Makosō

Makosō [壮師; まこそう] is a city located in southern Heisai Prefecture. As of 2020, it had a population of around 24,000. 
Makosō is located in the foothills of the southern Tsuba mountains, on a large arable plain descending from the slopes of Mount Eku. Many small springs and streams flow through this region, and are pooled into an artifical basin called Lake Mizuke. The hills surrounding the city are also covered with pine forests, which are cited as being the city's namesake [makosō literally meaning 'scent of pine']. The area of present-day Makosō was once part of Tengō Province, an area which once took up around 70% of modern Heisai. Pottery fragments have been discovered in fields and hillsides, and a number of tombs and cairns have been found, dating to the early Chisō period. 
During the early 17th century, Makosō developed a silk and cotton weaving industry dependent on the nearby Hakai. The silk industry was destroyed, however, by intensely cold weather during the winter of 1870-71. The residents of Makosō were apparently reduced to eating wild roots by the famine of this period and many died or moved away.
Makosō is known throughout the Zōku region for its preservation of traditional culture and especially its wealth of ancient folktales, which were chronicled in the 1904 book Makosō no Waboku by the children's author Tomō Koji.