Also written as: Etchu
An ancient province of Japan bordering on Echigo, Shinano, Hida, Kaga, and Noto, which is now Toyama Prefecture. The territory was contested by the clans of neighboring provinces during the Sengoku Era, the Uesugi Clan among them. The Oda Clan took the province from Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Sassa Narimasa governed the area for a number of years, followed by the Akimoto, Matsudaira, and Hosokawa Clans.
An ancient province in north-central Japan which was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin during the Sengoku Period. Now a part of Niigata Prefecture.
An ancient province of Japan located on Honshuu which is now the northern part of Fukui Prefecture.
The Edo period in Japanese history, which lasted from 1603 until 1867, was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and was the period in which Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is seen as the beginning of modern Japan. During this period, the Shogunate perceived Christianity as a threat to the stability of Japan and actively persecuted adherents of the religion until it was almost completely eradicated. During this period Japan also isolated itself from the rest of the world, an isolation ending only with the appearance of Commodore Matthew Perry's ships in Edo Bay in 1853.
Also known as: Chiyoda Castle (千代田城)
Edo Castle is a flatland castle located in what is now the Chiyoda District of Tokyo, once called Edo in the Toshima District of Musashi Province. It has been designated a special historical landmark and is now used as the Imperial Palace.
The warrior to first use Edo as his base was Edo Shigetsugu, and the Edo Clan resided there from the end of the Heian Period to the beginning of the Kamakura Period. After the destruction of the Edo Clan in Kantou riots in the 15th Century, Oota Doukan, a vassal of the Ougigayatsu-Uesugi Clan, built Edo Castle there in 1457. Doukan was later killed by his master Uesugi Sadamasa, and the Uesugi took possession of the castle. After the fall of the Ougigayatsu-Uesugi Clan, the castle came under control of the Houjou Clan.
After the Siege of Odawara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi bequeathed Houjou's old fiefs to Tokugawa Ieyasu and decreed that he should move into Edo Castle. Ieyasu did so on Aug. 30, 1590 and later established the Tokugawa Shogunate with Edo as its military capital. His grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu greatly expanded the castle and grounds from 1593 to 1636.
The last Tokugawa shogun surrendered Edo Castle to the imperial forces on Apr. 11, 1868. The castle was renamed Tokyo Castle, then Imperial Castle. The Meiji Emperor took possession of the castle in the later part of the same year made it his imperial residence.
Edoya Nekohachi III was an actor and comedian, well known for his imitations of animal sounds such as chickens and crickets. His father, Edoya Nekohachi I, was also a master imitator.
A dolphin Yuuri meets at Sea World, one of whom was shaking his hand when Yuuri is tugged into the pool on his third trip to Shinma Kingdom. The other is Bandou-kun. Together, the dolphins' names become Bandou Eiji, a Japanese TV entertainer.
A monk of Kurama Temple to whom Agi entrusts the corpse-hair mandala of Araki Murashige's clan. He is described as being in his early 30's with the physique of a warrior-monk and a tonsure that suited his face well. He is appears to be an attendant of the head monk.
Shimozuma Rairyuu performs kanshou on him.
A group of people constituting several tribes who lived in northeastern Honshuu, possibly indigenous and descended from the Joumon people and/or related to the Ainu, ethnically separate from the Japanese with their own language.
Some tribes became allies of the Japanese, while others were hostile. In warfare they engaged in guerilla tactics with horse archery and hit-and-runs, which were effective against the less mobile Imperial infantry until early Japanese warriors adopted these strategies as well. Though efforts to subjugate the Emishi in the 8th Century were initially unsuccessfully, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro succeeded in his campaigns against the Emishi, beginning the gradual submission of tribes and the conquest of their lands.
Race: Human
One of the five children in the first village (composed of human refugees) Yuuri passes through in Shinma Kingdom, a little girl whose father was killed by the king in their previous kingdom.
One of Takaya's classmates at Old Castle High School in junior class B who is the first person to try to make friends with him. He shows Takaya around the school and later the city and tells him a little about the situation. He is described as having a narrow face and slightly dyed brown hair. Takaya thinks of him as the ordinary kind of student who wants to keep his head down and avoid trouble, but also as a kind person.
He knows a lot about the game centers downtown. His father is a taxi driver.
Current Faith-Protector (chief priest) of the Himuka cult founded by Ikeda Katsuya, his mentor. He lives in Hakata, but is reported missing. His parents died in an accident while he was in high school.
He formed the bird-people subgroup of the Himuka, nine young people with ages ranging from 18 to 31 who gain the ability to fly after performing an ancient Himuka ritual called the Method of Bird-Flight. He himself can't fly without help, however.
Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei, established by Saichou in 788 during the early Heian Period (794 - 1185). Oda Nobunaga leveled Enryaku-ji in 1571 in order to end the power of the Tendai warrior monks.
A city located in the north-east area of Yamanashi Prefecture with a population of around 26,500 people
Asaoka Shinya's girlfriend, who was in the car with him when he crashed it. She also dreams of him, and passes a message from him to Asaoka Maiko and Naoe: 'Break the mirror. Kill the Crimson Beast.'
Lit.: Temple of the Blessed Forest; house temple of Takeda Shingen of Kai which was burned to the ground by Oda Nobunaga during his invasion of the province in 1582. The temple was restored during the Tokugawa period of peace.
Buddhist teachings which are conveyed secretly or implicitly and are held to be beyond the understanding of an ordinary person. It was founded on the principle that the two aspects of Buddha—the unchanging cosmic principle and the active, physical manifestation of Buddha in the natural world—are one and the same and cannot be known verbally. One method for comprehension, therefore, is through visual representation and symbolism. The practitioners of Esoteric Buddhism chant mantras, form symbolic positions with their hands ("mudras") and train in other types of mystical arts.
