And ancient province of Japan located on Honshuu which forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture today. Mikawa bordered on the provinces of Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Totomi.

Mikawa was the original domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu before he gained control of the Kantou.

As a vassal of the Rokkaku Clan, Sadamochi fought against Oda in the siege of 1570 and died in battle. Afterwards the remnants of Mikumo and other powerful local clans left Rokkaku and submitted to Oda.

A junior at Old Castle High School in class 2-A who is president of the student council and holds an iron grip over the school. She appears to have the principal's support and even has the power to fire teachers.

The Battle of Mimase Pass took place on Oct. 8, 1569 between the armies of the Houjou Clan, led by Houjou Ujiteru and Houjou Ujikuni, and the Takeda Clan, led by Takeda Shingen, after the Kai-Sagami-Suruga alliance fell apart in 1568 upon Takeda's invasion of Suruga.

On Oct. 1, 1569, Takeda Shingen besieged Houjou Ujiyasu's Odawara Castle with 20,000 troops, but like Uesugi Kenshin before him, failed to penetrate the Houjou Clan's main fortress' defenses and retreated four days later on Oct. 5 after setting fire to the land near the castle. Houjou Ujiteru and Houjou Ujikuni set up an ambush with an army of 12,000-20,000 (estimates differ) at the strategic Mimase Pass for the Takeda army as it retreated back towards Kai. Houjou Ujimasa brought up their main army of 20,000 in a pincer movement.

Takeda Shingen led the Takeda army along with his generals Takeda Katsuyori, Takeda Nobukado, Yamagata Masakage, Naitou Masatoyo, Baba Nobuharu, Asari Nobutane, and Obata Norishige.

Houjou Ujiteru and Houjou Ujikuni led the Houjou army along with their generals Houjou Ujitada, Takajou Kurando (?), Hara Tanehide, and Ueda Tomonao.

Ujiteru and Ujikuni apparently sprung the ambush before Ujimasa arrived. Shingen, who had sensed the attack, split his army into three parts: one met the Houjou head-on, while the other two hid in the mountain and attacked from the side. The two armies met in full-blown battle on Oct. 8. The Houjou held the advantage at the start. However, a detached force led by Yamagata Masakage struck in a surprise attack from the higher ground of Shida Pass about a kilometer to the south-west, managing to turn the tide of the battle. The Takeda army also employed arquebuses in the narrow mountain pass to their great advantage, and the Houjou army suffered heavy losses. Though the fighting was close at the beginning of the battle, by the end it was clearly a Takeda victory.

Ujimasa halted his army upon hearing of the Houjou defeat, so the pincer attack (which may yet have won the day for the Houjou) never came to pass. Takeda then pushed forward into Sagami, there to raise his victory shout, before retreating.

Because Uesugi Kenshin had not sent aid during the seige and battle, the Houjou Clan began to view him with distrust, and Houjou Ujiyasu wrote a letter to him expressing his discontent. This battle would become the underlying cause for the Houjou's severing of their alliance with the Uesugi Clan and reformation of their alliance with the Takeda Clan.

Title: Chinjufu-shogun (Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North)

A general of the Heian Period who was head of the Minamoto Clan and, along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, led the Imperial forces against rebellion in the north in the Zenkunen (Early Nine Years War) and Gosannen (Later Three Years War) wars. Both conflicts were a struggle for power within the samurai clans, and fought in Mutsu Province in northern Honshuu.

The Zenkunen was fought against the powerful Abe Clan, a member of whom, Abe no Yoritoki, was military general of Mutsu in charge of controlling the Emishi and Ainu natives and who clashed with the Court-appointed Governor.

The Gosannen was fought against the Kiyohara Clan and arose from a long series of quarrels.

One of Tokyo's twenty-three special wards (self-governing, special municipalities existing only in Tokyo) located in central Tokyo, southwest of the Imperial Palace. It contains some of Tokyo's most popular entertainment and nightlife districts, as well as upscale residential and commercial areas. Tokyo Tower is located in this ward.

Minato contains the most corporate headquarters of any area in Japan, and could be said to be its business center. It also contains many embassies and offices of foreign corporation, so foreign residents make up about 1 percent of its population.

Also known as: Mino Monta (みのもんた)

A Japanese television presenter who is host for the show Mino Monta no Asa Zuba! (みのもんたの朝ズバッ!), Japanese version of the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, as well as his own afternoon TV program, Omoikkiri TV ("Full Throttle TV").

The capital of Ibaraki Prefecture which was won by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1603. The Tokugawa Clan directly controlled Mito until the overthrow of the shogunate in the mid-1800's.

Nickname: Arajirou (荒次郎)

Eldest son of Miura Yoshiatsu and last head of the Sagami Miura Clan. His father gave him Arai Castle (also known as Misaki Castle) in Sagami and handed the position of clan head to him in 1510. He was known as the 'brave warrior with the strength of 85' and fought against Houjou Souun, but he lost Okazaki Castle and Sumiyoshi Castle, and went to ground in the Miura Peninsula. He and his father held Arai Castle in a three-year siege, but the castle fell at last, and he witnessed Yoshiatsu's seppuku.

Yoshioki then charged out into the midst of his enemies and was killed, thus ending the Miura line. With his death the Houjou Clan achieved subjugation of Sagami.

Note: English sites seem to universally give Miura Yoshioki's name as Miura Yoshimoto, which the Japanese Wikipedia lists as a possible reading. It officially gives the reading as "Yoshioki", which is also used by Mirage.

A comedy duo formed of a husband-and-wife team, Miyagawa Daisuke and Miyagawa Hanako, which was formed in 1979. They celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in 2006.

Formerly part of the province of Mutsu ruled by Date Masamune, its capital city is Sendai, where Masamune built his castle, which is now the largest city of the Northeast. Miyagi Prefecture was originally named Sendai Prefecture.

Also called: Miyoshi Choukei
Title: Chikuzen no Kami

Historically: A warlord from Awa in Shikoku who destroyed the Hosokawa and Hatakeyama families by valor and treachery, thus establishing his dominance over Awa, Sanuki, Awaji, Yamashiro, Yamato, Kawachi, Settsu, and Izumi.

The Miyoshi family grew greatly in power during Nagayoshi's time as head of the clan and held the Ashikaga Shogunate under its thumb. In 1564, he had his younger brother Atagi Fuyuyasu killed due to slander from his vassal Matsunaga Hisahide and died of illness soon after (there are also theories that he was murdered by either Hisahide or the Miyoshi Triumvirate he appointed as guardians for his son). His son Miyoshi Yoshitsugu succeeded him as head of the clan after his death.

Miyuki Beach is located in Odawara City opposite Odawara Castle, a part of Sagami Bay.

Daimyo of Matsumoto-han in Shinano during the Kasuke Uprising.

Also known as: 太郎四郎, Mogami Yoshichika (最上義親)

Second son of Mogami Yoshiaki who served Tokugawa Ieyasu from the age of 12. He was originally named Mogami Yoshichika, but was given the name Iechika by Ieyasu. In 1595 he became the vassal of Ieyasu's son, Tokugawa Hidetada.

His elder brother, Mogami Yoshiyasu was killed by their father, so Iechika became the 12th head of the Mogami Clan in 1614 as well as the second-generation lord of Yamagata-han.

He died suddenly at Yamagata-jou at the age of 36. His eldest son Mogami Yoshitoshi succeeded him, but internal strife had already begun within the Mogami Clan before his death, and by judgement of the Shogunate the Mogami Clan's land and status were forfeited.

A daimyo of Dewa who became the head of the Mogami Clan at the age of three. The Mogami Clan at this time was a puppet of the Date Clan, but due to internal strife in the Date Clan around 1542, the Mogami Clan was able to break free.

In his latter years, Yoshimori doted on his second son and alienated his heir, Mogami Yoshiaki. Mogami Yoshiaki planned to stage a coup d'etat, but Date Terumune interfered. The vassals of the Mogami intervened to force Yoshimori to hand his position over to Yoshiaki and retire.

A vassal of Date Masamune who was killed at the age of 73 in the Battle of Hitotoribashi leading a troop of 60 calvary against the combined armies of Ashina and Satake to save Masamune's life. His grave was erected at that battlefield.

The demon sword Morgif is the ultimate weapon of the Mazoku and can only be wielded by the Maou. He was last used by His Majesty Basilio von Rochefort, almost a thousand years ago, before being lost. He was rediscovered on Van der Veer Island in the human kingdom of Cimarron. Legend has it that once invoked, the sword is capable of burning the world to ashes, though in reality a small town seems to be the limit. Legend also claims that after swallowing a human's life force, he can smash a boulder to pieces, reverse the flow of a river, burn a person to a crisp, and make a cow dance in the air.

Morgif is able to communicate telepathically with the Maou though written words that look like the afterimage of fireworks in the Maou's mind. Morgif's full name is Willem Dussollier Eli de Morgif (ウィレムデュソイエイーライドモルギフ).

Also called: Mori Nagasada (森長定), possibly Shigetoshi (成利), Nagayasu (長康)

Historically: A vassal of Oda Nobunaga who served as his attendant from
an early age. His father, Mori Yoshinari, was also a vassal of Oda Nobunaga. Favored by Nobunaga for his talent and loyalty, he also followed the tradition of shudo with his liege-lord. He and his three younger brothers died with Nobunaga at the Honnou-ji on June 21, 1582.

Blood type: O

A girl in the same class as Narita Yuzuru and Ougi Takaya at Jouhoku High who has a crush on Yuzuru. She is described as having a round, child-like face and a loud, piercing voice. She seems full of energy most of the time, and unlike many of the other girls, is not intimidated by Takaya. She is a member of the Tennis Club at their high school.

A castle located in Fukushima Prefecture which was built in the early Sengoku Period which Date Masamune regarded highly and used many times as headquarters for his troops.

Its remains are now part of Motomiya Elementary School and the surrounding agricultural land.

A vassal of the Uesugi Clan who supported Uesugi Kagetora at the onset of the Otate no Ran, but defected to Uesugi Kagekatsu's side when promised reward by Yasuda Akimoto. He served a large role in the negotiations with Takeda Katsuyori. However, at the conclusion of the war he was not given the reward he was promised. Learning that the reason was advice from Yamazaki Hidenori, a Confucian scholar close to Kagekatsu, he assaulted and killed Hidenori at Kasugayama Castle as he was engaged in conversation with Naoe Nobutsuna. Naoe was also stabbed to death by Hidehiro. Hidehiro was then cut down by Iwai Nobuyoshi and Tozaka Hiroshige, who happened to be present.

Also known as: Yamaura Kunikiyo (山浦国清), Yamaura Kagekuni (山浦景国)

Eldest son of Murakami Yoshikiyo, he and his father sought sanctuary with Uesugi Kenshin in 1553 from Takeda Shingen and became his vassals. He later became the head of the Yamaura-Uesugi family and changed his name to Yamaura Kunikiyo. He fought in many of Kenshin's wars, including the Battles of Kawanakajima.

He supported Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death. Kagekatsu bestowed the Kage (景) character on him for his merits in the war, whereupon he changed his name to Yamaura Kagekuni.

In 1582 he became the master of Kaidu Castle and recovered his father's old fief. In 1590, he served in the vanguard of the Uesugi army in the attack against Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He also fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, but his circumstances after that are unknown.

An information trader nicknamed 'the devil's ear' who becomes friends with Naoe when he is Kasahara. After his wife dies, he takes Akiko, a former hostess, as his common-law wife. He also knows Sasaki, Irobe Katsunaga's former incarnation.

In the current era, he lives in Tokyo with his son and his son's wife, and meets Naoe again while Naoe is searching for Takaya.

Although retired, he introduces Naoe to his protégé Kuroki.