A topic from AEG's L5R CCG Rules forum, copied for Oracle of the Void from a copy of the forum saved in October 2015, so pages it didn't save are missing. Players' names are left out; the rules officials are named. Rulings are as they stood on these dates; later rulings, the rulebooks and the Rules Archive may differ.
A player, 19 March 2008
The Hall of Ancestors and Akodo Hachigoro
References to the card’s title, or to a shortened form of the title in the case of Personalities, (such as, “Mareshi” as short for “Mirumoto Mareshi”), refer to the card itself. Such references by title refer only to that copy of the card
Back in lotus this came up with the "Call Upon the Dead" and i am not sure how this has changed.
Battle/Open: One of your target Personalities copies an ability or keyword from a target dead Lion Clan Personality you own (until the turn ends).
Reaction: If you are attacking, after armies at Hachigoro's battlefield engage: You may target one of the Defender's units, move it to Hachigoro's battlefield, and straighten it. You have the first opportunity to take a Battle action or pass
The Hall of Ancestors is used as a open to give a lion personality Akodo Hachigoro's ability. now since the dead akado hachigoro is not actually in any battles this reaction's trigger will never be met?
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 19 March 2008
The Hall of Ancestors and Akodo Hachigoro
References to the card’s title, or to a shortened form of the title in the case of Personalities, (such as, “Mareshi” as short for “Mirumoto Mareshi”), refer to the card itself. Such references by title refer only to that copy of the card
Back in lotus this came up with the "Call Upon the Dead" and i am not sure how this has changed.
Battle/Open: One of your target Personalities copies an ability or keyword from a target dead Lion Clan Personality you own (until the turn ends).
Reaction: If you are attacking, after armies at Hachigoro's battlefield engage: You may target one of the Defender's units, move it to Hachigoro's battlefield, and straighten it. You have the first opportunity to take a Battle action or pass
The Hall of Ancestors is used as a open to give a lion personality Akodo Hachigoro's ability. now since the dead akado hachigoro is not actually in any battles this reaction's trigger will never be met?
From the Comprehensive Rules, Glossary, "Copy (verb)":
http://rules.l5r.com/Glossary_C#Copy_.28verb.29""References to a source card's own title in the source ability become references, in the copied ability, to the title of its own card."
I hope that answers your question sufficiently.
Side note: Nothing about the rules of copying abilities has changed; the above has always been the case. The problem with Call Upon the Dead was that it didn't "copy" the ability, it just let another card perform someone else's ability, leading to loads of problems with self-referentiality.