Translation Glossary

Houjou Ujiyasu

(北条氏康) 1515 - 1571
Title: Sagami-no-Kami
Also known as: The Tiger of Sagami, The Lion of Sagami

Son of Houjou Ujitsuna and third head of the Late Houjou Clan, one of the greatest daimyo of the Sengoku in both military and political arenas. He expanded the Houjou holdings to five territories and battled both Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin over the Kantou and Suruga regions.

He retired in 1560 and handed over the clan to his eldest son Houjou Ujimasa, but continued to guide the clan until his death of palsey or stomach cancer in 1571. He made an alliance with the Takeda Clan in 1562 and gave over his 7th son, Houjou Saburou, to Takeda Shingen for adoption.

Houjou Ujiyasu was a great admirer of poetry, culture and learning as well as a outstanding administrator who created unique bureaucratic organizations such as litigation processes for the ruling of his lands. He was much beloved of his people and widely mourned at his death.

Chiaki Shuuhei

(千秋修平)
Birthday: Apr. 1
Height: 6'
Weight: 150 lbs
Blood type: B
Possessed by: Yasuda Nagahide.

The current incarnation of Yasuda Nagahide who shows up in Takaya's class one day after hypnotizing everyone into believing that he's been one of Takaya's best friends for ages. He is described as being a prodigy at Jouhoku High who is popular both with the teachers and the girls. He wears glasses, has a well-proportioned body, and gives the impression of cool maturity. He is around two years older than Takaya and lives alone. He appears to have cut off all ties with his family.

Notes: He appears as 'Chiaki' in narration. Naoe and Haruie call him 'Nagahide', and Takaya calls him Chiaki. Most of the students at Jouhoku High call him Chiaki-kun.

Hakkai

(八海)
One of the Meikai Uesugi Army who specializes in Nokizaru, described as a man in his mid-thirties with a square, expressionless face.

Kadowaki Ayako

(門脇綾子)
Birthday: Dec. 9
Height: 5'5"
Weight: unknown
Blood type: A
Possessed by: Kakizaki Haruie.

Kakizaki Haruie's current incarnation: a female college student about four years older than Takaya who rides a Yamaha FZR400 motorcycle called Ecchan. She is described as a beauty with sauvage-style long hair and long, slim legs. She lives in Yokohama with her parents.

Notes: She appears as 'Ayako' in narration. Naoe and Nagahide call her 'Haruie', and Takaya calls her 'Nee-san'.

Kitazato Minako

(北里美奈子)
Kagetora's beloved in the age before he became Ougi Takaya.

Tomotoshi

(友利)
One of Takaya's classmates.

Narita Yuzuru

(成田譲)
Possessed by: Takeda Shingen (temporarily)

Ougi Takaya's best friend and an honor student at his school.

Notes: He appears as 'Yuzuru' in narration. Takaya calls him 'Yuzuru'. Naoe calls him 'Yuzuru-san', and Chiaki calls him 'Narita'.

Ougi Takaya

(仰木高耶)
Birthday: July 23
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 134 lbs
Blood type: O
Possessed by: Uesugi Kagetora

At the beginning of the story Takaya is a seventeen-year-old high school delinquent with no memory of his past. His parents divorced when he was a first-year junior high school student, probably because his father started drinking when his business failed. His mother remarried and lives in Sendai.

He lives in Matsumoto with his sister, Miya. He attends Jouhoku High and is in the same class (Year Two Group Three) as his best friend, Narita Yuzuru.

Notes: He appears as 'Takaya' in narration. Nagahide and Haruie call him 'Kagetora', and Naoe calls him 'Kagetora-sama' and 'Takaya-san'. Most of the students at Jouhoku High call him 'Ougi-kun' (Chiaki calls him 'Ougi' at school). Miya calls him 'Onii-chan', and Yuzuru calls him 'Takaya'.

Ougi Miya

(仰木美弥)
Takaya's younger sister, who is a second-year junior high school student at the beginning of the story. She lives in Matsumoto with her brother, in number 302 in a multi-apartment complex.

Tachibana Saeko

(橘冴子)
Tachibana Saeko, Tachibana Yoshiaki's older sister, is the only daughter of the Tachibana family. She is married and lives in Tokyo.

Tachibana Teruhiro

(橘照弘)
Tachibana Teruhiro, Tachibana Yoshiaki's eldest brother, is older than him by twelve years. He makes a living as a realtor, but also carries a monk's license. He is married and lives with his family at the temple in a separate building.

Tachibana Harue

(橘春枝)
Tachibana Harue is Tachibana Yoshiaki's mother. She is married to the head priest of the Kougen Temple, a branch of Shingon-shu Buzan-ha, in Utsunomiya. She has three sons, Yoshiaki's older brothers Tachibana Teruhiro and Tachibana Yoshihiro and a daughter, Tachibana Saeko.

Tachibana Yoshiaki

(橘義明)
Birthday: May 3
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 165 lbs
Blood type: AB
Possessed by: Naoe Nobutsuna.

The current incarnation of Naoe, who is the third son of the Tachibana family and a monk of Shingon-shu Buzan-ha at the Kougen Temple in Utsunomiya. He is about twelve years older than Takaya.

Tachibana Yoshihiro

(橘義弘)
Tachibana Yoshihiro is Tachibana Yoshiaki's older brother and second son of the Tachibana family. He is heir to the Kougenji.

Takeda Yuiko

(武田由比子)
Possessed by: Sanjou (temporarily), Princess Itsu (temporarily).

Takeda Yuiko is a descendant of the Takeda clan who is around the same age as Takaya; Takaya first gets a hint of his powers when he sees her engulfed in heatless flame as Sanjou, who had possessed her body, fought with her for control.

After the Sanjou episode, Yuiko and Saori become penpals. Saori later visits her in Tokyo.

Akechi Mitsuhide

(明智光秀) 1526 - 1582
Title: Hyuga no Kami
Also known as: Koreta Mitsuhide

A talented general and poet who belonged to the inner circle of Oda Nobunaga's vassals. He later ambushed Nobunaga at Honnou Temple in 1582, killing both Nobunaga and his heir, Oda Nobutada. Akechi Mitsuhide then proclaimed himself the new shogun, but soon clashed against Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces and was defeated in the Battle of Yamazaki only 13 days later. He was killed en route to his stronghold of Sakamoto Castle in the village of Ogurusu by a bandit with a bamboo spear (though an alternate theory states that he was not killed but became a monk instead).

Honjou Shigenaga

(本庄繁長) 1540 - 1614
Title: Echizen no Kami

One of Uesugi Kenshin's most experienced but most troublesome retainers. His father, Honjou Fusanaga, was the head of the Honjou Clan, but his castle was stolen away by his younger brother Ogawa Nagasuke just before Shigenaga was born. He died soon after. Shigenaga became the head of his clan at a very young age with his uncle as his guardian. Shigenaga was said to have a strong, daring temperment from childhood. On the 13th anniversary of his father's dead, he had his uncle Nagasuke seized and drove him to suicide, thereby taking back the real power of the clan.

Though in the beginning he was hostile towards Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin), whom his uncle had supported, he became one of Kenshin's vassals in 1558 and fought in many of his battles, including the Battles of Kawanakajima. However, Shigenaga had a strong tendency towards independence; in 1568 he schemed with Takeda Shingen to declare his independence from Kenshin. The rebellion was put down by Kenshin, and Shigenaga surrendered with the intercession of Ashina Moriuji. His son and heir Honjou Akinaga was given as hostage, and Shigenaga was forgiven.

After Kenshin's death, he initially supported Uesugi Kagetora in the Otate no Ran, but surrendered to Uesugi Kagekatsu and later served him.

Houjou Ujimasa

(北条氏政) 1538 - Aug. 10, 1590
Title: Sagami no Kami
Also known as: Matsuchiyomaru (松千代丸—childhood), Shinkurou (新九郎—nickname), 慈雲院松巌傑公 (posthumous)

Ujimasa was born in 1538 as the second son of Houjou Ujiyasu and his principle wife Zuikeiin, daughter of Imagawa Ujichika, and was older brother of Houjou Ujiteru, Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora), and Houjou Ujimitsu. He became heir to the clan when his older brother Shinkurou died before reaching adulthood.

Ujimasa married Oubaiin, eldest daughter of Takeda Shingen and Sanjou-no-Kata, on the occasion of the three-way alliance between the Takeda, Imagawa, and Houjou clans in 1554. Their marriage was thought to be a happy one.

Ujimasa succeeded his father as the fourth head of the Sagami Houjou Clan in 1559 upon Ujiyasu's retirement. His first task upon becoming heir of the clan, per clan convention, was a a land survey evaluating how the Houjou lands were being used and the condition of the people serving on those lands. His relationship with his brothers was good throughout, and they were be a huge help to him in the governing of the clan.

In 1561, Uesugi Masatora (Uesugi Kenshin) of Echigo laid siege to Odawara Castle with a huge army gathered from the Kantou and south Mutsu. Under the leadership of his father Ujiyasu, Ujimasa was able to drive back the army. After the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, he was able to take back a large part of North Kantou from the Uesugi in concert with Shingen.

In 1568, seizing the opportunity presented by the decline of the Imagawa Clan after Imagawa Yoshimoto's death at Oda Nobunaga's hand, Takeda Shingen invaded Suruga, laying siege to Yoshimoto's heir, Imagawa Ujizane in Kakegawa Castle. Ujimasa led the Houjou forces to repel the Takeda army and formed an alliance with Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa in order to rescue Ujizane (his brother-in-law by way of his younger sister Hayakawadono). Ujimasa then had Ujizane adopt his son Ujinao as his heir, thus giving the Houjou Clan a legitimate claim to the territory of Suruga. In order to hold back Takeda, he formed an alliance with his old enemy Uesugi Kenshin, giving his younger brother Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora) as hostage. The severing of ties with the Takeda Clan, however, meant the dissolution of his marriage with his beloved wife Oubaiin.

In 1569, Takeda Shingen laid siege to Odawara Castle, delivering a crushing defeat to the Houjou Clan (though recent analysis by historians indicate that Shingen lost a great many men as well). In 1570, Suruga belonged almost wholly to Shingen.

In October of 1571 upon his father's death, Ujimasa broke off his alliance with Kenshin and reformed the alliance with Shingen in accordance with his father's will, after which fighting between the Houjou and Uesugi clans flared up again.

Kenshin's death in 1578 triggered a fight for succession to the Uesugi Clan between his two adopted sons, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Uesugi Kagetora (the Otate no Ran). Ujimasa was tied up at that time in a confrontation with Satake Yoshishige and Utsunomiya Kunitsuna in Shimotsuke, so sent his brother Houjou Ujikuni to their brother's aid in his place while asking Takeda Katsuyori for reinforcements. Katsuyori betrayed the Houjou and formed an alliance with Uesugi Kagekatsu, and the Otate no Ran ended with Kagetora's death and Kagekatsu's succession.

Ujimasa broke off the alliance with the Takeda clan a second time and formed an alliance with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu to attack the Takeda territory in a pincer movement, but shifting alliances and hard fighting left the conclusion unclear. In 1580 Ujimasa proposed to Oda Nobunaga, who had just taken Ishiyama Hongan Temple, that the Houjou Clan become a vassal of the Oda Clan, but Takeda Katsuyori managed to form an alliance with Oda first. Ujimasa retired from the position of clan head in the same year, but like his father before him still held onto the government and military affairs of the clan.

In the following years, the Houjou Clan managed to gain control over a vast territory: Sagami, Izu, Musashi, Shimousa, Kazusa, Hitara, Shimotsuke, and a part of Suruga. Interestingly, however, Ujimasa did not seem to hold the ambition of ruling the entire country, a tradition passed down from the founder of the Late Houjou Clan, Houjou Souun. Instead, Ujimasa concentrated on independence for the 8 Kantou provinces under Houjou rule and alliances with other strong warlords such as Tokugawa Ieyasu and Date Masamune.

In 1589, using Ujimasa's refusal to proceed to the capital to attend him as pretext, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gathered an army of 220,000 to lay siege to Odawara Castle. It overran castles in the Houjou territory in quick succession. The siege against Odawara Castle lasted from May to August. On August 4, Ujimasa offered to surrender his life for the lives of his men. Toyotomi demanded the lives of both Ujimasa and his brother Ujiteru, as well as the lives of their vassals Matsuda Norihide and Daidouji Masashige. Ujimasa and Ujiteru committed seppuku on August 10.

Ujimasa left behind the following tanka verses for his death poem:

「雨雲の　おほえる月も　胸の霧も　はらいにけりな　秋の夕風」
「我身今　消ゆとやいかに　おもふへき　空よりきたり　空に帰れば」

translated (Sadler 1978, pp. 160–161):

Autumn wind of eve,
blow away the clouds that mass
over the moon's pure light
and the mists that cloud our mind,
do thou sweep away as well.

Now we disappear,
well, what must we think of it?
From the sky we came.
Now we may go back again.
That's at least one point of view.

There is another verse which is sometimes attributed to his brother Ujiteru, but is most often attributed to Ujimasa:

「吹くと吹く　風な恨みそ　花の春　もみじの残る　秋あればこそ」

which may be translated:

The wind's resentment—
Oh, see how it blows against
The flowering spring.
Yet it will leave us anon
The bright colors of autumn.

Imagawa Yoshimoto

(今川義元) 1519 - 1560
Titles: Mikawa no Kami, Suruga no Kami

Historically: The warlord of Suruga who invaded the Houjou of Sagami and the Oda of Owari. Later, allied with the Houjou and Takeda clans, he brought about the golden days of the Imagawa clan. In 1560 he marched on Kyoto with 27,000 men but was defeated by Oda Nobunaga in the battle of Okehazama and killed. The Imagawa clan fell apart and lost all of its holdings to the Takeda and Tokugawa clans.

Irobe Katsunaga

(色部勝長) 1493? - 1569
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.

Kaisen-kokushi

(快川国師)
Historically: Abbot and Zen Master of Erin Temple of Kai who was burned alive in his temple by Oda Nobunaga's soldiers during the invasion of Kai.

In Mirage of Blaze: The priest who bound Takeda Shingen's spirit after his death.

Kakizaki Haruie

(柿崎晴家) ? - 1578?
Titles: Izumi no Kami

Historically: the son of Kakizaki Kageie. He was sent to Odawara Castle in Sagami when the Kenshin and the Houjou clans struck a peace treaty in an exchange of hostages with Houjou Saburou (Uesugi Kagetora). The fate of Kakizaki Haruie was unknown when his father was accused of treason. There are theories that he either died in 1575 along with his father, or that he was murdered by Uesugi Kagekatsu's faction in 1578 during the Otate no Ran.

In Mirage of Blaze: He was one of Uesugi Kagetora's most loyal followers as well as the leader of his faction in the Otate no Ran, and was killed by Uesugi Kagekatsu's followers. He is now one of the Yasha-shuu under Kagetora's command. Haruie possesses female bodies (the only member of the Yasha-shuu to do so) in search of a lover who died two hundred years ago.

Of the Yasha-shuu, he is the one who excels most at the spiritual sensing ability called reisa.

Kakizaki Kageie

(柿崎景家) 1513? - 1575
Title: Izumi no Kami

Historically: A general of Uesugi Kenshin who also served Kenshin's father, Nagao Tamekage. His son, Kakizaki Haruie, was sent to Odawara Castle as hostage to the Houjou Clan when an alliance was formed between the Uesugi and Houjou Clans. He was famous for his bold assault strategies in battle. However, he was accused of plotting treason against Kenshin with Oda Nobunaga and was made to commit suicide. (Though there are also theories that he died a natural death).

Kousaka Masanobu

(高坂昌信) 1527 - 1578
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.

Miyoshi Nagayoshi

(三好長慶) 1522 - 1564
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.

Naoe Nobutsuna

(直江信綱) ? - Oct. 6, 1581
Also known as: Nagao Kagetaka (長尾景孝), Nagao Toukurou (長尾藤九郎)
Title: Yamato no Kami (大和守)

Historically: Son of Nagao Akikage, he became head of the Sousha-Nagao Clan at a young age. He later (around 1545) passed the position to his younger brother Nagao Kagefusa. When the clan was destroyed by Takeda Shingen and their territory lost, the family escaped into Echigo. There Kagefusa became a monk, and Kagetaka was adopted by Naoe Sanetsuna when he married Sanetsuna's daughter, Osen-no-Kata. He succeeded his adopted father as master of Yoita Castle in 1577 and was a vassal of Uesugi Kenshin. He promptly took the side of Uesugi Kagekatsu during the war for succession after Kenshin's death and mobilized the members of the Naoe Clan at the castle to subdue Kagetora's troops.

After the intra-house war and Kagekatsu's victory, a question of reward was called into question. Yasuda Akimoto, one of Kagekatsu's trusted commanders, had promised rewards to Shibata Shigeie, Mouri Hidehiro, and others to convince them to join Kagekatsu's side. However, Yamazaki Hidenori, Naoe, and others objected, for they had risked life and limb at Kasugayama Castle from the very beginning of the battle, while Shibata Shigeie and the others had been lured by promise of reward from Yasuda Akimoto.

Yasuda Akimoto committed suicide when he could not keep his promise of reward. Later, Mouri Hidehiro, carrying a grudge for his death, murdered Yamazaki Hidenori at Kasugayama Castle; Naoe, who was with him at the time and took up a sword to defend himself, was killed as well. His death ended the Naoe line, which Kagekatsu later resurrected by marrying Naoe's widow, Osen-no-Kata to Higuchi Kanetsugu and commanding him to take the Naoe name.

In Mirage of Blaze: According to Kousaka Danjou, he was the ringleader of Uesugi Kagekatsu's forces in the Otate no Ran. He is now Uesugi Kagetora's protector and one of the Yasha-shuu under his command. He alone, as Kagetora's protector, was given the power to perform kanshou on other souls, a power he used to force Kagetora's soul into Minako's body.

Naoe Sanetsuna

(直江実綱) 1509 - 1577
Also known as: Naoe Kagetsuna (直江景綱), Naoe Masatsuna (直江政綱)
Title: Yamato no Kami (大和守)

Historically: A trust-worthy and courageous vassal of Uesugi Kenshin who served as one of his military commanders. Also served Kenshin's father (Nagao Tamekage) and older brother (Nagao Harukage) and was an excellent adminstrator. Adopted Naoe Nobutsuna when he married Sanetuna's daughter Osen-no-Kata, since he had no sons of his own.

Rai Sanyou

(頼山陽) 1780 - 1832
An Edo-period historian and poet who was born on Jan. 21, 1780 in Hiroshima-han and died on Oct. 16, 1832. His father, Rai Shunsui (頼春水), was a Confucian scholar. His works included: The Unofficial History of Japan (日本外史), Chronicles of the Japanese Government (日本政記), Sanyou Poem Selections (山陽詩鈔), Notes on Morality (通義), etc.

Sanjou-no-Kata

(三条の方) 1521? - 1570
Historically: Second daughter of Sanjou Kinyori, Minister of the Left and second legal wife of Takeda Shingen, a woman of courtly blood who was mother of his original heir, Takeda Yoshinobu as well as two other sons and two daughters (the older of whom married Houjou Ujimasa). Her name is literally written as "person of Sanjou (Clan)".

She was described as a great beauty and fervent in her devotion to Buddhism. Since Shingen eventually named the grandson of a concubine heir to the clan, it is thought that Sanjou and Shingen did not get along.

In Mirage of Blaze: She and Kousaka Masanobu break the barrier over Takeda Shingen's tomb, the Maenduka, and attempt to resurrect Shingen by using Narita Yuzuru as a vessel for his spirit. She herself takes over the body of Takeda Yuiko but is exorcised by Takaya and Naoe with kouhou-choubuku.

Takeda Shingen

(武田信玄) 1521 - 1573
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.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

(豊臣秀吉) 1536 - 1598
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.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

(徳川家康) 1543 – 1616 -
Also called: Matsudaira Takechiyo, Matsudaira Motoyasu
Titles: Mikawa no Kami, Shogun

Historically: The third of the "Three Unifiers"; an ally of Oda Nobunaga, after Nobunaga's death he first battled against then became an ally of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, Tokugawa moved against Hideyoshi's son and heir Toyotomi Hideyori and the five regents appointed to protect the Toyotomi rule. Tokugawa, along with his allies the Date and Mogami, and the defected Kobayakawa and Mouri clans, defeated the opposition at the Battle of Sekigahara and established the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Tsuchiya Masatsugu

(土屋昌次) ? - 1572
Also called: Tsuchiya Uemon (土屋右衛門)

One of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen who fought in numerous battles, including the Battle of Kawanakajima.

Uesugi Kagekatsu

(上杉景勝) Jan. 8, 1556 - Apr. 19, 1623
Also called: Nagao Kiheiji (長尾喜平次), Nagao Akikage (長尾顕景), Nagao Kagekatsu (長尾景勝)

Historically: One of Uesugi Kenshin's nephews, he was adopted by Kenshin and named Kenshin's heir along with Uesugi Kagetora. Following Kenshin's death in 1578, he provoked the feud against Kagetora in the Otate no ran for succession. His forces won over those of Kagetora in 1579, and he forced Kagetora to commit suicide. He lost the Uesugi's western holdings to Oda Nobunaga, and later submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, under whom he rose to prominence to become a member of the council of five regents appointed by Hideyoshi to protect the Toyotomi rule.

As a general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kagekatsu received the 1.2 million-koku fief of Aizu in addition to his 550,000-koku fief of Echigo. After Toyotmi's death, Kagekatsu was one of the first daimyo to plan revolt against Tokugawa Ieyasu with the building of a new castle in Aizu and the accumulation of troops, and could be said to have least partly begun the Battle of Sekigahara. He refused a summons from Tokugawa to go to the capital to explain himself, and attacked with a 50,000 army, which were held back by Mogami Yoshiaki and Date Masamune. Kagekatsu was defeated early at the siege of his castle at Shiroishi and declared his allegiance to Tokugawa.

Afterwards, Kagekatsu was given the 300,000-koku Yonezawa-han in the Northeast.

Uesugi Kagetora

(上杉景虎) 1552? 1554? - Apr. 19, 1579
Also known as: possibly Houjou Ujihide (北条氏秀), Houjou Saburou (北条三郎), Saburou Kagetora (三郎景虎)

Historically: Uesugi Kagetora was the seventh son (sixth to survive to adulthood) of Houjou Ujiyasu, younger brother of Houjou Ujimasa, Houjou Ujiteru, Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, and older brother of Houjou Ujimitsu. His mother was the sister-in-law of Tooyama Yasumitsu, a vassal of the Houjou Clan (other sources say Zuikeiin, Ujiyasu's principle wife). It's likely that he and Houjou Ujihide were two different people and that Ujihide was the son of Houjou Tsunashige and living in Edo while Saburou was living in Echigo, so most historians refer to him as Houjou Saburou when describing his early life.

As a child, he was sent into the priesthood at Souun Temple in Hakone, then sent as hostage to Takeda Shingen of the Takeda Clan in the three-way alliance between Houjou, Takeda, and Imagawa formed in 1554 (though this last point is now in dispute, as it is told only in the Records of Ancient Battles of the Eight Kanto Provinces and recorded in none of the Takeda Clan records.)

He was adopted by his uncle Houjou Genan in 1569 and married Genan's daughter.

When the Houjou and Uesugi clans formed an alliance in 1569, Saburou was sent to Uesugi Kenshin in an exchange of hostages with Kakizaki Haruie. (At first, the hostage was set to be Houjou Ujimasa's third son Kunimasumaru, but Ujimasa could not bring himself to send off his son, who was then still a baby.) Saburou was sent to the Uesugi clan in early 1570. Kenshin, who never married, developed a liking for the handsome and intelligent Saburou. He married his niece Seienin, the daughter of Nagao Masakage and older sister of Nagao Akikage (Uesugi Kagekatsu) to Saburou, gave him the name Kagetora (a name that had once belonged to Kenshin himself), and adopted him into the Uesugi Clan.

When Kenshin died suddenly in 1578 without naming an heir, Kagetora and Kagekatsu, similarly adopted by Kenshin, fought for succession to the position of clan head (the Otate no Ran). Though Kagetora held the early advantage with the backing of Uesugi vassals such as Uesugi Kagenobu, Honjou Hidetsuna, Kitajou Takahiro, and the Houjou Clan, the tide of the battle turned with Takeda Katsuyori's betrayal to Kagekatsu's side.

When the Otate fell in 1579, Kagetora attempted to escape to Odawara Castle, but was betrayed at Samegao Castle by Horie Munechika and committed suicide. His wife committed suicide along with him (though there are also accounts that she remained behind at the Otate and committed suicide there when her brother Kagekatsu refused Kagetora's surrender.) His oldest son Doumanmaru died at the hands of Kagekatsu's troops along with Uesugi Norimasa, and the rest of his children were believed to have died along with their parents.

In Mirage of Blaze: He was born to Houjou Ujiyasu and Zuikeiin as their eighth (seventh to survive to adulthood) and youngest son. After his death in the Otate no Ran, he was charged by Uesugi Kenshin to become kanshousha in order to ensure that the peace of Japan is not disrupted by the onshou as the leader of the Yasha-shuu and the commander of the Meikai Uesugi Army.

Uesugi Kenshin

(上杉謙信) Feb. 18, 1530 - Apr. 19, 1578
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.

Yasuda Nagahide

(安田長秀) 1516 - May 8, 1582? 1585? 1592?
Title: Jibu Shousuke (治部少輔)

Historically: Master of Yasuda Castle. The Yasuda family had served the Nagao Clan from the time of Nagao Tamekage (late 1400s). Nagahide supported Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) in the coup d'etat against Nagao Harukage, so was a close aide of Kenshin from early on. He fought in many of Kenshin's wars against Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and Houjou Ujiyasu.

He received a commendation for bravery at the 4th battle of Kawanakajima along with six other commanders, including Irobe Katsunaga.

He supported Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death. He died in 1582 of illness in the midst of Shibata Shigeie's rebellion. (Other accounts mention 1585, 1592.)

Though he shared the same family name as Yasuda Kagemoto and Yasuda Akimoto, also vassals of the Uesugi Clan, he was descended from a different family.

In Mirage of Blaze: he was summoned by Uesugi Kenshin to become one of the Yasha-shuu and is second in power only to Uesugi Kagetora.

Aizawa-byouin

(相沢病院)  
The hospital at which Yuiko stays isn't given in the novel, but is implied in the manga to be this hospital, a fairly big institution in the City of Matsumoto.

Aichi-ken

(愛知県)  
A prefecture formed from the ancient provinces of Owari, Mikawa and Ho.

Akasaka

(赤坂)  
A large residential and commercial area located in northern Minato, Tokyo.

Chausu-yama

(茶臼山)  
A mountain located in Nagano Prefecture, whose name translates to "tea-mortar mountain" because it is shaped like the mortar used to grind green tea in Japanese tea ceremonies. This is where the Takeda army set up its battle formations in the Battle of Kawanakajima.

Chikuma-kawa

(千曲川) [pics]
Lit. "River of a Thousand Songs"; A river of 367 kilometers in length which runs through Nagano Prefecture.

Echigo-no-kuni

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

Enzan-shi

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

Shizuoka-ken

(静岡県)  
A prefecture formed from the ancient provinces of Totomi, Suruga, and Izu.

Suruga-no-kuni

(駿河国)
The eastern part of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, ruled by the Imagawa clan for much of the Sengoku Period. It was later taken over by Takeda Shingen when Imagawa Yoshimoto was defeated by Oda Nobunaga. When Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power the province was assigned to one of his allies.

Tochigi-ken

(栃木県)  
A prefecture located in the south-central region of Honshu Island, Japan.

Togakushi

(戸隠)   [pics]
Mountains located in Nagano Prefecture. Also the current name of a town formerly known as Togakure.

jibakurei

(地縛霊)
Lit. "earth-bound spirit"; a spirit who has a strong attachment to the place of its death and is therefore bound to it as a spirit. The attachment is usually an intense hatred towards someone or something. This bound is not easily broken, and requires the use of very strong powers in a ceremony such as reidouhou.

Bishamonten

(毘沙門天)
Also know as: Bishamon, Tamonten, Vaisravana

Bishamonten is one of the 12 Deva Guardians, the protector of the North and the most powerful of the Heavenly Kings of the Four Quarters. He is the god of warfare and warriors, sometimes called the "black warrior"; black is his symbolic color, and winter is the season over which he presides. He is often depicted as warrior with a crown on his head, a pagoda in one hand and a trident in the other. He punishes those who do evil and is also the guardian of the places where Buddha preaches. He is one who is all-knowing, who hears everything, who is always listening, and is completely versed in Buddha's teachings. He is one of Japan's Seven Deities of Fortune. The soldiers of his army are the powerful earth deities called Yaksha.

Bishamonten is also called "Tobatsu Bishamonten" (刀八毘沙門天), or "Eight-Sword Bishamonten", because of an error in translation passed down through the centuries. The original name, "Bishamonten of Tobatsu", pointed to a manifestation of Bishamonten which appeared in the Central Asian kingdom of Tou-po or Tobatsu (兜跋) to protect the capital city against invaders. Bishamonten in this form is depicted with a diadem on his head, four hands holding a key, a gem, a pagoda, and a halbert before him and eight arms holding eight swords around him.

Maenduka

(魔縁塚)   [pics]
Also called "Kasouduka" or "cremation mound" (火葬塚), this is the burial shrine of Takeda Shingen in Iwakubo, Koufu in Yamanashi Prefecture.

daimyo

(大名)
Lit.: "great name"; feudal warlords of Japan

Iwakubo-machi

(岩窪町)  
A town in Koufu City, Yamanashi Prefecture which contains Takeda Shingen's tomb, known as the Maenduka.

Koufu-shi

(甲府市)  
The capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture.

Yamanashi-ken

(山梨県)  
A prefecture in the central region of Honshu, formerly known as Kai and ruled by Takeda Shingen during the Sengoku Period. Also contains a city of the same name.

Kamikouchi

(上高地) [pics]
Lit: "upper highlands", a popular scenic area in the Japanese Alps.

Matsumoto-shi

(松本市)   [pics]
The largest city in Nagano Prefecture, Matsumoto is surrounded by mountains and is acclaimed for its beautiful views.

Nagano-ken

(長野県)  
Formerly known as the province of Shinshuu, Nagano Prefecture is located in central Japan on Honshuu Island. Its capital is the City of Nagano.

Shinshuu

(信州)
Abbreviated name for Shinano, an ancient province in central Japan.

Matsumoto-jou

(松本城)   [pics]
Also known as: 深志城 (Fukashi-jou), 鴉城 (Karasu-jou)

A castle in Matsumoto which was built by the Ogasawara Clan during the Sengoku Period (then called Fukashi-jou). It was captured by Takeda Shingen in 1550 and recaptured by Ogasawara Sadayoshi in 1582, who changed the castle's name to Matsumoto Castle. Later it came under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Hideyoshi appointed Ishikawa Kazumasa the new lord of Matsumoto Castle, and he and his son, Ishikawa Yasunaga, maintained the castle and town. Yasunaga greatly expanded the castle probably around the years 1593-1594, adding the three towers tenshu (danjon tower), inui-kotenshu (small tower in the northwest), and watari-yagura (connecting scaffold), as well as the goten (residence), taikomon (drum gate), kuromon (black gate), yagura (scaffold), hori (trench), honmaru (the main wing), ninomaru (the second wing), and sannomaru (the third wing).

Matsumoto Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in Japan and is one of the designated national treasures. It is also called "Crow Castle (Karasu-jou)" for its black walls.

Jouhoku

(城北)  
Lit: "castle-north"; the name of the high school at which Narita Yuzuru and Ougi Takaya are 2nd-year students, located in Matsumoto City. Likely fictional. However, the manga implies that the real-life equivalent is Fukashi High (深志高) , which is indeed "north of the (Matsumoto) Castle".

School begins in May. Some of the classes Takaya takes are: Classical Literature, Modern Japanese, English, Math, Physics, P.E. and an art elective with choices of Fine Arts, Music, and Calligraphy. Takaya and Yuzuru both take Fine Arts. Their day is divided into Periods, with one class per Period. It sounds like classes rotate into different Periods as the week progresses; for example, in Volume 2 chapter 4, Chiaki tells Takaya that the Math teacher assigned him a problem for Second Period today, because he wasn't there for First Period yesterday.

Metoba-gawa

(女鳥羽川)   [pics]
Lit. "female bird feather river"; a river that runs through Matsumoto City.

itako

(いたこ)
Traditional blind female shamans from Northern Japan who are renowned for their ability to speak with the dead.

onryou

(怨霊)
Lit.: "vengeful ghost"; the spirits of those who died in the Sengoku period who are still so filled with rage and hatred that they continue to exist in the world as vengeful spirits instead of being purified and reborn.

Sengoku

(戦国)
The "warring states" period, lasting from 1467 to 1615, in which the warlords of Japan battled each other for the rule of the country.

bai

()
Intoned by the Yasha-shuu at the beginning of choubuku, 'bai' is the "seed syllable" for Bishamonten, originally known as Vaiśravaṇa.

noumakusamanda bodanan baishiramandaya sowaka

「のうまくさまんだ　ぼだなん　ばいしらまんだや　そわか」

A mantra of Bishamonten which protects the caster from fatigue and calamity, usually used when starting a long or complex invocation.

"noumakusamanda bodanan" = a devotion to the Buddhas/"homage to all the Buddhas".
"Baishiramandaya" = a reverence to Bishamonten, or "hail Bishamonten!"

Namu Tobatsu Bishamonten

(南無刀八毘沙門天)
Lit. "Hail Eight-Sword Bishamonten" Chanted during "light-enclosing exorcism" as well as the summoning of the Sword of Bishamonten.

choubuku

(調伏)
Also known as: choubukuryoku (調伏力)

The special power given to the Yasha-shuu to banish onryou to the Underworld using the dharani of Uesugi Kenshin's guardian deity, Bishamonten. The types of choubuku include "kouhou-choubuku", "ressa-choubuku", "kekkai-choubuku", etc. Each choubuku is begun with the incantation "bai" and the ritual hand gesture of Bishamonten's symbol.

Choubuku does not work against kanshousha, who have bodies of their own.

blood types

One Japanese superstition says that blood-types are linked to personality:

• A: calm, composed, serious, reliable, perfectionist, arrogant, emotions suppressed


• B: curious, bright, cheerful, enthusiastic, uncoventional, superficial, unreliable, selfish


• O: carefree, generous, independant, outgoing, social, flexible, clumsy, flighty


• AB: sensitive, considerate, careful, efficient, strict, moody, unpredictable

Erin-ji

(恵林寺)   [pics]
Lit.: Temple of the Blessed Forest; house temple of Takeda Shingen of Kai which was burned to the ground by Oda Nobunaga during his invasion of the province in 1582. The temple was restored during the Tokugawa period of peace.

Taiga drama

(大河ドラマ)
A Japanese history-themed drama series produced by the Nihon Housou Kyoukai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Japan's public broadcast station, every year since 1963.

Fuurinkazan

(風林火山)
Lit. "Wind-Forest-Fire-Mountain"; Takeda Shingen's battle flag bore these words, which meant: "swift as the wind, deliberate as the forest, insidious as fire, unmovable as the mountains".

Nagano-shi

(長野市)  
The capital city of Nagano Prefecture, which grew from a small town around a 17th-century Buddhist temple.

Koushoku-shi

(更埴市)
A town near Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture which was merged with two other towns to form the city of Chikuma on Sept. 1, 2003.

Zenkoujidaira

(善光寺平)
Lit. "Light of Goodness Temple Plains"; A basin within the mountains of central Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture.

Kawanakajima

(川中島)  
Lit.: "the island within the river"; a plain located in Shinano Province, very near modern Nagano, on which Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin fought five major battles in 1553, 1555, 1557, 1561 and 1564. In the battle of 1561, Takeda with 20,000 men won over Uesugi's force of 18,000. 12,400 and 12,960 men were lost by Takeda and Uesugi respectively, a loss of life greater than in any other battle in the Sengoku period

Shinonoi-machi

(篠ノ井町)  
Lit.: Bamboo-grass Well; a town in Nagano Prefecture.

Edo-jidai

(江戸時代)
The Edo period in Japanese history, which lasted from 1603 until 1867, was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and was the period in which Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is seen as the beginning of modern Japan. During this period, the Shogunate perceived Christianity as a threat to the stability of Japan and actively persecuted adherents of the religion until it was almost completely eradicated. During this period Japan also isolated itself from the rest of the world, an isolation ending only with the appearance of Commodore Matthew Perry's ships in Edo Bay in 1853.

Iwano-eki

(岩野駅)  
A small railway station in Nagano Prefecture.

Saijo-yama

(妻女山)   [pics]
A mountain used by Uesugi Kenshin during the Battle of Kawanakajima as one of his camps.

Shoukon-dou

(招魂堂) [pics]
Shoukon Temple is the small temple at the top of Saijo-yama.

Kaidu-jou

(海津城)   [pics]
Also known as: Matsushiro-jou (松代城)

The castle protected by Kousaka Masanoubu, and where Takeda made his stronghold during the battle of Kawanakajima. It is now called Matsushiro-jou (松代城).

kanshou

(換生)
To possess another's body so as to be reborn with memories intact.

kanshousha

(換生者)
Those who possess others by driving out the soul from a body and making it theirs.

Unlike normal spirits, kanshousha cannot exchange bodies at will; they can only switch to another host body when their current body dies. Because kanshousha become the owners of their bodies, choubuku does not work on them. It is, however, still possible to exorcise kanshousha when they are in spirit-form/between possessions.

Meikai Uesugi Gun

(冥界上杉軍)
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.

Yami Sengoku

(闇戦国)
Lit.: "Dark Sengoku", the civil war still being fought by the spirits of the warlords of the Sengoku period in modern-day Japan.

on anarei bishaji birabajiradari
Bandabandani bajirabanihan
Huuntoruunhan sowaka

(
)
Also known as the "Eight-Verse Dharani"; part of one of the five Shurangama Mantras which appears in the seventh volume of the Shurangama Sutra. This mantra is the last line of the invocation used to summon the aid of Bishamonten, the Guardian of the North.

In Mirage of Blaze, this mantra is a portion of the spell used by Zen Master Kaisen to seal the onryou of Takeda Shingen after his death. This is also the incantation engraved on the bracelet Naoe gives to Yuzuru to confine Shingen after his revival.

Shurangama Mantra

Also called: Ryougonshu (楞厳咒)

The longest mantra in any of the sutras which is given in the middle of the 7th volume of the Shurangama Sutra . It contains the power to overcome all obstacles towards achieving enlightenment and holds the entire essence of the Shurangama Sutra and all of Buddha's teachings. It invokes, in order, the aid of the guardians of the five directions: Jikokuten, the Lord of the East, Zouchoten, the Lord of the South, Taishakuten, the Lord of the Center, Koumokuten, the Lord of the West, and Bishamonten, the Lord of the North.

darani

(陀羅尼)
Dharani; spells, litanies, Sanskrit multi-syllabic chants derived from Buddhism and Hinduism which are powerful mystic formulae that protect the user. See the Dharani section for a list of incantations used in Mirage of Blaze.

nendouryoku

(念動力)
Lit.: "power of telekinesis"; one of the two types of spiritual abilities of the Yasha-shuu which uses spiritual energy to affect a substance. Naoe levitating pebbles against Takaya is one example.

reinamiryoku

(霊波力)
Lit.: "power of spiritual waves; one of the two types of spiritual abilities of the Yasha-shuu which influences the consciousness, mind, and soul of a target. Choubukuryoku is a high-level form of this ability.

ari nari tonari anaro nabi kunabi

()
In the 26th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the dharani given by Bishamonten to the followers of Buddhism for protection. A distance of one hundred "yojanas" is specified for the radius of protection.

Noh mask

(能面) [pics]
Masks worn by performers in the oldest Japanese theatre art.

onshou

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

Narai-gawa

(奈良井川)  
Lit: Nara Well River; A river of 56.3 km which flows from the Central Japanese Alps into Nagano Prefecture and through Matsumoto City from east to west.

shingon

(真言)
Lit. "true word"; mantras which contain a distillation of the Buddhist truth.

Oda Nobunaga

(織田信長) 1534 - 1582
Also called: Oda Kippoushi
Title: Kazusa no Suke, Owari no Kami

Historically: The first of the "Three Unifiers"; born in Owari to a samurai, his unbridled, ruthless ambitious and military tactical genius enabled him to gain control of the imperial court in 1573 after having driven the shogun out of Kyoto. His seal read "the realm subjected to military power". Murdered at the age of forty-nine by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnou-ji in Kyoto.

hakonha

(破魂波)
The "soul-ripping attack" with which Oda Nobunaga defeated Kagetora.

nenpa

(念波)
Lit.: "waves of will/thought"; a nendouryoku attack using spiritual energy which focuses the will and releases it in a burst to strike at a target.

Roku Dou Sekai

(六道世界)
Also known as: Roku Dou Kai (六道界), Roku Dou (六道)

Lit. "Six Path Worlds" or just "Six Paths"; a Buddhist belief stemming from Hinduism which says that all beings are trapped within a cycle of life and death and are born into one of six realms until they are enlightened and can break free from the cycle. The six realms are: Jigoku Dou, Gaki Dou, Chikushou Dou, Ashura Dou, Nin Dou, and Ten Dou.

shukutai

(宿体)
Lit. "host body"; the body stolen by a kanshousha in order to be reborn or resurrected.

Kai-no-Kuni

(甲斐国)
Also known as: 甲州 (Koushuu)

An ancient province in central Japan which was ruled by Takeda Shingen during the Sengoku Period. Now known as Yamanashi Prefecture.

nue

(鵺)
In Japanese mythology, the nue is a chimera formed from the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the legs of a tiger, and a snake-tail. The nue can transform into a black cloud and brings illness and misfortune.

In Mirage of Blaze: The troops of the various clans, lumped-together masses of onryou, are called the <<nue>>. Mori Ranmaru commands the Nue-shuu of the Oda, who are onryou with strong powers.

Sensai-bashi

(千歳橋)  
Lit.: Thousand-Year-Old Bridge; bridge across the Metoba River on Daimyochou Avenue which leads to Matsumoto Castle.

goshinha

(護身波)
Lit. "wave of self-protection"; the goshinha is a protective mesh spun from fine strands of spiritual energy which surrounds the caster and protects from an opponent's spiritual as well as physical attacks. The mesh gains strength and stability when it is multi-layered and becomes the goshinheki. The goshinha is Naoe's forte.

uchikake

(打ち掛け) [pics]
A long robe/garment worn over a kimono.

kekkai-choubuku

(結界調伏)
Lit. "barrier exorcism"; a ritual exorcism that first encloses the target and the caster in a spiritual shield, strengthening the caster's power and preventing the target from escaping.

gebaku

(外縛)
Also known as: gebakuhou (外縛法), gaibaku

Lit.: "outer bind"; a method of tying a spirit body or physical body to one place such that they cannot move, also commonly called "paralysis". Kagetora and company use gebakuhou when they wish to perform <<choubuku>> on especially powerful spirits or a large host of spirits during "kouhou-choubuku" or "kekkai-choubuku", etc.

kouhou-choubuku

(光包調伏)
Lit. "light-enclosing exorcism"; a type of choubuku which uses the incantation "noumakusamanda..." and summons "Tobatsu Bishamonten".

Yasha-shuu

(夜叉衆)
The five kanshousha at the head of the Meikai Uesugi Army ordered by Uesugi Kenshin to hunt for the onshou who are disrupting the peace of modern-era Japan in a battle which has lasted four hundred years. Led by Uesugi Kagetora, with Naoe Nobutsuna, Kakizaki Haruie, Yasuda Nagahide, and Irobe Katsunaga. The name "Yasha" refers to soldiers in the army of Bishamonten, called "Yaksha".

on basara bokisha boku

「おん　ばさら　ぼきしゃ　ぼく」

A mantra chanted at the end of a ritual to send any summoned powers back to their origins.