Takumi Village

resides in the small river country. It was founded approximately one hundred years ago by a man named Seimei. Takumi is known for its skills in making weaponry, many of which are sold to the ninja villages of the world. When the village faced hard times they requested help but they were ignored by the other shinobi villages. Certain skilled Takumi villagers grew resentful and felt the villages didn't respect them for all the help their weapons provided in the past. Four skilled craftsmen trained harder than the others in the ninja arts, wore the Takumi character on their forehead protector and sought to resurrect their village founder, Seimei. They planned to resurrect him using the One-Tailed Shukaku inside of Gaara and use him to seek revenge against the Five Great Shinobi Villages, who they felt did not appreciate their village. They operated under the name Shitenshounin, or the Four Heavenly Directions. This name stemmed from the characters in their name matching with the deities of the directions: Houki the Turtle, Kujaku the Bird, Ryuugan the Dragon and Suiko the Tiger.