Also known as: harakiri (腹切り)
Lit.: stomach-cutting

Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment, performed by plunging a short blade into the abdomen and slicing it open from left to right. Seppuku was originally reserved for samurai, the warrior class, in the samurai code (bushido), and was a way to die with honor instead of falling into enemy hands. It was also used as a form of capital punishment, or voluntarily performed by samurai who believed they had brought shame upon themselves.

Also called: Takeda Katsuchiyo, Takeda Harunobu
Title: Shinano no Kami

Historically: Daimyo of Kai who became the head of the Takeda clan by rebelling against his father. Conquered Shinano and fought against Uesugi Kenshin. The two clans clashed five times on the plains of Kawanakajima, where neither gained complete victory until Shingen died of illness in his campaign against Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Also known as: tokko-sho, toko-sho, dokko-sho, dokuko-sho (独鈷杵)

A rod-shaped object with tapered pointed ends used in Esoteric Buddhism rituals, which represents the indestructible nature of Buddhist law and the power to defeat evil. The tokko is one type of vajra.

Also called: Nagao Kagetora (長尾景虎), Uesugi Masatora (上杉政虎), Uesugi Terutora (上杉輝虎)
Title: Kantou Kanrei (関東管領)

Historically: Fourth son of the noted warrior Nagao Tamekage, Kenshin wrested control of the Nagao clan from his brother Nagao Harukage and fought for control of Echigo Province. He accepted the name Uesugi Masatora when he gave refuge to his nominal lord, Uesugi Norimasa, and at his urging campaigned to push the Houjou out of the Kantou Region.

He adopted the name "Kenshin" when he became a Buddhist monk and a devotee of Bishamonten. The standard his army carried onto the battlefield bore the character 毘 ("bi") for Eight-Sword Bishamonten. He battled Takeda Shingen five times at Kawanakajima, as well as the Houjou and Ashina clans and Oda Nobunaga, whom he defeated despited being outnumbered. However, Kenshin died soon after the battle. He named his two adopted sons, Uesugi Kagetora and Uesugi Kagekatsu, his heirs, hoping that they would divide the Uesugi lands peacefully between them after his death.

In Mirage of Blaze: He became a god of war after his death, ascending from Nin Dou to Ten Dou, and established the Meikai Uesugi Army to ensure that the peace of Japan is not disrupted by the onshou. He named Kagetora as its commander.

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.