Respect and Fear are separate ladders
Respect rewards rescue, parries, clashes and outnumbered wins. Fear comes from downs, grab finishes, finishers, backstabs and weapon hits. You start as Nanashi. Progress on one axis does not substitute for points on the other. Family rank is a separate character concept and should not be confused with these reputation titles.
Use the action that fits your practice
A parry gives +2 Respect, a clash win +5 and an outnumbered win +10. Our advice for learning is to work on parry timing and the M1 string rather than intentionally seeking an outnumbered fight just because its reward is larger. The time and difficulty of an action matter alongside its point value.
Understand Fear gains
The official Menboku table lists Downed +8, Grab finish +4, Finisher +2, and +1 for a backstab or weapon hit. Beaten is −4. The older Trello +6 finisher and +3 last swing are not on that table. The planner treats each action separately. It does not assume undocumented stacking or an unlimited farming rate.
Combined titles need both thresholds
Musha requires 700 Respect and 700 Fear. Goketsu requires 1,400 of each; Kishin 2,500; Onigashira 4,200; Oyabun 6,800; and Gokudo 10,800. If one side is far ahead, the weaker side determines the next combined title. Keeping an eye on both values prevents you from working on an already-complete requirement.
NPC memory is a different timer
NPCs remember interactions. The description says this memory resets after three days, with new actions refreshing the clock. It does not say that all Respect and Fear points reset on that schedule. Avoid planning around a reputation reset that the available rules do not describe.