Shiohara Nagi's mother. She elopes with Nagi's father, Tooru, because their marriage is opposed by everyone around them. Upon Tooru's sudden death in a car accident when Nagi is six, Yukiko has no choice but to take Nagi with her back to her family. She is forced into marriage with Shiohara Kouzou, whom her father (Nagi's grandfather) wants to succeed his company. Disdained by her family, Yukiko retreats ever further into herself and her memories of 'the house where she could see the ocean'. She finally commits suicide six months before the beginning of Volume 5.

Lit: "lion threat"/"deer scarer"; the water fountains found in Japanese gardens that make rhythmic clacking sounds. They are usually made of bamboo and constructed on a pivot with water flowing into one end of the bamboo. The bamboo tube tips over when it fills, making a sharp sound. This was a construction originally designed to scare away deer grazing on plants in the garden.

The Four Heavenly Kings are gods who watch over the four cardinal directions of the world. Each commands a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the world and Dharma, and fight evil.

They are:

- Jikokuten, the Watcher of the Lands, guardian of the East
- Zouchouten, Patron of Growth, guardian of the South
- Koumokuten, He Who Sees All, guardian of the West
- Bishamonten, He Who Hears All, chief of the Four Heavenly Kings and guardian of the North

Lit.: military commander

The shogun was the hereditary military head of the Japanese government during the shogunate period from 1192 to 1867 and de facto ruler of the country, though ostensibly appointed by the Emperor.

Shoudou, born in southern Shimotsuke Province was a Buddhist monk who founded the first temples in Nikkou, including Rinnou Temple (originally known as Yonhon Ryuu-ji, or Temple of the Four Dragons), Futarasan Shrine, and Chuuzen Temple.

Shoukon Temple is the small temple at the top of Saijo-yama.

Also known as: Seishoku Daikongou Yasha (青色大金剛薬叉)
Lit.: Blue-Faced Vajra

A deity of healing who protects against disease. He is ruler of the East and is pictured as an angry deity with blue skin (due to taking the diseases of others into himself) and four or six arms holding, variously, a vajra, a ritual staff, a wheel (symbolizing Buddha's teachings), and a noose (symbolizing the triumph of Buddhism over evil). He is a fierce protector of Buddhism and repels the calamities of evil beasts, diseases, and thunder.

Due to his healing powers, he became associated with the rituals of the Koushin beliefs.

Emperor Showa was the 124 Emperor of Japan and reigned from 1926 until 1989, the longest of any Japanese Emperor. His reign saw the transformation of Japan from a largely rural country to an industrial and technological world power. It also encompassed two World Wars and the creation of a democratic government in Japan.

Lit.: "The path of discipline and trial"; a Japanese religious school incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts which prays for the divine protection of the gods, with the ultimate goal of gaining supernatural powers through mountain asceticism. It holds that enlightenment is obtained by the study of the relationship between Man and Nature and was founded by Ozunu Enno around 650-700 CE.

Also known in Sanskrit as 'bīja' or 'seed', these 'seed syllables' are thought to be connected to spiritual principles in Esoteric Buddhism and are used in mantras. Bai is one example.

Also called: Ryougonshu (楞厳咒)

The longest mantra in any of the sutras which is given in the middle of the 7th volume of the Shurangama Sutra . It contains the power to overcome all obstacles towards achieving enlightenment and holds the entire essence of the Shurangama Sutra and all of Buddha's teachings. It invokes, in order, the aid of the guardians of the five directions: Jikokuten, the Lord of the East, Zouchoten, the Lord of the South, Taishakuten, the Lord of the Center, Koumokuten, the Lord of the West, and Bishamonten, the Lord of the North.

Also known as: Ken'ou Expressway (Ken'ou-dou/圏央道)

The Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway is a tolled expressway built in an arc around the Tokyo metropolitan area, passing through the prefectures of Kanagawa, Tokyo, Saitama, Ibaraki, and Chiba. Construction started on its first bypass on March 30, 1988, and the expressway was given the designation National Highway Route 468 on April 1, 1993. Construction is expected to continue at least until 2015.

A type of cherry tree (Prunus × yedoensis) whose blossoms are the most popular variety of sakura in Japan. The flowers are almost pure white tinged with pink near the stem. They bloom for around a week before the leaves come out, so the tree appears nearly completely white.

A human kingdom neighboring Shinma Kingdom by sea, it is hostile towards Shinma at the beginning.

An acquaintance of both Tachibana Yoshiaki and his elder brother, who works as a local news reporter for a major Tokyo newspaper company. Naoe met him eight years ago (when Naoe was 22) during a case involving onryou turmoil precipitated by the sinking of a mountain village caused by a large dam construction project. Sonoda made his name by reporting on corruption by the Ministry of Construction in the same project.

Naoe goes to him after Takaya's disappearance as an effort to establish an information network of his own (independent of Uesugi's information apparatus).

Lit.: "All village"

Souson were autonomous, self-governing village-collectives formed during Japan's Middle Ages. Their golden age was in the mid-Muromachi Period. During this time, Souson formed relationships with territory kami in order to protect their autonomy, with some of the more influential people of the village becoming samurai to various lords—the jizamurai, or "land samurai".

During the Sengoku Period, Souson fell rapidly to the various area daimyo's drive for territory, and were eliminated altogether under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Souun Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai School located in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principle buddha is Sakyamuni. Within the temple are the tombs of five generations of the Houjou Clan as well as a monument to the renga poet Sougi and portraits of Houjou Souun, Houjou Ujitsuna, and Houjou Ujiyasu.

The temple was built by Ujitsuna in 1521 by the last request of Houjou Souun. The army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi used it as its headquarters during the Siege of Odawara in 1590 and later burned it to the ground. It was later restored by the monk Kikukei in 1627 and given official temple status in 1648.

The stone figurines of Iwa Province have long been a famous product of Kintai Bridge and are referred to in many works of literature. Legend says they are the incarnation of the human pillar of Kintai Bridge. The Kikkawa family of Iwa once made gifts of these figurines to other clans.

In actuality they're the nests of aquatic insects such as caddisflie, stoneflies, mayflies, etc. that come to rivers in countless numbers. The figurine caddisfly spits out a thread that glues tiny pebbles together to form its nest; in the area of Kintai Bridge, these nests are strikingly human-shaped.

Titles: Lord, Excellency
Race: Mazoku

Brother of ex-Maou Cäcilie von Spitzweg, a man who looks to be in his fifties (around 200 Mazoku years) with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He is a power-hungry man who tried to wheedle his sister out of resigning her position and is intensely disliked by Conrad, Wolfram, Gwendal, and Günter.

Title: Sagami no Kami

Originally from the province of Shinano, he went to Uesugi Kenshin for sanctuary along with Murakami Yoshikiyo after being attacked by Takeda Shingen. He became a vassal of Kenshin and fought in the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561. But he was a better diplomat than commander, and Kenshin used him as such.

He supported Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death. He succeeded Kawada Nagachika as supreme commander of Ecchuu after the latter's death and became the master of Uozu Castle. When Uozu Castle fell to Sassa Narimasa in 1583, he became master of Kaidu Castle. He also served as negotiator for Kagekatsu, but eventually fell out of Kagekatsu's favor. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi valued Mitsuchika's skills highly, eventually taking him into the Toyotomi Clan and bestowing the Toyotomi name upon him.

Also known as: Andon-yama Kohun (Mt. Andon Burial Mound)

The Sujin Imperial Tomb is the officially designated imperial tomb/burial mound of Emperor Sujin, who is listed as the tenth emperor of Japan. It is located in Tenri City, Yanagimoto Town near Nara City. It is keyhole-shaped and has a span of 265 yards and a height of 69 feet, constructed in the Tumulus Period (250-552 AD).

A shrine located in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. Its enshrined deity is Amanohirinome-no-mikoto.

The eastern part of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, ruled by the Imagawa clan for much of the Sengoku Period. It was later taken over by Takeda Shingen when Imagawa Yoshimoto was defeated by Oda Nobunaga. When Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power the province was assigned to one of his allies.

Also known as: White Julia
Title: Lady
Race: Mazoku

Julia was the original owner of the magic stone Conrad gives Yuuri. Though born blind, she was one of the three great witches of Shinma Kingdom. She died almost twenty years ago.