Esan

Esan was a community of weavers and one of the many isolated villages of the Fochu Peninsula in Wa.

Description
Esan was a village concerned with upholding their idea of morality, following the order of shogun Matasuuri Nagahide in to raise the nation's moral standards. Non-married men and women were not allowed to associate together, and women had to walk at least 10 steps behind any men. The people of Esan were thus suspicious of strangers and not at all welcoming.

Most of the structures within the village were simple peasant shacks known as minka, built from wood with latticed walls and straw-thatched roofs. Apart from these poor residences were small barns, warehouses, and shops.

The village had a population of about 410 individuals after.

Geography
Esan was located on the eastern side of the Fochu Peninsula of Tsukishima. A trail led to the southwest to Zuke, and another trail let northeast into the foothills of the Jofosu Range.

Government
Villages in Wa were run by an administrator known as a shoya, typically a minor samurai, and Esan was no different in this respect. The shoya could call upon a local militia if needed. The shoya of Esan after Wa Year 1770 (1352 DR) was Ginoyo Yashishira, a man obsessed with proper "morals".

Trade
Like the other tiny settlements of the region, Esan had little contact with the other villages, much less with the rest of Kara-Tur or regions beyond. The people were weavers, but there is no evidence that they actively traded their goods with other settlements.

The cost to spend the night in one of the small minkas was 4 fen. The village did not produce anything more expensive than 5 yuan to sell.

Defenses
About 41 citizens of Esan served in its militia. These persons were only armed with simple clubs or spears.

Religion
Like most of the villages of the Peninsula, the people of Esan were strict followers of the Path of Enlightenment. They were usually strongly opposed to anyone visiting their village who would not demonstrate devotion to the Path by making a donation to a shrine, reciting a prayer, or spitting on the symbol of Chauntea, who was considered a heretical faith.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Etsi Hashoto, a butterfly-collector.

History
Sometime after Wa Year 1770 (1352 DR), deposed coiled dragon Za-Jikku began murdering citizens of the many villages of the Fochu Peninsula, transforming them into magical butterflies, the breath of which would create yun ch'i, the vapor of death, which he would use to live forever. One of the villagers, Etsi Hashoto, purchased one of these strange, human-faced insects from someone who had found it in the Jofosu Mountains.

Appearances

 * Test of the Samurai