Ayoi

Ayoi was one of the many isolated villages of the Fochu Peninsula in Wa. Its people made their living primarily on fishing.

Description
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 people of Ayoi were much more welcoming of strangers than other settlements of the peninsula, perhaps because its educated shoya was so keen on talking with anyone with more intelligence than the simple peasants living there.

The village had a population of about 410 individuals after.

Geography
Ayoi was located on the southwestern tip of the island of Tsukishima, on the south coast near the Momoben Forest.

Government
Villages in Wa were run by an administrator known as a shoya, typically a minor samurai, and Ayoi was no different in this respect. The shoya could call upon a local militia if needed. The shoya of Ayoi after was Tamura Tenryu.

Trade
Like the other tiny settlements of the region, Ayoi had little contact with the other villages, much less with the rest of Kara-Tur or regions beyond. The people were fishers, but there is no evidence that they traded in fish.

The cost to spend the night in one of the small minkas was 3 fen. The village did not produce anything more expensive than 1 yuan to sell.

Defenses
About 41 citizens of Ayoi 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 Ayoi were followers of the Path of Enlightenment. Unlike the other settlements, however, they did not demand a test of faith from strangers. According to Shigeruchan, the religious leader of nearby Gugedo, the people of Aiyo had slighted the Path and were in need of spiritual cleansing.

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.

Appearances

 * Test of the Samurai