Name: Yoshitsune, Matotsuru
Age: 21
Sex: M

Appearance: Matotsuru is an average sized man, about 5'4 and thin, though well-muscled. His skin is rather pale for a military man, and his eyes are noted as being very wide. He wears his long hair in a ponytail, unless a more formal situation calls for the traditional topknot. For this particular journey he has adopted the sort of sturdy, simple clothes that might be seen on any moderately well-to-do peasant. While traveling he has taken to wearing a straw jingasa, of the sort popular amongst the Ashigaru.

Weapons: A yumi longbow passed down from his grandfather, and the traditional Samurai daisho, in his case a katana and wakizashi.

Personality: Matotsuru, despite his youth, is a brave and dedicated Samurai. He, like most young men of his class, was raised on tales of bravery Samurai heroics. For his entire life he has tried to live up to the example set by the old heroes of the Gempai War. He is confident in his abilities, perhaps more so than he should be, and is ever eager to prove himself to be a valiant and loyal warrior. 

Still, Matotsuru is mindful of his relative inexperience, especially when compared to some of his more illustrious traveling companions. He has the utmost respect for his elders, and is constantly seeking to learn whatever lessons that they are able to impart after their long years of service. After all, only a foolish man would ignore the lessons of one who has lived to old age in a time where war and death is a commonly accepted part of life.

Bio: The Yoshitsune family has a long and proud history. The claim descent from one of the most loyal and skilled vassals of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the first Shogunate. According to family tradition, their ancestor once saved the life of the young boy who would someday become Shogun. Thereafter he was Yoritomo's most trusted companion, and fight by his side throughout the entirety of the Gempai war. For his service he was granted extensive lands and many honours, and for a time the Yoshitsune family was one of the most powerful in Japan.

Such was not to last, of course. While the fortunes of the family waxed and waned throughout the years, and at one point they were the largest landowners in Kyushu, they faced a general downward trend. When the Mongols invaded, the Yoshitsune family was part of the fierce beach fighting that took place before the Kamikaze swept the Mongol hordes from the sea. During the fighting, however, it is whispered that the then patriarch of the noble Samurai lineage suffered a great, but unnamed shame. Some says he was lazy and indulgent, some say he was unskilled and easily defeated. Some few even whisper of cowardice, or worse, betrayal. 

Whatever the original shame that the family came to bear, the Yoshitsune lineage never regained it's once grand stature. Their lands and respect were further diminished throughout the years, until at last Matotsuru's father owned only a small grant of land in Hyuga province with meager rice yields, his father's yumi, and a nearly obsolete suit of armor from the Gempai period. While his father was content to bemoan his fate and curse his cruel luck, Matotsuru swore to restore his family to greatness. While still in his teens, he traveled to the seat of the Yoshitsune's liege, Daimyo Ito Akio. He renewed his oath of vassalage, and pledged his service to the Daimyo. 

While still young, Matotsuru has since proven himself to be a skilled warrior, as the Sengoku period has provided many opportunities for him to prove himself. His current assignment, to be part of the escort of his Daimyo's only daughter, came as a great and unexpected honor. It means he is being recognized as a proper Samurai, and is finally beginning to wipe away the shame of his family's past.

Ito hime (forgot that at first XD)