Kumaso

The Kumaso (熊襲) were a mythical people of ancient Japan mentioned in the Kojiki,[1][2] believed to have lived in the south of Kyūshū[3] until at least the Nara period.

The So present in Kumaso was also theorised to have the same origins as tsuo, tsau, thau, sau, tau, tao supposedly meaning "people" in Austronesian languages.

[4] Alexander Vovin defended that the question of whether the Kumaso language was not Japonic is moot because not a single word of it is attested.

[6] William George Aston, in his translation of the Nihongi, says Kumaso refers to two separate tribes, Kuma (meaning "bear") and So (written with the character for "attack" or "layer on").

[3] In his translation of the Kojiki, Basil Hall Chamberlain records that the region is also known simply as So district, and elaborates on the Yamato-centric description of a "bear-like" people, based on their violent interactions or physical distinctiveness.