HOME | DD

Description

Name: Asuka Washi
Born: October 21, 1844; Kyoto, Tokugawa Shogunate
Died: September 24, 1877; Kagoshima, Empire of Japan (age 32)
Allegiance: Assassins

Bio: Washi was born the eldest daughter of a well-respected samurai who was also a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. As such, she was raised in the philosophy and combat of both organizations, and she developed a deep sense of loyalty to both her Creed and her people. The Japanese people she swore to protect, however, soon came under threat from western influence. In 1853, American Commodore Matthew C. Perry docked in the port of Edo, ignoring th3 government's warnings to halt since he knew he had superior fire power. Perry demanded to speak with the shogun, Tokugawa Iesada, and force him to open the country to foreign trade. Perry then left and returned the following year to hear their response. Knowing that Japan could not defeat the technologically superior United States, the shogunate eventually agreed to sign several “Unequal Treaties” with several western powers, opening the country to western dominance, and with it the Assassins’ mortal enemies: the Templars.

Seeing the weakness in the Tokugawa shogunate, led by Tokugawa Iemochi by 1858, many samurai took up arms against the shogun in hopes of defending the Japanese people and culture. An organization known as the shihi was one of the more famous rebel groups, advocating for the destruction of the shogunate in favor of Emperor Kōmei. Their motto was sonnō jōi, "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians.” Washi of course strapped on her hidden blade and katana to support this movement, eliminating many pro-western Templar agents seeking to take over Japan, including the Daimyo Ii Naosuke in 1860 and Sakuma Shōzan in 1864. The Templar-controlled shogun fought against these rebels with his powerful police force, making the shishi realize they had to switch tactics. They adopted the phrase “Japanese spirit, western technology”, to emphasize the importance of modernized weapons and battle strategies in order to fight the shogun. Washi didn't like this plan, worrying it would lead to western corruption amongst their own ranks, hence why she herself refused to wield a firearm and instead stuck to her blades.

By 1866, the pro-imperial forces began to repulse the shogun’s army with the help of British-supplied arms. Washi herself travelled to Osaka to assassinate Tokugawa Iemochi that same year. Things seemed to be going well for Washi, the Assassins, and their allies. Washi herself even got married to a young man she had known since girlhood and the two had a daughter named Hiyoko in 1867. Unfortunately, earlier that year, Emperor Kōmei died and left the throne to his impressionable son Meiji. Tensions between the new emperor and the new shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and their respective allies, triggered the Boshin War in 1868. The Meiji supporters decimated the shogun’s army, forcing them to surrender and putting an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate once and for all. It was a bitter victory for Washi, however, as her husband was murdered during the war and her baby daughter vanished during an attack on Kyoto. Japan was now unified under the emperor, but Washi hardly had the emotional energy to celebrate.

Things didn't get better for her either as the years went on. The impressionable boy emperor Meiji was controlled as a puppet by his cabinet members, many of whom were bureaucrats with Templar ties who sought to use their positions as a new route to modernize Japan and subvert its culture. Washi found herself fighting against the very man she helped ascend to power, becoming one of the last Assassins on the islands due to Templar persecution. Washi took on apprenticeship of a young girl named Hayami Yamamoto whom her Mentor had rescued off the streets, and Washi quickly saw her as a surrogate daughter.

Meiji’s cabinet sought to turn Japan into a mirror image of the west, and part of that involved thrusting a conscript army upon the populace. This army made the samurai and their power obsolete, stripping away yet another important part of Washi’s identity. Desperate to save Japan and the samurai from being crushed under Meiji’s heel, Washi got in contact with Saigō Takamori, one of the last samurai leaders who abandoned the government in 1873. They plotted to rise up against the imperial forces and their Templar allies, a plot which would culminate in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. However, the modernized imperial army swiftly started crushing the samurai warriors, and hope quickly seemed to be lost. In a last ditch effort to set things right, Washi acted on reports that the Templar Grand Master was marching his forces toward Shiroyama, and started preparing to follow Saigō Takamori into battle. Before this, however, a difficult truth was revealed to her by her Mentor. After much investigation, he had confirmed that her young apprentice, Hayami, was in fact her biological daughter that she had lost during the Boshin War. Heartbroken, overjoyed, and angered all at the same time, she hugged her daughter and cried, telling her goodbye and that they'd formally catch up once she came home from Shiroyama.

Washi fought hard at the Battle of Shiroyama, but it was clearly a losing battle. 30,000 modernized imperial soldiers against 500 samurai armed with just their swords. It was clear to all of them that it was a suicide mission. Washi confronted the Templar Grand Master one on one, fighting with the fury that only a desperate mother could muster. With an animalistic cry, she impaled the Grand Master on her sword, and just as she did, he pulled the trigger on his rifle and blasted a hole in her heart. Both of them dropped to the ground, and Washi died there on the soils of Shiroyama, dying knowing that she at least took him out with her, knowing that her seppuku earned a victory for the Assassins and the people they protected.

Hours after the end of the battle, the Mentor brought Hayami to the abandoned battlefield. The girl wept at the sight of her lost mother, and after a moment of silence, the Mentor pulled Washi’s sword out of the Grand Master's body. He passed it on to Hayami, who took it in her hands and vowed to bring down the Meiji cabinet and avenge her mother no matter how long it took or how hard she would have to fight.

Hayami would eventually meet and fall in love with a young Indonesian Assassin in 1897 named Apsarini Rajawali, an ancestor of the modern Lakota Assassin Ava Arlie.

Description

Name: Asuka Washi
Born: October 21, 1844; Kyoto, Tokugawa Shogunate
Died: September 24, 1877; Kagoshima, Empire of Japan (age 32)
Allegiance: Assassins

Bio: Washi was born the eldest daughter of a well-respected samurai who was also a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. As such, she was raised in the philosophy and combat of both organizations, and she developed a deep sense of loyalty to both her Creed and her people. The Japanese people she swore to protect, however, soon came under threat from western influence. In 1853, American Commodore Matthew C. Perry docked in the port of Edo, ignoring th3 government's warnings to halt since he knew he had superior fire power. Perry demanded to speak with the shogun, Tokugawa Iesada, and force him to open the country to foreign trade. Perry then left and returned the following year to hear their response. Knowing that Japan could not defeat the technologically superior United States, the shogunate eventually agreed to sign several “Unequal Treaties” with several western powers, opening the country to western dominance, and with it the Assassins’ mortal enemies: the Templars.

Seeing the weakness in the Tokugawa shogunate, led by Tokugawa Iemochi by 1858, many samurai took up arms against the shogun in hopes of defending the Japanese people and culture. An organization known as the shihi was one of the more famous rebel groups, advocating for the destruction of the shogunate in favor of Emperor Kōmei. Their motto was sonnō jōi, "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians.” Washi of course strapped on her hidden blade and katana to support this movement, eliminating many pro-western Templar agents seeking to take over Japan, including the Daimyo Ii Naosuke in 1860 and Sakuma Shōzan in 1864. The Templar-controlled shogun fought against these rebels with his powerful police force, making the shishi realize they had to switch tactics. They adopted the phrase “Japanese spirit, western technology”, to emphasize the importance of modernized weapons and battle strategies in order to fight the shogun. Washi didn't like this plan, worrying it would lead to western corruption amongst their own ranks, hence why she herself refused to wield a firearm and instead stuck to her blades.

By 1866, the pro-imperial forces began to repulse the shogun’s army with the help of British-supplied arms. Washi herself travelled to Osaka to assassinate Tokugawa Iemochi that same year. Things seemed to be going well for Washi, the Assassins, and their allies. Washi herself even got married to a young man she had known since girlhood and the two had a daughter named Hiyoko in 1867. Unfortunately, earlier that year, Emperor Kōmei died and left the throne to his impressionable son Meiji. Tensions between the new emperor and the new shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and their respective allies, triggered the Boshin War in 1868. The Meiji supporters decimated the shogun’s army, forcing them to surrender and putting an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate once and for all. It was a bitter victory for Washi, however, as her husband was murdered during the war and her baby daughter vanished during an attack on Kyoto. Japan was now unified under the emperor, but Washi hardly had the emotional energy to celebrate.

Things didn't get better for her either as the years went on. The impressionable boy emperor Meiji was controlled as a puppet by his cabinet members, many of whom were bureaucrats with Templar ties who sought to use their positions as a new route to modernize Japan and subvert its culture. Washi found herself fighting against the very man she helped ascend to power, becoming one of the last Assassins on the islands due to Templar persecution. Washi took on apprenticeship of a young girl named Hayami Yamamoto whom her Mentor had rescued off the streets, and Washi quickly saw her as a surrogate daughter.

Meiji’s cabinet sought to turn Japan into a mirror image of the west, and part of that involved thrusting a conscript army upon the populace. This army made the samurai and their power obsolete, stripping away yet another important part of Washi’s identity. Desperate to save Japan and the samurai from being crushed under Meiji’s heel, Washi got in contact with Saigō Takamori, one of the last samurai leaders who abandoned the government in 1873. They plotted to rise up against the imperial forces and their Templar allies, a plot which would culminate in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. However, the modernized imperial army swiftly started crushing the samurai warriors, and hope quickly seemed to be lost. In a last ditch effort to set things right, Washi acted on reports that the Templar Grand Master was marching his forces toward Shiroyama, and started preparing to follow Saigō Takamori into battle. Before this, however, a difficult truth was revealed to her by her Mentor. After much investigation, he had confirmed that her young apprentice, Hayami, was in fact her biological daughter that she had lost during the Boshin War. Heartbroken, overjoyed, and angered all at the same time, she hugged her daughter and cried, telling her goodbye and that they'd formally catch up once she came home from Shiroyama.

Washi fought hard at the Battle of Shiroyama, but it was clearly a losing battle. 30,000 modernized imperial soldiers against 500 samurai armed with just their swords. It was clear to all of them that it was a suicide mission. Washi confronted the Templar Grand Master one on one, fighting with the fury that only a desperate mother could muster. With an animalistic cry, she impaled the Grand Master on her sword, and just as she did, he pulled the trigger on his rifle and blasted a hole in her heart. Both of them dropped to the ground, and Washi died there on the soils of Shiroyama, dying knowing that she at least took him out with her, knowing that her seppuku earned a victory for the Assassins and the people they protected.

Hours after the end of the battle, the Mentor brought Hayami to the abandoned battlefield. The girl wept at the sight of her lost mother, and after a moment of silence, the Mentor pulled Washi’s sword out of the Grand Master's body. He passed it on to Hayami, who took it in her hands and vowed to bring down the Meiji cabinet and avenge her mother no matter how long it took or how hard she would have to fight.

Hayami would eventually meet and fall in love with a young Indonesian Assassin in 1897 named Apsarini Rajawali, an ancestor of the modern Lakota Assassin Ava Arlie.