Gaki

The Gaki (a word that means “shorty” in Japanese and is often used as an insult, a fact that amuses most foreign Kuei-jin ) or Ketsuki, are the Japanese Kuei-jin. Both in their demeanor and traditions, they oppose the Chinese authority of the Quincunx, instead determined to preserve their own way of unlife. The Gaki see themselves as the custodians of the delicate web of dragon lines and Chi reservoirs that give life to this chain of islands, but are faced with the growing urbanization and the massive amounts of Tainted Chi that spill forth from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

History
Originating from the remnants of the Azure Dragon Court of the Fourth Age and the elder Kuei-jin who managed to avoid the foreign occupation, the Gaki are organized into clans, also called uji. Fiercely independent, the Gaki nonetheless follow the same Dharmas as their Chinese brethren and adhere to the Great Principle. After the collapse of the August Courts, the Gaki enjoyed a long period of isolation, cultivating the chi reservoires of Japan. It was only when the westerners forced Japan to begin to trade with them in 1853, that the Gaki were forced to acknowledge the outside world again. Many of the younger Wan Kuei adapted quiet well and began to challenge their traditional Ancestors, creating a rift between the generations that continues to divide the gaki and makes them vulnerable to influences from the Quincunx. During World War II, the gaki followed the Japanese conquests, claiming many dragon nests from them until their supply lines were disrupted in 1945, when the first nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima. Today, both sides have still not fully reconciled, but have arranged a truce that allows them to cooperate, mainly during operations like the Great Leap Outward.

Version Differences
Before the release of Kindred of the East, the Gaki were considered an exotic bloodline of Cainites. These older depictions reflect the incomplete picture Western Kindred have of their asian brethren.