Jukai

Jukai
Information
Plane	Kamigawa
Status	Current
Card art	art:"Jukai Forest"

Jukai (JOO-kye; Japanese: 樹 (じゅ) 海 (かい) ; literally: "Sea of Trees") forest is a major green-aligned location on Kamigawa, an ancient forest composed mainly of huge cedar trees. It is almost as large as all the surrounding territories combined.

Description

The forest was inhabited by the orochi (snakefolk), and humans: budoka and kannushi monks, and the border regions were a home of kitsune (fox-folk), with many villages built there. Many kitsune villages could be found along the northwestern forest, with larger ones in the south. About a day's walk from the edge of the forest, the terrain becomes hillier and the trees become larger. The Orochi lands were located about a four-day walk into the forest. Jukai was the location of Boseiju, the oldest and tallest tree on the plane — a huge twisted old cedar. Its name means "she who shelters all."

The Jukai is a thick forest that harbors many kinds of kami. It lies east of Eiganjo. Here, an order of monks trains themselves to tune in with nature and the spirit world. Kitsune (fox-folk), live in the Jukai along with the Orochi (snake-folk), who tend to stay on the Western fringes. No one has ever discovered what lies to the east of the Jukai Forest, and all exploration attempts have failed. Jukai Forest is watched over by Jugan, the Rising Star.

History

Part of Jukai was destroyed during the soratami invasion during the events of Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa.

At the start of what is now known as the Modern Age, the city of Towashi was expanding rapidly to accommodate the demands of its increasing population. Moonfolk, nezumi, humans, and akki alike were living together, mingling in a way that would have been unthinkable in previous times. As the city grew, it began to eat into the Jukai Forest. Even Boseiju was incorporated into the growing city. Trees were felled to clear the land for new buildings, and many of the forest kami were driven out. Enraged, the kami fought back, emerging from the depths of the forest to wreck the newly constructed buildings and curse the builders.

The emperor at the time finally intervened when an attack by the kami, and the Towashi builders' subsequent retaliation, threatened to upend all the peaceful relations between mortals and kami once more. He brokered an agreement that the city would halt further growth into the forest. Meanwhile, the kami would not attack them or intrude upon their planning. The city builders could continue to develop any land they had already started building on, with one exception: they were forbidden from cutting down Boseiju, which had fallen into the city's domain during the construction and fighting. Furthermore, Jukai Forest was now closed to all mortals without permission from the kami.

The Order of Jukai

Circa 1,200 years after the events of the Kami War, the Order of Jukai was established to preserve nature and reverence for the spirits. The city of Towashi has been established in the former territory of the Jukai. This angered the spirits, forcing a compromise between the Emperor and the kami to prevent another war. Now it is the metropolitan center of the Kamigawa.

For much of Kamigawa's history, power was concentrated in the hands of the elite: the Imperials who ran the Plane with Kyodai's blessings, various warlords, and those who could channel the power of the kami. More recently, however, Kamigawa has faced significant disruption to this status quo as innovations have made access to power more widely and cheaply available to all. Key among these innovations were two: enhancers invented by the akki artisans of Sokenzanshi, and the method invented by the Saiba Futurists of drawing power directly from the spirit realm.

The boom of all this technology has seen the rise of the Order of Jukai, who believe that this unrestrained use of technology is drawing on power in a reckless, dangerous manner that threatens to damage the fabric of the two realms irreparably.

Kami occasionally make their way through merge gates, and while the Imperials have constructed them to keep the crossings safe, the Order of Jukai has built temples to make sure the kami feel welcomed. They believe spirits are a sacred part of nature that should be revered.

Locations

• The Five Trees — five great trees, each with their own kodama
• Fudaiju — a great tree worshipped by the Budoka
• Okina — the largest temple in the Jukai Forest; means "shrine to the grandfathers."
• Sugi Hayashi — one of the villages in the forest. It is the home of lady Pearl-Ear and Sharp-Ear.

In-game references

Associated cards:

• Body of Jukai
• Elder Pine of Jukai
• Favor of Jukai
• Jukai Liberator
• Jukai Messenger
• Jukai Naturalist
• Jukai Preserver
• Jukai Trainee
• Roar of Jukai
• Shigeki, Jukai Visionary

Referred to:

• Azusa, Lost but Seeking
• Boon of Boseiju
• Bronze Cudgels
• Child of Thorns
• Commune with Spirits
• Fang of Shigeki
• Greater Tanuki
• Heir of the Ancient Fang
• Invoke the Ancients
• Kodama's Reach (Neon Dynasty)
• Lure (Champions of Kamigawa)
• Spinning Wheel Kick

Gallery

• 
  Jukai Panorama
• 
  Map of Kamigawa