Amurita Faith

The Amurita Faith (阿無璃他教 Amuritakyō), also known as the Amurita Sect or Amurita Cult, is a religious sect led by a charismatic leader known only as Sadame. They were introduced in Shinobido: Way of the Ninja as one of the three factions vying for the conquest of Utakata.

By the time of Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen Sadame has dissapeared, presumed dead by her followers, and in her place a mysterious woman named Kihan leads as the High Priestess.

History[]

The Amurita Faith have gained widespread support amongst the peasant and merchant classes who fund the divine Amurita's coffers with material offering and financial donations. Those followers who choose to stray from the divine Amurita's teachings or opt to hold back on donations are swiftly and sternly punished. Although neither Ichijo nor Akame initially consider Sadame a threat to their positions, both attempted to gain her allegiance before the outbreak of the war, to which she strongly declined both offers. Lady Sadame is well aware of Goh's reputation and has long been envious of the protection afforded to Ichijo by Goh and the Asuka ninja, believing him to be weak and unworthy of their services. She asks that Goh serve her in the same manner, so that she may prove to him that she is a leader worthy of his trust.

As shown in Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja however, the divine Amurita is just a fabrication made by Sadame for her own convenience, as documented in her diaries. Miroku, a former Amurita priestess, attempted to use the diaries to blackmail Sadame but they were intercepted, returned and very possibly destroyed. Miroku and her followers were later killed by Goh before she could attempt an uprising.

As of Revenge of Zen, Sadame is presumed dead, apparently murdered by orders of Ichijo, and Kihan has taken over as the Head Prietess of Amurita. Kihan uses Sadame's supposed murder as motivation for war, under the reasoning of revenge.

Depending on the player's actions, the Amurita Sect may triumph and conquer Utakata in their own name, or be crushed by an opposing faction.

Characteristics[]

In Way of the Ninja, the Amurita Faith starts out with the least amount of funding and military, but also offers the easiest missions. They tend to run out of money fast and take time to obtain upgrades and assign samurai generals, but make the most of food provisions.

Missions demonstrate the cruelty of their ways, constantly demanding funding from followers and punishing and outright killing stray followers and deniers of their faith. Soldiers also demonstrate an extremely zealous and bigoted view of their beliefs.

While the cult's god has an apparently male figure, the hierarchy seems to be matriarchal; to date, all significant authority within the cult has been female and so have been both High Priestesses, who are considered to be incarnations of Amurita.

Political Relations[]

Utakata[]

The Amurita Faith has gained the support of the lower classes of Utakata thanks to the egalitarian approach of their religion and charismatic leader of commoner origin. Despite this, it's evident to the player that either Sadame or Kihan couldn't care less for the wellbeing of Utakata's citizens, and use them for monetary and military support. Soldiers of Amurita also have a zealous attitude towards citizens, given their implicit compliance in the "punishments" their leaders often order upon less fanatic followers, this despite the great possibility that Amurita soldiers were farmers and workers themselves.

House of Ichijo[]

At the beginning of Way of the Ninja we see Ichijo try to dissuade Sadame to lend her cult's support to his side, to her utter refusal. After this he officially considers the Amurita enemies, but doesn't seem to take them too seriously. Should Sadame die before Ichijo, he will express sympathy towards her.

In Revenge of Zen, Sadame's sudden dissapearance is blamed on the Ichijo Clan and her successor Kihan has riled her troops for war. Ichijo is utterly confused at the accusation, but nonetheless knows better than to try to negotiate with the cult this time.

House of Akame[]

It's hinted that Akame may have tried or planned to try to negotiate an alliance with the Amurita Faith. We don't see this happen though, as an Akame soldier relies to his lord Sadame's words that she would not surrender to any clan. After that Akame considers the Amurita enemies, but doesn't take them too seriously unless the cult proves to be tenacious (rivals Akame in military power). Should Sadame die before Akame, he will mock her efforts.

Sekishu[]

To gain the trust of the three warlords of Utakata, Shu pretended to be a messenger of the Hojo Clan. To Kihan he lied that the Hojo Clan was interested in gaining allies in Utakata, and would help her campaign of conquest in exchange for overthrowing the Ichijo Clan and aiding against the Nagao Clan; Kihan believed Shu's words and expressed interest in following through with said offer. It's not shown what is the real opinion the Hojo Clan has about the Amurita Faith.