Honor & Custom in Kakureta Kuni

Honor is not a concept in @Kakureta Kuni —it is breath, blood, and bone. It shapes every gesture, every silence, and every strike. The way one bows, walks, or grips a blade speaks more truth than letters or oaths.

Core Tenets of Custom:

• Kakure (To Withhold): Silence is a virtue. Speaking only when necessary is seen as strength. Questions are rarely direct; truths are offered in implication. To speak plainly is considered vulgar unless life or death demands it.

• Kegare (Defilement): Emotional outbursts, bloodshed without cause, or failure to perform ritual duties are considered polluting. Cleansing rituals—bathing, prayer, or symbolic penance—are required to restore face.

• Meiyo (Honor): One’s public face is sacred. To be shamed in public can undo generations of respect. Even enemies will honor formality before combat. It is common to bow before and after drawing weapons.

• Oathduels: A codified custom where grievances are resolved by ritualized dueling. An appointed third party oversees. To decline a duel dishonorably results in exile or self-disgrace.

• Ancestor Rites: Ancestors are present in all things—particularly in judgment. Before issuing execution, war, or seppuku, one often offers incense or poetry to their forebears.

• Art as Honor: Poetry, calligraphy, and flower arrangement are means to elevate one’s standing and express emotion with dignity. Warriors often recite verse before or after battle.

• Blade Etiquette: A warrior must never draw a weapon in a sacred place, or without intent. Accidental unsheathing is met with immediate apology and symbolic reprimand.

In @Kakureta Kuni , to survive is to carry oneself with restraint, intention, and precision. Words are sheaths. Deeds are steel.