Editing Hohiro Kurita (30th c.)

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| name                = Hohiro Kurita
| birthdate           = [[2932]]<ref name=HKDCLS>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', foldout: "The Draconis Combine's Line of Succession and Partial Kurita Family Tree"</ref>
| died                = 3 February [[3004]]<ref name="HKp86">''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 86: "Assassination of Hohiro"</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Kurita]]
| rank                = 
| title               = 
| position            = [[Coordinator of Worlds]]
| profession          = Noble
| parents             = [[Hugai Kurita]] (father)
| siblings            = [[Florimel Kurita]]<br/>[[Undell Kurita]]
| spouse              = 
| children            = [[Takashi Kurita]]<br/>[[Miyamoto Kurita]]
}}
Considered among the cruelest [[Coordinator]]s of the [[Draconis Combine]], '''Hohiro Kurita I''' was the father of [[Takashi Kurita|Takashi]] and [[Miyamoto Kurita]].

==Biography==
===Early Life===
The eldest child of [[Hugai Kurita]], Hohiro was the complete polar opposite of his depressed and melancholic father. A tall man with an imposing body and manner, even Hohiro's very smile seem like an open threat than a positive emotion. As a [[regiment]]al commander in the [[Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery]], Hohiro ruled by fear, inflicting the lash upon almost every unit member. In battle, he was a Kurita to the core, carrying out attacks with abandon rather than wait for better options.<ref name=HKTDC-86>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', pp. 86–87: "History - The Third Succession War - Hohiro Kurita - The Dragon Renewed"</ref>

===Coordinator===
Believing his father and other recent predecessors had failed to live up the full duty of fulfilling the destiny of House Kurita, Hohiro devoted himself body and soul to redressing this. Among the first moves of his reign was an immediate increase in funds for both the DCMS and the [[DCA]] in order to revive the military forces of the Dragon from the neglect of his father's decade-long hands-off approach. Giving a clear example of how he would treat anybody not directly connected with the Kurita military, Hohiro appropriated the increase by stripping it from the already meager budget of the [[People's Medical Services]], intended health care for the lower classes. Hohiro cared little that the loss of funds would eventually result in epidemics that resulted in the death of millions.<ref name=HKTDC-86/>

Among the first steps of his "[[Dragon Renewals]]", Hohiro would proceed to strip away yet more the services existing to provide aid and relief to the lower classes, citing that the so-called "coddling of the common citizenry" was one of the many subversive anti-Kurita ideas that he would strive to stamp out. Hohiro would even go as far to attempt to close down [[ComStar]] Hospices set up to aid the [[Unproductive]]s, the Blessed Order openly defying the Coordinator, this act and the harshness of his reign leading to an upswing in ComStar recruitment.<ref name=HKTDC-86/>

One of the "Dragon Renewals" more contentious points was Hohiro's efforts to make Japanese the sole and only accepted language in the Combine, with violations punishable by public whippings. While the Combine has long had a heavy focus on the Japanese culture, given the state's ethnic diversity and the tyranny of the time, the edict was met with such a massive wave of public protest that Hohiro was forced to sullenly cancel the edict in [[2978]]. Not even the dreaded [[ISF]] was above the interference of Hohiro's "Dragon Renewals". Alarmed when the Coordinator announced his intention to review and repeal the [[Davarapala Accords]], the ISF responded by burning a symbol of their power in his favorite garden. Instead of reacting with anger however, this amused him that they had the gall to do so and responded by letting the Accords continue.<ref name=HKTDC-86/>

Hohiro was less amused when the Combine's merchants, banks and industrialists also resisted the "Dragon Renewals" efforts to tighten his control of the economy. When some dared voice their opposition in person, Hohiro seized their holdings and had them beheaded. This was a mistake however as it resulted in large scale protests known as the [[Strike of 2989]]. Unable to break the strike with repeated police actions, further executions and acts of nationalization, with the DCMS and DCA placed in increasing jeopardy, Hohiro finally caved and relented after four months, easing many economic restrictions of the Dragon Renewals.<ref name=HKTDC-86/>

Even with all the attention and efforts to preserve and enhance the DCMS and DCA, the ego-maniacal Hohiro's method of centralizing all power crippled the response times of the military, with the district warlords lacking almost any authority to act even defensively without the direction of the High Command. In addition, Hohiro's previous ultra-harsh treatment of his troops extended to the entire Combine military. Though he believed that such a firm hard was beneficial to getting the most from his warriors, the constant terror that represented the lives of the average soldier sapped almost all the fire that formerly characterized the Kurita military. The [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and [[Federated Suns]] would both benefit greatly from Hohiro's egomania, both realms recapturing a number of their worlds from the increasingly sluggish and lackluster Arm of the Dragon.<ref name=HKTDC-87b>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 87: "History - The Third Succession War - The Arm of the Dragon Under Hohiro"</ref>

In the early days of March 2999, rumors began circulating around the Combine that a member of the [[Order of the Five Pillars]] had attempted to assassinate Coordinator Hohiro.<ref name=MW5-5>"Dissimulate Wanderer", p. 10</ref>

As the year [[3000]] approached, the harshness and brutality of Hohiro's 37 years as Coordinator had taken its toll upon the spirit of the Combine's people, the entire realm ruled by pervasive exhaustion and fatalism. Thus when the Coordinator called for massive festivals and celebrations to ring in the new millennium, most reacted with incredulous disbelief until it was realized that Hohiro was actually serious. Overjoyed at the Coordinator's unexpected benevolence, the people of the Combine plunged into preparations like a starving man at a feast. When the festivals commenced in December [[2999]] however, it quickly became clear that the relaxation of his harshness was less about the millennium and more the important plans for his beloved son Takashi to be announced on New Year's Day, announcing on a Combine-wide broadcast on January 19th 3000 Takashi's promotion to the DCMS High Command and command of the [[Otomo]].<ref name=HKTDC-87>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 87: "History - The Third Succession War - The New Millennium"</ref>

Those who hoped that Hohiro's new leniency would continue after the end of the New Year's celebrations soon learned otherwise when the Coordinator reimposed and in some cases strengthened many of the "Dragon Renewals", seeking to "strip away the laziness the celebrations caused". The reminder of life before Hohiro's reign, and having it cut off again so quickly, triggered increasing unrest among the people of the Combine.<ref name="HKp88">''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 88: "Assassination of Hohiro"</ref>

==Death and Legacy==
Hohiro was assassinated on [[Luthien]] in [[3004]] by an Otomo [[Talon Sergeant]] [[Ingmar Sterenson]], who was part of the [[Rasalhague|Rasalhagian]] [[Tyr Resistance Movement]], in its struggle to liberate the [[Rasalhague Military District]] from the [[Draconis Combine]].<ref name=HttD>''Heir to the Dragon'', p. ??{{cn}}</ref> He was held by the Otomo until Takashi arrived at the palace, whereupon he immediately shot and killed the traitor and hung his body from a tree on the palace grounds, letting it rot as a show of what would happen to traitors to the realm.<ref name="HKp88"/>

==Marriage and Children==
Hohiro married and had at least two children, Takashi and Miyamoto. Almost as a counterpart to his harshness, Hohiro had an uncharacteristic soft spot for his eldest son and heir-designate Takashi, lavishing him with constant attention and expensive gifts as a child.<ref name=HKTDC-87/>

==Quotes==
{{quote|''It is time for a renewal of that fire that made the Draconis Combine the unquestioned power in the Inner Sphere. Too long we have labored under false ideas spread to us from other realms. They are the concepts thought up by worms in human form, whose minds are corrupted by the weakness of emotion. We warriors know of only one emotion-devotion to the state. Those that feel otherwise are not true members of the Draconis Combine. They are the spawn of inferiors, and would be better off dead than alive in their haze of lies.''|Coordinator Hohiro Kurita, in an address to the graduating class of the [[Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy]], 2965<ref name=HKTDC-86/>}}

{{Quote|''I'm not an admirer of anything that comes from Marik space. I will give their leader this, though. [[Stephen Marik]] is a tough guy.''|Hohiro Kurita in an interview on Draconis Broadcasting Systems, [[2983]]<ref name="HM(TFWL)p44">''House Marik (The Free Worlds League)'', p. 44: "Concession to Parliament"</ref>}}

{{quote|''Like all men, I must face death one day. The circumstances surrounding my death won’t matter to me, for I'll be on my way to heaven. It is only those who I leave behind who will discuss the matter.''|Coordinator Hohiro Kurita, [[3002]]<ref name="HKp88"/>}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Dissimulate Wanderer]]
* ''[[Heir to the Dragon]]''
* ''[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]''
* ''[[House Marik (The Free Worlds League)]]''


[[Category:Draconis Combine Characters|Kurita, Hohiro]]
[[Category:Coordinators|Kurita, Hohiro]]