Tsu start in the centre of the map as you may know. None of the clan bonuses are very useful but I would rank them in the following way in terms of usefulness:

1. Fortitude (+1 to unit melee defence)
   
2. Artifice (-10% to the cost of shinobi actions)
   
3. Persuasion (+2% to allegiance conversion)
   
4. Furtiveness (+3 to the number of kisho ninja units available)

None of these have any significant hidden benefits so there's no need to dwell on them any longer. There are some actual advantages that the starting position provides however that are worth mentioning.

• Most importantly you start out with a Traditional Dojo which gives you a massive head start in army development.
  
• You also get a Kisho Ninja unit and a Shinobi which can come in clutch in critical situations.
  
• Finally you get to exercise your army advantage immediately due being in the middle of a cluster of cities which provide opportunities for quick easy conquests.

The biggest problem with the starting position is that it has too many attack vectors and you need to hold too many places at once. As the campaign goes on and the pressure piles up you will eventually crack especially when you are surrounded by big clans rather than small ones. I lost this campaign 5 times until I came up with the right method. At first I tried to conquer a few cities and consolidate but the position was impossible to hold; no matter how many battles I won I was being whittled down slowly. I also tried to migrate with the initial army advantage to a better starting position but the time and resources lost in the process also set me back too much.

I didn't come up with this method playing Shogun 2. I actually used it in the Peninsular Campaign as France on Napoleon which helped me win the campaign in record time. The goal is to always have a larger army than you can afford and to use it actively on the map. This will ensure that you do much more damage to the enemy than it does to you and the losses you take also reduce the pressure on your income. To compensate for the negative income loot enemy cities. Use this money to invest in the army heavily and keep growing it despite being in the negative and let your income catch up as you gain territories. The massive army advantage also means that any rebel armies that spawn can easily be dealt with. Don't avoid negative income because your army needs to be big enough for this method to be viable long term.

Don't spend all the loot at once since you need it to avoid going bankrupt. The money you get should give you enough time to loot the next city and the surplus can be used to grow your army. This economy is actually way better than one that relies on positive income. This is because in the case of positive income whatever surplus is accrued you can only get to spend it by the end whereas in the case of looting you get it all up front. This means you can spend the surplus immediately and get improvements that will help you for all those turns you'd be accruing a surplus with positive income and no looting. At first these improvements should all relate to the army and later to the economy.
I did end up going bankrupt 3 times however the effects of that are minimal. My daimyo had the lowest possible honour but it didn't really affect my clan relations too much. I was only bankrupt for 1 turn each time right before the sack of the next city.
If you get to the sea don't bother with ports. You are a land power and you can't afford to split your focus. Your coasts will get bombarded to bits anyway.

The initial position of Tsu allows it to easily loot two cities immediately. The enemy clan in the north and one in the west that goes immediately for your ally in the south. Don't hold the cities if you can't, just keep destroying the clans around you whether they are imperial or shogunate. You can also loot certain cities multiple times. When you feel like it's time to consolidate resort to peaceful occupation however don't overdo it. Loot as much as you can get away with (I looted some places twice and even my starting province at one point). Start with the first couple of cities around your starting position. Once you can afford to consolidate your starting position and then go for the cluster of cities around Ise bay. They are all quite close to each other which makes them easy to control especially with a powerful army. After that you should already have 10 provinces which will initiate Realm Divide.

Stick to traditional units because traditional armies have an edge in the early game. In Multiplayer campaign I would spam yari kachis but vs AI you should spam yari kis because the AI in the area relies quite heavily on shooting units. At least half your army should be composed of yari kis. They also provide a strategic advantage as they can cross the map quite easily and will help you concentrate forces much easier around your target. Later on add more shooting units, and cannons against forts.

Since you loot so much I would focus on researching techs that give diplomatic relations bonuses. I would also focus on general skills and techs that improve the replenishment and fighting abilities of units. Later on you can start researching for public order bonuses and from then on for economic bonuses. Make sure to research railways ASAP. They are super helpful and you rarely get to use them with other clans.

Realm Divide simplifies the game quite a bit. Focus on reducing the number of fronts until you only have one. Your allies will provide a lot of help and your army should be strong enough to beat all comers. The game actually gets much easier after Realm Divide. You will have to rely less on looting since against big clans you want to take territory as quickly as possible and you don't have time to babysit provinces against rebel armies. Also in other areas the cities aren't very close to each other either which makes them more difficult to control against rebel and shogunate armies.