Yoritomo Zou was a bushi of the Mantis Clan, and assistant to Yoritomo Harui, a courtier who was assigned to Kyuden Kurogane-Hana in order to help establish a Mantis presence in the court's political nexus, as well as offering support for Mantis traders passing through. The efforts of Harui and Zou was somewhat disrupted when the brutish Yoritomo Gendou drawn in several samurai who previously worked for Harui.