Playing the Larp
Katsuki, the small, northernmost han [domain], has been reduced in rank due to laying a curse on the shδgun's family, or so it is said. A year later, the situation in Katsuki was believed to be calm again, with the shδgun's brother, Matsudaira Nobunori, taking over affairs.
However, rumors spread that the curse had only been the beginning and more sinister plans were in motion against the government. “That being said, you are ordered to find out the truth behind those rumors. So, move out to Katsuki at once.”(Narration by Tomono, fieldnotes 2018, translated by the author)
Like other forms of role-playing games, the ninja larps begin with a short narration by the GM that describes the task for the players—in this case,
Figure 8.5 Poster for the 2019 larp runs.
Source: © CLOSS Hinasaki Mochiki.
delivered by the GM dressed as a feudal bureaucrat, speaking in a manner reminiscent of jidaigeki Edo-speak (modern Japanese grammar intertwined with anachronistic words, a mixture hard to reproduce in English).
Before the larp test play in 2018 began, the six players created characters for the game. A larp character can consist of merely a name, a statement about likes and dislikes, and a sentence about some core motivation and goal, or it can be represented through an elaborate character sheet, listing mental and physical abilities in a skill point system, and augmented by a novel-length personal background story. For the ninja larp runs, character creation entailed picking a name and choosing two ninjutsu powers. A female participant picked the name Shinobu, another cute ninja character like Mai, while others chose names of known shinobi. Like the Edo-speak above, addressing a player by their character’s name is one tool to affect immersion into the setting.
After rules had been clarified and characters created, the master of the dojo performed a prayer like he would before training or competition: he lit two candles, spoke a prayer against injuries, clapped, and bowed in the direction of the dojo,s wall shrine.
Afterward, Tomono took over and delivered the introduction to the larp run’s first scenario. Dealing with a kidnapped princess and focusing on using the ninjutsu powers, this scenario functioned as a space for practicing the basics of the larp. A second scenario offered greater insight into the narrative possibilities of larp. Entitled Renpanjo wo sagase! (“Find the Compact!”), the player’s, or rather their character’s task involved a search for a compact, a treaty to overthrow the shogun’s government. In the end, there was a fight between the player characters and a monk who was actually the leader of the remaining agents of the previous ruler of the Katsuki domain. However, the main part of this larp scenario emphasized the non-fighting abilities and strategies of spies. The players had to disguise themselves as travelers and commoners to learn about the rumors of insurgence, find the daughter of the previous local ruler, and unearth information about the compact. The compact identified several lords as plotting against the government, but it turned out to be a forgery.The players did not gain knowledge about the compact easily. After entering the largest town of Katsuki, they split up into groups to gather infor- mation—a player decision which then required one group to wait while the play of the others was resolved. Trying to win the trust of a local maid, one pair asked too many questions. She became suspicious and drew them into an ambush outside town—her father being a retainer and shinobi of the former ruler. However, thanks to one player’s successful use of their wood tonjutsu power, they “smelled” the poison put into their tea and fought off the other shinobi. The abstract rules here work with what is called “telling” in larp: the player announces the use of power and a GM tells them the results. In this case, no actual smelling was involved.
Such enemies but also neutral figures or helpers, like a shop owner or a so-called ronin, a lordless samurai, fall into the aforementioned category of NPCs who receive knowledge and tasks from the organizers or the GM.Reenacting Japan’s Past That Never Was 163 Interacting freely with the players, they may pass on knowledge when the right questions are asked—the shop owner freely talked about strange happenings at a ruined temple (where the final confrontation would take place), and the ronin bemoaned the former daimyo ruler, disbelieving the accusations of a curse and pointing the finger at the new lord from the shogun’s Matsudaira family. He would also lead the way to the hideout of a lady, the former lord’s daughter.
All these NPCs in this larp run were portrayed by the two CLOSS representatives and Tomono, who played some key roles, such as the final adversary, the ninja-monk who sought revenge for his former lord by creating chaos and conflict between the government and other lords. During Ninja Festa, members of the tourist association or guides from the ninja- yashiki would take on the NPCs while the tourists played the main characters. The NPCs continuously changed costumes and alternated ways of speaking between roles. Putting much emphasis on speaking in a fashion characteristic for jidaigeki, they tried to promote player immersion into the situation. Especially during the scenarios in 2018, however, the in-character play was at times interrupted when the players were unsure what they could do or how they could use a power (e.g., “can I use my wood power to check for poison?”). To offer players guidance, each scene begins with a verbal description by the GM, for example, describing the town in more detail than the props could represent and suggesting to the players that they engage the inhabitants. From here onwards, the players decide. The ninja could have remained in town instead of following the maid into the woods. They could have chosen to go to the ruined temple before following the lordless samurai. Instead of fighting the ninja-monk, they could have joined him in his quest or kept the compact for their own purposes. CLOSS prepares for many contingencies in order to quickly react to player choices. Instead of cutting play after the enemy’s defeat, they quickly improvised a scene where the players delivered the compact to the lady. The test play aimed to show the possibilities of larp to the tourist association and university researchers. The 2019 scenario “Rescue Tokugawa Ieyasu” for the Ninja Festa incorporated their feedback, concerns, and goals: close-to-magical elements, such as the henkajutsu,s instant metamorphosis power, and historically nonexistent locations like the Katsuki domain made way for simpler, more realistic power descriptions and historical locations. In each of the six one-hour runs during the festival, up to five participants embodied a group of Iga shinobi in search of a kidnapped Tokugawa. Foreshadowing the effect Tokugawa’s unification campaign would have on the Iga and Kδka clans, namely the loss of employment in peaceful times, the kidnappers turned out to be clan members themselves and repeatedly tried convincing the players to join forces against Ieyasu instead of rescuing him. In most runs, the players chose to support the future shogun (those who did not support him had to face Tokugawa’s number one shinobi, Hattori Hanzδ, in combat).All six runs of the larp in 2019 were booked well in advance. More than two-thirds of the 28 participants were in their 30s and 40s, followed by afew tweens, one teenager, one elementary school child, and a player over the age of 50. Ten participants were female. The majority had come from Iga, Mie prefecture, or the surrounding Kansai region, but a few took the five-hour ride from Tokyo or journeyed a similar distance from Shikoku island to play in the larp. Five participants, including the elementary school kid, were not Japanese nationals. Only four participants said that they had no (analog) gaming experience at all, while the others had played board games, tabletop role-playing games, or escape rooms, with thirteen actually being larpers.12 Larpers were also among those who traveled the furthest to participate. Thus, playing in a ninja larp—emphasis on larp—turned out to be a key motivation for many to go to Iga, with one female participant commenting: “I had always thought that ninja and larp would work great together.” Most had learned about the larp via word-of-mouth or Twitter and prior connections to either CLOSS or the Ninja Research Center. All participants emphasized how satisfied they were with the experience in the open debriefing and the post-event survey.