Aki Kunitora was lord of the Aki District of Tosa, and was born in 1530 to Aki Motoyasu. He was known as one of the Seven Tosa Heroes.
He and Chousokabe Motochika fought sporadically over territory. In spring of 1569, he instigated a war with Motochika that he ultimately lost, and he committed suicide at his family temple, Joutei Temple. Many of his chief vassals followed him in death.
Intoned by the Yasha-shuu at the beginning of choubuku, 'bai' is the "seed syllable" for Bishamonten, originally known as Vaiśravaṇa.
Chousokabe Motochika was a daimyo of Tosa Province and 20th head of the Chousokabe Clan. He was the eldest son and heir of Chousokabe Kunichika, the 19th head. He was decorated for his first campaign at the age of 22.
After he succeeded as clan head, he took control of the entire Tosa Province, then managed to take Awa Province, Sanuki Province, and Iyo Province at the fall of the Miyoshi, Sogou, and Kouno clans, respectively. However, his hold over the four provinces lasted for just a few weeks, for he lost the three provinces he had gained in the Siege of the Four Provinces in 1585 to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then still serving Oda Nobunaga).
During the next decade, Motochika fought several campaigns under Hideyoshi with his sons, including the Siege of Odawara in 1590 in which he led the Chousokabe Navy.
He died of illness in 1599 and was succeeded by his fourth son Chousokabe Morichika.
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.
First-born son of Date Masamune who could not inherit his father's position as head of the Date Clan because his mother was a concubine. Hidemune became the founding lord of Uwajima-han in Iyo Province.
A term used for strong independent women from the Kouchi area.
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
Also known as: The Mainland
Lit.: "Main State", the largest and most populous island of Japan, comprising of about 60% of its total area. It has five regions: Chuugoku, Kansai, Chuubu, Kantou, and Touhoku. Three-fourths of the major cities of Japan and 34 out of its 47 prefectures are located on this island.
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.
Historically: In the Sengoku era, he served three generations of the Nagao Clan: Nagao Tamekage, Nagao Harukage, and Uesugi Kenshin and was master of Hirabayashi Castle. He was one of Kenshin's most respected generals and Kenshin's military chief of staff. He was killed at the siege of the rebellious Honjou Shigenaga's castle.
In Mirage of Blaze: One of the Yasha-shuu under Uesugi Kagetora's command. He is the only one out of the five Yasha-shuu who survives the battle with Oda Nobunaga thirty years before the start of Volume 1, and carries on the mission alone while the others are reborn. He is a baby when Naoe finds Kagetora again thirty years later, having only performed kanshou two years previously.
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.
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.
Also called: Kousaka Danjou Masanobu (高坂弾正昌信), Kousaka Danjou Nosuke Masanobu (高坂弾正忠昌信), Kasuga Toratsuna (春日虎綱), Kasuga Gensuke (春日源助)
Title: Danjou Nosuke/Faithful True-Shot (弾正忠)
Historically: One of Takeda Shingen's most loyal retainers who was one of his Twenty-Four Generals and played a key part in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima.
Kousaka was born in Kai to a wealthy farmer, Kasuga Ookuma (?) (春日大隈). His father died when he was 16, and he lost a lawsuit against his elder sister's husband for ownership of his father's lands. He then enrolled in the service of Takeda Shingen.
Kousaka first served as a messenger for Shingen. He distinguished himself in battle, and rose swiftly through the ranks of Shingen's trusted retainers. He participated in most of Shingen's battles. He did not hesitate to retreat when required, which earned him the nickname of "Escaping Danjou". However, he was calm and logical in the midst of battle, and was perhaps the best of Shingen's generals.
There are anecdotes that in his younger days, Kousaka and Shingen were engaged in a shudo relationship, and Kousaka rose so quickly in Shingen's service because of Shingen's affection.
After Shingen's death in 1573, Kousaka continued on to serve Takeda Katsuyori. He sought an alliance between the Takeda clan and their old enemy, the Uesugi clan, in order to unite against the threat of Oda Nobunaga.
Kousaka died in 1578 of illness at the age of 52. He was succeeded by his second son, Kousaka Masamoto (高坂昌元), his first son, Kousaka Masazumi (高坂昌澄) having died in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.
In Mirage of Blaze: A kanshousha who, along with Sanjou-no-Kata, breaks the barrier over Takeda Shingen's tomb, the Maenduka, in an attempt to resurrect Shingen by using Narita Yuzuru as a vessel for his spirit.
According to Haruie, Kousaka has a high level of spiritual sensing ability (reisa), such that he is able to recognize someone he had met before even after their soul has undergone purification. He warns Naoe that Narita Yuzuru's existence is a threat to the Roku Dou Sekai.
A belief that certain days of the year are days of great misfortune. Koushin days appear six times within the year, as well as in the Koushin Year, the 57th year of the 60-year Zodiac cycle. Special Buddhist (originally Chinese Taoist) rituals are performed on these days to ward off evil influences, to protect against misfortune, and to cure illness.
The monkey is an important part of the rituals, since the "shin" (申) character also means "monkey" and is the Zodiac animal that is associated with Koushin days.
Shoumen Kongou, a god of healing, became associated with these rituals in the Kamakura Period in Japan.
Also called: Miyoshi Choukei
Title: Chikuzen no Kami
Historically: A warlord from Awa in Shikoku who destroyed the Hosokawa and Hatakeyama families by valor and treachery, thus establishing his dominance over Awa, Sanuki, Awaji, Yamashiro, Yamato, Kawachi, Settsu, and Izumi.
The Miyoshi family grew greatly in power during Nagayoshi's time as head of the clan and held the Ashikaga Shogunate under its thumb. In 1564, he had his younger brother Atagi Fuyuyasu killed due to slander from his vassal Matsunaga Hisahide and died of illness soon after (there are also theories that he was murdered by either Hisahide or the Miyoshi Triumvirate he appointed as guardians for his son). His son Miyoshi Yoshitsugu succeeded him as head of the clan after his death.
Also known as: Oushuu (奥州)
The largest province of ancient Japan, situated in northern Honshuu, which was ruled by various clans during the Sengoku, including the Uesugi, Nambu, and Date. It was divided into the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori.
Nikkou City, located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, is a popular tourist destination known for the Nikkou Toushou Shrine, where Tokugawa Ieyasu's remains are enshrined, as well as Futarasan Shrine, built in 767.
The Niou guardians, literally called the 'Benevolent Kings', are commonly seen at the doors of temples and guard those within from demons and evil spirits. The Agyou (阿形), who utters the syllable 'a', stands with his mouth open, while the Ungyou (吽形), who utters the syllable 'un', stands with his mouth closed.
The "warring states" period, lasting from 1467 to 1615, in which the warlords of Japan battled each other for the rule of the country.
The Seven Calamities are misfortunes caused by slandering the True Dharma, but sutras disagree on the actual calamities.
According to the Sutra of the Benevolent King, they are: irregularity in the movement of the sun and moon, extraordinary phenomena in heavenly bodies, fires, floods, typhoons, droughts, and bandits.
According to the Medicine Master Sutra, they are: epidemics, foreign invasions, domestic disturbances, extraordinary phenomena in heavenly bodies, irregularity in the movement of the sun and moon, unseasonable winds and rains, and droughts.
According to the Lotus Sutra, they are: fire, flood, rakshasa, kings, demons, being bound by chains, and bandits.
The Eight Agonies are: living, aging, illness, death, separation from loved ones, everlasting hatred, not getting what one wants, inability to let go.
Lit. "true word"; mantras which contain a distillation of the Buddhist truth.
Also known as: Seishoku Daikongou Yasha (青色大金剛薬叉)
Lit.: Blue-Faced Vajra
A deity of healing who protects against disease. He is ruler of the East and is pictured as an angry deity with blue skin (due to taking the diseases of others into himself) and four or six arms holding, variously, a vajra, a ritual staff, a wheel (symbolizing Buddha's teachings), and a noose (symbolizing the triumph of Buddhism over evil). He is a fierce protector of Buddhism and repels the calamities of evil beasts, diseases, and thunder.
Due to his healing powers, he became associated with the rituals of the Koushin beliefs.
A temple of the Kouyasan-Shingon sect, Shikoku's Star Valley Temple is located in Katsuura Town. Its chief object of worship is Ekādaśamukha, the Eleven-Faced Kannon. It is the inner sanctuary of Tatsue Temple, the 19th temple of the 88 temples of Shikoku. It was said to have been built by Kuukai in 792.
Legend says that long ago, Kuukai pulled down an evil star that was causing misfortune to people and sealed it in this temple's rockery. When the evil star turned into a stone, this stone was enshrined.
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.
A military memoir depicting the rise and fall of the Chousokabe clan written by Yoshida Takayo in 1708.
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.
A revolt by the vassals of the Chousokabe clan against the surrender of their stronghold, Urado Castle, which occurred in 1600 after the Battle of Sekigahara, in which Chousokabe Morichika of Tosa fought on the losing side. Chousokabe was exiled, and Tokugawa Ieyasu sent an envoy to take Urado Castle.
According to the Tosa Tales, 273 rebels were killed, including 8 generals of the Ichiryou Gusoku.
