Narimori became head of his clan at 17 after the death of his father Nagano Narimasa's death in 1561 and his older brother Yoshinari death during the Siege of Kawagoe Castle in 1564. Like his father, he was called a an exceedingly brave warrior.

His father managed to repel several invasions from the Takeda Clan, but after his death Takeda Shingen gathered 20,000 troops for a further assault in 1566. Narimori fought a defensive battle from his main castle of Minowa-jou, but was unable to hold out. He committed suicide along with his entire clan.

The capital city of Nagano Prefecture, which grew from a small town around a 17th-century Buddhist temple.

Adopted son of Nagao Fujikage and vassal of Uesugi Kenshin who supported Uesugi Kagetora in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death. His territory was reduced after the war. In rebellion, he later defected to Oda Nobunaga.

A daimyo of Echigo, who became the head of his clan when his father was killed in battle in 1506. Father of Nagao Harukage and Uesugi Kenshin. Nagao Tamekage was a man of cunning who did not hesitate to strike at his lord's clan, the Uesugi, to gain control of Echigo, and was a noted warrior of many battles.

The largest city in and capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki began as a small harbor town which quickly grew into a large port city following the accidental landing of Francis Xavier in nearby Kagoshima Prefecture and the establishment of trade with Portuguese merchants.

Nagasaki also became the point of entry of Christianity into Japan, and its daimyo, Oomura Sumitada, and many of its inhabitants converted to Christianity. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, wary of Christian influence in the region, ordered the expulsion of all missionaries 1587, an order that largely went unenforced. Although 26 Japanese and foreign Christians were executed in Nagasaki in 1597, Christianity was grudgingly tolerated until 1614, when Christianity was officially banned and all missionaries ordered to leave. Following the ban, the Tokugawa shogunate killed and tortured Christians across Japan to force them to renounce their faith.

The rebellion at Shimabara near Nagasaki in 1636-1638 convinced the government that Christianity and disloyalty were linked. 30,000 Japanese Christians were massacred and a policy of national isolation descended in 1639, closing foreign trader with all but the Dutch.

Isolationism only ended with the arrival of Commodore Perry's 'Black Ships' in 1853, and Nagasaki would become an important economic city once more after the Meiji Restoration. Its main industry was ship-building, a fact which made it a target for the second atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan during World War II.

A town located in Mie Prefecture (formerly Ise Province). It was a base for the Ikkou Sect during the Sengoku Era, but was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga.

A dealer of antique art in Nagasaki who buys a Kwannon statue from the Yanase family and sells it to his friend Akai in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The village where Tada Kasuke was headman, now a district of Azumino City in Nagano.

Also known as: Yoshie Yoji (吉江与次)
Title: Echizen no Kami

Son of Yoshie Kagesuke, he served Uesugi Kenshin from childhood, and Kenshin had much affection for him. In Kenshin's assault against Asahiyama Castle in 1573, the hot-blooded 14-year-old Kageyasu dashed toward the enemy's gun corps, ignoring Kenshin's efforts to hold him back. Kenshin ordered his vassals to retrieve Kageyasu, resulting in many deaths. Afterwards Kenshin confined Kageyasu and prohibited him from going into battle.

In 1574 Kageyasu married the daughter of Nakajou Kagesuke and succeeded his father-in-law (who had no sons) as head of the Nakajou Clan.

He supported Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death along with his father and grandfather and served as his close aide.

After Kawada Nagachika's death in 1581, he was sent to the front lines and defended Ecchuu from Oda Nobunaga along with his father Yoshie Kagesuke but committed suicide in the same year with his father and grandfather when Uozu Castle fell. It's said that he was engaged in battle so constantly that he never set foot in the main castle of the Nakajou Clan from his succession to his death.

One of Koganezawa Kyouko's former boyfriends.

Morino Saori's friend in the Tennis Club at Jouhoku High, who sees the ghost of a blood-stained old man in the locker room.

Also known as: Futara-san (二荒山)

Mount Nantai is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan, located in Nikkou, Tochigi Prefecture and formed from a stratovolcano. It is worshiped as a sacred mountain and was first scaled by Shoudou in 782, who founded the first shrines there.

Also known as: Nagao Kagetaka (長尾景孝), Nagao Toukurou (長尾藤九郎)
Title: Yamato no Kami (大和守)

Historically: Son of Nagao Akikage, he became head of the Sousha-Nagao Clan at a young age. He later (around 1545) passed the position to his younger brother Nagao Kagefusa. When the clan was destroyed by Takeda Shingen and their territory lost, the family escaped into Echigo. There Kagefusa became a monk, and Kagetaka was adopted by Naoe Sanetsuna when he married Sanetsuna's daughter, Osen-no-Kata. He succeeded his adopted father as master of Yoita Castle in 1577 and was a vassal of Uesugi Kenshin. He promptly took the side of Uesugi Kagekatsu during the war for succession after Kenshin's death and mobilized the members of the Naoe Clan at the castle to subdue Kagetora's troops.

After the intra-house war and Kagekatsu's victory, a question of reward was called into question. Yasuda Akimoto, one of Kagekatsu's trusted commanders, had promised rewards to Shibata Shigeie, Mouri Hidehiro, and others to convince them to join Kagekatsu's side. However, Yamazaki Hidenori, Naoe, and others objected, for they had risked life and limb at Kasugayama Castle from the very beginning of the battle, while Shibata Shigeie and the others had been lured by promise of reward from Yasuda Akimoto.

Yasuda Akimoto committed suicide when he could not keep his promise of reward. Later, Mouri Hidehiro, carrying a grudge for his death, murdered Yamazaki Hidenori at Kasugayama Castle; Naoe, who was with him at the time and took up a sword to defend himself, was killed as well. His death ended the Naoe line, which Kagekatsu later resurrected by marrying Naoe's widow, Osen-no-Kata to Higuchi Kanetsugu and commanding him to take the Naoe name.

In Mirage of Blaze: According to Kousaka Danjou, and Houjou Ujiteru he was the ringleader of Uesugi Kagekatsu's forces in the Otate no Ran. He is now Uesugi Kagetora's protector and one of the Yasha-shuu under his command. He alone, as Kagetora's protector, was given the power to perform kanshou on other souls, a power he used to force Kagetora's soul into Minako's body.

Naoetsu, or Naoe Port, is a district of Jouetsu-shi (formerly Naoetsu City) in the prefecture of Niigata. It was established as a port city by Naoe Kanetsugu, who built a harbor there in the provincial capital of Echigo.

A five-track railway station located in Nara City operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It opened in 1890.

A prefecture on Honshu Island; its capital is the City of Nara. Historically the site of many famous and powerful Buddhist temples.

Lit: Nara Well River; A river of 56.3 km which flows from the Central Japanese Alps into Nagano Prefecture and through Matsumoto City from east to west.

Deer River's retired former trainer, who speaks to Naoe and Takaya about the horse and its jockey Ohara during their investigation. He is over 70 and lives near Fuchuu Racecourse.

His son is also a trainer and cares for the Tachibana family's horses, among others.

National Route 1 is a major highway on the main island of Honshuu in Japan which links Tokyo to the important prefectural capitals of Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), Shizuoka, Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture), Otsu (Shiga Prefecture), Kyoto, and Osaka.

The beginning of the Dharani of Great Compassion, which, transliterated from Sanskrit, is:

Namo Ratna Trayaya Namah Arya Avalokiteshvaraya
Bodhisattvaya Mahasattvaya Mahakarunikaya

or alternately;

Namo Ratna Trayaya
Namo Aryavalokiteshvaraya
Bodhisattvaya
Mahasattvaya
Mahakarunikaya

and can be translated:

"Hail to the Three Jewels! Hail to the noble Avalokiteśvara! Mahasattva. Great Compassionate One!"

A shingon of Dainichi Nyorai.

"naumaku sanmanda bodanan" = a devotion to the Buddhas/"homage to all the Buddhas"
"a-bi-ra-un-ken" = earth, water, fire, wind, spiritual consciousness

Shingon of Houtou Nyorai.

"naumaku sanmanda bodanan" = a devotion to the Buddhas/"homage to all the Buddhas"
"nan naku sowaka" = a general reverence

Also read as: ノウマク・サマンダボダナン・ラン・ラク・ソワカ
naumaku sanmanda bodanan ran raku sowaka - namaḥ samantabuddhānāṃ raṃ raḥ svāhā

The mantra of the Horse-Head Kannon, Hayagriva, which is a reverence to Amida Nyorai through Kannon.

Also: "onee-san (お姉さん)", "onee-sama (お姉さま)", "onee-chan (お姉ちゃん)", "nee-sama (姉さま)", "nee-san (姉さん)", "nee-chan (姉ちゃん)", "ane-ue (姉上)"

"Older sister"—like nii-san, one of those very simple terms which is unfortunately difficult to translate because of the differences in usage between English and Japanese. In Japanese, it is much more natural to call your (older) sister "nee-san" or "onee-san" rather than by their given name. It connotates a degree of respect and at the same time a certain closeness. ("Onee-sama" indicates more formality; "ane-ue" indicates even more formality, i.e. "honorable sister"; "onee-chan" indicates less familiarity.)

One can also use "onee-san" to refer politely to an unrelated slightly older female.

In Mirage of Blaze, Takaya initially calls Ayako "Onee-san" (actually, "おねーさん") and later "Nee-san" ("ねーさん"), which has a somewhat slangy feel to it, and might actually be translated as "Sis" if it had the same rough connotation as "Bro".