Isolated away from the busy metropolitan center of Tokyo hidden against the base of Mount Mitake sleeping peacefully in the dense forest stood was the Kitayama Estates upon which sat the old well-kept Kitayama Mansion. The mansion was built during the warring states era as a retreat from the constant fighting, as the mountains provided suitable protection and seclusion. As time passed on it was eventually handed down to the lords of the land, where it was held in keeping by the Kitayama’s to this very day. Such a long history had left its mark on the mansion as well as a sorted history of rumors and mysteries that flavor its air.

Constructed during the warring states era, the mansion is very traditional Japanese sometimes being mistaken for a shrine by the more modern minded passer-bys that catch a glimpse of its single story wide-spread layout in the shape of a branching rectangle complete with a well-polished wood board porch that surrounded the mansion and a flowing stream that split around the main house into a pond in the courtyard at the center. The main house, as it was called, was simply the front door to the mansion and connected to the main wings through a modest bridge over the stream. The main house was only a single room meant for greeting and passing through into the rest of the mansion holding closets for coats and clothes for work outside on the estate grounds as well as a small adjoining space for some of the supplies for cleaning or keeping up the mansion. It had acted as the central location and staging grounds for almost everything. All things had to go through the main house.

The wings that branched out from the main house were split into three main wings based on the cardinal directions. The main house sat at the south leaving north, east and west for the three main wings. These main wings wrapped around the courtyard in the center as a rectangle meeting in the back at the north wing completing the loop. Off of the main wings were the smaller minor wings that were additions after the initial construction of the mansion to provide rooms as they were required. Currently, the west wing holds the most minor wings at twenty with the other two wings having about twelve each. The primary uses for the minor wings were as living spaces for the residents of the mansion. It was the main wings that held the primary facilities of the mansion.

The west main wing, with so many of the minor wings, has the kitchen and dining rooms (yes, plural). The kitchen itself was large and open able to make a master chef envious, but has not seen one in decades. It had been left unable to reach its full potential. Directly linked to the kitchen is the common room with no dividing wall that acts as the casual dining space. Adjacent to the kitchen with primary access from the outside porch are the several dining rooms meant for varying needs depending on the size and importance of the company being entertained.

Directly across from the west main wing through the courtyard was the east main wing meant to be the common wing. The common wing housed many mostly unused rooms and facilities meant for the sole purpose of entertaining guests or simply relaxing. In the center of the common wing was the Common House, or the largest room in the entire mansion meant for holding more than an hundred guests as a dance hall or simply meeting room for entertainment. All of the smaller rooms in the common wing have access through the Common House as well as the porch. Folding panels and moveable walls were placed throughout the common wing to allow for it to be partitioned off. If necessary, the entire common wing could be collapsed into a single massive room to house threefold that of the Common House.

Connected to both the west and east wings was the south main wing that was meant to provide the main cleaning facilities for the mansion. There are storage rooms designed to hold seasonal furniture, food, supplies and anything else that is required for the high status of living. In general, the maids and butlers make most use of the south wing for the general up keep of the mansion. As such many of the minor wings have been converted into rooms for them or facilities to aid their work.

The mansion held more than a hundred rooms, which during its popular days would almost always have been near to capacity. However, in recent years the estate had become nothing more than a summer retreat for the Kitayama family who focus most of their efforts on their businesses and hold their residence in Tokyo. All of that changed when Yuki Kitayama separated from his parent’s wishes and departed company. The mansion had been visited by him often in his younger days and so he took to it with little objections from his family. It now was too large for him and the few maids and butler that tend to him leaving most of the rooms vacant as guest rooms at best and storage at worst. Many of the rooms remained locked and unopened for a century or more as well as whole minor wings. As such, these rooms have developed an aura about them of mystery and unknown.

But enough about the vast mansion…

The morning sun was impatiently rising on the horizon already well past the time that most civilized people wake up. However off the west main wing in a large bedroom, there remained at least one, though no doubt others, quietly sleeping away the mid-morning (going on late-morning) hours in a large king size futon with the sheets and covers tightly held up around the young (young-ish?) master’s neck leaving only his head appearing deeply imbedded in the thick pillow. He was trying, consciously or not, to keep the hazy sunlight creeping in through the rice paper doors from waking him up.

Around the mansion everyone else was already busily attending to matters. They had tried to get the master of the house up already, but were rebuffed by his sleepy waving. It was an all too common practice that they were used to dealing with on a daily basis. The mistake was made once in forcing him up too early and let’s just say that they try, but not very hard early in the morning to get him up. Knowing that he would not wake, they attended to a few early chores before making the real attempt.

Now that the master has had his accepted amount of rest, he needs to be awake. The day cannot start without him (now can it?).