The Yoritomo Alliance

Card Type: Stronghold
Province Strength: 6
Gold Production: 4
Starting Family Honor: 2
Clan: Mantis
Card Text: Repeatable Reaction: Before bowing this Stronghold to produce Gold, if your Family Honor is 0 or higher, lose any amount of Honor from 0 up to your current Family Honor total to have this Stronghold produce additional Gold equal to the amount of Honor you lost which may only pay for one cost; you cannot give to another player, negate, substitute, increase, or decrease this Honor loss.
Legality: Clan Wars (Imperial), Hidden Emperor (Jade)
Deck: Pre-Game
Notes: Before Obsidian Edition, the stronghold cards weren't printed with the deck, but as promos and on the back of the starter deck boxes.

Printings

Ability cannot be used if your Family Honor is below 0. [DW, 5/6/97] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 154
Erratum: Ability causes multiple 1 point Honor losses. [Erratum to MRP, Pearl Edition] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 154
Personalities swearing fealty gain the "Yoritomo's Alliance" trait. [DW, email, 4/7/99] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 154
May use "Mantis" sensei. [ZF, April 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 154
Scorpion Clan Coup: Q: Can I really bow Yoritomo's Stronghold for infinite gold while Political Distraction is in effect? A: Reread your Stronghold. The honor loss you suffer when you generate extra gold cannot be altered. (If it were alterable, you wouldn't be able to use it at all, since this is one of a very few effects where the honor loss is part of the cost, not a side effect.) The Imperial Herald, Issue 9, p. 11
Q: Can I use the Yoritomo's Alliance Stronghold to cause myself a huge honor loss and then cause an equal loss to someone else with Bayushi Goshiu? A: No. When using Yoritomo's honor-for-gold effect, every point of honor loss is separate due to the "1-for-1" clause. You can use Goshiu, but only to duplicate one of the 1-pt losses. The Imperial Herald, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Issue 7), p. 21

Q: In reference to this: viewtopic.php?p=1176337#p1176337
Does this ruling extend to the The Yoritomo Alliance (first mantis stronghold)? Namely, can its player use it for any amount of Gold if he is already below 0 Family Honor?
The Yoritomo Alliance Reaction: When you bow your stronghold, you may lose Family Honor to increase the gold it's producing, on a one for one basis. You cannot alter or redirect this honor loss. You cannot use this ability if it would reduce your Family Honor below zero.
A: From the Legacy Rules Archive, Strongholds: The Yoritomo Alliance Ability cannot be used if your Family Honor is below 0. Alex Jones, "Alter History and ignoring reqs", 21 Feb 2011
Q: Aha, but The Yoritomo Alliance is on Oracle though... 😉
A: Oh, you mean literal card, not the Faction in general? Well, yeah, the Junzo's Army Stronghold was also literally MRP'd as Shadowlands Horde box in Jade Edition. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 9 Feb 2025