| Please note: This article is about the Village of Promises. For other uses of the term, please see Mimura (disambiguation). |
Mimura
The Village of Promises was at the junction of two Imperial roads, near the foothills of the dangerous Sabishii Crags. The village had been formed merging three separate hamlets in the early 11th century. Each hamlet dedicated itself to providing the local lord with important trade goods and commodities. The eastern portion, Jingore, was dedicated to farming, the southern, Ubanoru, to trade, while to the northwest Omiatsu housed important nobility and tourists during the pleasant seasons. [1]
Jingore[]
The hamlet was an important source of rice in the area, with fertile paddies, ensuring the gokenin enjoyed his daimyo's favor. It contained most of Mimura's houses, occupied by peasants and merchants. [2]
Other Places[]
- The Children of the Sun, a teahouse. [3]
- The Silver Okasan, a geisha house. [3]
- The Blessings of the New Year, an inn which also offered geisha services. [4]
- The Whispering Crane and the House of White Lilies, tea houses. [5]
Omiatsu[]
Omiatsu hosted the finest homes in Mimura, although many of them collapsed as effect of a flooding that happened when the Golden Koi River slipped its banks. The waters of the river turned into a marsh while the soil became soft and fertile. There was little dry land in this portion of the village. [2]
Other Places[]
- The Agatamori Temple was located near the only torii arch of the village, of red and black colors, along Wise Snake Pass Road. [6]
- The Goddess' Beauty, a sake house. [7]
Ubanoru[]
It started as a single inn and teahouse along a well-used road. Later, commerce in sake, lacquerware, and silk developed near the inn. The conglomeration of businesses eventually took shape into a hamlet. It wasn't long before a single ronin samurai served as protector of the hamlet. [2]
Other Places[]
- The Faint Winds of Kojii's Favor, [8] and Biwa's Heart, teahouses. [9]
- Goyaku Inn, the oldest building in the village. [10]
- Kome Sake Works, the local brewery. [11]
Other places of interest in the vicinity[]
- The Bridge of Mourning allowed to cross the Tearful River. During the Iris Festival young girls and their mothers flocked there to throw flowers into the river, mourning the maiden's passing described in the legend of the Fortune Kamashi-okara. [12]
- Gotsuna was a small patch of trees far from the village, which was appreciated by the gokenin Ekaido to enjoy the contemplative time. [13]
- Perfect Eye was a watchtower built into the side of a small hill and looked out over the village in every direction. [13]
- The Time of Struggle and Persistence Bridge (Tataki na Nintai no Kikan Hashi) [14] allowed to cross the Golden Koi River. [15]
- Breath of the Sorrowful was the nearly impassable bog that filled from the Tearful River. The local Crab called it Megunori or Noroma. The bog kept the land fertile but made the navigation impossible. [16]
- Plains of Grace were the grasslands surrounding the village. The locals called them as kurayami jimen, ("the darkness of the earth"). Strange stories circulated of a darkness that lived in the night sky, or of ninja who lived beneath the earth. It was haunted by the Chibumitsu spirit. [17]
- The Forest of Persistence Stone had a big stone in its center with a kanji incised near the top. [18]
- The Forest of Ishikure was named to honor an Imperial Guard, Seppun Ishikure, who disappeared there while chasing bandits. Another guard who sought him in the forest also did not return. After several shugenja were lost there while investigating the issue, the Elemental Masters forbade shugenja to enter the forest. [19]
- The Forest of Reflection (Jukko no Mori) was said that was formed from a single tree planted by a monk in the 6th century, and each year passing a new tree grew up. The forest was considered holy, a shrine dedicated to the monk was built, and peasants did not cut down trees there, did not hunt, coming only to reflect or meditate. [19]
- The Healthy Green Forest (Midori Kenko na Mori) had great variety of trees, as mahogany, ebony, lacquer trees, pine, sandalwood, and spruce, that the peasants chopped regularly. [19]
- The Great Repose was a place to meditate, marked by eerie quiet and an unnerving calm. [19] It was alaso known as Plains of Woe. [20]
- The Crow's Flight Forest was named by Shinsei's crow, which legends said once flied over these trees. In the 12th century rumors of goblins or bandits living there were spread. [21]
Legends[]
Mimura
It was said that the resting place of Ageri Natsuri no Oni laid beneath the soil where the village was built. [14]
Known Gokenin[]
References
- ↑ Mimura, pp. 6-7
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mimura, p. 6
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mimura, p. 24
- ↑ Mimura, p. 25
- ↑ Mimura, p. 26
- ↑ Mimura, p. 7
- ↑ Mimura, p. 32
- ↑ Mimura, p. 33
- ↑ Mimura, p. 37
- ↑ Mimura, p. 34
- ↑ Mimura, p. 38
- ↑ Mimura, p. 9
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mimura, p. 13
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mimura, p. 19
- ↑ Mimura, p. 14
- ↑ Mimura, p. 16
- ↑ Mimura, pp. 17, 44
- ↑ Mimura, p. 18
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Mimura, p. 20
- ↑ Mimura, p. 29
- ↑ Mimura, p. 21
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