Sampan were the small boats that were common on Rokugan's rivers and coasts. It was constructed from three main planks of wood that were bent by heat and fitted together. There were two types of sampan. The kamo-sampan, or duck style, had a raised square prow and it was used along rivers where the bottom was shallow and sandy. The niwatori-sampan, or chicken style, had a pointed prow (the “beak”) and a somewhat curved bottom. They were used along the Phoenix Clan and Crab Clan coastlines where the coast was rockier.