Ranking System

[Oyabun]

Not sure about Moderator and Administrator, would it be better to just leave them as those so that new people to the forums would more easily recognise the names or go with the samurai theme names?

[Masamato]

How about this...

Administrator - Sensei

Moderator - Daimyo

And I think we should keep the design.

[Masamato]

On second thoughts... I have decided that "Daimyo" doesn't sound elite enough, so maybe moderator should keep Shogun. Here is my list that is more "relevant" to the series.

White belt - Village Kid

Yellow belt - Little Cockroach

Orange belt - Warrior Student

Green belt - Samurai Soldier

Blue belt - Samurai Commander

Purple belt - Blade-master

Brown belt - Elite Blade-master

Black belt - Legendary Warrior

Moderator - Sensei

Administrator - Shogun

[sandy]

Interesting approach Masamato - to look at the levels in line with the series. perhaps we can combine that with Oyabun's more historical approach?

[Oyabun]

I like the idea of tying the ranks to the books, however, the books haven't mentioned much about a hierarchy, other than sensei and students.

In line with the samurai kids being students we could use rankings like in traditional Japanese martial arts (see Japanese Martial Art Ranking Systems) with a few others, rather than the previously proposed positions in society.

So maybe:

• Okuiri
• Shomokuroku
• Gomokuroku
• Menkyo
• Menyko Kaiden
• Kengō (great sword)
• Kensei (sword saint)

With Moderator and Administrator being additional, maybe daimyo and shogun.

[Oyabun]

After a bit of toing and froing a decision has been made to change the ranks on the board to bring them more in line with traditional martial arts ranks. Also, because the traditional martial arts ryū (“flow” but usually taken to mean school or style) didn’t use coloured belts the rank images have been changed as well.

The symbol used in the post count rank images is the kanji (Chinese characters used as part of the Japanese writing system) for koku.

A koku is a traditional Japanese unit of volume and was 10 cubic shaku (a shaku is a traditional unit of measure used throughout Asia, approximately 30 cm. It is derived from the distance between nodes on the bamboo stem). In early times units of measure were not standardised and consequently the amount a rice contained by a koku varied at different times and different places, but is generally considered to have been between 270 kg and 450 kg. Traditionally it was said to be the amount of rice that would feed a man for a year.

Samurai that didn’t have their own land were paid a stipend in koku of rice. The value of estates held by people such as daimyo (large land holder) were also calculated in koku. A 100,000 koku daimyo was one who’s estate was deemed to be able to produce 100,000 koku of rice a year. Rice or an entitlement to a certain amount of rice became a currency and would be traded for other items needed.

To keep a connection to the former ranks the background colours of the new images are the colours of the former belt ranks.

The weapon shown for a moderator is the jutte or jitte (“ten hand” meaning it has the power of ten hands). A weapon used by samurai and others in enforcing the law and by palace guards (swords were forbidden to most people within the palace). Made mostly from steel the shaft doesn’t have a cutting edge and is like truncheon. The shaft could be used to deflect or block a strike from another weapon, such as a sword, and the tine would then be used to trap the other weapon. The tine could also be used to hook into the opponents clothing to trap them.

Sandy thought the former icon for administrator, a tessen (metal war fan) was a bit wimpy, so it has upgraded to a knife. The knife chosen is a kaiken a type of dagger used by both male a female samurai but more commonly by women. It was often carried concealed in the obi (waist sash), sometimes in the sleeve, or else in a drawstring pouch. They are short knives designed mainly for stabbing and with fittings in the aikuchi (open mouth) style. This style has no guard fitted and the handle and scabbard therefore meet. Having no guard means the knife is more compact, can lie flatter, and is less likely to become entangled in clothing.

A full listing of the ranks is at the Ranks topic and some information on traditional ranks at Japanese Martial Art Ranking Systems.

The ranks aren't carved in stone, so if anyone has any better suggestions the topic is still open for discussion.