Kurobara

Kurobara
Kurobara: meaning "Black Rose", was once a small unnamed village that resided in the center of the mountains, surrounded by large mountainous cliffs. The village then, was home to primarily farmers. The village sustained itself trading few goods such as some silks, fabrics, teas, and crops, though due to its location, many places normally skipped the village for trades, finding better profits in more easily accessible villages elsewhere. This small village of farmers was always noted for their hard labor during the day, and festive singing and celebrations during the evening. The hard workers of the village had often sang songs and played instruments as a way to pass time, celebrate the traditions, seasons, and good harvest. One of the most well known traditions of the village was to pray and hope spirits would help them every year with the harvest, to prevent hunger and illnesses in the village. The tiny village with no name, had grown to become a large and bustling village in a matter of a years. A village that had barely existed on the maps had now grown to become a busy village, constantly exporting high quality silks, bountiful crops, precious metals, spices, and weapons. As the trades of the once small village increased, the newly born village had become a capital for many art forms, attracting singers, artists, poets, swordsmen, dancers, and musicians to come learn from a place where music had always been to pass time and celebrate. Today, the village had been renamed as Kurobara, a way to emphasize the various beautiful skills that exist in the village that rests hidden in the dark shadows of the colossal mountain cliffs.

The Myth of Kurobara
As a small village barely on any maps had suddenly grown in a short amount of time, It had aroused curiousity and many variations of stories on how this small village had seemed to grow over night. Over time a large list of rumors and stories began to arise, stories of what people claim to have heard to stories of what they claim to know. There are stories claiming that a humble miner, looking for iron had struck gold in the mountains, causing the dramatic change in wealth and popularity of the village, stories that claim that good spirits had posessed the town and had influenced its good omens to let the village flourish.. despite all the stories that exists, the most popular myth of Kurobara, the one that most people believe is that a god had found its way to the village and continues to live there, protecting the vilagers and helping the village flourish. This myth may also have to do with a variety of reasons, Folklore has it that years ago, farmers would pray for the fox deity to come down the mountains every year to provide them with healthy crops before the deity leaves, returning back to its home in the mountains. The myth revolving around the idea of a deity continues with the story that this fox deity could be lured down the mountains if a skilled musician would play the deity's favorite song, so a musician had played the song on his flute.. successfully attracting the fox deity down the mountains to find a will or reason to stay in the world with humans. Along this folklore, other stories of children being brought back to life by a touch of a fox deity, the myth of Kurobara being the home of a deity, had reached to the top of the list. This myth has a way of reaching the ears of outsiders and travelers, and luring them into the village to try to find out the truth.. but to date, no one has been able to carry out solid evidence of such, and all the stories remain as just a myth... or just a children's fairy tale. The most these outsiders find on this myth once they get to Kurobara, are just actors on street theaters, singing and telling the story of a fox goddess who had been lured down the mountain to the village and had her heart stolen by the beautiful music and art.

Kurobara's Area of Interests
Art forms such as dance, music, poetry, painting, swordsmanship, and singing are one of Kurobara's main area's of interest. This village's art forms are considered to be superior, and the village often encounters handfuls of aspiring individuals wanting to pursue careers or master these skills. As a newcommer enters the village most are usually shocked by the amount of art that is practiced on the streets, from musicians playing outside, dancers  practicing their choreography outdoors, swordsmen in training in outdoor dojos, and spectators who find themselves captivated by all of what the village has to offer. Many claim that there are so little people who get seriously or terminally injured, some believe that it is simply good omens, or advanced medicine.. or both. Kurobara, with many access to various herbs, spices, and knowledge from traverlers utilizes these aspects to strengthen their intelligence with medicine and alchemy. Due to such peaceful nature of the village of Kurobara and it's history, little is known about Kurobara's military.. or whether this village actually has one,

Village Map
A photo of the village.

Map of Kurobara. (click to enlarge )