Shinjiro Kurita (28th c.)

Shinjiro Kurita
Born	2858
Died	2925
Affiliation	House Kurita
Profession	Coordinator of the Draconis Combine
Parents	Taragi Kurita (father)
Children	Necess Kurita Hugai Kurita Shon-Lee Kurita

Biography

Shinjiro Kurita was the son of Taragi Kurita. In line to the throne of the Draconis Combine following Taragi's ascension to the position of Coordinator after the carefully planned assassination of Jon Kurita following the death of Coordinator Miyogi Kurita, Shinjiro was kept in waiting for a number of years because his father believed that he was simply too politically naïve to be trusted with the throne and its responsibilities.

Following Taragi's unexpected death due to complications in surgery in November 2907, Shinjiro became the Coordinator, and swiftly proved himself far less naïve than his father had believed. Beginning his rule by dismissing all of the counselors he inherited from his father, Shinjiro appointed retired officers and diplomats who had taught him at the Sun Zhang Academy in their place. Shinjiro then began working to secure and expand the Combine's borders.

Shinjiro began working in 2911 to reduce the impact the figure known as the Bandit King was having on the Combine's prefectures along the Periphery border. Looking to release commands pinned in place waiting for the next raid or attack by the Bandit King, Shinjiro established a system of bounties to encourage efforts at hunting bandits. The bounties were available to any veteran of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery with combat experience, and aspiring bounty hunters were issued with surplus DCMS equipment, including JumpShip transport and some battered BattleMechs. Given the nickname "Gray Dragons", these bounty hunters successfully slowed the frequency of pirate attacks.

During Shinjiro's tenure the DCMS was faced with a major Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces offensive in the form of Operation FREEDOM, which succeeded in recapturing worlds despite the death of Archon Eric Steiner in action. A resurgent LCAF made the DCMS campaign in the Tamar region more costly, and while the Dragon continued to capture worlds, the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns responded to the shift in manpower and material from the Federated Suns border to the Commonwealth front by launching their own offensives. During Shinjiro's tenure the Combine continue to gain worlds from the Commonwealth at a faster rate than it lost worlds to the Federated Suns, but the losses on the Federated Suns front were dispiriting, particularly when the High Command made the decision to continue prioritizing the Commonwealth campaign.

In 2921 Shinjiro spent more than six months on New Samarkand, ostensibly to address the graduating class from the Sun Zhang Academy, but more urgently to meet with Director Clarissa Indrahar of the Internal Security Force in efforts to mend the rift between the Dragon and the ISF left after the Shadow War. Shinjiro was successful, although he had to make a number of concessions to the ISF including appointing the ISF Director a full member of the High Command. The new agreement between the ISF and the Coordinator, dubbed the Davarapala Accords, were signed the same year.

The Marathon Offensive during the last years of the second war had convinced the Combine military that it was folly to attempt to sustain a major campaign on both fronts. In 2824, the Kurita High Command decided that as long as they continued to gain strategic advantage along the Commonwealth front, they would continue to devote to it the lion’s share of supplies and equipment. his was, of course, a major disappointment for the Kurita officers on the Davion front.

Shinjiro died suddenly in his sleep in 2925. The presence of a late-night visitor in his company, recorded entering by security systems, led both the ISF and the Grand Inquisitor to investigate his death extensively, but eventually declared it to have been due to natural causes.

Marriage & Children

Shinjiro had a son and several daughters. His oldest child was his daughter, Necess; his son was Hugai, who at the age of 35 assumed the position of Coordinator after Shinjiro's death. Shinjiro wasn't close to his children; Shinjiro had his children raised away from Luthien, in part so that he wouldn't have to share the media spotlight.

Quotes

“	It is time for even the bitterest of brothers to lay down their differences to face an enemy common to both.	”
	— Coordinator Shinjiro Kurita in a message to the Internal Security Force, April 2919

Titles and Positions

Preceded by Taragi Kurita

Coordinator of the Draconis Combine 2907-2925

Succeeded by Hugai Kurita

Bibliography

• Handbook: House Kurita
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)