Osata

Osata was one of the many isolated villages of the Fochu Peninsula in Wa. Its people made their living selling coffins and other ornate funerary paraphernalia to the city of Fochu.

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 Osata were suspicious of strangers and not at all welcoming. The small town had a population of about 930 individuals after.

Geography
Osata was located in the southwest of the island of Tsukishima, on the west coast. It was built around a stream flowing from the Momoben Forest.

Government
Villages in Wa were run by an administrator known as a shoya, typically a minor samurai, and Osata was no different in this respect. The shoya could call upon a local militia if needed. The shoya of Osata after Wa Year 1770 (1352 DR) was Guiji Yui, who had served as chief executioner to the previous shoya, Osari Mochikino.

Trade
Unlike most other tiny settlements of the region, Osata had a unique trade arrangement with the nearby village of Sokijan. The people of Sokijan would harvest chestnut trees from the western edges of the Momoben Forest. These were delivered and sold to Osata, where they were used to craft beautiful caskets, which were in turn sold to the nobles of the city of Fochu.

In addition to this, the people were fishers and farmers, but there is no evidence that they traded in fish or farming goods with other settlements.

The cost to spend the night in one of the small minkas was 5 fen. The village did not produce anything more expensive than 10 yuan to sell.

Defenses
About 93 citizens of Osata 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 Osata 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 Locations
South of the village, before the village of Sokijan, there was a profane area full of black sand. This was once a place where traitors were executed, and it later became haunted.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Osari Minhiro, a samurai who sought out adventurers to free the Fochu Peninsula from destruction caused by Za-Jikku.

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