and a few wiki pages^^), so naturally I've got a few questions, both about the setting and the rules. 😀 I'm gonna start with a few questions regarding the beginning of our session (and will probably post other questions later on this forum).

I want my players to have a familiar location for the first meeting of their characters, so my first question is, whether it is logical for samurai in Rokugan to sleep in some kind of inn (are there inns along the roads or just in towns/villages?), repectively whether there are inns just for samurai or if they would also rest in an inn, which also serves peasants?

Yes. If you want a historical inspiration you can look at the Tōkaidō waystations as an example. One thing you may want to consider is that in pre-modern urban enviroments home cooking or any kind of home earth would be relatively rare due to space and safety issues, so, as far as urban spaces go, you find lots of communal cooking and also a strong inn and tavern culture including the precursors to modern fast food. You can find it in Edo, you can find it Rome or in any other major pre-modern metropolis.

Now isolated villages probably wouldn't have a inn, but a major town or any settlement in a well travelled route would have such establishments.

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Our group consists of two betrothed characters (a courtier and a shugenja) on their way to meet each other and my idea was, that the other two characters could be their yojimbos (it would fit clan-wise), but one of them is a Togashi Tattooed Monk... So, could such a monk be assigned the task of acting as a yojimbo, at least for a short time, or would this be totally impossible? And, related to this question, would a Tattooed Order Monk be allowed to be the champion of her charge in a duel or are they not allowed to participate in a duel ever?

Not really. It's not impossible but it would be unusual. Monk are... Well monks. Even the Togashi, so one acting as yojimbo to a samurai would be odd. A sohei protecting a senior monk would be a different matter.

Monk's expected role, including that of the Togashi would be that of spiritual advisor and I see no reason not handle it that way.

In regards to duels, it depends on how much of a samurai the monk is. Going around entering duels shows an unseemly attachment to secular matters unbecoming of a serious and devout monk, but many monks were samurai in their early lives and if the monk has not given up his sword it is still within his rights to defend his honor and seek satisfaction for grievances.

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Last one for this post: When the group meets the local governor (probably the uncle of our Doji Diplomat, not sure yet), who invited them, do they still need to give him a gift, even if they already know him/have met him before/are family? Maybe it would be appropiate, since they are going to enjoy his hospitality for at least a few days if not longer? What about the yojimbos, would they be expected to bring gifts of their own or do they not really count as "individual guests" (since they are just there because they have to protect the other two characters) and are thus freed from this obligation?

Depends on how important you want to make gift-giving in your Rokugan. For me it's an extremely important part of Rokugani culture, but is handled on a retinue level, ie there are no indvidual gifts from each indvidual member of the party, but the guests should certainly provide gifts that show their appreciation for the reception and hospitalty given to their entire entourage.

Seriously, don't sweat it and assume there is this precise etiquette that is rigidly applied everywhere and everytime. You'll find that etiquette rules are more of guidelines really, and much of it is handled on an ad-hoc basis.

8 hours ago, The Grand Falloon said:

As for gift-giving, if the monk's player wants in on the fun, there's nothing inappropriate about it. It would probably be something very humble. A fine but abstract carving, a well-tended bonsai tree, or the teachings of a certain philosopher, written with simple, but skilled brushwork.

Indeed. It's far more important for the gift to be something appropriate, or witty, or thoughtful than for it to be expensive - and if it's a known family member whom you're not trying to send coded messages to, it's basically just equivalent to bringing a bottle of wine with you if invited to a friend's house for dinner; you probably ought to but no-one's going to kick up a major argument.

9 hours ago, AK_Aramis said:

CLan Monks can be exempt or not, depending upon their role; non-clan monks are almost never expected to gift, for they are expected to be broke.

Note that depending on your audience and the guest, a story, bit of cryptic advice or a haiku might be a perfectly acceptable 'gift'.

Togashi Monks pretty much tend to have the Big Book Of Ancient Semi-Coherent Wisdom memorised off pat, so that's always an option.

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 2:51 AM, Stollentroll17 said:

whether it is logical for samurai in Rokugan to sleep in some kind of inn (are there inns along the roads or just in towns/villages?), repectively whether there are inns just for samurai or if they would also rest in an inn, which also serves peasants?

Probably wouldn't serve peasants (who don't have too much reason to travel) as far as accommodation goes, but might well serve merchants. Merchants have good reason to be moving around the country (since the one 'respectable' bit of their job involves the effort of bringing stuff from elsewhere to people who don't have it) and whilst they may have low social status they do often have plenty of money to pay for a nice place to sleep.

In terms of food and sake, yes. Peasants, merchants, anyone who can pay - or, if you're a samurai on business 'abroad'.

13 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Note that depending on your audience and the guest, a story, bit of cryptic advice or a haiku might be a perfectly acceptable 'gift'.

Togashi Monks pretty much tend to have the Big Book Of Ancient Semi-Coherent Wisdom memorised off pat, so that's always an option.

It's not unknown for Togashi to just make things up and claim it's from an obscure version of the Tao...

What is not wisdom?

10 hours ago, UnitOmega said:

What is not wisdom?

Pretty much most things in contemporary political news, to be honest.

One other thing to note about stays at inns. Samurai do not pay for their stay themselves. The inn keeps a ledger of what the Samurai used while they were and the in and sends a bill to the Samurai's Daimyo and the Daimyo takes care of it. The cash the samurai is for incidentals that would be to fiddly to deal with sending ledgers around. etc. Same goes for Tea houses and dining establishments.

27 minutes ago, Daeglan said:

One other thing to note about stays at inns. Samurai do not pay for their stay themselves. The inn keeps a ledger of what the Samurai used while they were and the in and sends a bill to the Samurai's Daimyo and the Daimyo takes care of it. The cash the samurai is for incidentals that would be to fiddly to deal with sending ledgers around. etc. Same goes for Tea houses and dining establishments.

No. Just no. Things have never worked like that anywhere, ever.

Do you really think a innkeeper in Crab lands would send a ledger to the Mirumoto Daimyo? Or that a Scorpion Daimyo would honr such request from the Badger?

If you do, caare to point out a single printed historica source where something that happened other than quartering arrangements? Or if you want to eschew verisimilitude at all, from L5R fiction or sourcebooks?

The idea that lords would pay for anything and everything is one of those platitudes that really does the setting a disservice and is used as a lazy excuse not to devolop a coherent economy for Rokugan.

18 minutes ago, Suzume Chikahisa said:

No. Just no. Things have never worked like that anywhere, ever.

Do you really think a innkeeper in Crab lands would send a ledger to the Mirumoto Daimyo? Or that a Scorpion Daimyo would honr such request from the Badger?

If you do, caare to point out a single printed historica source where something that happened other than quartering arrangements? Or if you want to eschew verisimilitude at all, from L5R fiction or sourcebooks?

The idea that lords would pay for anything and everything is one of those platitudes that really does the setting a disservice and is used as a lazy excuse not to devolop a coherent economy for Rokugan.

So I should ignore the in setting stuff that says this?

1 minute ago, Daeglan said:

So I should ignore the in setting stuff that says this?

You choice, but if there is setting info claiming that (and unfortunately John Wick tended to spew bull like that), you better have the receipts for it.

I personally prefer to use solutions that have basis in reality and have been in historical use, because not even billeting has worked like that.

11 minutes ago, Daeglan said:

So I should ignore the in setting stuff that says this?

Which is?

At the moment, there is no support or description for "services" in Rokugan (I expect more details in Emerald Empire), it just isn't discussed in the only chapter dealing with buying and selling. When talking about Samurai and money, it notes that the way things are supposed to work is samurai do not need to interact with currency (and the most conservative refuse it as unclean) but it is only just below their station, not verboten. Ideally all goods and services should be pre-provided by your Lord, and by default all peasant classes should obey and support samurai and appeal to the local magistrates for compensation after - but also knows that in a pragmatic world, immediate compensation makes things go a lot smoother.

That said, pretty sure the Beginner's Game has to all arrive at an inn where your stay is just assumed provided - which teaches new players not to worry about it if you're going someplace on the job.

(Also any peasant who refuses to accept a samurai's IOU is probably insulting that samurai or his lord, and asking for a stabbin')

i don't mind the core game not having a super precise economic system, this is a bit boring imo.

but i would definitely enjoy a few more examples, so that i know how to price stuff if i really have to (not that i have many time so far, not our style). but yeah, geisha, drinks etc.. you know, the good stuff, should have general clues about how they can cost.

6 minutes ago, UnitOmega said:

At the moment, there is no support or description for "services" in Rokugan (I expect more details in Emerald Empire), it just isn't discussed in the only chapter dealing with buying and selling. When talking about Samurai and money, it notes that the way things are supposed to work is samurai do not need to interact with currency (and the most conservative refuse it as unclean) but it is only just below their station, not verboten. Ideally all goods and services should be pre-provided by your Lord, and by default all peasant classes should obey and support samurai and appeal to the local magistrates for compensation after - but also knows that in a pragmatic world, immediate compensation makes things go a lot smoother.

That's somethin that really needed to die in a fire, but here we are.

Considering how much L5R orignally borrowed from Pendragon it's a shame they never bothered giving money the same treatment (which is hardly detailed) going for ignorant exoticism instead.

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That said, pretty sure the Beginner's Game has to all arrive at an inn where your stay is just assumed provided - which teaches new players not to worry about it if you're going someplace on the job.

Pre-arranged billeting organized by the Crane after having the guests confirm their presence (which is why Hotshi is denied rooming, the Crane "forgot" his billeting).

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(Also any peasant who refuses to accept a samurai's IOU is probably insulting that samurai or his lord, and asking for a stabbin')

Yes, because the Crab or the Lion are going to allow some random Scorpion to kill their peasants as a general rule. Apparently samurai society wasn't sociopathic enough that Rokugan has to take it to over 9000.

31 minutes ago, UnitOmega said:

At the moment, there is no support or description for "services" in Rokugan (I expect more details in Emerald Empire), it just isn't discussed in the only chapter dealing with buying and selling. When talking about Samurai and money, it notes that the way things are supposed to work is samurai do not need to interact with currency (and the most conservative refuse it as unclean) but it is only just below their station, not verboten. Ideally all goods and services should be pre-provided by your Lord, and by default all peasant classes should obey and support samurai and appeal to the local magistrates for compensation after - but also knows that in a pragmatic world, immediate compensation makes things go a lot smoother.

That said, pretty sure the Beginner's Game has to all arrive at an inn where your stay is just assumed provided - which teaches new players not to worry about it if you're going someplace on the job.

(Also any peasant who refuses to accept a samurai's IOU is probably insulting that samurai or his lord, and asking for a stabbin')

A lord is supposed to provide for his retainers, but that doesn't mean there's a general system with samurai putting their chop on a bill so it can be forwarded to their lord's chief of accounting. If we're dealing with functional gear, the retainer can likely requisition what he needs from craftsmen employed by their lord - those craftsmen get a wages, so no separate bill required. For other items, if the seller is local payment can be provided on delivery - that will allow the samurai to avoid being involved directly in the money exchange, since a servant will pay when accepting the goods. A lord might make an arrangement with local establishments to "comp" his retainers, or might simply own the place so his retainers get free service. In general though, retainers get a regular stipend or allowance to use as they see fit (it'd be problematic to send the proprietor of a gambling house to your lord to cover your losses, for instance) and if their duties require them to leave their lord's lands retainers will be provided with funds to deal with travel expenses. Exceptions are always possible of course, but the owner of a respectable inn in the Crab lands (probably backed by a local daimyo, so killing the servants is likely to have some consequences at least) isn't going to send a bill across the Empire to get a Phoenix courtier's lord to reimburse him for a meal and some drinks.

I can't recall ever seeing anything that says samurai should not interact with currency, by the way. Actual trade is seen as crass, but samurai can handle their zeni just fine as far as I'm aware.

3 minutes ago, nameless ronin said:

A lord is supposed to provide for his retainers, but that doesn't mean there's a general system with samurai putting their chop on a bill so it can be forwarded to their lord's chief of accounting. If we're dealing with functional gear, the retainer can likely requisition what he needs from craftsmen employed by their lord - those craftsmen get a wages, so no separate bill required. For other items, if the seller is local payment can be provided on delivery - that will allow the samurai to avoid being involved directly in the money exchange, since a servant will pay when accepting the goods. A lord might make an arrangement with local establishments to "comp" his retainers, or might simply own the place so his retainers get free service. In general though, retainers get a regular stipend or allowance to use as they see fit (it'd be problematic to send the proprietor of a gambling house to your lord to cover your losses, for instance) and if their duties require them to leave their lord's lands retainers will be provided with funds to deal with travel expenses. Exceptions are always possible of course, but the owner of a respectable inn in the Crab lands (probably backed by a local daimyo, so killing the servants is likely to have some consequences at least) isn't going to send a bill across the Empire to get a Phoenix courtier's lord to reimburse him for a meal and some drinks.

On the other hand the Local in keeper will probably send all of the IOUs to the Local Daimyo who will send IOUs from other clans up to the Clan Champion. and the Clan Champions will work out the differences. It is likely that each clan has a stack of IOUs in which comparing things results in things coming out a wash. Not to mention a Lion Samurai travelling in Dragon lands in many ways is a Guest of the Clan so politically the Local Daimyo paying the lodging makes sense. In many ways it is a gift economy.

29 minutes ago, Avatar111 said:

i don't mind the core game not having a super precise economic system, this is a bit boring imo.

but i would definitely enjoy a few more examples, so that i know how to price stuff if i really have to (not that i have many time so far, not our style). but yeah, geisha, drinks etc.. you know, the good stuff, should have general clues about how they can cost.

I usually doesn't matter. Lords or superiors do cover expenses, and how that happens in practice is most of the time just something that happens in the background. Exceptions do apply of course - ronin come to mind as an obvious example.

4 minutes ago, Daeglan said:

On the other hand the Local in keeper will probably send all of the IOUs to the Local Daimyo who will send IOUs from other clans up to the Clan Champion. and the Clan Champions will work out the differences. It is likely that each clan has a stack of IOUs in which comparing things results in things coming out a wash. Not to mention a Lion Samurai travelling in Dragon lands in many ways is a Guest of the Clan so politically the Local Daimyo paying the lodging makes sense. In many ways it is a gift economy.

If trade and commerce are seen as crass, I really don't think an established system of empire-wide IOU exchanges is very plausible. This coming out to a wash is also very unlikely where it concerns, say, the Crane and the Sparrow.

It's all about the bushido, gentlemen. Greed is not compatible with loyalty, so Samurai are not supposed to concern themselves with money - material gain is not encouraged. But, as noted in the bit after the parenthetical the implication is only it is something you should not be have to do as it is a matter for the social lessers, not that it will taint your soul or anything. There's not an honor hit for it as far as I remember, just a possible Glory one if you haggle like a common merchant in front of somebody important. I feel like you're ignoring a lot of the qualifiers in my post just so we can continue to be mad about economics in Rokugan.

On the subject of violence against peasants, letting an insult to your lord pass is a huge breach of conduct, and not taking your marker that your Lord is good for the expense is clearly implying he doesn't have the money or won't honor your word. A samurai should be compassionate, but the peasant should be respectful - you would not let such an implication from a social peer pass without taking a hit to Honor, same from a social inferior. A much more pragmatic response is to take it to your local magistrate anyway and if you do think the samurai is going to present a problem with their bill let them handle it - they have the social clout to do so. A samurai may be punished for his misconduct, but you might still end up a dead innkeeper. Conversely, if you are in a hurry and don't want the local magistrate involved, just slapping down some koku wouldn't be crazy.

Though if you do that in the Scorpion lands the magistrate will find out anyway.

28 minutes ago, UnitOmega said:

It's all about the bushido, gentlemen. Greed is not compatible with loyalty, so Samurai are not supposed to concern themselves with money - material gain is not encouraged. But, as noted in the bit after the parenthetical the implication is only it is something you should not be have to do as it is a matter for the social lessers, not that it will taint your soul or anything. There's not an honor hit for it as far as I remember, just a possible Glory one if you haggle like a common merchant in front of somebody important. I feel like you're ignoring a lot of the qualifiers in my post just so we can continue to be mad about economics in Rokugan.

On the subject of violence against peasants, letting an insult to your lord pass is a huge breach of conduct, and not taking your marker that your Lord is good for the expense is clearly implying he doesn't have the money or won't honor your word. A samurai should be compassionate, but the peasant should be respectful - you would not let such an implication from a social peer pass without taking a hit to Honor, same from a social inferior. A much more pragmatic response is to take it to your local magistrate anyway and if you do think the samurai is going to present a problem with their bill let them handle it - they have the social clout to do so. A samurai may be punished for his misconduct, but you might still end up a dead innkeeper.

I know the whole system isn't meant to be sensible, but this seems to really stretch logic - no offense. Dealing with financial transactions is beneath samurai, so rather than settle the bill with a minimum of fuss you're supposed to send it on to your lord's estate (your lord obviously being a samurai as well)? And if there's a potential issue the innkeeper (or whoever), who isn't a samurai, is supposed to involve a local magistrate, who is?

The whole adventuring party concept notwithstanding, most samurai who travel beyond the borders of their lord's lands (and certainly beyond their clan's lands) have a retinue with them. Let your lowly servant handle the unsavoury task of settling the bills and be done with it. Don't drag it out in some unseemly bit of theater. Whether you put your chop on a piece of paper or some actual bu exchange hands, a transaction takes place. Most of the time samurai can politely ignore (or pretend to ignore) what's happening.

1 hour ago, nameless ronin said:

If trade and commerce are seen as crass, I really don't think an established system of empire-wide IOU exchanges is very plausible. This coming out to a wash is also very unlikely where it concerns, say, the Crane and the Sparrow.

Basically we would be talking about paper money, with no central control and with multiple issuing authorities. It forces samurai to be even more aware of transational values and all the nitty-gritty details of a credit economy.

And this is supposed to be the simple process that somehow would allow samurai to see money as crass.

There seems to be a bit of confusion here. The normal is you put seal to paper, and the peasant hands it up the chain to a samurai who has the actual social authority to get compensation for the resources the peasant spends housing and feeding you. He on his own does not have that capability against a samurai. If you kick down a peasant's door and take his rice, he doesn't have the legal ability to stop you or countermand you - especially if you say he in fact gave it as a gift (you'll lose honor this way, but still nothing physically stops you) unless another samurai comes up and in turn counters your story, and asserts you took the rice, which didn't belong to you, it belonged to the peasant who belongs to the lord, blah blah blah. Then you'd actually be in legal trouble, and would be fined the cost, or reprimanded by your Lord officially, etc.

So if you roll up to an inn, the ideal way is you state your name and rank, have a personal seal ready to affix, and the innkeeper lets you stay the night, gets you a meal, whatever, and he passes the bill up to an actual samurai, who writes it off the innkeepers taxes or adds it to the giant pile of bureaucracy supposed to be going on in Rokugan but rarely detailed, because most players don't care about that stuff. To refuse to take it would be to imply you or your Lord are not good to their word, or do not possess the material wealth (via way of resources produced from the land, etc) to pay and is an insult, which a peasant should not make lightly. However, depending on local customs or just general circumstances, you may not have time for the elaborate song and dance (which Rokugan is full of all kinds of stuff like this). Or perhaps you do not want to raise a fuss with the local magistrate (who outranks a normal starting PC in Status). And maybe the Innkeeper does not think you are actually good for the money, but would not imply so directly, instead arrange something where the magistrate and his boys pop in to see what business you're about and cause a social stink. In this case, you might just slap down some bu, or have your attendant do it for you (keeping in mind, same problem as no cost listed for staying at an inn - if you don't get an attendant there's no like, salary or rarity in finding one involved so if your GM doesn't just let you have one, there's no mechanical framework to get one) to get an immediate result with no faffing about and no paper trail, because you are busy samurai doing busy samurai things.

This is all just generalities. Bushido is not interpreted universally by every clan, and some Families or Minor Clans do not get as much in a huff about basic commerce as others do, though more conservative samurai may look down on them for it (But not the Crab, they enjoy rice and jade). After all, Shinobi are actually verboten, this does not stop Bayushi Aramoro from saying all clans still use them (with the Scorpion very much explicitly so from a meta-perspective).