Mino

Mino was a concealed village, located in the southeastern part of the Eastern Country, among heavily forested mountains. Although it included a shrine to various Gods of the forest and mountains (Shinto deities) most of its' population were secretly members of the Hidden, who were tolerated by the other, non-Hidden residents. It was the birthplace of Tomasu (aka Takeo). In Across the Nightingale Floor, Mino was discovered and burned to the ground by Iida Sadamu, leader of the Tohan clan.

Mino was not a particularly large village, though it did include a sacred mountain shrine for those who follow the old gods. Within the town itself, there was a small shrine for the Hidden, including a cistern for washing before prayers. The town also included a small brothel. Although the mountain shrine was untouched during Mino's sacking, the rest of the village was utterly destroyed, and it was never rebuilt even during Takeo's tenure as overlord of the Three Countries. The agriculture and external trade of Mino was extremely limited due to their concealed nature, as they only traded with fellow members of the Hidden; Takeo mentions that they only ate rice about three times a year, due to the difficulty of cultivating it in the densely-forested mountains, and that their tea was made from twigs and mountain herbs. Much of what they subsisted on was from gathering in the mountains, such as mushrooms and river crabs.