Azumi (part 2) glossary

 A

AIZU DOMAIN (会津藩): Was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the modern city of Aizuwakamatsu, located in the Tōhoku region of the island of Honshū. The Aizu Domain was ruled for most of its existence by the shinpan daimyō (a class of daimyō who were certain relatives of the Shōgun) of the Aizu-Matsudaira clan, a local cadet branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan, but was briefly ruled by the tozama daimyō (rulers considered outsiders by the Shōgun) of the Gamō and Katō clans. The Aizu Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka (a system for determining land value for taxation purposes and expressing this value in terms of koku of rice) system with a peak value of 919,000 koku, but this was reduced to 230,000 koku. The Aizu Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Fukushima Prefecture, covering much of the traditional region of Aizu.

AKEMI (朱美): Jōshirō's woman.

AKŌ INCIDENT (赤穂事件): The Akō incident, Akō vendetta or the revenge of the forty-seven rōnin, is an 18th-century historical event in Japan in which a band of leaderless samurai avenged the death of their master. The incident has since become legendary. The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their daimyō Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka. After waiting and planning for a year, the rōnin avenged their master's honor by killing Kira. In turn, they were themselves obliged to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. This true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the Meiji era, in which Japan underwent rapid modernization, and the legend became entrenched within discourses of national heritage and identity. Fictionalized accounts of the tale of the forty-seven rōnin are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays, including bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. The first Chūshingura was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the Chūshingura survive.

ALCOCK (Sir Rutherford Alcok, KCB, May 1809 – 2 November 1897): He was the first British diplomatic to live in Japan (1858-64). In 1858, he was appointed Consul-General in Japan. Alcock opened the second British legation in Japan within the grounds of Tōzenji in Takanawa, Edo (now Tokyo), the first being at Hiogo (Kōbe), under Sir Harry Parkes and the vice-consul Frank Gerard Myberg (also known as Francis Gerard Mijburg and Frans Gerard Mijberg, died 18 January 1868 buried at Kobe). In those days, foreign residents in Japan faced some danger, with noticeable Japanese hostility to foreigners. In 1860, Alcock's native interpreter was murdered at the gate of the legation, and in the following year the legation was stormed by a group of rōnin from the fiefdom of Mito, whose attack was repulsed by Alcock and his staff.

AMAGAI DAISUKE (雨甲斐大介): The fake older borther Azumi/Sayo is looking for at the Chōshū's estate.

AMAZAKE (甘酒): Traditional sweet, low-alcohol drink made from fermented rice.

ANDŌ NOBUMASA (安藤信正, January 10, 1819 – November 20, 1871): He was a late-Edo period samurai, and the 5^th daimyō of Iwakita domain and the 10^th hereditary chieftain of the Andō clan. Known most of his life as Andō Nobuyuki, he took the name Noumasa after he became a rōjū.

ANEGAKŌJI KINTOMO (姉小路公知, January 9, 1840 – July 5, 1863): He was an anti-Bakufu court noble of the late Edo period. He held the title of Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade, and after the Meiji restoration he was posthumously promoted to Senior Second Rank for his achievements during his lifetime. He was assassinated by Tanaka Shinbei of Satsuma, one of the four most prominent hitokiri of the Bakumatsu period.

ANSEI (安政): Was a Japanese era name (年号 nengō, "year name") after Kaei and before Man'en. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was Kōmei(孝明).

ANSEI PURGE (安政の大獄 Ansei no taigoku): was a multi-year event in Japanese history of the Edo period between 1858 and 1860, during which the Tokugawa shogunate imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. It was ordered by Ii Naosuke on behalf of the bakufu. The purge was carried out in an effort to quell opposition to trade treaties with the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands. Over 100 influential people were victims of the purge. Men were forced out of positions within the bakufu, or from fief leadership or from the Imperial Court in Kyōto.

ANTI-FOREIGNER FACTION (攘夷派): Jōiha, supporters of the Sonnō Jōi (Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians) Japanese and Chinese political philosophy and social movement derived from Neo-Confucianism; it became a political slogan in the 1850s and 1860s in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period.

ARIMA ONSEN (有馬温泉): An onsen, or hot springs in Kita-ku, Kōbe. This Onsen is still a hidden treasure of modern Kōbe, behind Mount Rokkō. It attracts many Japanese who want tranquility with beautiful natural surroundings and yet easy access from the busy cities in the Kansai metropolitan area including Ōsaka. Arima Onsen was named in "The Pillow Book", a famous Heian Era book, as one of the three famous springs in Japan. It was selected as the most prestigious hot spring during the Edo Era.

ARIMURA JISAEMON (有村次左衛門): A samurai of the Satsuma Domain who, together with 17 rōnin from the Mito Domain, assaulted Chief Minister Ii Naosuke's procession outside the Sakurada Gate on 24 March 1860. While an attack at the front drew the attention of the guards, a lone assassin fired one shot into the palanquin containing Ii, with a Japanese-made Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, which had been copied from the firearms that Commodore Matthew Perry had given the shogunate as gifts. Drawing the injured and likely paralyzed Ii out, Arimura decapitated Ii.

AYA (文): Azumi's name while working in secret for Harris and Heusken at Zenpukuji. It means “art, style, decoration, literature”.

AZABU ICHINOHASHI (麻布一ノ橋): A bridge in Azabu, today at Azabu-jūban.

AZABU ZENPUKUJI (麻布善福寺): Also known as Azabusan, is a Jōdo Shinshū temple located in the Azabu district of Tōkyō. It is one of the oldest Tōkyō temples, after Asakusa. Founded by Kūkai in 824, Zenpuku-ji was originally a Shingon temple. Shinran visited the temple during the Kamakura period and brought the temple into the Jōdō Shinshū sect. Under the 1859 Treaty of Amity and Commerce, the first Tōkyō legation of the United States of America was established at Zenpukuji under Consul-General Townsend Harris.

AZUMI (あずみ): Our female protagonist. She is quick, skilled and deadly. Seems to know Shunsuke in some way. Also, quite the bully.

AZUMINO (安曇野): A city located in Nagano Prefecture (長野県). As of August 1, 2009, the city has an estimated population of 99,307 and a population density of 299 persons per km². The total area is 331.82 km². The modern city of Azumino was established on October 1, 2005, from the merger of the town of Akashina (明科町, from Higashichikuma District), the towns of Hotaka (穂高町) and Toyoshina (豊科町), and the villages of Horigane (堀金村) and Misato (三郷村), all from Minamiazumi District. The city's population is near 100,000 people and it is the 6th most populous in Nagano Prefecture. Azumino is home to the world's largest wasabi farm, Daiō Wasabi Farm (大王わさび農場). Azumino is a combination of two words, "Azumi" and "no". "Azumi" comes from the Azumi people, who are said to have moved to the "no" (plain) in ancient times. The Azumi people originally lived in northern Kyūshū, and were famed for their skills in fishing and navigation. "The Azumi people" can be translated as "the people who live on the sea." The reason why the seafaring people migrated to this mountainous region is a mystery. Azumino, named after the plain in which it is located, lies between two mountain ranges to the west and east. The range of mountains on the western border is known as the Northern Alps (Hida Mountains 飛騨山脈) and is popular among hikers all over Japan. To the south is the city of Matsumoto (松本市), Nagano prefecture's second largest city. To the north lies the city of Ōmachi (大町市), as well as the village of Hakuba (白馬村). Hakuba was the site of many of the ski events during the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. (This created a lot of traffic through the Azumino area, spurring a great deal of construction during that period).

B

BAKUFU (幕府): A word used in Japan to denote the shōgun's military government. Synonim of shogunate, it literally means “tent-government” referring to the tents where military people lived during the war campaigns. The word cam from China and at the beginning of its use, X century circa, was used only to indicate the residence of the Japanese Imperial Guard commanders. It was then applied by Minamoto no Yoritomo to his palace in Kamakura and in the end it came to denote the military government itsef. There were three bakufu in history: Kamakura Bakufu (Kamakura shogunate, 1192-1333), Muromachi Bakufu (Ashikaga shogunate, 1336-1573) and Edo Bakufu (Tokugawa shogunate, 1603-1867).

BAKUMATSU (幕末): "the end" or matsu of the military government or baku, which abbreviates bakufu, in turn literally meaning "tent-government", refers to the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867 Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the pre-modern empire of the Meiji government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called ishin shishi and the shogunate forces, which included the elite shinsengumi swordsmen.

BANKOKU KŌHŌ: Was the title of Chinese translation of "Elements of International Law," which was the representative work of Henry Wheaton, who was a jurist specialized in international law. This translated term, bankoku koho had come to stay as a translation of "international law," as the book "Bankoku Koho" became widely known, and even when translating commentaries on international law other than "Elements of International Law," this term "bankoku koho" was used for the title. The translator was William Martin who was American Protestant missionary, who had been engaged in missionary work in China at that time and the translation was the first book that introduced full-fledged international law to East Asia. The translation taught countries in East Asia what was international law and gave significant influences to domestic political reform and foreign diplomacy in various regions. In particularly in Japan, there was larger and quicker response compare to Qing dynasty in China, where this book was first published, and the influence which the book gave to Japan during the end of Edo and Meiji Restoration period is not negligible. For much more information, refer to Bankoku koho - Japanese Wiki Corpus (japanese-wiki-corpus.org)

BANSHO SHIRABESHO (蕃書調所): The Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books, was the Japanese institute charged with the translation and study of foreign books and publications in the late Edo Period. Founded in 1857, it functioned as a sort of bureau of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was renamed Yōsho shirabesho (Institute for the Study of Western Books) in 1862, and Kaiseijo in 1863. After the Boshin War, it was again renamed, and became the Kaisei gakkō, which was managed under the Government of Meiji Japan. As the Kaisei gakkō, the institute became one of the predecessor organizations which merged to form University of Tōkyō.

BENNOSUKE (弁ノ助): One of the five children who trained to serve the country. He probably died during the training. “Ben” has a lot of meanings, like lip, valve, flap, speech, dialect, accent, petal, reed... “Suke” stands for helper, assistant, aid, assist.

BENZŌ (弁蔵): The head clerk of the Kōnoike merchant family. He is on a mission with Azumi in Kyōto acting the part for the merchant family wanting to support Kiyokawa and Seigakuin Jikō.

BINGONADA (備後灘): An area of ocean comprised in the central part of the Seto Inland Sea.

BLACK SHIPS (黒船 kurofune): The name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries. In particular, kurofune refers to Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna of the Perry Expedition for the opening of Japan, 1852–1854, that arrived on July 14, 1853, at Uraga Harbor (part of present-day Yokosuka) in Kanagawa Prefecture, under the command of United States Commodore Matthew Perry. Black refers to the black color of the older sailing vessels, and the black smoke from the coal-fired steam engines of the American ships. In this sense, the kurofune became a symbol of the ending of isolation.

BRITISH MINISTER PARKES: Sir Harry Smith Parkes GCMG KCB (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese Qing Empire from 1883 to 1885, and Minister to Korea in 1884. Parkes Street in Kowloon, Hong Kong is named after him.

BUNKYŪ (文久): Bunkyū era, from 19-2-1861 to 20-2-1864.

BUSHI (武士): Also called Buke, the samurai, the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan.

BUSHŪ (武州): Other name for Musashi Province, the largest one in the Kantō region encompassing Kawasaki and Yokohama. Today it comprises Tōkyō, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture.

BUZAEMON (武左衛門): One of the three swordsmen Dewanokami left at the Takizawa's residence.

C

CHIBA DŌJŌ (千葉道場): The Chiba dōjō of the Hokushin Ittōryū was founded in Edo (nowadays Tōkyō) in the Kaei era around 1848-1849. It was founded by the samurai and master swordsman Chiba Sadakichi Taira no Masamichi, the younger brother of the founder of the Hokushin Ittōryū, Chiba Shūsaku.

CHIBA SADAKICHI (千葉定吉, 1797-1879): Founder of the Chiba dōjō.

CHIBA SHŪSAKU (千葉周作 1792, January 17, 1855): Founder of the Hokushin Ittōryū.

CHIKO (ちこ): The only female in the group of young assassins brought up by Hattori senior.

CHŌHEI (長平): “Long Peace”, the most calm of the two assassins sent to kill Saigō.

CHŌSHŪ (長州): Was a feudal domain of Japan during the Edo period. The capital city was Hagi. The name Chōshū was shorthand for Nagato Province. The domain played a major role in the late Tokugawa shogunate. It is also known as the Hagi Domain. The Chōshū Domain was ruled for its existence by the tozama daimyō of the Mōri, whose branches also ruled the neighboring Chōfu and Kiyosue domains, and was assessed under the Kokudaka system with peak value of 369,000 koku. The Chōshū Domain was the most prominent anti-Tokugawa domain and formed the Satchō Alliance with the rival Satsuma Domain during the Meiji Restoration, becoming instrumental in the establishment of the Empire of Japan and the Meiji oligarchy. The Chōshū Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Yamaguchi Prefecture.

D

DAIMYŌ (大名): A word formed with a fusion of the characters for “large” and “private land”. Daimyō were the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings. Subordinate only to the shogun, daimyō were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the middle 19th century in Japan. The term "daimyō" is also sometimes used to refer to the leading figures of such clans, also called "lord". It was usually, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shōgun arose or a regent was chosen. Daimyō often hired samurai to guard their land and they paid the samurai in land or food. Relatively few daimyō could afford to pay samurai in money. The daimyō era came to an end soon after the Meiji restoration when Japan adopted the prefecture system in 1871.

DAN TAKUHEI (段啄平): He is an envoy of Katsu Kaishū who goes to Shunsuke's house to take him to him. He is trying to learn everything he can about Dutch studies and the likes. “Dan” means step, stair, grade, rank level, “taku” means to peck, to pick up and “hei” is peace, calm, simple. It is in v02 ch07 that the author makes a difference between what he always used calling him Takuhei in two occasions, making it clear that Dan is the surname, so it is Dan Takuhei and not Dantakuhei.

DENGAKU (田楽): Bean curd baked and coated with miso.

DEWANOKAMI-SAMA (出羽守様): The governor of the Dewa province, modern-day Yamagata and Akita prefectures. In the bakumatsu days the province territories were mostly held by the Sakai and Uesugi clans, but this man's surname and name are not given.

DOEFF-HALMA DICTIONARY (also reffered as Zufu Halma or Dufu Halma): A Dutch-Japanese dictionary compiled in the late Edo period. Hendrick Doeff, curator of the Dutch trading house compiled it with reference to François Halma's "Dutch-French Dictionary" (1729).

DŌJŌ (道場): A hall or space for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the way".

E

ECHIZEN PROVINCE (越前国): Was an old province of Japan, which is today the northern part of Fukui Prefecture. It was sometimes called Esshū (越州), with Etchū and Echigo Provinces. During the Edo period, the name Echizen was gradually supplanted by Fukui, as it had become known under the Matsudaira as Fukui Domain.

EDO (江戸): Literally "bay-entrance" or "estuary", also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tōkyō. It was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. During this period it grew to become one of the largest cities in the world and home to an urban culture centered on the notion of a "floating world".

EEJANAIKA (ええじゃないか): A complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities, often understood as social/political protests, which occurred in many parts of Japan in 1867–1868. The sentence can be tranlsated in many ways, among them “isn't it great”, “never mind”, “it's OK” and so on.

EISAKU (栄作): The man in charge of the Mitsui store in Kyō. He goes to meet Hattori Hanzō as the Mitsui family head of Edo representative with Azumi.

EIZABURŌ (英三朗): One of five friends from Kuwana domain, he stays in his country like Ichirōta and Tetsunosuke while Yaichirō and Nobushige join the Kōbe naval training center. After the coup in Kyō his friends in Kōbe receive reimpatriation orders with the threat of having their families killed if they do not come back, while he and his friends in Kuwana receive seppuku orders probably from their ruler, Hattori Hanzō, for having been friends with some men of the Chōshū faction that wanted to overthrow the shogunate. Ichirōta obeys and commits seppuku at home, but he, together with Tetsunosuke, goes to object at the domain administrative headquarters and is sentenced to death and killed by the many men there.

ELDER ITAKURA (老中坂倉): Probably Itakura Katsukiyo (勝静, February 14, 1823 – April 6, 1889) a feudal lord of the late Edo period. Famed for his tenure as rōjū, Itakura later became a Shinto priest. A rōjū (“Elder”), was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate. He served under Yoshinobu in the 1862-1864 and 1865-1868 years.

EMPEROR KŌMEI (孝明天皇, 22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867 ): He was the 121^st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the Edo period. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of Japan's first major contact with the United States, which occurred under Commodore Perry in 1853 and 1854, and the subsequent forced re-opening of Japan to western nations, ending a 220-year period of national seclusion. Emperor Kōmei did not care much for anything foreign, and he opposed opening Japan to Western powers. His reign would continue to be dominated by insurrection and partisan conflicts eventually culminating in the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate shortly after his death and the Meiji Restoration in the beginning of the reign of his son and successor Emperor Meiji.

F

FUKI (ふき): Probably the wife of one of the five assassins sent to kill Azumi at the Mukai residence. Or maybe his lover.

FUKUI DOMAIN (福井藩): Also known as Echizen Domain, was a Japanese domain in the Edo period. It is associated with Echizen Province in modern-day Fukui Prefecture on the island of Honshū.

FUKUOKA TŌJI (福岡藤次, he will change his name later to TAKACHIKA, 孝弟, February 5, 1835 – March 7, 1919) ): He was a statesman of the Meiji period. Fukuoka was born in Tosa District in present-day Kōchi Prefecture, and served the Yamauchi daimyō of Tosa as a domain official. Together with fellow Tosa samurai Gotō Shōjirō, he went to Kyōto in 1867 to convince shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to return power peacefully to the Emperor, thus bringing about the Meiji Restoration.

FUSHIMI (伏見区): One of the eleven wards in the city of Kyōto, in Kyōto Prefecture. Famous places in Fushimi include the Fushimi Inari Shrine, with thousands of torii lining the paths up and down a mountain; Fushimi Castle, originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with its rebuilt towers and gold-lined tea-room; and the Teradaya, an inn at which Sakamoto Ryōma was attacked and injured about a year before his assassination. Also of note is the Gokōgu shrine, which houses a stone used in the construction of Fushimi Castle. The water in the shrine is particularly famous and it is recorded as one of Japan's 100 best clear water spots.

FUTON (蒲団 / 布団): Traditional Japanese bedding consisting of padded mattresses and quilts pliable enough to be folded and stored away during the day, allowing the room to serve for purposes other than as a bedroom.

G

GEKOKUJŌ (下克上): An inverted social order. The lowly reign over the elite, junior dominating seniors, inferiors overthrowing their superiors, retainers supplanting their lord. In the context of Confucian tradition, Gekokujō is a kind of "government from below" that is condoned; and a "government of men" is contrasted with a "government of laws." Gekokujō became prevalent during the warring states period (sengokujidai 1467-1568), starting with the Ōnin War (1467-1477) when the power of the Muromachi shogunate ended in factional strife and the burning of Kyōto. Without the imprimatur of the shogunate, provincial daimyō were vulnerable to being overthrown by forces both from without and within their domains. During this period vassals betrayed their lords and in their turn were in danger of overthrow from below. Mobs of clerics and peasants sometimes formed ikkō-ikki (uprisings) in rebellion against the daimyō and succeeded, for a time, in establishing independent realms.

GOKENIN (御家人): Lower-ranking vassals in the Kamakura and Edo periods.

GŌJI (豪次): One of the three swordsmen who Dewanokami left at the Takizawa's residence. He is informed about where Azumi is staying near Shinagawa. He also has a past history with Okita, Kondō and Hijikata.

GORYŌEJI (御陵衛士): On March 1867, the Shinsengumi advisor, Itō Kashitarō and other fifteen men left the organisation and were appointed Goryōeji (Guards of the Imperial Mausoleum) of Emperor Kōmei. They moved to Chōenji temple at Gojōbashi Higashizume. On June they became affiliate with the Imperial Mausoleum Magistrate Toda Tadayuki (1809-1883) and they set at the minor Gesshinin temple inside Kōdaiji temple. However, in november of the same year, Itō, their chief, was assassinated by the Shinsengumi and the Goryōeji force's activities came to end.

GOTŌ SHŌJIRŌ (後藤象二郎, April 13, 1838 – August 4, 1897): Was a samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history. He was a leader of Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, Jiyū minken undō) which would evolve into a political party.

H

HAKAMA (袴): a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Trousers were used by the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and this style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of hakama beginning in the sixth century. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. They are worn over a kimono.

HAMAGURI GOMON (蛤御門): The Hamaguri Imperial Gate Incident, also known as Hamaguri Gate Rebellion and Kinmon Incident (禁門の変, Forbidden Gate Incident) was a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate that took place on August 20, 1864 near the Imperial Palace in Kyōto.

HANA (はな): A maiko who will help Shunsuke with everyday necessities while he stays hidden at Katsura's hiding place. Her name means “flower” and it was one of the most used female names in old Japan.

HARRIS (Townsend Harris, born Oct. 3, 1804, Sandy Hill, N.Y., U.S.—died Feb. 25, 1878, New York City ): U.S. politician and diplomat, the first Western consul to reside in Japan, whose influence helped shape the future course of Japanese–Western relations.

HATAMOTO (旗本, "under the banners"): A hatamoto was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa house, and the gokenin were the lower vassals. There was no precise difference between the two in terms of income level, but hatamoto had the right to an audience with the shōgun, where gokenin did not. The word hatamoto literally means "at the base of the flag" and is often translated as "bannerman". Another term for the Edo-era hatamoto was jikisan hatamoto (直参旗本), sometimes rendered as "direct Shogunal hatamoto", which serves to illustrate the difference between them and the preceding generation of hatamoto who served various lords.

HATTORI HANZŌ (服部半蔵): The first one, the most famous, Masanari (1542-1596) was a famous ninja of the Sengoku era (1467-1615), who served the Tokugawa clan as a samurai, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. He is often a subject of varied portrayal in modern popular culture. Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master of sword fighting. Hanzō is actually a name passed down through the leaders of the Hattori family meaning his father was also called Hanzō and so was his successor. Indeed, there are five people known as Hattori Hanzō throughout history The Hattori in Azumi 2 is probably fictitious. No Hattori is mentioned in the historical ruling of Kuwana domain.

HEUSKEN (Henry Conrad Joannes Heusken, January 20, 1832 – January 15, 1861 ): Was a Dutch-American interpreter for the first American consulate in Japan, established at Gyokusenji in Shimoda, Shizuoka in the late Bakumatsu period. He played an important role in the negotiations for the "Harris Treaty" which opened commercial relations between Japan and America, and his assassination caused a minor diplomatic crisis between Japan and the various Western powers.

HIJIKATA TOSHIZŌ (土方 歳三, May 31, 1835 – June 20, 1869): Was a warrior and the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi.

HIKONE (彦根): It was a feudal domain during the Edo period. It was established in 1600 with Ii Naomasa as the first daimyō. All fifteen daimyō were from the Ii clan. The domain was abolished in 1871.

HITOKIRI (人斬り): Assassination, murder. It also indicates a killer, a manslayer. Hitokiri always existed throughout the history of Japan bu they were more often in Bakumatsu days, with the loyalists and the government in need of men moving in the shadows to silence their enemies and disappear without a trace after the deed. A hitokiri is a swordsman sent out by a powerful or important figure to kill other men. They were often anonymous, except in some circles where they were very famous and feared. Four samurai in particular opposed the shogunate during the Bakumatsu and later supported the Meiji government: Kawakami Gensai, Kirino Toshiaki, Tanaka Shinbei and Okada Izō, four warrior elite known as the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. Hitokiri would kill themselves if their mission failed and were captured; sometimes his “comrades” would kill the hitokiri so not to have any information about an assassination leaked after. A hitokiri chose to become one on his own free will, but the targets were always chosen by someone else. Hitokiri could not resolve personal grudges or else they would give themselves away, putting in jeopardy his job, mission and even his benefactor.

HITOKIRI IZŌ (人斬り以蔵, Izō the Killer): Okada Izō (岡田以蔵, February 14, 1838 – June 3, 1865) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, feared as one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. He was born in Tosa to Okada Gihei, who had been a peasant but had bought the gōshi (country samurai) rank. Izō and Tanaka Shinbei were active in Kyōto as assassins under the leadership of Takechi Hanpeita. He was involved in the killing of Honma Seiichirō (a politician and government supporter). In 1865 however, he was involved in yet another assassination, that of Yoshida Tōyō, the regent of Tosa whom he killed before his rise to power. Izō was captured, tortured and beheaded by government forces on June 3, 1865.

HITOTSUBASHI YOSHINOBU (一橋慶喜): Adopted into the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family, Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川慶喜, October 28, 1837 – November 22, 1913) was the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. After resigning in late 1867, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his life.

HOKUSHIN ITTŌRYŪ (北辰一刀流): All the info you can ask for http://uk.hokushinittoryu.com/150-2/

HYŌGO (兵庫): It is both a prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region and a ward of Kōbe.

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ICHIRŌTA (一朗太): One of five friends from Kuwana domain, he stays in his country like Eizaburō and Tetsunosuke while Yaichirō and Nobushige join the Kōbe naval training center. After the coup in Kyō his friends in Kōbe receive reimpatriation orders with the threat of having their families killed if they do not come back, while he and his friends in Kuwana receive seppuku orders probably from their ruler, Hattori Hanzō, for having been friends with some men of the Chōshū faction that wanted to overthrow the shogunate. He commits seppuku at home.

II NAOSUKE (井伊直弼, November 29, 1815 – March 24, 1860): Was daimyō of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō (Chief Minister) of the Tokugawa shogunate, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and extraterritoriality to American citizens. He was also an enthusiastic and accomplished practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony, in the Sekishūryū style, and his writings include at least two works on the tea ceremony. Under Ii Naosuke’s guidance, the Tokugawa shogunate navigated past a particularly difficult conflict over the succession to the ailing and childless Tokugawa Iesada. Ii Naosuke managed to coerce the Tokugawa shogunate to the last brief resurgence of its power and position in Japanese society before the start of the Meiji period. Ii was assassinated in the Sakurada Gate incident by a group of 17 Mito and 1 Satsuma samurai on March 24, 1860.

IICHI (猪一): One of the five children who endured harsh training to become fine warriors who can protect the country, although only Azumi managed to surpass every obstacle. His name should mean “one wild boar”.

IKEDAYA (池田屋): The name of the establishment that was raided by the Shinsengumi to mop up many men of the loyalists faction who were having a rally party.

IKETANI (池谷): Shinpei's family name.

IKETANI MANZŌ (池谷満蔵): Shinpei's father, living as an artisan after his father became a rōnin.

IKU (いく): The daughter of the Tsubouchi family. She should be a good wife for Takizawa Kin'ya.

IKU (育): Either the youngest daugther or the little sister of one of the five assassins sent to kill Azumi at the Mukai's residence.

IKUMATSU-NEESAN (幾松姐さん): Probably a senior geisha in some relationship with Katsura an Hana's senior. Ikumatsu can mean “many pines”, so a name which implies a wish for a very long life.

INE (いね, “Rice-plant”): Chiko's fake name.

INO (猪, “wild boar”): The most spirited and conceited of the two assassins sent to kill Saigō.

IROHAMARU (いろは丸): A steamship belonging to the Kaientai, that sank following a collision off Tomonoura with the Meikōmaru, a ship from the Kishū domain in 1867.
Kaientai, originally named the Kameyama Shachū, was founded in Nagasaki in 1865 by Sakamoto Ryōma a samurai and influential figure of the Bakumatsu during the final years of the Edo period. It was initially funded by the Satsuma Domain amongst other groups and domains. Sakamoto Ryōma negotiated and won compensation from the Kishū domain.

ITO (いと): Katsu's mistress, living in another part of his house.

ITŌ KASHITARŌ (伊東甲子太郎): Born in 1835 in Chiyoda, Hitachi, Shizuki, dies in November 18, 1867 in Kyōto at age 33. Itō was born into the Suzuki family. He later took the name of his swordmanship teacher when he married the man’s daughter and inherited the dōjō. Still later he took the name “Settsu” at the time when he departed from the Shinsengumi. It seems he was a handsome, highly cultured and educated man.

ITSU (逸, “leisure”): Katsu and Ito's daughter.

IWAKURA TOMOMI (岩倉具視, October 26, 1825 – July 20, 1883): Was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. His portrait was on the former 500 Yen banknote.

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JIKISHINKAGERYŪ (直心影流, also Kashima Shinden Jikishinkageryū): Often referred to simply as Jikishinkageryū or Kashima Shinden, is a traditional school (koryū) of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship (kenjutsu). The school was founded in the mid-16th century, based upon older styles of swordsmanship, and is one of the few ancient Japanese martial arts schools still existing today. Kashima Shinden Jikishinkageryū can be translated as the "divinely transmitted, honest reflection of the heart, school of Kashima". By repetitive practice, one maintains a constant connection with the cosmos by aspiring to jikishin (直心) unwavering intention and seimeishin (生命心) perfect clarity of mind, just like a cloudless sky on a brilliant sunny day. A practitioner who has attained heightened jikishin and seimeishin is said to have fudōshin (不動心) immovable heart.

JIZŌ-SAMA (地蔵様): The Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. Stone figures of Jizō populate temple grounds, city and country. One of the most venerated Bodhisattva in all of Japan, he is usually portrayed as a monk, wearing robes with a shaven head, always holding a shakujo staff; the staff is used to scare away living creatures so he doesn't hurt them accidentally and to awaken people from the dream-like world of illusion.

JŌHA PACT (成破の盟約): Maybe Seiha? This is also known as the Mizunaga pact or the Heishinmaru (a warship name) pact. It was a secret agreement done on the Heishinmaru warship of Chōshū on September 1860 in among Chōshū, Mito and other domain samurai who revered the Emperor and wanted to expel the foreigners and reform the shogunate. Who took part were Matsushima Gōzō (the warship captain) and Katsura Kogorō, both from Chōshū. From Mito, Saimaru Tatewaki, Iwama Kinpei and Okabe Genkichi (unsure on the surname) as well as Koshi Sōtarō from Yūki and Kusaba Matazō of Saga as intermediaries. The pact was about cooperation between the two domains for rapidly causing a reformation in the shogunate. The plan was to throw society into confusion (破) and accomplish (成) a reform taking advantage of the chaos. A split in roles was decided: Mito would have taken care of causing the confusion and Chōshū would have done the reform. Wanting a reform at all costs, that did not mean that they were an anti-shogunate movement that wanted to break the system itself. In the end, incompetences from both parties, lack of direction even from their own central figures and internal problems in Chōshū and Mito among the factions wanting to open the country to the foreigners and those opposed to it, made Chōshū more inclined toward opening and trading with the foreigners and after the second Tokugawa punitive expedition against Chōshū, the domain was more inclined to be anti-shogunate. In Mito there were similar problems among the sonnō jōi supporters and reformists, but the actions that came from this pact were considered to be more inclined toward the sonnō jōi.

JŌSHIRŌ (丈四郎): One of the three swordsmen Dewanokami left at the Takizawa's residence.

JUNDŌMARU (順動丸): A Bakufu warship, steamship. Formerly a British mercantile ship built in 1861.

JUNKO-SAMA (順子様): Katsu Kaishū's younger sister and Sakuma Shōzan's wife.

JUSANMI CHŪNAGON (従三位中納言): Junior Third Rank and Vice-Councilor of State. Quite the long title.

JŪJUTSU (柔術): Also known in the West as Ju-Jitsu or Jiu-Jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses either a short weapon or none.

JŪTARŌ (重太郎): Chiba Sadakichi's son.

JUSABURŌ (寿三朗): A young man of the Shinsengumi who tries to defend Keijirō from Wakisaka's slander.

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KACHIMETSUKE (徒目付): A position entailing night duty and inspection.

KADOKURA TESSHIN (角倉鉄心): The man who taught bujutsu to Azumi and the other boys since they were little. He had an incurable disease but he wanted to teach them until the very end. She made Azumi and the other promise that they will have killed only due to their missions for protecting people and for the sake of the country, never for personal desires or feelings.

KAIENTAI (海援隊, "Maritime Support Force"): A trading and shipping company and private navy, considered to be the first corporation in modern Japan. Kaientai, originally named Kameyama Shachū (亀山社中, "Kameyama Troupe"), was founded by Sakamoto Ryōma in Nagasaki in 1865 during the Bakumatsu, and it was initially funded by the Satsuma Domain and other groups and domains.

KAIRAKUEN (偕楽園): A garden located in Mito, Ibaraki. Along with Kenrokuen and Kōrakuen, it is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Kairakuen was built relatively recently in the year 1841 by the local lord Tokugawa Nariaki. Unlike Japan's other two great landscape gardens Kairakuen served not only for the enjoyment of the ruling lord, but was open to the public. While worth a visit throughout the year, Kairakuen is most attractive during the plum blossom season, which usually takes place in late February and March. Besides the plum tree forest, where one hundred different plum tree varieties with white, pink and red blossoms are planted, Kairakuen also features a bamboo grove, cedar woods and the Kōbuntei, a traditional Japanese style building.

KAKIYŌKAN (柿羊羮): A sweet made of sugar, agar agar, bean paste and persimmon puree.

KAMEYAMA SHACHŪ (亀山社中): The naval company founded by Sakamoto in 1865 at Nagasaki.

KAMINOYAMA DOMAIN (上山藩): A feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture). It was centered on Kaminoyama Castle in what is now the city of Kaminoyama, Yamagata. Kaminoyama Domain was ruled by the Fujii branch of the Matsudaira clan from 1698 until the Meiji restoration. The domain had 2200 households per the 1852 census and maintained its primary Edo residence in Azabu. During the Bakumatsu period, the domain strongly supported the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai from the domain played a key role in the attack on the Satsuma Domain residence in Edo. During the Boshin War, the domain joined the Ōuetsu reppan dōmei (alliance of the domains of Mutsu, Dewa, and Echigo) and troops from the domain were involved in the Battle of Hokuetsu, as a substantial portion of the domain’s holdings were also in Echigo Province. After the end of the conflict, with the abolition of the han system in July 1871, Kaminoyama Domain became “Kaminoyama Prefecture”, which later became part of Yamagata Prefecture.

KAMOGAWA (鴨川, wild duck river): A river located in Kyōto Prefecture. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are pathways running alongside the river on which one can walk along the river, and some stepping stones that cross the river. The water level of the river is usually relatively low; less than one meter in most places. During the rainy season, however, the pathways sometimes flood in their lower stretches.

KAMOYAMA (鴨山): A location in Kyōto.

KANEKO (金子): A certain friend of Kiyokawa staying at the Kaminoyama residence in Edo. He calls for Kiyokawa to go see him and he goes alone. En route, he meets his demise by Azumi's hands.

KANRINMARU (咸臨丸): Was Japan's first sail and screw-driven steam corvette (the first steam-driven Japanese warship, Kankōmaru, was a side-wheeler). She was ordered in 1853 from the Netherlands, the only Western country with which Japan had diplomatic relations throughout its period of seclusion, by the shōgun's government, the Bakufu. She was delivered on September 21, 1857 (with the name Japan), by Lt. Willem Huyssen van Kattendijke of the Dutch navy. The ship was used at the newly established Naval School of Nagasaki in order to build up knowledge of Western warship technology. Kanrinmaru, as a screw-driven steam warship, represented a new technological advance in warship design which had been introduced in the West only ten years earlier with HMS Rattler (1843). The ship was built by the shipyard of Fop Smit at Kinderdijk in the Netherlands, where the virtually identical screw-steamship with schooner-rig Bali of the Dutch navy was also built in 1856. She allowed Japan to get its first experience with some of the newest advances in ship design.

KAPPA (河童): “River-child”, also known as kawatarō (川太郎, "river-boy"), komahiki (駒引, horse-puller), kawatora (川虎, river-tiger) or suiko (水虎, water-tiger)–is an amphibious yōkai demon or imp found in traditional Japanese folklore. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and a turtle-like carapace on their backs. A depression on its head, called its "dish" (sara), retains water, and if this is damaged or its liquid is lost (either through spilling or drying up), the kappa is severely weakened. The kappa are known to favor cucumbers and love to engage in sumō wrestling. They are often accused of assaulting humans in water and removing a mythical organ called the shirikodama from their victim's anus.

KATAMORI (容保): Matsudaira Katamori (松平 容保, February 15, 1836 – December 5, 1893) was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9^th daimyō of the Aizu Domain and the Kyōto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyōto). During the Boshin War, he led Aizu Domain against the incipient Meiji government, but was severely defeated at the Battle of Aizu. Katamori's life was spared, and he later became the head kannushi of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine. He, along with his three brothers Matsudaira Sadaaki, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, and Tokugawa Mochiharu, had highly influential roles during the Meiji restoration and were called the "four Takasu brothers" (Takasu yonkyōdai高須四兄弟).

KATSU KAISHŪ (勝海舟, March 12, 1823 – January 21, 1899): Was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku) by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of given names throughout his life; his childhood name was Rintarō (麟太郎) and his birth name was Yoshikuni (義邦). He was often called Awa (安房) from his title Awanokami (安房守, Governor of Awa Province) during the late Tokugawa shogunate and changed his name to Yasuyoshi (安芳) after the Meiji Restoration. Katsu Kaishū eventually rose to occupy the position of commissioner (Gunkanbugyō) in the Tokugawa navy. He is particularly known for his role in the surrender of Edo.

KATSURA KOGORŌ (桂小五郎, 1833-77, also know as Kidō Takayoshi/Kōin 木戸考允): A pro-Imperial loyalist from Chōshū, he played a major role in shaping the course of the Meiji Restoration as the chief negotiator for Chōshū in the military alliance that was forged with Satsuma with the help of Sakamoto Ryōma. He was one of the more prominent radicals who were targeted by the pro-Bakufu forces. Although supposed to be at the Ikedaya the night of the famous raid led by the Shinsengumi, he was tipped off by his geisha lover that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the loyalist meeting on that fateful night. He spent the next few days hiding incognito as a beggar. He went on to serve the Meiji government as education minister, home affairs minister, chairman of the local official council, and as cabinet councillor. Immediately following the Restoration, he assisted Sō Yoshiakira, lord of Tsushima domain, in obtaining a new title and enhanced court rank in order to continue to serve as lead intermediary for relations with Korea, under the new Meiji government. He then participated in the Iwakura Mission in 1871, and following his return to Japan, stood opposed to the invasion of Korea proposed in the Seikanron debated in 1873. Though he, along with Ōshima Tomonojō and certain other Tsushima officials, had previously advocated a punitive mission against Korea should the Korean Court refuse to engage in relations with the new government, circumstances had changed by this time, and he pressed for the Meiji government to instead focus on "the proper management of domestic affairs. Upset with Ōkubo Toshimichi's politics, which Katsura believed would lead Japan into unnecessary wars with China, draining the state's finances, and potentially even leading to economic collapse and general disorder in Japan, he resigned from government following the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. Katsura was a pupil of Yoshida Shōin. He learned Shindōmunenryū from Saitō Yakurō and became head coach of the dōjō "Renpeikan".

KAWARAMACHI-SANJŌ (河原町三条): A part of central Kyōto.

KEIŌ (慶応, historically慶應): Was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, literally "year name") after Genji and before Meiji. The period spanned the years from May 1865 to October 1868.

KEN (間): 1.818 m, 5 ft 11.6 in.

KIJIMA MATABEE (来島又兵衛, February 23, 1817 – August 20, 1864): Also known as Masahisa, he was a Japanese samurai who served as a retainer to Lord Mōri of Chōshū. Though his name was Masahisa, he is known by his "common" name of Matabee. While his income (a stipend of 59 koku) may not have been particularly high, his voice was certainly one closest to the ear of the daimyō. Though he was born into the unstipended Kitamura clan (the clan messengers/couriers), he was adopted by Kijima Masatsune, the head of another Chōshū retainer family. Matabee became greatly renowned for his martial skill, both in Chōshū and in Edo, owing to his many trips accompanying Lord Mōri. He studied swordsmanship and spearmanship with Ōishi Susumu of the Yanagawa domain, horsemanship with the Hagi-based Narasaki Shirōbei, as well as training in Edo at the dōjō of Kubota Sukeshirō. Following the Ikedaya Incident (July 1864), where the Aizu domain-sponsored Shinsengumi attacked and defeated around 20 (mostly) Chōshū samurai who were plotting to burn Kyōto to the ground, Kijima was one of those along with senior Chōshū retainer Kokuji Shinano who led the advance of Chōshū forces to Kyōto in retaliation. However, when he led his forces from Tenryūji Temple (in the wooded hills west of Kyōto) to the Forbidden Gates of the Imperial palace, the Aizu force gunned his unit down, and he was forced to have his nephew Kitamura Takeshichi help him commit suicide.

KIMONO (着物): The Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" has come to denote these full-length robes.

KIMURA YOSHITAKE (木村喜毅, 1830-1901): He was the Settsu-no-kami (摂津守 governor of Settsu Province) and was an officer on the Kanrinmaru and Katsu Kaishū's superior. He worked on modernizing the shogunate's navy with Katsu, having the Edo government hire British naval engineers.

KISHŪ DOMAIN (紀州藩): Also known as Kii Domain (紀伊藩) or Wakayama Domain (和歌山藩), was a han or feudal domain in Kii Province. The domain spanned areas of present-day Wakayama and southern Mie prefectures, and had an income of 555,000 koku. The domain was administered from Wakayama Castle in present-day Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture. The heads of the domain were drawn from the Kishū-Tokugawa clan, one of the Gosanke, or three branches of the Tokugawa clan. The domain was founded by Tokugawa Yorinobu, the tenth son of the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, when he moved from Sunpu Domain in Suruga Province to Kii Province. The Kishū came to control the smaller adjacent Tanabe and Shingū domains. The Kishū Domain was noted for its production of mikan, soy sauce, lacquerware, and high-grade oak charcoal during the Edo period, and leather and cotton production by the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Under the abolition of the han system in July 1871 the domains of Kishū, Tanabe, and Shingū became Kishū Prefecture, Tanabe Prefecture, and Shingū Prefecture respectively, and in November of the same year the three prefectures were abolished with the creation of the present-day Mie and Wakayama prefectures.

KITAZOE KITSUMA (北添佶麿, 1835 – July 8, 1864): A fellow rebel of Sakamoto who joins him to stay at Katsu's residence. He dies during the Ikedaya incident.

KIYO (きよ, “noble, pure, clear”): Sōta's blind younger sister.

KIYOKAWA HACHIRŌ (清河八郎, 24 November 1830, 30 May 1863): Kiyokawa Hachirō was born in Kiyokawa village in Shōnai domain as a son of a rural samurai. Disinterested in his family's sake brewing business, he travelled to Edo where he studied under Tojo Ichido and Azumi Ryosai, and he also received a license of Hokushin Ittōryū at Genbukan. In 1855 he opened the Kiyokawa school. It was the only school in Edo that offered both study and kenjutsu. He was a confucian scholar, and an ardent opponent of the Tokugawa bakufu, and he used his school as a platform for his views. While in Edo, he killed a man in the street because of a perceived slight, and was forced to leave Edo or face arrest. After the Incident at Sakuradamon, the Kiyokawa school became a meeting place for the Sonjō Rōshi (rōnin who followed the sonnō jōi), and they formed the Torao no kai (Tiger's tail party) which assassinated Henry Heusken. In 1862, Kiyokawa submitted the "Three emergency measures" to Matsudaira Shungaku. Matsudaira took this plan and created the Rōshigumi. In February, 1864 in Mibu, Kyōto, Kiyokawa suddenly changed the purpose of the Rōshigumi and made all but 19 people return to Edo. Those who decided to remain Kyōto included Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, Serizawa Kamo who later founded the Shinsengumi. In April, Kiyokawa was assassinated by Bakufu assassins (including Sasaki Tadasaburō) in Azabu. The Rōshigumi was renamed the Shinchōgumi, and worked under Shōnai domain as special police force in Edo.

KODACHI (小太刀): A type of short sword.

KODZUKA (小柄): A small knife attached to the sheath of a sword.

KOJIMA (小島): A guy who infiltrated the inn where men from Chōshū gather often so he can teach Azumi their names and faces.

KOKONOE MASAHIRO (九衛正煕): A court noble who is trying to convince the Emperor that the Shōgun is doing something bad in joint with Satsuma and other powerful domains.

KOKU (石): A Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is about 278.3 litres (61.2 imp gal; 73.5 US gal). The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, enough rice to feed one person for one year (one masu is enough rice to feed a person for one day). A koku of rice weighs about 150 kilograms (330 pounds).

KONDŌ CHŌJIRŌ (近藤長次郎, April 1, 1838 – February 28, 1866): born in Tosa domain as the eldest son of a Japanese cake shop. Because he was not a samurai, he had no surname. He was called “Chōjirō of the Japanese cake shop.” He studied while selling Japanese cakes in his childhood. Thereafter, he enters the private school of Iwasaki Yatarō (the future founder of the Mitsubishi group). In 1859, he goes to Edo to study. He was very excellent. In 1863, he was recognized by a feudal lord and he becomes a samurai obataining the surname Kondō. He marries and becomes father. He then meets Sakamoto Ryōma from the same town. In 1865, Sakamoto organizes the first corporation in Japan. Kondō works as an interpreter there. The Chōshū Domain asks him for negotiations for a steamship purchase. He negotiates the purchase with Glover, a British merchant, and succeeds. The Chōshū daimyō wants him to have a reward and he says he wants to study in the United Kingdom. At that time in Japan, foreign travels were prohibited. He gets into a boat for the United Kingdom, however, the ship did not depart because of a storm. He was arrested and being a samurai he was orderd to perform seppuku in 1866, dying at the age of 29.

KONDŌ ISAMI (近藤勇, November 9, 1834 – May 17, 1868): Was a swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishinryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi.

KOROKU (小鹿): Katsu Kaishū's eldest son. Koroku means “little deer.”

KŌ (孝): Katsu Kaishū's second daughter. Kō means “filial piety.”

KŌ (公): Used as a suffix for giving respect to an official, a prince, a lord...someone very important.

KŌBE (神戸市): The sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Ōsaka Bay and about 30 km (19 mi) west of Ōsaka. With a population around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Ōsaka and Kyōto. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kōbe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from kanbe (神戸, an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine). Kōbe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1853 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan and nuclear-free zone port city.

KŌBUNTEI (好文亭): A traditional Japanese style building inside the Kairakuen garden in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.

KŌHEI (康平): One of the five children who trained to serve the country and one of the three survivors, although he lost the use of his legs. “Kō” means ease, peace, tranquility and “hei” stands for peace, simple, plain.

KŌNOIKE (鴻池): A family of merchants and bankers. The Kōnoike Bank dated its operations back to 1656, when the Kōnoike family of Ōsaka established a money exchange business. The exchange was chartered to provide services for the Tokugawa shogunate in 1670. In 1877 was awarded a national bank charter. In 1933 merged with other two banks to form the Sanwa Bank Limited.

KŌNOIKE ZEN'EMON (鴻池善右衛門): Zen'emon was the name reserved to all the heads of the Kōnoike house, generation after generation.

KŌTA (孝太): “Generous Filial Piety”. One of the children trained by the former Hanzō who are tasked to kill Azumi after their comrades Ino and Chōhei are dispatched by her while they are trying to assassinate Saigō. He is paired with Moichi.

KOZUNE-SAN (小曽根さん): A wealthy merchant of Nagasaki. They are probably speaking of Kozune Kendō (乾堂, June 13, 1828 - November 27, 1885).

KUMIGASHIRA (組頭): “Group leader”, “chief”, but in our case we do not know this kumigashira's bureaucratic post. You could have the kumigashira of financial affairs, the kumigashira of treasury and so on. Or even a simple group leader in a village.

KURAMA (鞍馬山): A mountain to the north of the city of Kyōto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu (legendary creatures in folk religion). It was supposedly the Tengu who taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune (military commander of the Minamoto clan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods). Kurama is also the location of the annual Kurama Fire Festival (鞍馬の火祭り, Kurama no himatsuri), which takes place every October. Kuramadera (鞍馬寺, a temple in the far north of Kyōto) is now designated as a national treasure of Japan.

KURAMOCHI-SAMA (倉持様): A hatamoto who seems will give his adopted daughter in marriage to Torahiko of the Takizawas.

KUSAKA GENZUI (久坂玄瑞, 1840 – 20 August 1864): He was a samurai of the Chōshū domain active during the Bakumatsu period and proponent of the movement for the foreigners expulsion.

KUWANA DOMAIN (桑名藩): Was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Ise Province (modern-day Mie Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kuwana Castle in what is now the city of Kuwana, Mie.

KYŌ (京): See Kyōto.

KYŌBASHI (京橋): A ward in Tōkyō. Okechō (桶町) is one of its blocks.

KYŌSHIN MEICHI SCHOOL (鏡心明智流 alternative writing for 鏡新明智流): A fencing school comprising Nitō, Iai, Chigiriki and other jutsu. Founded in the An'ei era (1772-1780) by Momonoi Shunzō (桃井春蔵). It gained popularity in the Bakumatsu days alongside the Shindō Munen and Hokushin Ittō schools but died out after the Meiji era.

KYŌTO (京都市): The capital city of Kyōto Prefecture, located in the Kansai region of Japan. It is most well known in Japanese history for being the former Imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, as well as a major part of the Kyōto-Ōsaka-Kobe metropolitan area.

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LORD YŌDŌ (容堂公): Yamauchi Toyoshige (山内豊信, 1827–1872), also known as Yamauchi Yōdō, was a feudal lord in the Shikoku region in the late Edo period. He was usually referred to as “Lord Yōdō” in Western accounts. He was the 15^th head of the Tosa Domain.

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MAHO (真帆, “full sail”): Katsu's second mistress, met after he was looking for a Japanese who had become fluent in English so he/she could teach Shunsuke and Tokuhei. It is said she is “shameless” and that she was too “kind” to the foreigners, but the words chosen for these adjectives can also imply that she was sleeping with them...

MAIKO (舞妓): A young Geisha apprentice, especially in Kyōto.

MAN'EN (万廷): A Japanese era name. It lasted from 1860.3.18 up to 1861.2.19.

MANROKU (万六, “10,000 and 6”): An assassin who travels with his friend “Tan-chan”, another assassin. He seems to really look up to him.

MARUYAMA (丸山町): A quarter of Nagasaki with many tea houses and brothels.

MATSUDAIRA SADAAKI (松平定敬, January 18, 1847 – July 12, 1908 ): Was a Japanese daimyō of the Bakumatsu period, who was the last ruler of the Kuwana Domain. Sadaaki was the adopted heir of Matsudaira Sadamichi, the descendant of Sadatsuna, the third son of Hisamatsu Sadakatsu (1569–1623), who was Tokugawa Ieyasu's brother. His family was known as the Hisamatsu Matsudaira clan. It was to this family that Matsudaira Sadanobu also belonged.

MATSUDAIRA SHUNGAKU (松平春嶽 Oct. 10, 1828 – Jun. 2, 1890): Also known as Matsudaira Keiei, or Matsudaira Yoshinga, was a Japanese daimyō of the Edo period. He was head of the Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. He is counted as one of the "Four Wise Lords of the bakumatsu (Bakumatsu no shikenkō), along with Date Munenari, Yamauchi Yōdō and Shimazu Nariakira.

MATSUSHIRO (松代): Was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Matsushiro Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Nagano in Nagano Prefecture.

MEIJI ERA (明治時代): A Japanese era which extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan, during which Japanese society moved from being an isolated feudal society to a Westernised form. Fundamental changes affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was succeeded upon the ascension of Emperor Taishō by the Taishō period.

MEIKŌMARU (明光丸): On April 23, 1867, Irohamaru, the ship from the Kaientai (Maritime Support Fleet) with Sakamoto Ryōma on board collided with the Kishū Domain's battleship Meikōmaru near present day Mushima, in Okayama Prefecture. The crew of the Irohamaru transferred to Meikōmaru, and tried to tow the heavily damaged Irohamaru towards Tomonoura but the Irohamaru sank on the way to the port.

MIBURŌSHIGUMI (壬生浪士組): When the Rōshigumi members were disbanded and later go to form the Shinchōgumi under the patronage of the Shōnai domain, ninteen of their former members, mainly from the Mito clan, remained and formed the Mibu Rōshigumi. Initially, they were called Miburō, meaning "rōnin of Mibu". At the time, Mibu was a village south west of Kyōto, and was the place where they were stationed. Mibu Rōshigumi was initially formed in three factions under Serizawa Kamo (the Mito group), Kondō Isami (the Shieikan group) and the Tonouchi faction made of Tonouchi Yoshio, Abiru Eisaburō, Iesato Tsuguo and Negishi Yūzan. Abiru later died of illness, a month after arriving in Kyōto. Internal strife soon developed within the group, Tonouchi was assassinated by Kondō on Yojō bridge, Serizawa had ordered Iesato to commit seppuku for deserting and Negishi also deserted and returned to Edo, where he joined the Shinchōgumi.

MIMAWARIGUMI (見廻り組): The Kyōto Mimawarigumi was a special police force created by the Tokugawa shogunate during the late Bakumatsu period to restore public order to Kyōto. In the unsettled period after to ending of the national isolation policy, the political situation in Japan became increasingly chaotic. Anti-government and anti-foreign rōnin congregated on the old imperial capital of Kyōto, and many of the daimyō from the western feudal domains also established residences in Kyōto in an attempt to exert influence on the Imperial Court to pressure the shogunate towards the sonnō jōi movement ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians") against the foreign powers. In 1864, the military commissioner of Kyōto Matsudaira Katamori authorized the establishment of a militia of approximately 200 samurai formed into two companies under the command of Maita Hirotaka and Matsudaira Yasutada to restore public order to Kyōto. The two companies took their names from the courtesy titles of their commanders: the Sagami-no-kami-gumi and the Izumo-no-kami-gumi. The headquarters for the force was Nijō Castle in Kyōto. The purpose of the Mimawarigumi was very similar to that of much more famous Shinsengumi. The Mimawarigumi was composed entirely of higher-ranking samurai and sons of hatamoto-class retainers, all of whom were direct retainers to the Tokugawa Shogunate, predominantly through the Hoshina-Matsudaira clan of the Aizu domain, as opposed to the rōnin-based Shinsengumi. Indicative of this difference in status, the Mimawarigumi was assigned primarily to protect the Kyōto Imperial Palace and area around Nijō Castle, whereas the Shinsengumi was assigned to the Gion entertainment district and areas of the commoners and shopkeepers. The Mimawarigumi was officially disbanded with the abdication of shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu on November 9, 1867, although the group continued to function as an unofficial combat unit into the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration. In 1870 Imai Noburō, a former member of the Mimawarigumi confessed to a Military Judiciary Panel that he and other Mimawarigumi members, including Sasaki Tadasaburō had assassinated Sakamoto Ryōma in 1867, although the veracity of his confession remains a matter of historical debate.

MINEKICHI (峰吉): The Ōmiya (most likely) apprentice boy.

MITO DOMAIN (水戸藩): Was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.

MITSU (みつ): One of the girls who attend Shino's classes. She is the one who tells Shunsuke that Shino was taken away by Takizawa and the others.

MITSUI-SAMA (三井様): It is very likely this refers to the Mitsui clan, one of the most powerful and rich family of Japan ever.

MITSUI ECHIGOYA (三井越後屋): Echigoya is the name of the shop where the Mitsui fortune began. He had branches in many cities. In historical plays, Echigoya is a famous rich “bad” merchant residing in Edo trying to make as much money as he can.

MOCHIDZUKI KAMEYATA (望月亀弥太, November 23, 1828 – July 8, 1864): Fellow rebel of Sakamoto who is invited by him to study at Katsu's house. He manages to escape during the Ikedaya incident but he is severely injured. Nevertheless, he reaches the Chōshū domain's residence in Edo but he is not allowed to enter. He commits suicide in front of the gates.

MOICHI (茂一, “thick/luxorious/overgrown” + “one”): One of the children trained by the former Hanzō who are tasked to kill Azumi after their comrades Ino and Chōhei are dispatched by her while they are trying to assassinate Saigō. He is paired with Kōta.

MOKICHI (茂吉): A bamboo-ware artisan youth of a village in the Arima onsen area. He wants to marry a girl called Naka bu she makes a fool out of him.

MOZU (もず, “shrike”): One of the little kids Hattori senior is training to kill Azumi by making him blowing up himself.

MUKAI JINPEI (向甚平): Shunsuke's father, a gokenin with a stipend of thirty bales of rice for two people [don't ask].

MUKAI SHUNSUKE (向駿介): Our story male protagonist. An easy-going person, he seems to not know Azumi at all although Azumi knows him. The “shun” in his name means a “good horse” or a “fast person”. It seems his is a family of stall hands.

MURAKAMI-SAMA (村上様): More info on him later?

MUROTA (室田): A member of the Mimawarigumi.

MUTSU YŌNOSUKE (陸奥陽之介): Better known as Mutsu Munemitsu (陸奥宗光, August 20, 1844 – August 24, 1897). He was a Japanese statesman and diplomat in the Meiji period.

MYŌFUKUJI (明福寺): A Buddhist temple in Mita, Minato Ward. There is also another one with the same name belonging to the Jōdo Sect in Komochō, Mie Prefecture. Considering the location of the Chōshū residence in Edo, the first one is most likely the one in the story.

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NAE (なえ, “Rice seedling”): Chiko/Ine's (fake?) younger sister.

NAGAI NAOMUNE (永井尚志): Nagai Naoyuki (永井尚志, December 21, 1816 – July 1, 1896), also known as Nagai Genba (永井玄蕃) or Nagai Mondonoshō (永井主水正), was a Japanese hatamoto under the Tokugawa of Bakumatsu period. His great-great-grandchild was Mishima Yukio. Naoyuki's adopted son, Nagai Iwanojō, was the father of Natsu, who was Mishima's grandmother. Iwanojō's real father was Miyoshi Nagasumi (Miyoshi clan) who was a Tokugawa retainer. Following his adoption under Nagai Naonori at the age of 25 he took the adult name of Naoyuki (same writing as Naomune).

NAGANO PREFECTURE (長野県): A landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano. Due to the abundance of mountain ranges in this area, the land available for inhabitance is relatively limited.

NAGASAKI (長崎市): The capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. The city's name means "long cape" in Japanese. Nagasaki became a centre of colonial Portuguese and Dutch influence in the 16th through 19th centuries, and the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region have been recognized and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Part of Nagasaki was home to a major Imperial Japanese Navy base during the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War. During World War II, the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Nagasaki the second and, to date, last city in the world to experience a nuclear attack (at 11:02 a.m., August 9, 1945 'Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)').

NAGASAKI NAVAL TRAINING CENTER (長崎海軍伝習所): Was a naval training institute, between 1855 when it was established by the government of the Tokugawa shogunate, until 1859, when it was transferred to Tsukiji in Edo. During the Bakumatsu period, the Japanese government faced increasing incursions by ships from western nations, intent on ending the country's two centuries of national seclusion. These efforts cumulated in the landing of United States Commodore Perry in 1854, resulting in the Treaty of Kanagawa and the opening of Japan to foreign trade. The Tokugawa government decided to order modern steam warships and to build a naval training center as part of its modernization efforts to meet the perceived military threat posed by the navies of the western nations.

NAKA (なか): A mean girl from a village in the Arima onsen area.

NAKAMURA HANJIRŌ (中村半次郎): Kirino Toshiaki (桐野 利秋, December 11, 1838 – September 24, 1877) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, and an Imperial Japanese Army general of the early Meiji era. Also known as Nakamura Hanjirō, he was renowned as one of the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. His sword style was Ko-jigen-ryū, a branch of the high-speed Jigen-ryū. Kirino's activities during the early to mid-1860s largely centered on Kyōto. During the Boshin War, as a senior commander of Satsuma forces, he was a high-ranking officer of the new Imperial Army. It was Kirino who was the representative of the imperial army at the surrender of Wakamatsu Castle, where he received the petition for surrender from Matsudaira Katamori, the lord of Aizu. In Azumi 2 he seems to be Saigō-dono (who he calls Sego-don)'s bodyguard.

NAKANOHASHI (中ノ橋): A bridge in Azabu, today at Azabu-jūban.

NAKAOKA-SAN: Nakaoka Shintarō (中岡慎太郎, May 6, 1838 – December 12, 1867) was a samurai of the Bakumatsu period and a close associate of Sakamoto Ryōma in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.

NAMI (なみ): A divorced woman who takes care of Sōta and Tomiji's daily necessities.

NIJŌ CASTLE (二条城): A flatland castle in Kyōto. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square metres (27.5 ha; 68 acres), of which 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) is occupied by buildings. It is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyōto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

NIKICHI (二吉): One of the orphans taken in by the Hattori clan. He is taught shibobi skills but while on training he falls from a rock wall and breaks one leg in such a manner he will not be able to keep on his training and he is killed on the spot by the current Hanzō. His name is formed by the number 2 and the kanji for joy, or good luck...

NIKKŌ (日光): A city located in Tochigi Prefecture. As of May 2015, the city had an estimated population of 84,197, and a population density of 58.1 persons per km2. Its total area is 1,449.83 km2. It is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists. Attractions include the mausoleum of shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu (Nikkō Tōshōgū) and that of his grandson Iemitsu (Iemitsubyō Taiyūin), and the Futarasan Shrine, which dates to the year 767. There are also many famous hot springs in the area. Elevations range from 200 to 2,000 m. The Japanese saying "Never say 'kekkō' until you've seen Nikkō"—kekkō meaning beautiful, magnificent or "I am satisfied"—is a reflection of the beauty and sites in Nikkō.

NISHI HONGANJI (西本願寺): A Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist temple in the Shimogyō ward of Kyōto. It serves as the head temple of the sub-sect Honganjiha. It is one of two Jōdo Shinshū temple complexes in Kyōto, the other being Higashi Honganji, which is the head temple of the sub-sect Otaniha. Established in its current location in 1591, the origin of the temple goes back to the 14th century. Many of its building have survived from the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo period, making it a great example of the Japanese architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries. A total of seven Nishi Honganji structures have been designated National Treasures.

NISHIMARU TATEWAKI (西丸帶刀): Wikipedia says his name was Saimaru Tatewaki (1822 – 31.12.1913), a Bakumatsu fervent supporter of the reverence toward the Emperor and expulsion of the foreigners. He was from Mito.

NOBUSHIGE (信重): One of five friends from Kuwana domain, he joins the Kōbe naval training center with Yaichirō. After the coup in Kyō he receives reimpatriation orders with the threat of having his family killed if he does not come back. His friends in Kuwana have already received seppuku orders probably from their ruler, Hattori Hanzō, for having been friends with some men of the Chōshū faction that wanted to overthrow the shogunate.

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OBI (帯): A belt of varying size and shape worn with both traditional Japanese clothing and uniforms for Japanese martial arts styles. Originating as a simple thin belt in Heian period, the obi developed over time into a belt with a number of different varieties, with a number of different sizes and proportions, lengths, and methods of tying. The obi, which once did not differ significantly in appearance between men and women, also developed into a greater variety of styles for women than for men.

OCHIYO-BŌ (お千代坊): Probably the Suya lodgings owner's young daughter working there as a maid. The -bō suffix in this case stands for “little”.

ODANGO (お団子): Is a Japanese dumpling made from rice flour mixed with uruchi rice flour and glutinous rice flour. It is different from the method of making mochi, which is made after steaming glutinous rice. Dango is usually finished round shaped, three to five dango are often served on a skewer (skewered dango pieces called kushi-dango (串団子)). Generally, dango comes under the category of Wagashi (traditional Japanese confections), and is often served with green tea. It is eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons.

OGASAWARA KAGA-NO-KAMI (小笠原加賀守): Ogasawara, governor of Kaga province. Either the 7^th head of the family, Nagatsune, or the 8^th, his adopted son Nagakata.

OGURI TADAMASA KŌZUKE-NO-SUKE (小栗忠順上野介, 1827-1868): He was a statesman of the Tokugawa government in the last stage of the Edo period, and he is often regarded as a rival of Katsu Kaishū. At the time when the power of the Tokugawa government was diminishing, he took the posts of finance magistrate twice, and that of the foreign magistrate once. Also, he decided to construct the first arsenal in Japan (Yokosuka arsenal), and this decision contributed to the Meiji Restoration. He was the assistant governor of Kōzuke province.

OHAGI (おはぎ): A sweet very similar to the Botamochi, using a slightly different texture of azuki paste. It is made in autumn. Some recipe variations in both cases call for a coating of soy flour to be applied to the botamochi/ohagi after the azuki paste. Botamochi are sweets made with glutinous rice, rice (ratio of 7:3, or only glutinous rice) and sweet azuki paste (red bean paste). They are made by soaking glutinous rice mixed rice (or only glutinous rice) for approximately 1 hour. The rice is then cooked, and a thick azuki paste is hand-packed around pre-formed balls of rice. Botamochi is eaten as sacred food as offering during the weeks of Higan (a Buddhist holiday exclusively celebrated by Japanese sects during both the Spring and Autumnal Equinox).

OKAMOTO KENZABURŌ (岡本健三郎, November 15, 1842 – December 26, 1885): A fellow rebel of Sakamoto from Tosa. It seems he was a petty police official.

OKITA SŌSHI/SŌJI (沖田総司, 1842 or 1844 – July 19, 1868): He was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, and one of the best swordsmen of the group. He was a prodigy of the Tennen Rishin school of martial arts mastering all techniques and attaining the menkyo kaiden (license of total transmission) in the school at the age of eighteen or so.

OKOMA (お駒): Azumi's attendant during the mission to kill Nariaki. “O” is a prefix to make her name more genlte, while “koma” has many meanings, like the piece of a game like chess, and old word for horse or the bridge of a violin.

ŌKUBO ICHIŌ/TADAHIRO (大久保一翁/忠寛, 1817-1888): Vassal of the shōgun, and statesman. In 1854, he was employed by the rōju (senior councillor of the shogunate government) Masahiro Abe, and became superintendent officer of foreign affaires. Later he served as director of Bansho Shirabesho (Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books), magistrate of Sunpu and magistrate of Kyōto. In the Ansei Purge, he was removed by Ii Naosuke, but in 1861 he was appointed again and after serving as president of Bansho Shirabesho, and gaikoku bugyō (magistrate of foreign affaires), he became director of finance, and wakadoshiyori (junior councillor) in 1868. He assisted in the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle. Later, he successively held important posts including governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, governor of Tōkyō Prefecture, member of the Chamber of Elders, etc.

ŌKUBO TOSHIMICHI (大久保利通, 1830-78): Was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles (with Kido Takayoshi and Saigō Takamori) who led the Meiji Restoration. He was regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.

ŌMIYA (近江屋): The inn of Iguchi Shinsuke (1837 – 1910) in Kawaramachi, Kyōto Prefecture. A famous place known for the “Ōmiya Incident” that occurred there at the end of the Edo period during the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, on December 10, 1867 (November 15 according to the old calendar) when Sakamoto Ryōma and Nakaoka Shintarō were killed. It is said that the killing was the deed of the Kyōto Mimarwarigumi (a group for the security of Kyōto). On November 3, Ryōma moved out of Ikedaya, which the government had had an eye on, and into Ōmiya. On November 13, Itō Kashitarō visited Ryōma and told him that he was being targeted by the Shinsengumi and recommended that he move to the residence of the Tosa Clan in Sanjō, which Ryōma declined. In the late afternoon of November 15, Nakaoka visited Ōmiya and they talked about the Sanjō-ōhashi Seisatsu Incident. At night, a man came to Ōmiya, saying that he was from Totsukawa Village and wished to see Ryōma. Yamada Tōkichi, a former sumo wrestler, was about to show the visitor and his companions when he was attacked from behind (he died the next day). Hearing Yamada's scream, Ryōma yelled out "Hotaena! (Be quiet)" which revealed where he was to the assassins. The assassins ran up the stairs without a sound, opened the sliding door and entered the room. At this time Ryōma had his forehead slashed (there are other theories, one saying that the assassins gave their name cards before attacking). While Ryōma was losing consciousness, he called out "Ishikawa, where's the sword" so as not to reveal Nakaoka's real name. Then he was stabbed in several places, including his chest and died. Nakaoka was still alive and sought help, but he died two days later. At the beginning, because the assassins were talking in Iyo dialect, it was thought that the deed was done by Harada Sanosuke and Ōishi Kuwajirō of the Shinsengumi (a group who guarded Kyōto during the end of Tokugawa Shogunate). In fact, Ōishi Kuwajirō was killed for Ryōma's assassination. In another account, it was thought until the Meiji period that the assassination had been carried out by the Shinsengumi and because of the Ikedaya Incident, the Shinsengumi was fully purged during the Boshin Civil War. After the start of the Meiji period, Imai Nobuo, who was a member of the Kyōto Mimawarigumi, confessed to killing Ryōma; however, truth of the matter remains uncertain. There are many unanswered questions to this incident, with theories other than Imai assassinating Ryōma, including a theory holding that the assassination was by feudal retainers or warriors of Satsuma and another interpretation by Asada Jirō in his “Mibu Gishiden” (Legend of the Loyal Retainers of Mibu”) novel. There are also many who believe that it was the deed of Satsuma, aiming to overthrow the shogunate by force, which is the opposite to the peaceful approach taken by the Kaientai (an association of masterless samurai organized by Sakamoto) and the Rikuentai (an association of masterless samurai organized by Nakaoka).

ONIGIRI (おにぎり; お握り; 御握り): Also known as omusubi (お結び; おむすび), nigirimeshi (握り飯; にぎりめし), rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in nori (seaweed). Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (umeboshi), salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative. Most Japanese convenience stores stock their onigiri with various fillings and flavors. There are even specialized shops which only sell onigiri to take out. Due to the popularity of this trend in Japan, onigiri has become a popular staple in Japanese restaurants worldwide. Despite common misconceptions, onigiri is not a form of sushi. Onigiri is made with plain rice (sometimes lightly salted), while sushi is made of rice with vinegar, sugar and salt. Onigiri makes rice portable and easy to eat as well as preserving it, while sushi originated as a way of preserving fish.

ORYŌ-SAN (おりょうさん): Narasaki Ryō (楢崎 龍, July 23, 1841 – January 15, 1906) was the wife of Sakamoto Ryōma, She is commonly called Oryō (お龍)[dragon]. After the death of her first husband, she married the merchant Nishimura Matsubē (西村松兵衛) and was renamed to Nishimura Tsuru (西村 ツル).

ŌSAKA (大坂 old, 大阪 new): A designated city in the Kansai region of Japan. It is the capital city of Ōsaka Prefecture and the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan and among the largest in the world with over 19 million inhabitants. Situated at the mouth of the Yodo River on Ōsaka Bay, Ōsaka is the second largest city in Japan by daytime population after Tokyo's 23 wards and the third largest city by nighttime population after Tokyo's 23 wards and Yokohama, serving as a major economic hub for the country. Historically a merchant city, Ōsaka has also been known as the "nation's kitchen" and served as a center for the rice trade during the Edo period.

OTAMAGAIKE (お玉が池, also於玉ヶ池): A pond (ike) that was nearby present day Tōkyō, Chiyoda District, Iwamoto Town, 2^nd Block, 5^th House. According to tradition, it was named Otama (“Jewel”) from the name of a poster girl of a tea house which was in the vicinity of the pond at the time in Edo.

OTAMI (おたみ): Katsu Kaishū's wife.

OTORA (お虎, “tiger”): Saigō's mistress. She calls Kichinosuke “Kicchama” (Kichi-sama).

OTSUNE (おつね): A maid servant of the Takizawa family, the daughter of a merchant. She takes sewing lessons from Shino at the temple. She knows everything about her. Speaking ill of Torahiko, she does not know he is nearby listening and is killed for her insolence.

OTSURU (おつる): Heusken's woman, maybe a high class prostitute? Tsuru means “crane”.

OWARI DOMAIN (尾張藩): Was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at 619,500 koku, and was the largest holding of the Tokugawa clan apart from the shogunal lands. The ruler of Owari was the Owari Tokugawa family, the first in rank among the gosanke. The domain was also known as Nagoya Domain.

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RENPEIKAN (練兵館): One of the three great dōjō halls in Edo for swordplay training together with Shigakukan and Genbukan.

RINNŌJI (輪王寺): Nikkō's most important temple. Also, Rinnōji no miya was the title given to imperial princes who had entered the priesthood. How I intended it, the Tsuchimikado family does not serve the temple, but the imperial prince with that title. In those times, maybe Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa.

RŌJŪ (老中): The inner circle of councilors directly advising the shōgun. The ultimate advisory body to the Tokugawa shogunate's national government.

RŌNIN (浪人): A rōnin was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege. In modern Japanese usage, the term also describes a salaryman who is "between employers" or a secondary school graduate who has not yet been admitted to university.

RŌSHIGUMI (浪士組, “rōnin squad”): Also known as the the "Kyōto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai, founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa shōgun, but were disbanded upon their arrival in Kyōto, in 1863. Kiyokawa Hachirō formed the Rōshigumi with funding from the Tokugawa Bakufu in October 19, 1862. Originally, he claimed it was formed for protecting the Tokugawa shōgun in Kyōto and preparing for military action against Western countries. However, he lied to the regime; his goal was to gather people to work with the imperialists and not the shogunate government. The Rōshigumi met on March 26 (lunar calendar February 8), 1863 in Edo and they all left for Kyōto. Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, Okita Sōji, Inoue Genzaburō, Tōdō Heisuke, Harada Sanosuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, Serizawa Kamo, Niimi Nishiki, Hirayama Gorō, Hirama Jūsuke, and Noguchi Kengi were all among the members of the Rōshigumi. Two days later, while the Rōshigumi left for Kyōto, Kondō was responsible for assigning lodges for the members. However, he accidentally forgot about Serizawa's group, leading to a famous incident where Serizawa lost his temper and, with the help of his group, created a huge bonfire outside the lodges as an insult to Kondō. On April 10 (lunar calendar February 23), 1863, the Rōshigumi arrived at Kyōto and the group stayed in Yagitei, a Mibu village outside Kyōto. Surprisingly, when they had just arrived in Kyōto, Kiyokawa suddenly commanded the group to return to Edo. By then, he had secretly submitted a letter to the imperialists stating that his Rōshigumi were to work only for Emperor Kōmei. The disbanded Rōshigumi members returned to Edo upon Kiyokawa's command. However, nineteen members dissented and stayed in Kyōto, including Kondō and Serizawa, mainly from the Mito clan, and formed the Mibu Rōshigumi (壬生浪士組). Initially, the Mibu Rōshigumi were called Miburō (壬生浪), "rōnin of Mibu". At the time, Mibu was a village south west of Kyōto, and was the place where they were stationed. In August 18, 1863, the Mibu Rōshigumi was renamed the Shinsengumi (新選組). In response, a Tokugawa Bakufu official made spies out of former Rōshigumi members Tomouchi Yoshio and Iesato Jirō, and forced them to stay in Kyōto and join Serizawa and Kondo's group in order to keep an eye on them. The other dissident members of the Rōshigumi who returned to Edo became the founding members of the Shinchōgumi (新徴組) the Shinsengumi's brother league in Edo, with Okita Rintarō, the brother-in-law of Okita Sōji, as a commander.

RUSU SEIFU (留守政府, “away government”): The Meiji Restoration government dispatched the "Iwakura Mission" on 1871 of which Iwakura Tomomi was the chief envoy, and Ōkubo Toshimichi, Kido Takayoshi, and Itō Hirobumi were the vice envoys, to Europe and the United States, whereas the members of the "rusu seifu" (the temporary government while heads of the government were away) like Saigō Takamori, Inoue Kaoru, Ōkuma Shigenobu, Itagaki Taisuke, Etō Shinpei, Ōki Takatō, advanced many reforms one after another. The members of the "rusu seifu" mainly reformed the educational system, the land-tax system, the conscription ordinance, the calendar (they adopted the Gregorian Calendar), the administration of justice, and introduced rules allowing freedom of hairstyle and banning the carrying of swords. However, these rapid reforms had many contradictions and many warrior-class people and farmers were unsatisfied, and it is said that these reforms led to "seikanron" (the policy of conquering Korea by military force). Iwakura and Ōkubo dismissed the idea of "seikanron" when they returned from western Europe, and then these reforms were organized and the government established the Ministry of Home Affairs led by Ōkubo.

RYŌ (両): Was a gold currency unit in the traditional units of measurements system in pre-Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the yen.

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SAIGŌ KICHINOSUKE (西郷吉之助, January 23, 1828 – September 24, 1877): One of the many names with which Saigō Takamori is known (Kokichi, Kichibē, Yoshinosuke, Nanshū, Takanaga...). He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he has been dubbed the last true samurai. His younger brother was Gensui, the Marquis Saigō Tsugumichi.

SAITANIYA (才谷屋): “Saitani shop”, the family pawn shop of Sakamoto Ryōma in Kōchi. Sakamoto also had many aliases, Saitani Umetarō is among them. His family had settled in Saitani village in the past, so the name comes probably from this.

SAITŌ YAKURŌ (斎藤弥九郎, February 28, 1798 – November 14, 1871): Founder of the Renpeikan dōjō of swordplay training. He was the fourth successor of the Shindōmunen school of martial arts.

SAIZŌ (才蔵, “talent + common male name suffix”): One of the little kids Hattori senior is training to kill Azumi. He has to work with Mozu to make a plan succeed.

SAKAMOTO RYŌMA (坂本龍馬, January 3, 1836 – December 10, 1867): Was a Japanese prominent figure in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. He was active for most of the Bakumatsu. One of his most noted accomplishments during this period was the negotiation of peace between Chōshū (present day Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Satsuma (present day Kagoshima Prefecture), two powerful provinces that had long been hostile to each other. He then united them against the Bakufu, the government of the Tokugawa shōgun. Ryōma frequently used the alias Saitani Umetarō (才谷梅太郎) during this period, as he was often hunted by the Bakufu supporters, such as members of the Shinsengumi. He was ultimately attacked and murdered before the Boshin War (a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the Imperial Court), along with his companion Nakaoka Shintarō, at an inn in Kyōto.

SAKUMA SHŌZAN: (佐久間象山March 22, 1811 – August 12, 1864): Sometimes called Sakuma Zōzan, was a Japanese politician and scholar of the Edo period. His writing brought some fame, and he became the teacher of several future leaders of modernization like Yoshida Shōin, Katsu Kaishū and Sakamoto Ryōma.

SAKURADA GATE INCIDENT (桜田門外ノ変): Incident that happened outside the Sakurada Gate on 24 March 1860 by rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain who assassinated Chief Minister Ii Naosuke, leader figure of the Bakumatsu period.

SAMURAI (侍): usually referred to in Japanese as bushi or buke, were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany persons in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905–914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushidō. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.

SANAKO (佐那子): Chiba Sadakichi's daughter.

SANJŌ ŌHASHI (三条大橋): A bridge in Kyōto. It spans the Kamo River as part of Sanjōdōri (三条通りThird Avenue). It is well known because it served as the ending location for journeying on both the Nakasendō and the Tōkaidō; these were two of the famous "Five Routes" for long distance travelers during the Edo period. It is unclear when this bridge was first built, but there are records of Toyotomi Hideyoshi orders for it to be repaired in 1590. The current concrete bridge, which includes two lanes for driving and a walking path on either side, was built in 1950.

SANPEI (三平): The fake name Gōji's servant go around the inn shouting while opening the rooms sliders one after the other when he is looking for Azumi's room.

SASAKI TADASABURŌ (佐々木只三郎, 1833 – February 5, 1868): He was a soldier of the Kyōto Mimawarigumi, a special police force created by the Tokugawa shogunate during the late Bakumatsu period to restore public order to Kyōto. In 1864, the military commissioner of Kyōto, Matsudaira Katamori, authorized the establishment of a militia of approximately 200 samurai formed into two companies under the command of Maita Hirotaka and Matsudaira Yasutada to restore public order to Kyōto. The two companies took their names from the courtesy titles of their commanders: the Sagami-no-kami-gumi and the Izumo-no-kami-gumi. The headquarters for the force was Nijō Castle in Kyōto. The purpose of the Mimawarigumi was very similar to that of much more famous Shinsengumi. The Mimawarigumi was composed entirely of higher-ranking samurai and sons of hatamoto-class retainers, all of whom were direct retainers to the Tokugawa Shogunate, predominantly through the Hoshina-Matsudaira clan of the Aizu domain, as opposed to the rōnin-based Shinsengumi. Indicative of this difference in status, the Mimawarigumi was assigned primarily to protect the Kyōto Imperial Palace and area around Nijō Castle, whereas the Shinsengumi was assigned to the Gion entertainment district and areas of the commoners and shopkeepers. The Mimawarigumi was officially disbanded with the abdication of shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu on November 9, 1867, although the group continued to function as an unofficial combat unit into the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration. In 1870 Imai Noburō, a former member of the Mimawarigumi confessed to a Military Judiciary Panel that he and other Mimawarigumi members, including Sasaki Tadasaburō had assassinated Sakamoto Ryōma in 1867, although the veracity of his confession remains a matter of historical debate.

SATSUMA DOMAIN (薩摩藩): officially known as the Kagoshima Domain (鹿児島藩, Kagoshima-han), was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, located in the south of the island of Kyūshū. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the tozama daimyō of the Shimazu clan, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in the provinces of Satsuma, Ōsumi, and Hyūga. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system and its value peaked at 770,000 koku, the second highest domain in Japan after the Kaga Domain. It was one of the most powerful and prominent of Japan's domains during the Edo period, conquering the Ryūkyū Kingdom as a vassal state after the Invasion of Ryūkyū in 1608, and conflicting with the British at the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863 after the Namamugi Incident. The Satsuma Domain formed the Satchō Alliance with the rival Chōshū Domain during the Meiji Restoration and became instrumental in the establishment of the Empire of Japan. The Kagoshima-han was dissolved in the abolition of han and establishment of ken (provinces) in 1871 by the Meiji government when Kagoshima-han became Kagoshima-ken, with some parts of the domain separated as part of Miyakonojō Prefecture (都城県,Miyakonojō-ken). The first prefectural governor of Kagoshima was Ōyama Tsunayoshi until 1877 when he was executed in the Satsuma Rebellion. Since the 1880s, the former territory of Kagoshima Domain is now part of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefecture which was ultimately split from Kagoshima in 1883.

SAWAKI KEIICHIRŌ (沢木敬一郎): Keijirō's older brother.

SAWAKI KEIJIRŌ (沢木圭次朗): One of Shunsuke's two best friends. It seems he is not so good with snakes. Azumi makes fun of him.

SAWAMURA SŌNOJŌ (沢村惣之丞, 1843 – January 25, 1868): A fellow rebel of Sakamoto from Tosa.

SAYO (さよ): The alis Azumi comes up with when questioned by Takasugi in the presence of Tani.

SEIGAKUIN JIKŌ (聖覚院慈行): The Seigakuin is a buddhist temple in Okayama prefecture, Tamano city. It has also a branch not so distant from Okayama station and there is even a university with that name. Jikō though seems to be a fictional character, maybe based on someone very influent in those times? Also, he does not have a surname, so he is identified by his priest name read in the chinese japanised way instead of the japanese one (Shigeyuki, maybe his real name before he entered priesthood) and the place where he belongs to, so it is like saying Jikō of the Seigaku temple.

SEKI TETSUNOSUKE (関鉄之介1824-1862): The leader of the assassination plot against Ii Naosuke. He was elected leader even though his low, barely samurai, status to challenge the conventional conceptions of status in the Bakumatsu era. It seems he was the one who fired the first shot against Ii's palanquin, although his real role was that to record the events during the incident.

SENTA (仙太): A mean youngster in the village where Mokichi leaves.

SEPPUKU (切腹, “cutting the belly”): Sometimes referred to as harakiri (腹切り, "abdomen/belly cutting", a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai, but was also practiced by other Japanese people later on to restore honor for themselves or for their family. A samurai practice, seppuku was used either voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely suffer torture) or as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the abdomen and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the abdomen open. If the cut is performed deeply enough it can sever the descending aorta, causing massive blood loss inside the abdomen, which results in a rapid death by exsanguination.

SHAMISEN (三味線, “three strings”): A three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian. It is played with a plectrum called bachi (a straight wooden stick). The construction of the shamisen varies in shape, depending on the genre in which it is used. The instrument used to accompany kabuki has a thin neck, facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of that genre. The one used to accompany puppet plays and folk songs has a longer and thicker neck instead, to match the more robust music of those genres.

SHIBA (芝): It was a Ward of Tōkyō from 1878 to 1947. It was merged with Akasaka and Azabu Wards to form Minato Ward on March 15 1947. One of the main spots of the area is Shiba Park where the Great Main Temple of the Chinzai Sect of Shingon Buddhism, the Zōjōji, is located.

SHIJŌŌHASHI (四条大橋): A bridge in Kyōto City built in 1142. It was constructed in its current steel girder form in 1942. Eastbound there are three lanes including a right-turn lane, and westbound there are two lanes. The sidewalk is wider than those of other nearby roads. The bridge runs between Nakagyō Ward and Shimogyō Ward. Since it connects two parts of downtown Kyoto, it gets a lot of traffic.

SHIMA (しま): A prostitute Tomiji go often to at the red-light district.

SHIMODA (下田): A city and port located In Shizuoka Prefecture. In the 1850s, Japan was in political crisis over its increasing inability to maintain its national seclusion policy and the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers. For a few years, Shimoda was central to this debate. During the Bakumatsu period, Shimoda port was opened to American trade under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, negotiated by Commodore Matthew Perry and signed on March 31, 1854. Shimoda was also the site of Yoshida Shōin's unsuccessful attempt to board Perry's Black Ships in 1854. The first American Consulate in Japan was opened at Gyokusen temple under Consul General Townsend Harris. Harris negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two countries, which was signed at nearby Ryōsen temple in 1858. Gyokusen temple is also the location of a small number of foreign graves dating from as early as 1854 marking the final resting place of U.S. forces personnel that died while serving as a part of the Black Ship fleet. Japan's relations with Imperial Russia were also negotiated in Shimoda, and in 1855 the Treaty of Shimoda was signed at Chōraku temple. In June 1859, with the opening of the port of Yokohama to foreign trade, the port of Shimoda was again closed and the American consulate was relocated to Zenpuku temple in Edo.

SHIMONOSEKI (下関市): Is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshū facing the Tsushima Strait at the entrance to the Kanmon Straits (also known as the Straits of Shimonoseki) across from the city of Kitakyūshū and the island of Kyūshū.

SHIMŌSA PROVINCE(下総の国): It was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Sōshū (総州) or Hokusō (北総). Shimōsa is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. It was bordered by Kazusa Province to the south, Musashi and Kōzuke Provinces to the west, and Hitachi and Shimotsuke Provinces to the north.

SHINAGAWA (品川区): A special ward in Tōkyō. Most of Tōkyō east of the Imperial Palace is on reclaimed land. A large proportion of the reclamation took place during the Edo period, when Shinagawajuku was the first shukuba (post town) in the "53 Stations of the Tōkaidō" that a traveler would reach after setting out from Nihonbashi to Kyōto on the Tōkaidō. The Tokugawa shogunate maintained the Suzugamori execution grounds in Shinagawa. Following the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system, Shinagawa Prefecture was instituted in 1869. The prefectural administration was to be set up in the Ebara District, but in 1871 Shinagawa Prefecture was integrated into Tōkyō Prefecture. In 1932, during the reorganisation of the municipal boundaries of Tōkyō City following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, a smaller version of Shinagawa Ward was created. On March 15, 1947, this was merged with the neighboring Ebara Ward to create the present Shinagawa Ward. The Ward's historic post-town function is retained today with several large hotels near the train station offering 6,000 rooms, the largest concentration in Tōkyō.

SHINO (志乃): Shunsuke's older sister. Beautiful, kind, a hard worker. She takes care of all the chores at home.

SHINODA GENTARŌ (篠田源太朗): Appointed as advisor of the Chōshū subjugation army with full authority by Yoshinobu and Katamori, since Yoshikatsu kept refusing to spearhead the army. Azumi's target.

SHIOBI (忍び): Another word for ninja.

SHINPEI (新平): A young boy who is being taken care of at the Chōshū's estate. He will be Azumi/Sayo guide there.

SHINSENGUMI (新選組, "New Selected Group"): It was a special police force organized by the Bakufu during the Bakumatsu period in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyōto at a time when a controversial imperial edict to exclude foreign trade from Japan had been made and the Chōshū clan had been forced from the imperial court. The men were drawn from the sword schools of Edo.

SHINSHŪ (信州): Also known as Shinano no kuni, it was an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture.

SHIRAISHI-SAMA (白石様): A wealthy merchant of Shimonoseki. Possibly Shiraishi Shōichirō (白石 正一郎, April 18, 1812 – August 31, 1880).

SHIRŌ (四郎): Katsu Kaishū's second son. His name means “fourth son” and he really is the smallest of the four children Katsu had from Otami.

SHISHI (志士): Sometimes known as Ishin shishi (維新志士), were a group of Japanese political activists of the late Edo period. The term shishi translates as "men of high purpose". While it is usually applied to the anti-shogunate, pro-sonnō jōi ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian[s]") samurai primarily from the southwestern clans of Satsuma, Chōshū, and Tosa, the term shishi is also used by some with reference to supporters of the shogunate who held similar sonnō jōi views. There were many different varieties of shishi. Some, such as the assassins Kawakami Gensai, Nakamura Hanjirō, Okada Izō, and Tanaka Shinbei, opted for a more violent approach in asserting their views. Kawakami Gensai, in particular, is recalled as the assassin of Sakuma Shōzan, a renowned pro-Western thinker of the time. Several assaults on westerners in Japan have been attributed to the shishi and associated rōnin warriors. In a 2013 article, these assassins have been called "early terrorists" (German: frühe Terroristen) since they opted to spread terror among the foreigners. Other more radical shishi, such as Miyabe Teizō, plotted large-scale attacks with little regard for public safety. Miyabe himself was one of the ringleaders of the plot, foiled by the Shinsengumi at the Ikedaya Incident, to burn Kyōto at the height of the Gion Festival. As mentioned above, shishi were not necessarily in support of bringing down the shogunate. Shishi from Mito were responsible for the death of the shōgunal grand councilor Ii Naosuke, who was a signatory to treaties that favored foreign nations, and who had placed an underaged boy on the shōgunal throne. Other Mito men and women arose in the Tengutō Rebellion, over the next several years. While these were definitely actions against the shōgun's government, they did not oppose the shōgun himself—indeed, the Mito shishi, who were retainers of a relative of the shōgun, believed they were only helping him. Other shishi had more scholastic leanings. A prime example of this was the scholar Yoshida Shōin of Chōshū. He founded the Shokason-juku school, and educated many of the future government leaders of Meiji era. Yoshida had connections to many prominent figures of the Bakumatsu era: Kawai Tsugunosuke, Katsu Kaishū and the aforementioned Sakuma Shōzan. The more radical shishi from Chōshū and Satsuma went on to form the core leadership of the nascent Meiji Government. Some, such as Itō Hirobumi and Yamagata Aritomo, remained prominent figures in Japanese politics and society until the early decades of the 20th century.

SHISHIDO KAI (宍戸魁): He does not seem to be an historical figure. I think this is a sort of homage to actor Shishido Kai (開) who had the role of Hanzō in the second Azumi live action in 2005 and then starred in the NHK drama called Samurai Banners in 2007 as Toratane Hara, one of Takeda Shingen 24 generals. In the manga he will plot a couple of interesting things.

SHŌGETSUZAKURA (松月桜): Cerasus Sato-zakura Group ‘Superba’, Cerasus serrulata ‘Superba’. A species of cherry tree. Likely the name of the Arima Onsen inn where Shinoda is killed by Azumi.

SHŌGITAI (彰義隊, "Manifest Righteousness Regiment"): Was an elite samurai shock infantry formation of the Tokugawa shogunate military formed in 1868 by the hatamoto Amano Hachirō and Hitotsubashi Gosankyō retainer Shibusawa Seiichirō in Zōshigaya, Edo. The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin War, especially at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, and, after being assigned the defence of Kan'ei temple, the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly annihilated. After the Battle of Ueno, some surviving Shōgitai fled north, eventually joining the rebels of the Ezo Republic. Following the defeat of Ezo, most of the few remaining former Shōgitai settled in Hokkaidō.

SHŌGO (省悟): Either the son or the little brother of one of the five assassins sent to kill Azumi at the Mukai's residence.

SHŌGUN IEMOCHI: Tokugawa Iemochi (徳川家茂, July 17, 1846 – August 29, 1866) was the 14^th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. Iemochi's reign also saw a weakening of the shogunate. He died in 1866 and was buried in Zōjōji.

SHŌHEIKŌ (昌平黌): Yushima seidō (湯島聖堂, literally "Hall of the Sage in Yushima"), located in the Yushima neighbourhood of Bunkyō, Tōkyō, was established as a Confucian temple in the Genroku era of the Edo period (end of the 17th century). The Yushimaseidō has its origins in a private Confucian temple, the Senseiden (先聖殿), constructed in 1630 by the neo-Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (1583–1657) in his grounds at Shinobigaoka (now in Ueno Park). The fifth Tokugawa shōgun, Tsunayoshi, moved the building to its present site in 1690, where it became the Taiseiden (大成殿) of Yushimaseidō. The Hayashi school of Confucianism moved at the same time. Under the Kansei Edict, which made neo-Confucianism the official philosophy of Japan, the Hayashi school was transformed into a state-run school under the control of the shogunate in 1797. The school was known as the Shōheizaka Gakumonjo (昌平坂学問所) or Shōheikō, after Confucius's birthplace, Changping (昌平, pronounced Shōhei in Japanese). During the time of the Tokugawa shogunate, the school attracted many men of talent, but it was closed in 1871 after the Meiji Restoration.

SHŌJI (障子): A type of Japanese room partition with a wooden frame holding a wooden or bamboo grid with translucent paper over it.

SONNŌ JŌI (尊王攘夷, “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians”): Was a Japanese and Chinese political philosophy and a social movement derived from Neo-Confucianism; it became a political slogan in the 1850s and 1860s in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period. Often used just as jōi to intend the expulsion movement of the foreigners from Japan.

SŌTA (壮太, “robust + thick”): Kiyo's older brother.

STATEMENT ON COASTAL DEFENSE (海防意見書): The “Kaibō ikensho” was a statement written by Katsu Kaishū to the cabinet officials which attracted Ōkubo Tadahiro's attention and started his amazing career.

SUGANO SŌICHIRŌ-SENSEI (菅野宗一朗先生): The eldest son of a gokenin who borrows a room in a temple and teaches lower-ranking people like gokenin and merchants' sons. It seems he is held in high esteem by Shunsuke and his friends. He has a great thirst for knowledge.

SUKEZŌ-SAN (助蔵さん): One of the attendants to Harris and Heusken.

SUMŌ (相撲): A competitive full-contact wrestling sport where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with anything other than the soles of his feet.

SUN (寸): 3.030 cm, 1.193 in.

SUNPU DOMAIN (駿府藩): Was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The domain centered at Sunpu Castle what is now the Aoi-ku, Shizuoka. From 1869 it was briefly called Shizuoka Domain.

SUYA (酢屋): A lumber dealer in Kyōto's Nakagyō district.

T

TACHI (太刀): Was a type of traditionally made Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Tachi and katana generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the signature, on the tang. The tachi style of swords preceded the development of the katana, which was not mentioned by name until near the end of the twelfth century; tachi are known to have been made in the Kotō period, ranging from 900 to 1596.

TAKANAWA (高輪): A neighborhood in Minato, Tōkyō. Among their sites, the Sengakuji houses the graves of the forty-seven rōnin and their Lord, Asano Naganori.

TAKAOKA JŪSABURŌ (高岡重三郎): A practitioner of the Kyōshin Meichi fencing school. He faces Sakamoto on a crowded street but he is defeated by Ryōma's “unfair” strategy.

TAKASEGAWA (高瀬川): A canal in Kyōto. It rises from Nijō-Kiyamachi, going along Kiyamachi Street, and meets the Uji River at Fushimi port. The canal crosses with the Kamo River on the way. Today the south half is not connected with Kamo River. It was dug by Suminokura Ryōi in 1611, during the Edo period, to transport various goods and resources in the center of Kyōto. It made a great contribution to development of the city and economic growth at that time.

TAKASUGI SHINSAKU (高杉晋作, 27 September 1839 – 17 May 1867): He was a samurai of the Chōshū domain who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration. See Wikipedia for much, much more information.

TAKECHI HANPEITA (武市半平太, October 24, 1829 – July 3, 1865): Also known as Takechi Zuizan, was a samurai of the Tosa domain during the Bakumatsu period. Leader of the Tosa Kinnō conservative party which supported the Sonnō Jōi movement (about 200 hundred low rank samurai), he tried to take control of Tosa and receive the support of Sakamoto Ryōma, but was arrested for the 1862 assassination of Yoshida Tōyō, the head of Tosa who wanted to reform and modernize the domain and did not recognise the Kinnō party. Sakamoto helped Takechi in coming up with the plan, but did not agree in carrying it out. He left Tosa because he thought something had to be done for the entire Japan, not only a revolution for Tosa. Takechi was then forced to commit seppuku. It seems he had a close relationship with Okada Izō, one of the four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu and often gave him orders.

TAKEMOTO GENNOJŌ (竹本源之丞): One of Shunsuke's two best friends. It seems he is not so good with snakes. Azumi makes fun of him. When he finds himself in trouble, he farts without control.

TAKIZAWA KIN'YA (滝沢欣矢): The son of a hatamoto. His older brother fell in love with Shino at first sight but he thinks it was Shino who seduced him by her own initiative seeking to marry into a rich family and for this he bullies Shunsuke, and his friends.

TAKIZAWA TORAHIKO (滝沢虎彦): The eldest son of the Takizawas, he falls in love at first sight with Shino and wants to marry her even though their different social standing, his mother being against it and seeming to have already a potential wife.

TAKIZŌ-SAN (滝蔵さん): One of the attendants to Harris and Heusken.

TAKUAN (たくあん): A pickled preparation of daikon radish and a popular part of traditional Japanese cuisine.

TAMA (多摩): A district in Musashi (Bushū) Province.

TAN-CHAN (胆ちゃん): An assassin who is called with this nickname by his companion Manroku. His real name is Shinza Tanzō (新座胆蔵). According to Manroku, Tan-chan is really amazing and a very nice person.

TANI TENZEN (谷典禅): In the story they say he is the strongest fencing master of Mito. He works as a guard for Tokugawa Nariaki.

TENCHŪ (天誅): Heaven's punishment, heaven's wrath, divine retribution... For the actions committed by someone. In Bakumatsu period this punishment was carried out by man slayers hired by powerful persons, either to punish them for their actions, conduct or ideas against Japan or to simply eliminate people who were nuisances for their agenda.

TENMONKATA (天文方): Edo period office in charge of compiling the calendar, astronomical measurements, surveying, translating Western books, etc.

TERADAYA (寺田屋): An inn in Fushimi, south of Kyōto, where in 1866 there was a failed attack on Sakamoto Ryōma.

TETSUNOSUKE (鉄ノ助): One of five friends from Kuwana domain, he stays in his country like Ichirōta and Eizaburō while Yaichirō and Nobushige join the Kōbe naval training center. After the coup in Kyō his friends in Kōbe receive reimpatriation orders with the threat of having their families killed if they do not come back, while he and his friends in Kuwana receive seppuku orders probably from their ruler, Hattori Hanzō, for having been friends with some men of the Chōshū faction that wanted to overthrow the shogunate. Ichirōta obeys and commits seppuku at home, but he, together with Eizaburō, goes to object at the domain administrative headquarters and is sentenced to death and killed by the many men there.

TOBA-FUSHIMI (鳥羽伏見): The battle of Toba–Fushimi occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War (a civil war fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the Imperial Court). The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shogunate and the allied forces of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa Domains clashed near Fushimi, Kyōto. The battle lasted for four days, ending in a decisive defeat for the shogunate.

TOKUGAWA NARIAKI (徳川斉昭, April 4 1800 – September 29, 1860): Was a prominent Japanese daimyō who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration. Nariaki was the 3rd son of Tokugawa Harutoshi, the seventh-generation daimyō of Mito. The family headship first passed to Harutoshi's eldest son Narinobu, before being passed on to Nariaki in 1829. Nariaki was also leader of the Jōi (expel the barbarian) party and made a Bakufu adviser on national defence. Nariaki was put in charge of Bakufu efforts to defend the country against encroaching foreigners. His own view was that the bakufu should strengthen its military and fight the foreigners, and was at odds with Ii Naosuke on the issue. He was pro-emperor and favored imperial restoration. Nariaki also greatly expanded the Mitogaku school established by Tokugawa Mitsukuni. He wrote a document entitled "Japan, Reject the Westerners" in 1853. in this document, he stated ten reasons why Japan should stay isolated from the rest of the world. He said that the Japanese people had a choice between war and peace, but clearly to him, the Japanese people should choose war so that Westerners would not intrude into Japan's affairs. Nariaki and Naosuke fought over who would succeed the Shōgun Iesada, with Nariaki championing his son Yoshinobu. Naosuke, who eventually prevailed, favored the Wakayama Domain daimyō Tokugawa Yoshitomi. Died of a heart attack in 1860, at age 60.

TOKUGAWA YOSHIKATSU (徳川慶勝, April 14, 1824 – August 1, 1883): Was a feudal lord of the late Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain as its 14th (1849–1858) and 17th lord (1870–1880). He was the brother of Matsudaira Katamori. After the Kinmon incident in the summer of 1864, in which samurai from the Chōshū Domain attempted a coup against the Tokugawa Bakufu, Yoshitaka served as the military commander during the punitive First Chōshū expedition, in September–November 1864, with Saigō Takamori as second-in-command. The campaign was considered a success, but, when Chōshū again challenged Bakufu authority, Yoshikatsu refused to participate in the Second Chōshū expedition, which ended in a loss of prestige for the Bakufu and a secret alliance between the Satsuma and Chōshū domains, an alliance that soon overthrew the shogunate.

TOKUGAWA YOSHINOBU (徳川慶喜 also known as Tokugawa Keiki; October 28, 1837 – November 22, 1913): He was the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. After resigning in late 1867, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his life.

TOMIJI (富次, “wealth + next”): Sōta's friend.

TOMOKO (知子): (wisdom + child) Azumi's name during the mission to assassinate Tokugawa Nariaki.

TOMONOTSU (鞆ノ津, present day Tomonoura 鞆の浦): A port in the Tomo ward of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. It stands on the southern point of the Numakuma Peninsula, 14 kilometers south of Fukuyama Station.

TOSA PROVINCE (土佐国): A former province of Japan in the area that is today Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku. Tosa was bordered by Iyo and Awa Provinces. It was sometimes called Doshū (土州).

TOTSUKAWA (十津川): A village located in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture. It is the largest village in Japan in terms of area.

TŌDŌ HEISUKE (藤堂平助, 1844 – December 13, 1867): A Bakumatsu samurai who served as the eight unit captain of the Shinsengumi. In 1863, Tōdō joined the Rōshigumi with Kondō and other members of the Shieikan. After the Shinsengumi was formed, Tōdō first became assistant vice commander. Tōdō was the youngest unit captain of Shinsengumi. Sources vary as to his role in the Serizawa Kamo (one of the original commanders of the Shinsengumi) assassination. Tōdō received a wound on his forehead during the Ikedaya incident on July 8, 1864. He then became the captain of the eighth unit in 1865. Tōdō, having joined Itō Kashitarō's breakaway Goryōeji group, left the Shinsengumi. While with the help of six other defectors, attempting to retrieve the body of Itō who was killed earlier, he was killed along with Hattori Takeo and Mōnai Arinosuke in an ambush by the Shinsengumi during the Aburanokōji incident in Kyōto in December 13, 1867.

TŌFU (豆腐): Also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be silken, soft, firm, extra firm or super firm. Beyond these broad textural categories, there are many varieties of tōfu. It has a subtle flavor, so it can be used in savory and sweet dishes. It is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish and its flavors, and due to its spongy texture it absorbs flavors well. Nutritionally, tōfu is low in calories, while containing a relatively large amount of protein. It is high in iron, and can have a high calcium or magnesium content depending on the coagulants (e.g. calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate) used in manufacturing. Tōfu originated in China and has been consumed within China for over 2,000 years. It is also a traditional component of the cuisines of Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. In modern Western cooking it is sometimes treated as a meat substitute.

TŌKAIDŌ (東海道, “eastern sea route”): The most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyōto to Edo. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name.

TŌKICHI-SAN: Yamada Tōkichi (山田藤吉, 1848 – December 11, 1867) was a former sumō wrestler and aslo Sakamoto Ryōma's bodyguard.

TŌSHŌ DAIGONGEN (東照大権現): “Great Gongen, Light of the East”. A Gongen was believed to be a buddha who has appeared on Earth in the form of a Japanese kami to save sentient beings. This is the postumous title given to Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543 - 1616) founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.

TŌZENJI (東禅寺): A temple in Takanawa, Minato, Tōkyō. It belongs to the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism which has its headquarters at Myōshinji in Kyōto.

TSUBOUCHI FAMILY (坪内家): It seems their daughter Iku would be a good match for Takizawa Kin'ya.

TSUCHIMIKADO FAMILY (土御門家): A very old and powerful family, they were also descentants of the Abe family and they had control of the Onmyōdō practices until the middle of the 19^th century.

W

WAKAYAMA (和歌山): It is a prefecture of Japan on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region. The capital is Wakayama city.

WAKISAKI-SAN (脇坂さん): A member of the Shinsengumi who, apparently, can't hold his liquor and gives a hard time to Hana during a dinner party.

Y

YAICHIRŌ (弥一郎): One of five friends from Kuwana domain, he joins the Kōbe naval training center with Nobushige. After the coup in Kyō he receives reimpatriation orders with the threat of having his family killed if he does not come back. His friends in Kuwana have already received seppuku orders probably from their ruler, Hattori Hanzō, for having been friends with some men of the Chōshū faction that wanted to overthrow the shogunate.

YAMAOKA TESSHŪ (山岡鉄舟, June 10, 1836 – July 19, 1888): Also known as Ono Tetsutarō or Yamaoka Tetsutarō, was a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration. He is also noted as the founder of the Ittō Shōden Mutōryū (一刀正伝無刀流) school of swordsmanship.

YOKOHAMA (横浜): Literally "horizontal beach", is the second largest city in Japan by population (3.7 million), after Tōkyō, and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tōkyō Bay, south of Tōkyō, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshū. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tōkyō Area. Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kōbe, Ōsaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tōkyō, and Chiba. In the Edo period, Yokohama started to be the place with the most concentration of foreigners.

YOSAKOI-BUSHI (よさこい節): “Come at Night Folk Song”. There are many versions of the yosakoi songs, but at the very origin of them is “Yosakoi-bushi,” a traditional folk song from Kōchi that was said to remind its citizens of their land when they were far from home. The author of the most known yosakoi song, Takemasa Eisaku (武政英策, September 18, 1907 - December 1, 1982) mixed it with two other songs: “Yocchore,” which is a children’s song, and another folk song from Kōchi called “Jinma-mo”.

YOSHI (淑): Shunsuke's mother. She has a weak constitution but she takes care of all the necessities of her husband. It seems she has nerves of steel. Her name means “graceful”, “kind”, “pure”.

YOSHIDA SHŌIN (吉田松陰, September 20, 1830 – November 21, 1859): Was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. Among other things, he tried to stwo away on one of Perry's ships and was captured and put to house arrest.

YUME (夢): Katsu Kaishū's eldest daughter. Yume means “dream.”

YŪKI DOMAIN (結城藩): It was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period, located in Shimōsa Province. It was centered at Yūki castle in what is now part of the city of Yūki, Ibaraki. It was ruled for most of its history by a branch of the Mizuno clan.

Z

ZENTA (善太): One of the five children who trained to serve the country. He probably died during the training. “Zen” means good, goodness, right, virtue and “ta” can be something thick, plump, fat.

ZŌJŌJI (増上寺): A Buddhist temple in Shiba, Minato Ward, Tōkyō.