Also know as: Bishamon, Tamonten, Vaiśravaṇa, Kubera

Bishamonten is one of the 12 Deva Guardians, the protector of the North and the most powerful of the Four Heavenly Kings. He is the god of warfare and warriors, sometimes called the "black warrior"; black is his symbolic color, and winter is the season over which he presides. He is often depicted as warrior with a crown on his head, a pagoda in one hand and a trident in the other. He punishes those who do evil and is also the guardian of the places where Buddha preaches. He is one who is all-knowing, who hears everything, who is always listening, and is completely versed in Buddha's teachings. He is one of Japan's Seven Deities of Fortune. The soldiers of his army are the powerful earth deities called Yaksha.

Bishamonten is also called "Tobatsu Bishamonten" (刀八毘沙門天), or "Eight-Sword Bishamonten", because of an error in translation passed down through the centuries. The original name, "Bishamonten of Tobatsu", pointed to a manifestation of Bishamonten which appeared in the Central Asian kingdom of Tou-po or Tobatsu (兜跋) to protect the capital city against invaders. Bishamonten in this form is depicted with a diadem on his head, four hands holding a key, a gem, a pagoda, and a halbert before him and eight arms holding eight swords around him.

Chuushingura, or 'collections of the faithful retainers,' are fictionalized accounts of the true story of the Forty-seven Ronin avenging their master Asano Naganori after he was forced to commit seppuku for assaulting a court official. The samurai avenged their master's honor by killing the official, Kira Yoshinaka, and were forced to commit seppuku in turn. The tale of loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor became one of the most popular and familiar stories in Japan, with various kabuki, bunraku, stage, film, novel, and television productions.

Lit.: "great name"; feudal warlords of Japan

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 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.

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.

Historically: The name Fuuma Kotarou was given to each leader of the Fuuma Clan/organization of ninjas which served the Later Houjou Clan, starting with its first leader. The clan started information-gathering and espionage activities in the time of Houjou Souun, the founder of the Later Houjou Clan. The clan name began as 風間, composed of the characters for "wind" and "space", but was changed to its present form, a homophone composed of the characters for "wind" and "evil/demonic/magical."

In its 100 years of service to the Houjou Clan, the most renowned Fuuma Kotarou was the fifth, who served Houjou Ujimasa and his son Houjou Ujinao (unknown - 1603). Stories say that he was 7'1". One of his most famous exploits was in 1580 and the Battle of Kise-gawa, during which he slipped into the enemy camp at night and caused mass chaos. Another famous ninja, Ninokuruwa Isuke, also belonged to the Fuuma Clan.

After the destruction of the Houjou Clan, Kotarou and the Fuuma Clan became thieves near Edo. Kotarou was captured and executed in 1603 from information given by Kousaka Jinai, another ninja-turned-thief who formerly served the Takeda Clan.

In Mirage of Blaze: Fuuma Kotarou leads the Fuuma ninjas in service to the Houjou Clan. He is described as a tall, slender man with broad shoulders and a muscular but supple body. He wears his hair long, tied in a long tail that reaches to his waist.

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.

Hakone Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Hakone along the shores of Lake Ashi. The shrine itself lies hidden in a dense forest, but its large red "floating" shrine gates (Torii of Peace) stand prominently in the lake.

From chronicles stretching back as far as the Nara Period (710-794), Hakone has been named as a spot sacred to the mountain-worshiping religion. The original shrine was founded during the reign of Emperor Koushou (475 BC – 393 BC) on Mt. Komagatake. Holy Priest Mangan revived and relocated the shrine to Lake Ashi in 757. It was separated into three parts dedicated to the deities whom legends says appeared to him in a dream as a Buddhist acolyte, government official and woman and asked him to deliver the grace of the Buddhist and Shinto religions onto mankind.

In the year 801, before general and shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro set out on an expedition to quell the Northeast by imperial command, he left an arrow as offering in front of a cedar tree at Hakone Shrine as a prayer for his victory. The tree become known as the Yatate Cedar, or 'Standing Arrow Cedar,' and in later years other legendary generals such as Minamoto no Yoshiie, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune all left arrows as offerings there.

The shrine was destroyed by fire in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara and rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Mt. Hakone is a volcano centered in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture and a designated part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Lake Ashi lies against the south-western wall of the Hakone caldera, and many hot springs such as Hakone Onsen and Yugawara Onsen well up from its sides and base. It has been a health resort area such ancient times, and is now a well-known sight-seeing area.

The district around Harajuku Station in the Ward of Shibuya in Tokyo, located between Shinjuku and Shibuya, known for its youth fashion.

Also known as: 北条菊寿丸, Houjou Nagatsuna (北条長綱)

Historically: A warlord of the Houjou clan in the Sengoku province of Sagami, the fourth and youngest son of Houjou Souun and a concubine from the influential Katsurayama Clan. He entered Kongouou Temple, the bettou-ji (administrative temple) of Hakone Shrine, at a young age and later became its head. He took the name of Gen'an (lit. Phantom hermitage) upon his retirement.

He had three sons, all of whom died before him, and two daughters. He adopted Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora) as his heir, but the adoption was annulled when Kagetora was sent to Echigo. His grandson Ujitaka (son of his second son) later became his heir.

Houjou Genan was described as a master of horsemanship and archery who led armies, but also a man of culture who was skilled with his hands. He became elder statesman and trusted adviser to Ujiyasu and Ujimasa. He was 97 when he died (though opinions differ); eight months later, the Houjou clan was attacked by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and destroyed.

Title: Sagami no Kami
Also known as: Matsuchiyomaru (松千代丸—childhood), Shinkurou (新九郎—nickname), 慈雲院松巌傑公 (posthumous)

Ujimasa was born in 1538 as the second son of Houjou Ujiyasu and his principle wife Zuikeiin, daughter of Imagawa Ujichika, and was older brother of Houjou Ujiteru, Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora), and Houjou Ujimitsu. He became heir to the clan when his older brother Shinkurou died before reaching adulthood.

Ujimasa married Oubaiin, eldest daughter of Takeda Shingen and Sanjou-no-Kata, on the occasion of the three-way alliance between the Takeda, Imagawa, and Houjou clans in 1554. Their marriage was thought to be a happy one.

Ujimasa succeeded his father as the fourth head of the Sagami Houjou Clan in 1559 upon Ujiyasu's retirement. His first task upon becoming heir of the clan, per clan convention, was a a land survey evaluating how the Houjou lands were being used and the condition of the people serving on those lands. His relationship with his brothers was good throughout, and they were be a huge help to him in the governing of the clan.

In 1561, Uesugi Masatora (Uesugi Kenshin) of Echigo laid siege to Odawara Castle with a huge army gathered from the Kantou and south Mutsu. Under the leadership of his father Ujiyasu, Ujimasa was able to drive back the army. After the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, he was able to take back a large part of North Kantou from the Uesugi in concert with Shingen.

In 1568, seizing the opportunity presented by the decline of the Imagawa Clan after Imagawa Yoshimoto's death at Oda Nobunaga's hand, Takeda Shingen invaded Suruga, laying siege to Yoshimoto's heir, Imagawa Ujizane in Kakegawa Castle. Ujimasa led the Houjou forces to repel the Takeda army and formed an alliance with Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa in order to rescue Ujizane (his brother-in-law by way of his younger sister Hayakawadono). Ujimasa then had Ujizane adopt his son Ujinao as his heir, thus giving the Houjou Clan a legitimate claim to the territory of Suruga. In order to hold back Takeda, he formed an alliance with his old enemy Uesugi Kenshin, giving his younger brother Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora) as hostage. The severing of ties with the Takeda Clan, however, meant the dissolution of his marriage with his beloved wife Oubaiin.

In 1569, Takeda Shingen laid siege to Odawara Castle, delivering a crushing defeat to the Houjou Clan (though recent analysis by historians indicate that Shingen lost a great many men as well). In 1570, Suruga belonged almost wholly to Shingen.

In October of 1571 upon his father's death, Ujimasa broke off his alliance with Kenshin and reformed the alliance with Shingen in accordance with his father's will, after which fighting between the Houjou and Uesugi clans flared up again.

Kenshin's death in 1578 triggered a fight for succession to the Uesugi Clan between his two adopted sons, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Uesugi Kagetora (the Otate no Ran). Ujimasa was tied up at that time in a confrontation with Satake Yoshishige and Utsunomiya Kunitsuna in Shimotsuke, so sent his brother Houjou Ujikuni to their brother's aid in his place while asking Takeda Katsuyori for reinforcements. Katsuyori betrayed the Houjou and formed an alliance with Uesugi Kagekatsu, and the Otate no Ran ended with Kagetora's death and Kagekatsu's succession.

Ujimasa broke off the alliance with the Takeda clan a second time and formed an alliance with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu to attack the Takeda territory in a pincer movement, but shifting alliances and hard fighting left the conclusion unclear. In 1580 Ujimasa proposed to Oda Nobunaga, who had just taken Ishiyama Hongan Temple, that the Houjou Clan become a vassal of the Oda Clan, but Takeda Katsuyori managed to form an alliance with Oda first. Ujimasa retired from the position of clan head in the same year, but like his father before him still held onto the government and military affairs of the clan.

In the following years, the Houjou Clan managed to gain control over a vast territory: Sagami, Izu, Musashi, Shimousa, Kazusa, Hitara, Shimotsuke, and a part of Suruga. Interestingly, however, Ujimasa did not seem to hold the ambition of ruling the entire country, a tradition passed down from the founder of the Late Houjou Clan, Houjou Souun. Instead, Ujimasa concentrated on independence for the 8 Kantou provinces under Houjou rule and alliances with other strong warlords such as Tokugawa Ieyasu and Date Masamune.

In 1589, using Ujimasa's refusal to proceed to the capital to attend him as pretext, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gathered an army of 220,000 to lay siege to Odawara Castle. It overran castles in the Houjou territory in quick succession. The siege against Odawara Castle lasted from May to August. On August 4, Ujimasa offered to surrender his life for the lives of his men. Toyotomi demanded the lives of both Ujimasa and his brother Ujiteru, as well as the lives of their vassals Matsuda Norihide and Daidouji Masashige. Ujimasa and Ujiteru committed seppuku on August 10.

Ujimasa left behind the following tanka verses for his death poem:

「雨雲の　おほえる月も　胸の霧も　はらいにけりな　秋の夕風」
「我身今　消ゆとやいかに　おもふへき　空よりきたり　空に帰れば」

translated (Sadler 1978, pp. 160–161):

Autumn wind of eve,
blow away the clouds that mass
over the moon's pure light
and the mists that cloud our mind,
do thou sweep away as well.

Now we disappear,
well, what must we think of it?
From the sky we came.
Now we may go back again.
That's at least one point of view.

There is another verse which is sometimes attributed to his brother Ujiteru, but is most often attributed to Ujimasa:

「吹くと吹く　風な恨みそ　花の春　もみじの残る　秋あればこそ」

which may be translated:

The wind's resentment—
Oh, see how it blows against
The flowering spring.
Yet it will leave us anon
The bright colors of autumn.

Title: Mutsu-no-Kami
Also known as: Houjou Genzou (北条源三), Ooishi Genzou (大石源三)

Ujiteru was the third-born son (second to survive to adulthood) of Houjou Ujiyasu, younger brother of Houjou Ujimasa, and older brother of Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora), and Houjou Ujimitsu. He was widely extolled for his courage and wisdom.

In 1559, he married Hisa, the daughter of Ooishi Sadahisa, master of Takiyama Castle in Musashi, and became Ooishi's adopted son and heir. (Later, Ooishi became a vassal of the Houjou clan, and Ujiteru regained the Houjou surname.)

In the following years, Ujiteru followed his father into several battles with neighboring clans, which greatly increased the Houjou sphere of influence. He also excelled at diplomacy, and maneuvered the alliance between the Houjou and Uesugi clans into place in 1569. He also secretly built up diplomatic relations with the Date Clan. Though he wanted the clan to form an alliance with the Oda Clan during Oda's period in power, the plan fell through because of opposition within the family and Oda's death.

In 1569, while the Takeda army was en route to a siege of Odawara Castle, a detachment of the Takeda army led by Oyamada Nobushige attacked Takiyama Castle, penetrating all the way to the outermost wall. Ujiteru crossed spears with Takeda Katsuyori during the battle. Ujiteru's forces managed to stave them off, but dissatisfied with Takiyama's defenses, Ujiteru abandoned it in favor of Hachiouji Castle.

In September of 1579, Ujiteru and his younger brother Ujikuni went to the aid of their brother Uesugi Kagetora in the Otate no Ran, but were stopped short by snow and hard-fought battles.

In 1590, during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara, he entrusted his main castle, Hachiouji Castle to a loyal vassal and barricaded himself in Odawara. Due to that fact, Toyotomi saw him as one of the pro-resistance leaders, and demanded his death along with his brother Ujimasa's. Ujiteru committed seppuku with Ujimasa on August 10.

He wrote as his death poem:

「天地の　清き中より　生まれきて　もとのすみかに　帰るべらなり」

which may be translated thus:

We are born into
the brightness betwixt heaven
and earth; yet there is
another dwelling to which
we must all someday return.

Ujiteru's tomb is located near Hachiouji Castle.

Ikebukuro Station is a train station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, and is the second-busiest train station in the world after Shinjuku Station. It opened in 1903 and serves 8 rail lines and subways.

Iroha Hill Road is a Japanese national highway (no. 120) which connects Nikkou's Umagae district to the banks of Lake Chuuzenji. The road, actually consisting of two one-way paths, is famous for its hairpin curves. Iroha Hill One, which goes from Lake Chuuzenji to Umagae, contains 28 curves, while Iroha Hill Two, going in the opposite direction, contains 20 curves. Iroha Hill One was established in 1954, Iroha Hill Two in 1965.

The name "Iroha" comes from the poem of the same name which uses each character of the Japanese hiragana exactly once; each of the 48 curves in the road is named after the character which it resembles.

Also known as: Ishigaki-yama One-Night Castle (石垣山一夜城), Taikou One-Night Castle (太閤一夜城)

The One-Night Castle was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's stronghold during the Siege of Odawara, built on top of Mt. Ishigaki. 30,000 - 40,000 of Hideyoshi's troops began construction on it on April 5th and completed it in about 80 days. The construction was completed in secrecy, and its position within the tree cover of Mt. Ishigaki could not be seen from Odawara Castle to the north-east. At its completion, Hideyoshi ordered the trees felled so that from the Houjou side the castle seemed to spring up overnight, sapping their morale. The castle, the first all-stone castle in the Kantou, was very much a modern fortress at the time. Hideyoshi held tea parties at the castle with the imperial messenger as a guest.

The castle remains were designated a historical landmark in 1959.

The robe normally worn by Buddhist monks, usually made of dark cloth.

Kabuki-chou, nicknamed the "Sleepless Town" is a world-famous entertainment and red-light district located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It houses over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlors, host and hostess clubs, shops, nightclubs, restaurants, and movie theaters.

Also known as: cutting whirlwind, razor whirlwind, vacuum whirlwind

A wind demon commonly depicted in Japanese folklore as a trio of weasels with sharp claws, riding on a gust of wind to cut into the skin of their victims at lightning speed.

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.

Also known as: Katakura Kojuurou Kagetsuna (片倉小十郎景綱)

A military commander of the Sengoku era and hereditary vassal of the Date Clan. The Katakura family traditionally took the nickname of 'Kojuurou', so Katakura Kagetsuna is better known as Katakura Kojuurou.

Kojuurou first served Date Masamune's father, Date Terumune, as a junior page, then became Date Masamune's attendant in 1575. He was later appointed a strategist, and participated in most of Masamune's important wars where he rescued the Date Clan from many tight spots. His wisdom was extolled by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his name was a byword for loyalty. (He was called 'Katakura Kagetsuna the Wise', and he, along with 'Date Shigezane the Brave', were named 'the twin jewels of the Date'.)

Kojuurou died in 1615 of illness.

Handmade painted wooden dolls with simple limbless bodies and large heads, traditionally from northern Japan.

Also known as: Kouzuke-no-kuni, Joushuu (上州)

An ancient province of Japan governed by the Uesugi Clan which is now the prefecture of Gunma.