In its earliest days, the Land of Water was ruled by the aborigines that had come together within the small island nation to form a stable government overseen by the Tashiro clan and one of its earliest leaders, Tashiro Rei.

Flourishing economically with its many valuable trading ports, the nation grew seemingly overnight, its population rising steadily as the previously-isolationist nation began to accept visitors from all over the world. What outwardly seemed to be an ideal situation, with the aborigines of the island nation at the center of power, had come at an unforeseen cost: the wealthy migrants that had traveled to the Land of Water to settle there had taken control over pieces of the trade and even small regions there.

Bit by bit, the land was divided among many factions seeking supremacy over one another.

In his old age, Tashiro Rei had yet to bear a heir to his name. It was assumed that his brother, Tashiro Rinji, would take the throne after the passing of his elder sibling. However, one of the leader’s mistresses unexpectedly gave birth to a son: Tashiro Reizo. The sudden birth of this heir immediately caused friction between the two brothers.

Precipitously, the noble clans throughout the nation began splitting themselves between those who supported the succession of the ruling seat to either Rinji or Reizo. Others took this as an opportunity to oppose their rivals by gathering forces with the opposing side. Only a year after the birth of Tashiro Reizo, the powder keg had been lit and the Land of Water was immersed in a widespread civil war.

Ten years after its beginning, the clans that had sought to profit from the skirmish had wiped each other out and, in an unforgivable act that would bring about an end to the conflict, the ten year-old Reizo was assassinated by one of the many bandit groups that had been fostered by the chaos of their age.

Rising from the ashes, the Tashiro clan would spearhead the race for peace in the Land of Water with their seemingly otherworldly skills as warriors and masters of the seas and oceans. Dedicating his works to his now-deceased older brother and nephew, Tashiro Rinji would become a central figure in the coming peace and would be forever regarded as the Executioner of the Mist (霧の廷吏, Kiri no Teirei) for his effective yet ‘aggressive’ methodology.

Feeling unworthy of the title of daimyo, Rinji instead proposed to follow in the steps of the mainland shinobi clans and establish a shinobi village with the chosen leader of the nation. Kirigakure was established, and Tashiro Rinji would become its first Mizukage.