Also known as: Aidu

In ancient Japan, a feudal domain known as Aizu-han, a part of the Mutsu Province; today, the region which is the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture. The area was ruled by the Hoshina Clan, former retainers of the Takeda Clan, which was known for its martial skill.

Also known as: Geishuu (藝州/芸州)

An ancient province of Japan located in the Chuugoku region of western Honshuu, which is now the western part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was the seat of the Mouri Clan during the Sengoku era.

Also known as: Shuuhou Cave ('Shuuhou' is an alternate reading of '秋芳,' but 'Akiyoshi' is the official reading.)

Akiyoshi Cave, located in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is part of the Akiyoshi Plateau, which has the largest karst formation in Japan. It is Japan's largest and longest limestone cave, which is composed of multiple levels beneath the plateau and contains 8.79 kilometers of passages.

Only the first kilometer is open to the public, but the cave itself extends for ten kilometers.

Also known as: Sendai-jou (仙台城), Gojourou (五城楼)
Lit. 'Fresh Leaves Castle Ruins'

The ruins of a castle located in Sendai City built by Date Masamune in 1601. It was the governmental seat of Sendai-han and designated a historical landmark of Japan.

The castle sat on Aoba Hill and was naturally defended by a 400-foot cliff on one side and the Hirose River on the other. Masamune built the Inner Citadel and the Western Wing on Aoba Hill, and Date Tadamune built the Second Wing and Third (Northern) wings at its base. The ruins of the Third Wing is now the Sendai Museum.

All that remains of the original castle today are old stone walls; the rest were dismantled or destroyed in fire, earthquakes, and bombings.

Also known as: Itami Castle (伊丹城)

A flatland castle constructed by the Itami Clan during the Northern and Southern Courts period (1336 - 1392) and renovated in 1475, Itami Castle contained the oldest castle keep in Japan. It fell in 1574 to Araki Murashige, who changed its name to Arioka Castle and greatly expanded it into one of the largest castles in the region.

However, when Murashige later rebelled against Oda, Oda laid siege to the castle and took it in 1579. His general Ikeda Motosuke demolished it. Today its ruins are located just in front of Itami Station.

A Japanese-style inn owned by Asaoka Maiko's family located on the banks Lake Chuuzenji. It has two stories, with the second affording a gorgeous view of the lake.

A city founded in Hyougo Prefecture in 1871, Ashiya was designated as an urban planning area in the early 1900s, which led to the development of large single-family homes along the hills overlooking Osaka Bay.

A city located in Nagano Prefecture.

A human kingdom neighboring Shinma Kingdom by sea, it is hostile towards Shinma at the beginning.

A prefecture located on the island of Honshuu, Japan which is composed of the ancient provinces of Awa, Kazusa, and Shimousa.

A city in Nagano Prefecture which was found from the former towns of Koushoku, Kamiyamada, and Tokura on September 1, 2003.

A Kouyan-Shingon temple built in 824 by Kuukai for Emperor Junna with Amida Nyorai as its principle buddha (the first one in Japan to have crystal eyes). The bell tower of the temple, built in the Heian Period (794-1185) is also Japan's oldest and the only structure built by Kuukai from that time period.

The garden of the temple is located just through the bell tower gate, and on the left is the main temple building. The ceiling of the main temple is known as the "bloody ceiling". When Ryuuouzan Castle behind the temple was attacked by Matsunaga Hisahide during the Sengoku Period, there was also fighting within the temple. It's said that the blood of soldiers flowed from the open corridor into the main temple. The floorboards were later used as ceiling boards, and the bloody footprints from that time can still be clearly seen.

The westernmost area of Japan on the island of Honshuu comprised of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi.

Lake Chuuzenji, located in Nikkou National Park in the city of Nikkou, Tochigi Prefecture, is one of Japan's 100 famous views. It is the 25th largest lake in Japan and drains through the Kegon Falls.

Lit: Great Gates Marsh River; one of the principle rivers of Matsumoto. Although small, it flows through the heart of Matsumoto and is intimately known to its residents. Its head lies at Keshibouzu-yama, and at its tail joins with Narai River.

An ancient province of Japan with was split from Echigo, comprising of parts of the modern prefectures of Yamagata and Akita. It was held by the Mogami and Akita clans.

An ancient province in north-central Japan which was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin during the Sengoku Period. Now a part of Niigata Prefecture.

Also known as: Chiyoda Castle (千代田城)

Edo Castle is a flatland castle located in what is now the Chiyoda District of Tokyo, once called Edo in the Toshima District of Musashi Province. It has been designated a special historical landmark and is now used as the Imperial Palace.

The warrior to first use Edo as his base was Edo Shigetsugu, and the Edo Clan resided there from the end of the Heian Period to the beginning of the Kamakura Period. After the destruction of the Edo Clan in Kantou riots in the 15th Century, Oota Doukan, a vassal of the Ougigayatsu-Uesugi Clan, built Edo Castle there in 1457. Doukan was later killed by his master Uesugi Sadamasa, and the Uesugi took possession of the castle. After the fall of the Ougigayatsu-Uesugi Clan, the castle came under control of the Houjou Clan.

After the Siege of Odawara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi bequeathed Houjou's old fiefs to Tokugawa Ieyasu and decreed that he should move into Edo Castle. Ieyasu did so on Aug. 30, 1590 and later established the Tokugawa Shogunate with Edo as its military capital. His grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu greatly expanded the castle and grounds from 1593 to 1636.

The last Tokugawa shogun surrendered Edo Castle to the imperial forces on Apr. 11, 1868. The castle was renamed Tokyo Castle, then Imperial Castle. The Meiji Emperor took possession of the castle in the later part of the same year made it his imperial residence.

A city located in the north-east area of Yamanashi Prefecture with a population of around 26,500 people

A private women's university founded in 1870 and established as a university in 1965, located in Kanagawa Prefecture. Its motto is "for others".

Fukashi Junior High (a fictional school) is where Takaya and Yuzuru attended junior high. Takaya had a reputation as a trouble student there. He and Yuzuru were in the same class in their first year and in different classes in their second year. Takaya started skipping school about midway through his first year, after his parents divorced.

Kayama was in Yuzuru's class in second year, and Yokomori and Ichinose were a year above them.

Fukui City is the capital of Fukui Prefecture, located in the north-central part of Honshuu on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The city was heavily bombed and devastated during World War II.

Also known as: Momoyama Castle (桃山城), Fushimi-Momoyama Castle (伏見桃山城)

A castle located in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward and built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1592 - 1594 to be his retirement palace, Fushimi Castle was particularly famous for its gold leave-covered Golden Tea Room. It was destroyed by earthquake only two years after its completion, but was soon reconstructed and came under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu vassal Torii Mototada.

Portuguese: colégio

A school of divinity established by Jesuits in Bungo in 1581, later moved to Shimabara (1590) and then Amakusa (1591), where it was called Amakusa College.