Also known as: Aidu

In ancient Japan, a feudal domain known as Aizu-han, a part of the Mutsu Province; today, the region which is the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture. The area was ruled by the Hoshina Clan, former retainers of the Takeda Clan, which was known for its martial skill.

Also known as: Sendai-jou (仙台城), Gojourou (五城楼)
Lit. 'Fresh Leaves Castle Ruins'

The ruins of a castle located in Sendai City built by Date Masamune in 1601. It was the governmental seat of Sendai-han and designated a historical landmark of Japan.

The castle sat on Aoba Hill and was naturally defended by a 400-foot cliff on one side and the Hirose River on the other. Masamune built the Inner Citadel and the Western Wing on Aoba Hill, and Date Tadamune built the Second Wing and Third (Northern) wings at its base. The ruins of the Third Wing is now the Sendai Museum.

All that remains of the original castle today are old stone walls; the rest were dismantled or destroyed in fire, earthquakes, and bombings.

Also known as: Shishisai (止々斎)

Son of Ashina Morikiyo and 16th generation lord of the Ashina Clan who probably became head of the clan around 1537, which is around the time that he married a daughter of the Date Clan and formed an alliance with Tamura Takaaki.

He expanded the domain of the Ashina and did much to improve the clan's economic condition, thereby bringing about the golden age of the Ashina.

Moriuji turned over the rule of the clan to his heir Ashina Morioki in 1561 and retired to Iwasaki Castle, shaving off his hair and taking the name of Shishisai. However, he retained power over political and military affairs.

In 1575 when Ashina Morioki died without an heir, and because Moriuji had no other heirs, he adopted a hostage of the clan: Nikaidou Moritaka, the son of Nikaidou Moriyoshi, and married him to Morioki's widow. Moritaka then became Ashina Moritaka and the next clan head.

Moriuji died in 1580 at the age of 60. With him ended the golden age of the Ashina; a mere 9 years later, the clan would be destroyed by Date Masamune.

The Japanese equivalent of the Buddhist sound "Om", which represents the cosmic order of creation, sustenance, and destruction; male, female, and neuter; past, present, and future; waking state, sleep state and dream state; inhalation and exhalation. 'Aun' is composed from the characters 'a' and 'un'.

Lit.: "tent government", the government of the shogun, who is the 'supreme general of the samurai'. Starting from Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, until the Meiji Restoration, shoguns and their bakufu held the pratical power in Japan and relegated the emperor to the position of figurehead.

Lit. "River of a Thousand Songs"; A river 367 kilometers (228 miles) in length which runs through Nagano Prefecture.

Also known as: Mahavairocana, Dainichi Nyorai, Vairocana, Daibutsu

Mahavairocana is the Cosmic Buddha who represents the center or zenith and is especially important to the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism. He was worshiped in Japan from as early as the Heian Period, and his Mahavairocana Sutra forms the basis for the rituals of the Shingon School.

Dainichi's characteristic hand gesture is the index finger of the left hand clasped by the five fingers of the right, symbolizing the unity of earth, water, fire, air, and spiritual consciousness.

One type of the secret teachings (mikkyou) of Esoteric Buddhism which calls on Dakini and can be used to predict someone's time of death as well as to cast a death curse on someone. Dakiniten spells are among the strongest dark-magic spells and are jealously guarded by its practioners.

The high priests of the Shingon sect at Tou-ji used Dakiniten-hou to create spells of protection for the Emperor. These most secret of secret spells were incorporated into kinrin no hou, performed with kanchou at their enthronement.

Titles: Echizen no Kami, Mutsu no Kami
Also known as: birth—Bontenmaru (梵天丸), adult—Tojirou (藤次郎), posthumous—Teizan (貞山), self-introduction—Fujiwara no Masamune (藤原政宗), religious—Takeru Hikonomikoto (武振彦命), nickname—One-Eyed Dragon (独眼竜)

Date Masamune was a powerful daimyo in the Northeastern part of Japan during the Sengoku Period. He was the 17th-generation head of the Date Clan and the founding daimyo of Sendai-han. He was the eldest son of Date Terumune and Yoshihime, the daughter of Mogami Yoshimori.

Masamune was born in Yonezawa Castle (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture). He lost the use of his right eye after falling ill of smallpox in his childhood, and would later come to be known as the One-eyed Dragon. However, because of it his mother thought him unfit for rule of the clan, and favored his younger brother. When Date Terumune retired from the position of the clan head in 1584, Masamune killed his brother and became the head of the clan at 18.

Masamune was known as a brilliant tactician. Shortly after he became head of the clan, Oouchi Sadatsuna, a Date vassal, defected to the Ashina Clan in the Aizu region of Mutsu Province. Masamune declared war on the Ashina for the betrayal, but was forced to retreat by the Ashina general, Iwashiro Morikuni. Three months later, Masamune laid seige to Oouchi's stronghold at Otemori. It was said that he put some 800 people to the sword in retaliation for the betrayal. Thereafter the Hatakeyama Clan, the traditional rival of the Date Clan, kidnapped Masamune's father, who was then killed in battle when Masamune and his troops engaged the kidnappers. War ensued between the two clans, and Masamune would ruthlessly subjugate his neighboring clans, even those who were allied by marriage or kinship. He defeated the Ashina Clan in 1589, but was called by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to lay siege to Odawara Castle of the Houjou Clan.

He served both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, though neither trusted him completely due to his ambition and aggression. Under Tokugawa Ieyasu Masamune controlled one of the largest fiefdoms in Japan and turned Sendai from a small fishing village to a large and prosperous city. He encouraged foreigners and was largely lenient towards Christanity and its practioners. He funded and backed the first Japanese expedition to sail around the world, which visited such places as the Philippines, Mexico, Spain and Pope Paul V in Rome.

He died in Edo at the age of 70 of esophageal cancer, and was entombed in the Zuihouden according to his last will and testament. His second son (eldest son by his legal wife Megohime) Date Tadamune inherited the position of clan head after him.

The Battle of Dewa was the Battle of Sekigahara fought in the North, in which Uesugi Kagekatsu was defeated and forced to submit to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Uesugi Kagekatsu raised an army of 50,000 to move against Tokugawa Ieyasu, but lost Shiroishi in a siege to the combined armies of Date Masamune and Mogami Yoshiaki. Afterwards, Mogami sent a letter to Kagekatsu, suggesting that he become a vassal of Tokugawa. Kagekatsu refused and ordered his chief vassal Naoe Kanetsugu to attack the Mogami territory of Dewa. Kanetsugu led a force of more than 20,000 in an invasion of Mogami's territory, capturing Hosoya Castle. However, though he surrounded Hasedou Castle, it stood firm with the aid of Yamagata Castle.

Taking advantage of Uesugi's superiority of numbers, Onodera Yoshimichi also invaded Mogami territory. Surrounded, Yoshiaki send a request for aid to his nephew Date Masamune. 500 cavalry from Date a few days later held the battle to a stalemate. However, when news of the defeat of the western forces in the Battle of Sekigahara reached Uesugi and Mogami, Mogami gave chase to Uesugi's retreat in sudden reversal, resulting in fierce battles around Hasedou Castle. Uesugi lost more than 1,500, Mogami around 600.

An ancient province in north-central Japan which was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin during the Sengoku Period. Now a part of Niigata Prefecture.

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.

Lit. "wave of self-protection"; the goshinha is a protective mesh spun from fine strands of spiritual energy which surrounds the caster and protects from an opponent's spiritual as well as physical attacks. The mesh gains strength and stability when it is multi-layered and becomes the goshinheki. The goshinha is Naoe's forte.

A prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantou region on Honshuu island. Its capital is Maebashi.

A river that flows around Aoba Castle and Sendai City.

A brief list of honorifics used in address:

san (さん) - the most common honorific, usually used to address someone outside one's immediate circle with respect
kun (君) - usually used towards boys and men of junior status or equal age and status
chan (ちゃん) - a diminutive used mainly towards children, and intimate friends, especially women; also used as an endearment for girls
sama (様) - the formal form of "san", showing a high level of respect
senpai (先輩) - used to refer to someone with a more senior status, such as a freshman towards a senior
sensei (先生) - often translated as "teacher", but can actually be used to show respect for anyone with superior knowledge in a field, including doctors and writers
dono/tono (殿) - an antiquated term which roughly translates to "lord", used to show great respect for the addressee, who can be of equal or higher status than the speaker
uji/shi (氏) - in ancient times, carried the meaning "of the ~ clan" or "of the ~ surname"; now used in formal speech and writing to refer to someone unfamiliar to the speaker.
hime (姫) - used to denote a princess or lady of higher/noble birth

Lit.: "earth-energy barrier"; one type of juso-kekkai which is erected for the purpose of manipulating the 'mood' or 'energy' of the earth, which in turn influences all living beings and spirits within its radius. It can be used to brainwash people, as in the case of a saimin-kekkai.

Also known as: 甲州 (Koushuu)

An ancient province in central Japan which was ruled by Takeda Shingen during the Sengoku Period. Now known as Yamanashi Prefecture.

Titles: Izumi no Kami

Historically: the son of Kakizaki Kageie. He was sent to Odawara Castle in Sagami when the Kenshin and the Houjou clans struck a peace treaty in an exchange of hostages with Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora). The fate of Kakizaki Haruie was unknown when his father was accused of treason. There are theories that he either died in 1575 along with his father, or that he was murdered by Uesugi Kagekatsu's faction in 1578 during the Otate no Ran.

In Mirage of Blaze: He was one of Uesugi Kagetora's most loyal followers as well as the leader of his faction in the Otate no Ran, and was killed by Uesugi Kagekatsu's followers. He is now one of the Yasha-shuu under Kagetora's command. Haruie possesses female bodies (the only member of the Yasha-shuu to do so) in search of a lover who died two hundred years ago.

Of the Yasha-shuu, he is the one who excels most at the spiritual sensing ability called reisa.

A feudalistic period in Japan's history during which the Kamakura Shogunate ruled Japan and relegated the emperor and court to ceremonial functions.

One of the intuitive truth-seeking methods of Buddhism where one focuses one's consciousness upon imagining a particular image.

To possess another's body, driving out their soul, so as to be reborn with memories intact. Only Naoe of all the kanshousha has the power to perform kanshou on another soul.

Lit.:"East of the Gate", the easternmost of five regions located on Honshuu Island which comprises of the seven prefectures of Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. This is the most highly developed and industrialized region of Japan and was the heart of feudal power during the Edo Period.

During the Edo Period, the area was also called the "Kanhasshuu" (関八州), or Eight Kantou Provinces: Musashi, Sagami, Kazusa, Shimousa, Awa, Kouzuke, Shimotsuke, and Hitachi.

Lit.: "the island within the river"; a plain located in Shinano Province, very near modern Nagano, on which Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin fought five major battles in 1553, 1555, 1557, 1561 and 1564. In the battle of 1561, Takeda with 20,000 men won over Uesugi's force of 18,000. 12,400 and 12,960 men were lost by Takeda and Uesugi respectively, a loss of life greater than in any other battle in the Sengoku period