K is for Kura

A kura is a Japanese storehouse for valuable things, built to be fireproof. Mundane things like rakes and bicycles would be stored elsewhere. Japanese homes have limited storage, so things that aren’t used everyday—prized items like wedding china or family photo albums—go in the kura.

That’s a position that makes a kura somewhat interesting when transposed to a fantasy setting. Perhaps the orcs in your dungeon live on a subsistence level, owning barely enough to survive. They wouldn’t have to worry about precious keepsakes. But maybe they’re a few steps above subsistence.

Kura

What can the PC’s find in the monsters’ kura?

Stone box adorned with narrative carvings
Urn filled with ash
Garishly colored robes
Ancestral weapon (broken, unmendable)
Religious icon
Locks of hair tied in silk ribbons
Sacred wine
Skulls of enemies
Porcelain vases
Festival masks
Delicate, impractical furniture
Small box containing a fine brush, a small glass bottle of dried-up ink, and a block of sealing wax