Kuma

Kuma lies in a mountain basin of southern Higo, drained by the Kuma River. For nearly seven centuries the Sagara family ruled the district from their stronghold at Hitoyoshi, surviving the upheavals that displaced many other warrior houses. Their authority extended from the medieval age into the Tokugawa period. The enclosed basin and its river gave the region a character of its own, while Hitoyoshi remained the centre of Sagara government.