Glossary

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Toyama-shi (富山市)

Toyama City is the capital of Toyama Prefecture, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan with a population of ~420,000 (2005). It was also the capital of the ancient province of Ecchuu.

During World War II, 99.5% of the urban center of the city was destroyed on August 1 and 2, 1945, when the American 73rd Bomber Wing dropped incendiary bombs on the city, at the time an aluminum ball-bearing and special steel production center.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉)
1536 - 1598

Also called: Hiyoshimaru (日吉丸), Kinoshita Tokichiro (木下藤吉郎), Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉)
Titles: Kanpaku, Taikou, Chikuzen no Kami

Historically: The second of the "Three Unifiers"; he was born a peasant but rose quickly through the ranks of Oda Nobunaga's vassals to the position of one of Nobunaga's most distinguished generals. After Nobunaga's death, he took over the work of unifying the nation through military strength and brought an end to the Sengoku period.

Uji-kouen (字治公園)

A natural scenic city park located on Tachibana Island in the Uji River in southern Kyoto, very close to Byoudou-in. It is connected to the eastern bank by Asagiri Bridge and the western bank by Tachibana Bridge.

Womb Realm (胎臓界)

The Womb Realm, based on the Mahāvairocana Tantra, is the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Buddhas. Its name comes from chapter 2 of the sutra, which states that the buddha Mahāvairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) revealed the mandala's secret teachings to his disciple Vajrasattva (Kongousatta) from his "womb of compassion".

The Womb Realm mandala, along with the Diamond Realm mandala, form the core of Tendai and Shingon Buddhist rituals and are usually hung on the east and west walls of Shingon temple halls.

In depictions of the Womb Realm, Mahāvairocana sits at the center of an eight-petaled lotus wearing a jewelled crown. Four Buddhas representing the four directions, Ratnaketu (Houtou Nyorai), Saṃkusumitarāja (Kaifukeou Nyorai), Amitābha (Amida Nyorai), and Divyadundubhimeghanirghoṣa (Tenkuraion Nyorai), are placed orthogonal to Mahāvairocana. Four bodhisattvas, Samantabhadra (Bugen Bosatu), Manjushri (Monju Bosatsu), Guanyin (Kannon), and Maitreya (Miroku Bosatsu), are illustrated between the Buddhas.

Hundreds more divinities reside in eleven more halls branching from the center.

yasha (夜叉)

Also known as: Yakṣa

Warriors of Bishamonten, who are minor deities sometimes depicted as harmless guardians and nature spirits and sometimes as human-devouring demons.

Yasha-shuu (夜叉衆)

The five kanshousha at the head of the Meikai Uesugi Army ordered by Uesugi Kenshin to hunt for the onshou who are disrupting the peace of modern-era Japan in a battle which has lasted four hundred years. Led by Uesugi Kagetora, with Naoe Nobutsuna, Kakizaki Haruie, Yasuda Nagahide, and Irobe Katsunaga. The name "Yasha" refers to soldiers in the army of Bishamonten, called "Yaksha".

Yokohama-shi (横浜市)

The City of Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second-largest city in Japan after Tokyo. It is also a major port and commercial hub and historically one of the first cities to be opened to foreigners during the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Yotsubashi-suji (四つ橋筋)

"Yotsubashi-suji," or "Four Bridges Boulevard," is a nickname for the Osaka North-South Road. It is a major street running north-south through central Osaka.

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