Gion is a major Kyoto tourist hub and popular nightlife district among locals. Originally developed in the Middle Ages to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to Yasaka (Gion) Shrine, it became one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in Japan.
Traditional establishments with geisha in full regalia entertaining guests now dwell alongside restaurants, bars, clubs, pachinko, off-track betting, and places geared toward tourists.
A city located in Nagasaki which comprises the south-west half of the Gotou-Retto Islands in the South China Sea.
Grantz is located on the northern tip of Shinma Kingdom and is the birthplace of Adalbert von Grantz.
The northern-most prefecture of the Kanto region of Japan's main island of Honshuu.
A prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantou region on Honshuu island. Its capital is Maebashi.
Hachigata Castle was a mountain castle built in Musashi Province (now Saitama Prefecture) in 1476 by Nagao Kageharu in defiance of the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Clan which his clan served when the then-clan head Uesugi Akisada passed him over for inheritance of the position of Nagao clan head in favor of his younger brother Nagao Tadakage.
Five years later, Oota Doukan of the Ougigayatsu branch attacked the castle and finally took the castle for Uesugi Akisada. During the next few decades the two branches of the Uesugi Clan fought over the castle.
After the Battle of Kawagoe Castle in 1546, the Houjou Clan became the rulers of Musashi, and Houjou Ujikuni became master of the castle in 1564. Thereafter it served as one of the bases from which the Houjou Clan controlled the Kantou.
It strategic position at an important crossroads made it a target for various attacking warlords, including Takeda Shingen in 1569 and Uesugi Kenshin in 1574, but its formidable defenses, both natural (nestled as it is between two rivers and high cliffs) and man-made, enabled it to repel all comers.
The castle withstood siege from 35,000 troops with a garrison of only 3,000 for a month during the Siege of Odawara, but Ujikuni finally surrendered on the condition that the lives of his men would be spared.
Hachiouji Castle was a mountain castle built by Houjou Ujiteru on Mt. Fukazawa in 1587 in a strategic part of West Kantou (now Tokyo). Hachiouji, or "Eight Princes", was so named because the eight sons of the eight Buddhist Gozu Tenno deities were enshrined at the summit of the mountain.
Ujiteru made Hachiouji his main fortress, but in 1590 during the Siege of Odawara, Ujiteru and his main vassals raced to join the battle at Odawara, leaving only a few vassals, troops, mobilized peasants and their families—in all around 1000 to face the 15,000 of the combined armies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Maeda Toshiie, and Sanada Masayuki.
The castle was overrun and fell in a single day. Yokochikenmotsu Yoshinobu, the chamberlain, and the other vassals committed seppuku because they had not been able to take decisive action. The women and children killed themselves or threw themselves into the waterfall of the lord's palace, starting with Ujiteru's wife Hisa. Stories say that the waterfall ran with blood for three days and three nights.
Tokugawa Ieyasu later abandoned the castle.
The castle ruins were declared a historical landmark on June 9, 1951.
Hachiouji City is the eighth-largest city in Tokyo, a little west of Tokyo's center, and today serves mostly as a residential city for people working in Tokyo. It contains many schools and universities, and attractions include Takao-san, a popular hiking location, the Hachiouji Castle Ruins on Jinba-san around an hour outside the city, and the Tama Goryou.
One of the three sacred mountains of Dewa, a major pilgrimage destination for followers of Shugendou. It contains a 600-year old Five-Story Pagoda, built of wood without a single nail.
Also known as: Hakone Gengu, Hakone-jinja Motomiya
Hakone Mototsumiya, built at the summit of Komagatake, is the rear shrine of Hakone Shrine. It was rebuilt in 1964 by Tsutsumi Yasujirou.
Hakone Ropeway is a funitel aerial lift located in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture connecting Mt. Souun to Tougendai on Lake Ashi. It was a single line until 2001; in 2002 it became two distinct sections: Mt. Souun to Oowaku Valley with 18 cabins/18 passengers each and Oowaku Valley to Tougendai with 30 cabins/18 passengers each. There are 4 stations on the line.
Hakone-en is a cottage/botanical garden/aquarium/shopping mall complex located on the east bank of Lake Ashi managed until 1996 by Seibu Railway Co., now by Prince Hotel.
Hakone Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Hakone along the shores of Lake Ashi. The shrine itself lies hidden in a dense forest, but its large red "floating" shrine gates (Torii of Peace) stand prominently in the lake.
From chronicles stretching back as far as the Nara Period (710-794), Hakone has been named as a spot sacred to the mountain-worshiping religion. The original shrine was founded during the reign of Emperor Koushou (475 BC – 393 BC) on Mt. Komagatake. Holy Priest Mangan revived and relocated the shrine to Lake Ashi in 757. It was separated into three parts dedicated to the deities whom legends says appeared to him in a dream as a Buddhist acolyte, government official and woman and asked him to deliver the grace of the Buddhist and Shinto religions onto mankind.
In the year 801, before general and shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro set out on an expedition to quell the Northeast by imperial command, he left an arrow as offering in front of a cedar tree at Hakone Shrine as a prayer for his victory. The tree become known as the Yatate Cedar, or 'Standing Arrow Cedar,' and in later years other legendary generals such as Minamoto no Yoshiie, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune all left arrows as offerings there.
The shrine was destroyed by fire in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara and rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Hakone-Kowakien is a spa and resort (including hotel and amusement park) located in Hakone Town. It is owned by Fujita Kanko Inc and was developed from the vacation villas of the Mitsui family (one of the most powerful families of merchants and industrialists in Japan whose business dates back to the Edo Era).
Hakone is a town located in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a popular tourist location, hosting many hot springs, Hakone Shrine on the shore of the caldera lake, Lake Ashi, the volcanically-active Great Boiling Valley, and beautiful views of Mt. Fuji.
Mt. Hakone is a volcano centered in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture and a designated part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Lake Ashi lies against the south-western wall of the Hakone caldera, and many hot springs such as Hakone Onsen and Yugawara Onsen well up from its sides and base. It has been a health resort area such ancient times, and is now a well-known sight-seeing area.
Also known as: Hakone Onsen (Hakone Hot Springs)
Hakone-Yumoto, or Hakone Hots Springs Source, is an area of Hakone Town dotted with hot springs which goes from the foot of Mt. Hakone up to about midway. The area is a designated part of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
The area became famous during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara, when the armies gathered from all parts of the country relieved their boredom by visiting the hot springs during the long encampment around the massive Odawara Castle.
A city located in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture which is the largest city in the prefecture. In the Sengoku Era Tokugawa Ieyasu held Hamamatsu Castle from 1570 - 1586.
A traditional Japanese restaurant in Gion, Kyoto at which Hazama Shigeharu and Naoe meet confectionery wholesalers after the first day of the Confectionery Industries Symposium.
Likely fictional, although there is a "Hanaguruma" ([[https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260203/26002422/|花車) restaurant in Gion.
A castle built in 1568 by Wada Koremasa, a retainer of the Muromachi shogunate, in what is now Kobe Town, Hyougo Prefecture.
In 1580, Araki Murashige fled to this castle during the siege of Itami Castle. Ikeda Tsuneoki along with his sons Ikeda Motosuke and Ikeda Terumasa laid siege to the castle and captured it on July 2, 1580. Araki Murashige managed to escape, and Hanakuma Castle was later abandoned. Only its stone foundations now remain.
The district around Harajuku Station in the Ward of Shibuya in Tokyo, located between Shinjuku and Shibuya, known for its youth fashion.
A Buddhist temple of the Buzan School of the Shingon-shu in Nara which was built in the 17th century.
The mountain castle located the Mogami land of Dewa (present-day Yamagata City) which was put under siege by Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Battle of Dewa. The Mogami and Date forces were able to successfully defend the castle.
A province of ancient Japan which comprises the northern part of Gifu Prefecture today.
Mt. Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto on which the Buddhist Tendai Enryaku Temple was founded by Saichou in 788. Oda Nobunaga razed its temples and towns and massacred its inhabitants in 1571 to check the power of the Tendai warrior monks, who had long been his enemies due to their strength and independence.
The temple was rebuilt and is still the Tendai headquarters.
Higashiyama (East Mountain) Ward is one of the 11 wards of Kyoto and is seated between Kamo River and the Higashiyama mountain range. It holds residential areas in its western part, forests to the east, a commercial district to the north, and a semi-industrial zone to the south.
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.
Hijirizaki, "Sacred Cape", is the northern-most point of Itsuku Island.
A human kingdom neighboring Shinma Kingdom by sea, Hildyard is the only country with diplomatic ties to Shinma Kingdom from the beginning of the story. It takes around three days by ship to reach Hildyard from the Shinma territory of Voltaire.
A station on the north/south-bound railway line located in Yamato-Kooriyama, Nara, operated by Kintetsu Corporation. It open in 1915 and served around 4500 people per day in 2005.
A river that flows around Aoba Castle and Sendai City.
Hiroshima Port is an important harbor located on the Seto Inland Sea which supports marine transportation and trade logistics, and provides access to tourist destinations such as Itsuku Island Shrine and the Atomic Dome.
The City of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture and the largest city in the Chuugoku region of western Honshuu. Its name means "Broad Island," and was established on the delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by the powerful daimyo Mouri Terumoto, who made it his capital. He built Hiroshima Castle there and moved in five years later, in 1593.
Hiroshima became a major urban center during the imperial period, and later a major port city. The city was a key shipping center during World War II, and became known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the US Air Force dropped an atomic bomb there on August 6, 1945.
An ancient province of Japan which bordered on the provinces of Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke. It is called Ibaraki Prefecture today.
One of the most renowned universities for the social sciences (especially commerce, economics, and sociology) in Japan, located in Tokyo.
The area of north-central Japan on the island of Honshuu along the Sea of Japan comprised of the prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui. Niigata is sometimes also included.
A Nichirenshu Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, famous for being the site at which Oda Nobunaga was betrayed and murdered by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide.
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.
Also known as: Toyokuni Shrine (豊国神社)
A Shinto shrine built in 1599 in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto to commemorate and enshrine Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who died in Kyoto on September 18, 1598. The shrine in Kyoto holds Toyotomi's tomb, though there exist other Toyokuni shrines dedicated to Toyotomi in Osaka, Kanazawa, Nagoya, and Hatsukaichi.
Large festivals were held at the shrine to celebrate the anniversary of Toyotomi's apotheosis until June 1615, when Tokugawa Ieyasu closed the shrine "to discourage these unseemly displays of loyalty to a man he had eclipsed". The Meiji Emperor had the shrine restored in 1868, when it was slightly expanded to annex the nearby Houkou Temple, which Toyotomi had ordered to be constructed.
The shrine's Kara Mon (gate), a National Treasure of Japan, was said to have been moved from Fushimi Castle.
A Tendai Buddhist temple constructed from 1586 - 1588 in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto at the command of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who wanted a "giant Buddha" temple in the capital city to rival that of Nara.
The temple has been destroyed by fire, lightning, and earthquake and rebuilt several times. During the Meiji era its land was subdivided and allocated to Kyoumei Shrine to its south and adjacent Houkoku Shrine, thus greatly reducing the size of the temple.
Also known as: Houryuu Gakumonji (法隆学問寺), Ikaruga-dera (斑鳩寺)
Built by Prince Shoutoku in 607, Houryuu Temple is one of Japan's most celebrated temples and contains some of the oldest wooden structures in the world. It is a National Treasure of Japan and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A theme park located in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture that features many Dutch old-style buildings as well as canals, windmills, and amusement rides. It opened in March 1992.
A bridge across the Hirose River
in Sendai which first spanned the river in 1636.
A prefecture in the south-central (Kantou) region on Honshuu Island; also contains a town with the same name.
A town in Ibaraki Prefecture with many surrounding golf courses.
Also known as: Ueno Castle (上野城), Hakuhou Castle (白鳳城)
A castle located in Iga, Mie Prefecture, built in 1585 by Tsutsui Sadatsugu in the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Tsutsui was removed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in response to a charge of sloppy governance, Toudou Takatora took over the castle.
A small mountain-ringed province located on the main island of Honshuu, famous for its ninja clans and considered one of the birthplaces of the ninja arts. Its distance from major trade routes, relative inaccessibility, and defensibility made it unattractive to invasion from outside forces. By the mid-1600s the local warrior clans had banded together to keep the province independent, forming a league known as the "League of all Commons of Iga" (伊賀惣国一揆 Iga Soukoku Ikki).
However, Oda Nobunaga invaded the province with an overwhelming force of 40,000 - 60,000 troops in 1581, two years after a failed invasion by his son Oda Nobukatsu, ruthlessly slaughtering many of its inhabitants, thus putting an end to the independence of the Iga League.
Ikebukuro Station is a train station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, and is the second-busiest train station in the world after Shinjuku Station. It opened in 1903 and serves 8 rail lines and subways.
