Iwahara Family

The Irigami clan (狗神一族, Irigami Ichizoku) is a split clan originating in the Land of the Moon. The Irigami do not have a shinobi background, but very quickly established themselves as a mercenary intelligence force. Most members born into this clan possess "special" chakra that is particularly recognizable; it is said that members of the Irigami clan are able to recognize the reincarnated bodies of their past family members through their chakra alone.

Founding
The original clan was almost destroyed in the Warring States Period. Its matriarch, Daji Irigami ( 狗神 妲己, Irigami Daji), had served briefly as the consort of the King of Moon Country like her mother and grandmother before her until familial duties took her from the court. She inherited her place as headwoman of her family after the deaths of her father and two older brothers in feudal skirmishes. Daji had no interest in the formation of the hidden villages, only concerned with the legacy of her clan: The Irigami were originally keepers of a shrine that had belonged to the family since the time of the Sage. They were devout believers in reincarnation and supposedly had some way to identify the souls of their lost family after they had been reborn. The Irigami believed that the destruction of the shrine would prevent their family from returning to them; when t he shrine's safety was threatened by the growing animosity between the smaller countries of the world, particularly the territories of the Uchiha and the Senju, Daji moved ruthlessly to defend her clan. She used a kojutsu (also called "kodō" or "kodoku," a greatly feared ritual for employing the spirits of certain animals) to invoke the inugami and turn it into a curse that could be used against the hostile clans. The inugami she summoned, however able they were to understand her and her descendants' will, were sometimes disobedient and would bite to death members of the family. They took the shrine apart stone by stone and scattered the - thankfully whole - pieces across the continents; the final resting places of these pieces are said to be wellsprings for the rebirth of members of the Irigami.

There were as many inugami as there were people in families that had inugami, and the number of inugami increased each time the family grew larger. Families that had inugami were often said to have prospered and become wealthy. This was certainly true for the Irigami. As generations passed, they became more and more wealthy, and more and more jealous of the new hidden villages' wealth. Eventually, the Irigami made plans to move in on the hidden village closest to the Land of the Moon, Getsugakure. Daji herself, drawing on her training and experience as a courtesan, established a monopoly on Getsu's Flower District as the Madame Kayō   ( 華陽夫人,  Kayōfujin)''. She marketed herself first as a merchant of pleasure, but more subtly a procurer of information; Tansu Irigami ( 狗神 箪笥, Irigami Tansu''), came to inherit the title of headwoman in her stead.

Clan Politics
The Irigami clan is typical of an ancient bloodline, guarding their ancestral secrets closely under the guise of civilian assimilation. They appear to outsiders to be completely innocuous (several members are registered in Getsugakure's shinobi forces, but curiously enough they tend to retire early or otherwise never seem to rise above chūnin), but in truth they are a cunning and covetous brood. The clan is split into two individual factions, detailed as follows: Both branches occupy the sprawling Irigami clan compound in Getsugakure.
 * the Incarnate (化身 者, Keshin-sha), or the Main Branch, are the foremost familial branch and the extension of the clan that acts as the political and diplomatic head. These members generally have the highest rate of extended service as shinobi; regardless of their chosen career path, Incarnate Irigami benefit from an extensive childhood education in fūinjutsu, kojutsu and onmyōdō.
 * the Reincarnate (転生者, Tensei-sha), or the Branch Clan, are the "adopted" members of the Irigami. Such individuals either found their way or were taken to the homeland of the Irigami by virtue of their "special" chakra and are believed to be the reborn bodies of lost Irigami; this is further evidenced by their tendency to be born near the stones of the original shrine scattered by the inugami.

The Black Egg Affair
The Irigami are most famous for their involvement in the Black Egg Affair, wherein Tamamo Irigami (a daughter of the main house) used her knowledge of   fūinjutsu and   kojutsu to create the Start of the Waning Moon curse seal.

Identifying Features
The Irigami technically do not have any identifying features. Due to their strong belief in reincarnation, they tend to adopt or marry in outsiders from the surrounding continents who they believe to be their own family reborn. However, members of the main branch tend to be dark-haired and amber-eyed, with colour ranges between dark red, brown, and black. The Irigami mark their shinobi members at adulthood with two jagged purple slash marks on either cheek.

In addition to appearance, the Irigami all tend to dress in a similar fashion. Men and women alike wear hanbok, a traditional Korean dress, around the compound. Armor is worn over more casual clothes during battle, but only the chest, back, and forearms are covered, as well as the thighs. Main and secondary branch clan members prefer to wear the colours of the matriarch, which are a series of bright yellows and oranges, and mix it with red. Tertiary clan members, young children, and at times the elderly all tend toward the colours of the clan's historical emblem, which are darker oranges with pale accents, and accessorize with whites. Both factions like strings of red beads or similarly-coloured ornaments.

Elemental Countries
With their Clan Head as Storm Country's Daimyō, the Irigami had ties (both political and spousal) to the Land of Iron, and a long-standing trade was established for weapons and techniques. Their ties to the Lands of Snow, Fire, and Lightning were not quite so strong, but could be considered in the way of amicable neighbours.

Getsugakure
The Irigami's ancestral roots lie in the Land of the Moon, making Getsugakure their main militant base of operations. Plainly speaking, the Irigami have their fingers in the all of this continent's pies. The compound was erected here after their takeover of the Flower District.

Kirigakure
Kiri's attack and subsequent salt-and-burning of Uzushio outraged the Irigami clan, who can still be found to rave about it presently. As such, Kiri's relationship with the Irigami is beyond hope, even with Mei Terumi's reforms.

Konohagakure
The Irigami hold a sharp animosity for Konoha, whose forces they believe neglected Uzushio in its time of need. They are mistrustful of Konoha's policies and of its ninja.

Kumogakure
The Irigami clan's attentions to the Land of Lightning (particularly their Hidden Village) have cooled somewhat after Cloud's attempted theft of the Hyuga's doujutsu, which the Irigami hold as a breach of civil liberty with the ability to lead to a similar event to Kiri's invasion of Uzushio.

Nadeshiko Village
New ties have been forged between the Irigami and the kunoichi of Nadeshiko Village, an arrangement which benefits both parties greatly.

Uzushiogakure
In the early years of its relocation, the Irigami were allied closely with  Uzushiogakure  (with whom they shared an island culture and traded in skills for seals). The Irigami's loyalty grew in regards to Uzushio and its shinobi as many intermarriages began to blur their ethnic lines. Several high-ranking members of the main and secondary branch have expressed their hope for the scattered Uzumaki population to rebuild Uzushio, which they would support politically and financially.

Chakra and Physical Prowess
The Irigami clan is not much for chakra, but their physical prowess is nearly unmatched in its form and success. Members of the Irigami clan are natural adepts in terms of offensive taijutsu. Much of their members tend to compliment the sword as well, and Incarnate Irigami begin their formal kenjutsu, stealth and interrogation training in the Flower District before they are old enough to attend school. Sex-specific training is provided after an individual either graduates Getsugakure's shinobi academy or provided significant progress is made under the ministrations of the reigning Madame Kayō. Many Irigami are scouted for the Flower District out of the academy.

Irigami generally have a low threshold for chakra-based techniques and rarely employ any kind of ninjutsu, even low-level jutsu. However, most Irigami are natural Sensor nin and display a prodigious sensitivity to chakra.

Genjutsu
Members of the Irigami clan have very little talent in genjutsu (which require less chakra to create then offensive techniques, but ultimately more stamina to stabilize). To make up for this deficiency, they have trained extensively in techniques designed to circumvent genjutsu-type techniques. Used in tandem with swordplay, the Irigami have cultivated a clan-specific art of kenjutsu rumoured to be able to literally cut through a B-rank genjutsu.

Taijutsu
Their taijutsu education is rigorous and rooted deeply in clan lore and values; aside from their own clan-specific taijutsu and kenjutsu, the Irigami (by virtue of their past intermarrying) are possibly the only remaining clan still actively keeping faith with the lost Whirlpool taijutsu and fūinjutsu forms. As a result, many taijutsu masters tend to come from or marry into the clan.

Leaders

 * Daji Irigami  ( 狗神  妲己,  Irigami Daji ), first matriarch and founder of the Irigami clan.
 * Tansu Irigami  ( 狗神  箪笥,  Irigami Tansu ), current matriarch of the Irigami clan and head of the main branch.

Trivia

 * The kanji in Irigami ( 狗神) literally means "dog, puppy" and "god", respectively, and is an alternate pronunciation of "inugami" in the Tanegashima local dialect.
 * The idea that there exists bloodlines of families that are more easily possessed by an inugami (as well as bloodlines of inugami themselves) come from the regional tales of sorcerers, yamabushi, priests, and fuko that engaged in kodoku. In many cases, it shows how nomadic peoples who engaged in folk sorcery would earn trust and respect and at the same time be treated with discrimination.
 * Families that had inugami were thought to have prospered and grew wealthy. At the same time, there were also cases where they weren't treated like fox spirits that brought fortune into families by being deified, but rather detested as curse gods.
 * All current clan heads since the Warring States Period have been female. Historically, the Irigami have had 3 male inheritors, and no male Kayōfujin.