Kusage

Kusage is a village in northern Dewa, within the domains of the Ishimaru clan. It lies in a fertile valley near the edge of the northern forests. Ainu and even Emishi hunters and trappers occasionally visit the village for trade, and some residents claim Emishi ancestry. Spring thaw provides the area with large quantities of snow melt, giving the valley high rice yields every year. The population of the village flucuates between about 800 and 1,000 people, with the number rising in the summer and fall months as people migrate to the area for timber production and rice farming.