Raw horseflesh served as salami in thin slices dipped in soy sauce, often with ginger and onions added. In Japan, Matsumoto is one of the places famous for this dish.

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

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.

A province of ancient Japan which is Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyuushuu today. It bordered the provinces of Chikugo, Bungo, Hyuuga, Osumi, and Satsuma, and was held by the lords of those provinces during the Sengoku Period until Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Higo. He gave the province to Sassa Narimasa, then Katou Kiyomasa, then the Hosokawa Clan.

Lit.: "One-minded School/Sect", a small, militant, antinomian offshoot of True Pure Land Buddhism founded by 13th-century monk Ikkou Shunjou. Its ideologies provided the basis for a wave of uprisings against feudal rule in the late 15th and 16th centuries, such as the Ikkou-ikki revolts. Oda Nobunaga eventually destroyed the sect's two large temple-fortresses, Nagashima and Ishiyama Hongan Temple and slaughtered most of its sectarians in those areas. Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the followers of the sect in Mikawa in 1564 in the Battle of Azukizaka. The last of the Ikkou sect fought alongside Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1580s.

A mountain castle located in Chikuzen Province known as the location for the fierce Siege of Iwaya Castle between Shimazu forces lead by Shimazu Tadatake and Ootomo forces led by Takahashi Jouun.

Also known as: Kanzeon, Kwannon (Japan), Kuan Shi Yin, Kuan Yin (China), Avalokiteśvara, Avalokiteshvara, Lokeshvara (India)

Kannon, represented in both male and female forms, is the Goddess and Bodhisattva of mercy, or Lord of Compassion whose name means "observing the sounds of the world". She is one of the most widely worshiped divinities in Japan and mainland Asia, and has many manifestations, such as Fukuukenjaku Kannon, Juuichimen Kannon, Juntei, Senjuusengan Kannon, etc. According to the Mahayana school of Buddhism, Kannon made a vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of strife and to postpone his own perfect enlightenment until he has helped every being on earth achieve nirvana.

During the Tokugawa Shogunate, when Christianity was punishable by death in Japan, some underground Christian groups disguised the Virgin Mary as statue of Kannon; these statues are known as "Maria Kwannon".

Also known as: Hongan-ji Kennyo, Hongan-ji Kousa

Chief Abbot of Ishiyama Hongan Temple, fortress of the Ikkou-ikki, Kennyo became the 11th head of the Hongan Temple in Kyoto upon his father Shounyo's death in 1554, when he was 12. Kennyo was renowned as a strategist who engineered many alliances in the Sengoku Era and made Ishiyama Hongan Temple virtually unbreachable. His wife was the third daughter of Sanjou Kinyori (sister to Takeda Shingen's wife, Sanjou-no-kata), and they got along very well.

Kennyo aided Shingen by persuading the Ikkou sectarians in Kaga Province to rise up against Uesugi Kenshin. He allied himself with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and created an anti-Oda alliance with the Takeda, Asakura, Azai, and Mouri clans. The alliance failed upon Takeda Shingen's death in 1573.

In 1570, Oda Nobunaga laid siege to Ishiyama Hongan Temple, a siege that would last 10 years, the longest in Japan's history. Kennyo left the temple to attempt to raise reinforcements, and his son surrendered to Nobunaga by request of the Emperor.

Kennyo later enlisted the help of Ikkou sectarians for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who granted Kennyo a new Hongan Temple (now known as Nishi-Hongan Temple) in 1589.

A unit of volume used in ancient Japan which is equal to approximately 278.3 liters. It was originally defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year.

During the Edo Period, the wealth of a han was defined in koku, and many samurai received stipends in koku.

Also known as: Kyuukoku (九国: “nine states”), Chinzei (鎮西: “west of the pacified area”), Tsukushi-shima (筑紫島: “island of Tsukushi”), Saikaidou (西海道: “West Sea Route”).

Lit.: "Nine Provinces", the third-largest and most southerly and westerly island of Japan. Its name comes from the former provinces of Japan situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyuuga, Osumi, and Satsuma. It is now comprised of the prefectures of Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Ooita, Saga, and Okinawa.

Lit. "Underworld Uesugi Army"; the army formed by Uesugi Kenshin to hunt down the onryou so that the peace of modern-day Japan is not threatened by centuries-old conflicts. It is composed of all the spirits who have some connection to the Uesugi and who were called upon by Kenshin. The Yasha-shuu could be called its commanders, though Uesugi Kagetora is the only person with the authority to lead it.

Lit.: "vengeful general": the spirits of the warlords of the Sengoku period, who continue their battles even in modern-age Japan.

Also known as: Kuranosuke—nickname (内蔵助)
Titles: Mutsu no Kami, Ecchuu no Kami, Chamberlain

A daimyo of the Sengoku, born in Owari. His father was Sassa Morimasa. His two older brothers, Sassa Masatsugu and Sassa Magosuke, died in battle, so Narimasa became head of the clan and master of Hira Castle in 1560. He distinguished himself in the loyal service of Oda Nobunaga and fought in many of Nobunaga's battles. His name was first on a list for the Kurohoro-gumi, an elite group of Nobunaga's bodyguards.

In 1580, he backed Jinbou Nagazumi against both the Uesugi Clan and the Ikkou-ikki in Ecchuu, and was given half the province. The following year, he was named governor (Kami) of the entire province when Jinbou Nagazumi lost his standing. He made Toyama Castle his main castle and performed extensive repairs and renovations on it.

After Nobunaga's death in 1582, Narimasa continued to engage in fierce battles with Uesugi Kagekatsu. He took the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but later surrendered to him in 1585 when Hideyoshi laid siege to Toyama Castle with 10,000 troops. He lost Ecchuu, but was given a fief in Higo in 1587 for merits in the suppression of Kyuushuu, along with instructions on refraining from hasty reforms. Ignoring those instructions because of illness or perhaps misunderstanding, Narimasa immediately set out on Hideyoshi's nationwide land survey, resulting in rebellion of the province. He was charged with misgovernment and committed ritual suicide.

He wrote the following as his death-poem: "The shell of my begging bowl in which I have placed the evil delusions of these recent days now breaks" (この頃の　厄妄想を　入れ置きし　鉄鉢袋　今破るなり).

Narimasa is said to have brutally killed his concubine, Sayuri, along with her family for a rumor of infidelity. The legend goes that Sayuri cursed him before she died, and the curse was responsible for his death at the hand of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

In Mirage of Blaze: He is kanshousha who has entered the «Yami-Sengoku» as one of the Oda's commanders, described as a tanned, fearless-looking young man, a "mountain cat in human skin." He and Mori Ranmaru don't appear to be on the best of terms. He later seeks his death at Sayuri's hands in remorse for the way he brutally tortured and killed her in their previous lives.

Sayuri was a favored concubine of Sassa Narimasa, said to be a peerless beauty, whom he brutally tortured and killed on suspicion of infidelity.

The story goes that Narimasa fell in love with Sayuri at first sight and made her his concubine. He lavished affection on her, and was overjoyed when she became pregnant in 1584. His other three concubines were jealous of Sayuri, and when Narimasa left Ecchuu on a trip to meet with Tokugawa Ieyasu in December of that year, spread the rumor that she was in secret communication with one of Narimasa's vassals, a man who had stayed behind at Toyama Castle because of illness, Takezawa Kumashirou (sp?) (竹沢熊四郎). They claimed that the child belonged to Kumashirou, not Narimasa.

Narimasa dismissed the rumors at first, but found a small brocade sachet at the door of Sayuri's bedroom which belonged to Kumashirou (said to have been placed there by the other concubines). He flew into rage and put Kumashirou to the sword on the spot. He then hanged Sayuri by her feet to a tree in the Jintsuu River Basin and slowly cut her to pieces. He also beheaded the 18 members of her family and crucified their bodies at the prison gates.

The scene is described in the Taikouki: at the moment of her death, Sayuri, her lips bitten through, bloody tears flowing down a once-beautiful face now twisted into a malevolent mask, cursed Narimasa: "As Narimasa beheads me here, my enmity shall a demon become, to grow year by year until I have killed all thine issue even unto the extinction of thy family name." Those watching covered their eyes, and those who heard felt their hair rise at those words.

Stories say that a drifting fire would appear on stormy nights at the spot where Sayuri died, and sometimes a freshly-severed head with wild hair waving in the air saying "Sayuri, Sayuri." The fire was called "Sayuri Fire". The story goes that Sayuri became a vengeful ghost whose curse later killed Sassa Narimasa (though not his children). Sightings of the fire occurred as late as the Meiji Era.

The hackberry tree from which Sayuri was said to have been hanged was burned during the air-raid of Toyama City in World War II. Two second-generation hackberry trees now stand on the spot.

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.

The Tenshou Years was the span of years from 1573 to 1592 of the latter part of the Sengoku Era, marked by regional wars. The era name was suggested by Oda Nobunaga, formed of the characters for "heaven" and "righteousness/correctness", from a phrase by Chinese philosopher Laozi: "Those who are at peace with nature bring all under Heaven into its correct pattern."

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.