Home Guard

The Home Guard, also known as Benju's Home Guard, were a unit of samurai protecting the town of Aru and Aru Province in the nation of Wa in the 1770s on the Wa Calendar.

Organization
The Home Guard were commanded directly by Toshikazu Wada and were in the service of Benju Matsutomo, the daimyo of the province. They were trained by Yuji Takaesu, a vassal and friend of Benju. Yuji was assisted by Buntaro Ostato, who also had some authority over the samurai.

Thanks to Yuji's training, the Home Guard samurai were among the finest in the country, said to be equal even to the shogun's personal bodyguard, and were known to be incorruptible. Members were disciplined and loyal.

Activities
They patrolled the passes of the surrounding Ikuyu Mountains and escorted the trains of pilgrim both visiting and leaving Aru. They also maintained peace in the town and its environs, by operating as a police force and serving as guards at the town gates, ward gates, watchtowers, temples and shrines, while also patrolling the streets. They provided security at official functions for the daimyo and dignitaries and acted as bodyguards for the daimyo himself. They also engaged in crowd control during events such as the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps conducted at the Shining Temple of Bishamon.

Base of Operations
The samurai lived and were based in the Castle District of Aru.

Possessions
They were armed at all times with a "daisho" of katana and wakizashi, and might carry a daikyu (bow) with twelve arrows, a sode garami or a mancatcher as needed for an assignment. They had a uniform with a brown kimono and could wear any kind of armor according to the situation, from none at all to leather armor to scale mail.

History
In the summer of, in the lead-up to the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps, the Home Guard samurai took part in numerous activities in and around Aru, including summoning an adventuring party hired by Benju to meetings with him and others, assisting in their investigations into strange occurrences in the town, guarding official functions and the Shining Temple of Bishamon, and defending against the Yamaguchi ninja in their attacks on Benju and his advisors in the Castle District.

Notable Members

 * Toshikazu Wada, commander
 * Tsukku, a lieutenant

Appearances

 * Ninja Wars