Hyakkimaru's Birth Glossary

Hyakkimaru's Birth

Book 1 of the Dororo Novel Series

Toriumi Jinzō

Glossary

 

Companion to the story's Timeline. Collects the names and places in the text to help keep all the historical detail straight. :)

Akamagaseki (Japanese: 赤間関) Akamagaseki is a port city on the Genkai sea. Tanbano Hisamaro and his son Tajumaru (Jukai) make port at Akamagaseki during their sea voyage with Akamano Gotarō.

 

Akamano Gotarō (Japanese: 赤間の五太郎) Akamano Gotarō was the captain of the merchant ship Hibikimaru. He helped Tanbano Hisamaro and his son, Tajumaru, when they went on the run from shogunate forces.

 

Akamatsu Masanori (Japanese: 赤松 政範, d. 1577) was one of the chief generals of the Hosokawa clan in the Ōnin War.

Masanori succeeded his father as head of the Akamatsu clan. In 1458, Masanori was appointed governor or constable (shugo) of northern Kaga Province.

 

Aki (Japanese: 安芸) Aki was a Japanese province in of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture. Aki Province was abolished in 1871, and renamed to Hiroshima Prefecture. In the novel, Tanbano Hisamaro and his son Tajumaru (Jukai) pass by Aki on their sea voyage.

 

Ali Manka (Japanese: アリーマンカ) Ali Manka was an Iranian doctor that Tajumaru (Jukai) met on his voyage with Zheng He.

 

aniki (Japanese: 兄貴) Aniki is Dororo’s usual way of addressing Hyakkimaru. The term means “older brother,” which may be a reference to the consecrated water that Dororo and Hyakkimaru drank when they first met. Dororo does not use oniisan, the more usual Japanese term for “older brother” that is typically used to politely address any younger man, related or not. The tone of aniki is stronger than that of oniisan and implies a stronger relationship.

 

Arachi Mountain Pass (Japanese: 愛発峠) Arachi Mountain Pass is a mountain pass that lies along the road leading to the Arachi Gate that protects Kyōto from attack from the north. Namitarou takes this way back to his ship after visiting Jukai at the mountain estate of Kurama.

 

Asakura Takakage (Japanese: 朝倉孝景) Asakura Takakage  was a military commander in the middle of the Muromachi period. He was the seventh head of the Asakura clan and a retainer of Shiba Yoshikado. 

 

Ashikaga Shigeuchi (Japanese: 足利成氏, c.1438-1497)  Ashikaga Shigeuchi was a Muromachi period warrior and the fifth and last shōgun’s deputy in the Kantō region. The assassination of Uesugi Noritada by Ashikaga Shigeuji in 1454 kicked off a series of wars and skirmishes known to history as the Kyōtoku incident.  The Ashikaga, Uesugi, and other clans leaped into battle, either defending or assaulting Shigeuji as they fought for control of the Kantō region.

 

Ashikaga Yoshikazu (Japanese: 足利 義量, August 27, 1407 – March 17, 1425) was the fifth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1423 to 1425 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshikazu was the son of the fourth shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimochi. Yoshimochi ceded power to his son, and Yoshikazu became shōgun at age 18, but he would die within two years. According to historical sources, Yoshikazu's death was hastened by a life of drunken dissipation.

 

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (Japanese: 足利 義満, September 25, 1358 - May 31, 1408) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate. He was in power from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. In 1392, he negotiated the end of the imperial schism between the northern and southern imperial courts that had plagued politics for over half a century. Two years later, he became the highest-ranking member of the imperial court. In recognition for his diplomatic efforts (and overt displays of subservience), the Chinese Emperor Zhu Di pronounced Yoshimitsu "King of Japan." He ruled Japan during Jukai’s childhood.

 

Ashikaga Yoshimasa (Japanese: 足利 義政, January 20, 1436 January 27, 1490) Ashikawa Yoshimasa was the eighth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. He is the ruling shōgun when Hyakkimaru is born.

 

Ashikaga Yoshimochi (Japanese: 足利 義持, March 12, 1386 - February 3, 1428) was the fourth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His wife summoned Tanbano Hisamaro to the imperial court when his son, Yoshikazu, fell from a horse.

 

Ashigaru (Japanese: 足軽) Ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. In the Ōnin War, ashigaru gained a reputation as unruly troops when they looted and burned Miyako (modern-day Kyōto). Ashigaru became the backbone of many feudal Japanese armies.

 

Ayanokōji Clan (Japanese: 綾小路) The Ayanokōji Clan is an offshoot of the Minamoto and Fujiwara Clans. In the novel, the clan lost many estates to fire in Kyōto when Ōuchi Masahiro attacked the city in 1467.

 

Azumi River (Japanese: 安曇川)The Azumi River stretches from the west banks of the Azusa and Sai Rivers to the foot of the Hida Mountains (also known as the Northern Alps) in the west, and towards the southernmost watershed of the Takase River. Hyakkimaru crosses the Azumi River on his journey north to find Daigo Kagemitsu.

 

Bachi (Japanese:撥) Bachi is the name for the straight, wooden sticks used to play Japanese taiko drums, and also the plectrum for stringed instruments like the shamisen and biwa.

 

Battle of Dan-no-Ura (Japanese: 壇ノ浦の戦い) The Battle of Dan-no-ura was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185 (or March 24, 1185 by the official page of Shimonoseki City), the fleet of the Minamoto clan, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the fleet of the Taira clan.

 

Beijng (Chinese: 北京) Beijing  is the capital of China. Beijing is a global city and one of the world's leading centers for culture, diplomacy and politics, business and economics, education, language, and science and technology. Tajumaru (Jukai) passed near Beijing on his quest to find Yōda, a mountain hermit.

 

Benkei (Japanese: 弁慶) See Saitō Musashibō Benkei.

 

Bian Que (Chinese: 扁䳍, died 310 BC) Bian Que was, according to semi-legends, the earliest known Chinese physician. His real name is said to be Qin Yueren (秦越人). He was a native of the State of Qi. Bian Que is considered to be the inventor of anaesthesia.

 

Bifuyō (Chinese: 美芙蓉) Bifuyō was Tajumaru’s (Jukai’s) lover in China. She died of an illness in her lungs.

 

Bisan Strait (Japanese: 備讃瀬戸) The Bisan Strait is a shallow area in the Seto Inland Sea. The Seto Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan.

 

Bodhidharma (Chinese:菩提達磨 )Bodhidharma was a legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5^th  or 6^th  century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. In Japan, he is known as Daruma.

 

Bodhisattva (Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व) In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood. The term refers to anyone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so.

 

Boys’ Day (Japanese: 端午の節句) Boys’ Day, now called Children's Day,  is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5.  On this day, families raise carp-shaped windsocks to represent the family, with a black carp for the father, a red or pink for the mother, and one carp (usually blue, and sometimes additionally green and orange) for each child. Families may also display a samurai doll, sometimes riding on a large carp (often representing the Japanese folk heroes Kintarō or Momotarō), and/or the traditional Japanese military helmet, kabuto, due to their designation  as symbols of strength and vitality.

Kashiwa mochi (sticky rice cakes filled with red bean jam and wrapped in oak leaves) and chimaki (sticky sweet rice wrapped in an iris or bamboo leaf) are traditionally served on this day.

 

Buddha (Japanese: 仏) Gautama Buddha, popularly known as the Buddha,  lived in ancient India (c. 5th to 4th century BCE). He is regarded as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism, and revered by most Buddhist schools as a savior, the Enlightened One who rediscovered an ancient path to release clinging and craving and escape the cycle of birth and rebirth. His teaching is based on his insight into the arising of duhkha (the unsatisfactory feelings of clinging to impermanent states and things) and the ending of duhkha—the state called Nibbāna or Nirvana. Buddhism is one of the most common religion in Japan, along with Shintoism.

 

Buzen Province (Japanese: 豊前国) Buzen was an old province of Japan in northern Kyūshū in the area of Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture. The ruins of the ancient capital of the province were found near Toyotsu, Fukuoka. The castle town of Kokura was also in Buzen, and a seat of many feudal rulers.

 

Calicut (Mayalam: Kozhikode) is an Indian city and the second-largest metropolitan city in the State of Kerala. In antiquity and the medieval period, Calicut was dubbed the City of Spices for its role as the major trading point for Indian spices. Jukai underwent some of his medical training here.

 

Chikushi (Japanese: 筑紫) Chikushi was an old province of Japan that was later divided into other provinces. The land area represents the western and southern part of present-day Fukuoka Prefecture. Tanbano Hisamaro and his son, Tajumaru, watch the sun set over the mountains of Chikushi from the sea on their voyage with Genkai Namitarō in a rowboat.

 

Chikuzen (Japanese: 筑前) Chikuzen was an old province of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyūshū. Tanbano Hisamaro and his son Tajumaru (Jukai) passed to the west of Chikuzen during their sea voyage with Akamano Gotarō.

 

Chin Sōkei (Chinese: 陳宗敬) Chin Uiro’s ancestor; an immigrant to Japan from China who requested to keep his original family name.

 

Chin Uiro (Japanese: 陳外郎) Hisamaro Tanbano’s main medical assistant. He translated medical texts from Greek to Chinese and caused a brief international sensation.

 

Chin Jimei (Chinese: 陳自明) A Chinese physician who wrote several scrolls related to pregnancy and birth. Some of these are included in Jukai’s library.

 

Chin Jōyū (Japanese: 陳常佑) Chin Jōyū is Uiro’s son. Tanbano Hisamaru defers to his expertise when he is summoned before the imperial court.

 

China (Chinese: 中国) China is a country in East Asia. Covering an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million mi2), it is the world's third or fourth largest country.  China emerged as one of the world's first civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on absolute hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the Xia dynasty in 21st century BCE. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. Hangzhō is a Chinese city that Tajumaru (Jukai) receives his medical training in; Tajumaru (Jukai) also spends most of his early adulthood in China.

 

Chinnen (Japanese: 珍念) Chinnen was one of the potential names of the disciple who survived the fire at the Hall of Hell that was  given to Jukai by a friendly monk.

 

Chongshan Temple (Chinese: 崇善寺) Chongshan Temple  is a Buddhist temple located in China. The original temple dates back to the Tang dynasty (618–907).  In the novel,  Bodhidharma came to this temple to pray, then met with Yōda, who restored his missing limbs.

 

Chō Goshō (Chinese: 趙誤尚大夫) This is the doctor that Tajumaru (Jukai) first goes to see when he arrives in China.

 

Daigo Kagemitsu (Japanese: 醍醐景光) Daigo Kagemitsu is Hyakkimaru’s biological father. He sold Hyakkimaru’s body to forty-eight demons in exchange for power.

 

Daiōgi Nobuhiro (Japanese: 大扇信太) This is the name of the (fake) lord that Hyakkimaru says he serves when he sneaks into an ashigaru camp to get information about Daigo Kagemitsu.

 

Dakeyama Castle (Japanese:嶽山城) Dakeyama Castle is a Japanese castle  built in 1332 . It was on the summit of Mt. Dake in  Osaka Prefecture. Hatakeyama Yoshinari was attacked by the shōgun in this castle after his claim to become the shōgun’s deputy in the region was rejected.

 

Dasgupta (Japanese: ダスグブタ) Dasugupta is an Indian physician that Gōshō studies under as a young man.

 

Dororo (Japanese: どろろ) Dororo is a young thief who lives in Kyōto. Dororo saves Hyakkimaru from a battle in the capital and the two become fast friends.

 

Ebumi (Japanese: 江文) An area near Shizuhara, some 187 miles (301 kilometers) west of Tōkyō, which would have been called Edo at the time this story is set.

 

Echigo Province (Japanese:  越後) Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. It corresponds today to Niigata Prefecture, minus the island of Sado.

 

Eastern Army (東軍) The Eastern Army supported shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in his desire for his brother to inherit his position instead of his son. The Eastern Army was led by Hosokawa Katsumoto.

 

Emperor Go-Daigo (Japanese:後醍醐天皇, 26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He successfully overthrew the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 and established the short-lived Kenmu Restoration to bring the Imperial House back into power. This was to be the last time the Emperor had any power in Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

 

Emperor Go-Hanazono (Japanese:後花園天皇, July 10, 1419 – January 18, 1471) Emperor G0-Hanazono was the 102nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1428 through 1464. This 15th-century sovereign was named after the 14th-century Emperor Hanazono and go- (後) translates as "later”; thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Hanazono," or in some older sources, may be identified as "Hanazono, the second" or as "Hanazono II."

 

Emperor Kanmu (Japanese: 桓武天皇) The fiftieth emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that Japanese imperial power reached its peak.

 

Emperor Tenmu (Japanese: 天武天皇) The fortieth emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Tenmu's reign lasted from 673 until his death in 686.

 

Emperor Tsuchimikado (Japanese:土御門天皇, January 3, 1196 – November 6, 1231) Emperor Tsuchimikado was the 83rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Tsuchimikado's reign spanned the years from 1198 through 1210.

 

Emperor Zhu Di (Chinese: 朱棣) A Chinese Emperor who reigned between 17 July 1402 – 12 August 1424. He was the winner of the Jingnan Campaign.

 

Emperor Zhu Gaochi (Chinese: 朱高熾, 16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), Zhu Gaochi was the fourth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1424 to 1425. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, in 1424.

 

Emperor Zhu Qizhen (Chinese: 朱祁鎮; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464) Zhu Qizhen was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1449, in favor of his younger brother  after being captured by the Mongols during the Tumu Crisis in 1449.

 

Emperor Zhu Zhanji (Chinese: 朱瞻基, 16 March 1399 – 31 January 1435), Zhu Zhanji was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435.

 

Empress Jingū (Japanese: 神功皇后) Empress Jingū  was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Legends say that after seeking revenge on the people who murdered her husband, she turned her attention to conquering a "promised land." Jingū is considered to be a controversial monarch by historians, since her alleged decision was to invade the Korean Peninsula without cause. Tajumaru (Jukai) remembers her orders to invade the Korean peninsula when he and his father are on their sea voyage with Genkai Namitarō.

 

Empress Kōmyō (Japanese: 光明皇后, 701-760 ) Empress Kōmyō  was the consort of Japanese Emperor Shōmu (701–756) during the Nara Period. After a 25-year reign, Emperor Shōmu abdicated in favor of his daughter. Some time later, Shōmu took the tonsure, thus becoming the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest. Empress Kōmyō also took holy vows in becoming a Buddhist nun. As a devout adherent of Buddhism, Kōmyō encouraged the construction and enrichment of temples and advocated for the poor and the sick.

 

Enkōchū (Chinese: 閻孝忠): A Chinese physician and pupil of Senitsu. He wrote several scrolls on child- and infant-rearing that Jukai consults while he is learning how to raise Oniwakamaru (Hyakkimaru). He is a historically real figure, though his dates are not known; he was active during China’s Northern Song dynasty.

 

Esen (Chinese: 也先) Esen was a powerful Oirat warlord and the de facto ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 1454 and 1455. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1450 in the Battle of Tumu Fortress and briefly reuniting the Mongol tribes.

 

Etchū Province (Japanese: 越中国) Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea of Japan to the north.

 

Ezichen Province (Japanese: (越前国) Ezichen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. The fighting done between the provinces of Ezichen and Kaga was particularly fierce during the Ōnin War.

 

Flower Palace (Japanese: 花の御所) The Flower Palace is the residence of the Ashikaga Shogun family in Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture.

 

Fujiwara Clan (Japanese: 藤原氏)  The Fujiwara Clan was a powerful family of regents in Japan. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Shōni clan is an offshoot of the Fujiwara clan.

 

Fujiwara Kamonojō (Japanese: 藤原掃部丞) Father of Fujiwara Seiko and maternal grandfather of Jukai.

 

Fujiwara Seiko (Japanese: 藤原政子) : The daughter of Fujiwara Kamonojō and the wife of Tanbano Hisamaro. She was Jukai’s mother.

 

Fuse Sadamoto (Japanese: 布施貞基) Fuse Sadamoto was a magistrate for the shōgun during the Hōtoku era (1449-1452).

 

Fushimi (Japanese: Fushimi (伏見区) Fushimi is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyōto, in Kyōto Prefecture, Japan. In the novel, it is the location of the Hall of Hell.

 

Gakusan Fortress (Japanese: 嶽山城) Gakusan Fortress is a castle in what is now Tondabayashi City in Osaka Prefecture. Hatakeyama Yoshinari secluded himself inside this fortress after he went against the shōgun’s wishes by inheriting his father’s place as the head of the clan over his son-in-law.

 

Gastrodia (Japanese: 天麻子) Gastrodia, commonly known as potato orchids, is a genus of leafless orchids. They are native to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, central Africa, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Jukai gives Hyakkimaru a medicine made with gastrodia to help him calm down after a nightmare.

 

Genkai Sea (Japanese: 玄界灘) The Genkai Sea  is a body of water that comprises the southwestern tip of the Sea of Japan and borders the northern coasts of Fukuoka and Saga prefectures.

 

Genkai Nadaemon (Japanese: 玄海灘衛門): A purported sea merchant with strong ties to pirates and the Matsūra faction.  He is probably related to the Ōuchi clan, though this is never confirmed. He protects Tanbano Hisamaro and his son, Tajumaru (Jukai) while they are being pursued by agents of the shōgun. He fails in his duty because his wooden leg breaks in the middle of an attack. Hisamaro is killed; Nadaemon then takes Tajumaru to China to train as a doctor. He is Genkai Namitarō’s father.

 

Genkai Namitarō (Japanese:玄海浪太郎): A pirate who allows Jukai and Sakuzō to live on an estate on the mountain of Kurama in exchange for free medical treatment for himself and his crew. He brings Jukai rare books, medicines, and tools. Genkai Nadaemon is his father.

 

Genpei War (Japanese: 源平合戦, 1180–1185) The Genpei War was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as shōgun in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura.

 

Gojō Bridge (Japanese: 五条大橋) Gojo Bridge, or Gojo Ohashi Bridge, is a bridge in Kyoto, Japan, spanning the Kamo River. The bridge is known as the site of Minamoto no Yoshitsune's encounter with Benkei. A sculpture near the bridge depicts the meeting.

 

Gonsō Temple (Japanese: 厳聰寺) Tajumaru (Jukai) sought lodging in this temple while he was looking for Yōda, a hermit who lives on Mount Wutai.

 

Hagurade Wanokami (Japanese: 羽倉出羽守) Hagurade Wanokami was the official head of Mount Inari’s shrine. He threw his support behind Honekawa Dōken and his men during the Ōnin War (1467-77).

 

Hakama (Japanese: 袴)  Hakama are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Originally stemming from the trousers worn by members of the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. They are worn over a kimono specially adapted for wearing hakama.

 

Hakata (Japanese: 博多) Hakata is one of the oldest cities in Japan. In the Middle Ages, Hakata was a base for merchants who traded with China and Korea; the city housed Japan's first Chinatown. Hakata was burned down by many wars, including the Mongol invasions. The Chinese physician Gōshō lived in Hakata for three years.

 

Hall of Hell (Japanese: 地獄堂) The Hall of Hell is a fictional temple located in Fushimi, Japan in the Unryū temple complex (which is also fictional). Unkei, a Buddhist image carver, made forty-eight statues of demons and sealed them inside a temple. Over time, this temple became known as the Hall of Hell.

 

Hamara Genyōhiken (Japanese: 破魔羅幻妖秘拳) Hamara Genyōhiken translates, roughly, to “monster and spirit exorcism.” It is a magical discipline taught to Jukai by his master, Yōda. He uses it to repel and exorcise demons and evil spirits.

 

Hangzhou (Chinese: 杭州) Hangzhou is the capital of the province of Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou has been one of China's most renowned and prosperous cities for much of the last millennium.  Tajumaru (Jukai) arrived there by boat after his sea voyage with Nadaemon and Namitarō.

 

Hatakeyama Yoshinari (Japanese: 畠山義就,1437? – January 21, 1491 ) Hatakeyama Yoshinari was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord (daimyō) of the Muromachi period, who is most known for his rivalry with Hatakeyama Masanaga over the position of Kanrei, or shōgun's deputy. This rivalry grew out of the larger conflict between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen, which escalated into the Ōnin War.

 

Hibikimaru (Japanese: 響丸) Hibikimaru is the name of Akamano Gotarō’s ship.

 

Hino Eishi (Japanese: 日野栄子) Hino Eishi is the wife of shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimochi and mother of Ashikaga Yoshikazu. She summons Tanbano Hisamaro to the imperial court after her son falls from a horse.

 

Hippocrates (Greek: πποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, c. 460 – c. 370 BC)  Hippocrates was a Greek physician of Classical Greece. He is traditionally referred to as the "Father of Medicine" in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field, such as the use of prognosis and clinical observation and the systematic categorization of diseases. The Hippocratic school of medicine revolutionized ancient Greek medicine, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields with which it had traditionally been associated (magic and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession.

 

Hirado (Japanese: 平戸市) Hirado  is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. Akamano Gotarō sailed to Hirado after dropping of Tanbano Hisamaro and his son Tajumaru with Genkai Namitarō.

 

Hirakata Yoshihisa (Japanese: 平方吉久) Hirakata Yoshihasa is Chin Uiro’s natural son. He acts as a go-between for Tanbano Hisamaro and Genkai Nadaemon.

 

Hizen (Japanese: 肥前国) Hizen was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. It did not include the regions of Tsushima and Iki that are now part of modern Nagasaki Prefecture. The city of Karatsu was in the province of Hizen.

 

Hokuriku Road (Japanese: 北陸道) The Hokuriku Road goes north from Kurama through Arachi Mountain Pass to several provinces that border the Sea of Japan. Hyakkimaru takes this road on his journey to find Daigo Kagemitsu.

 

Honekawa Dōken (Japanese: 骨皮道賢, date of birth unknown; date of death: April 22, 1468) Honekawa Dōken was the head of large group of roving bandits who lived during the Muromachi period. He was originally the head of a government police organization. During the Ōnin War in 1467, he served as the chief commander of foot soldiers of Hosokawa Katsumoto's army. Using Mt. Inari as an army base, Douken fought against the enemy by setting fires and harassing the enemy. In 1468, he was killed by Asakura Toshikage. He is believed to have been attacked while he was disguised as a woman to flee from his enemies.

 

Hosokawa Clan (Japanese: 細川氏) Hosokawa is a Japanese samurai kin group or clan. The clan was descended from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa himself, through the Ashikaga Clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate’s administration.

 

Hosokawa Katsumoto (Japanese: 細川勝元) Hosokawa Katsumoto was the leader of a powerful military faction in medieval Japan whose dispute with Yamana Sōzen, the head of the powerful Yamana Clan, resulted in the Ōnin War (1467–77).

 

Hosoki Ataemon (Japanese: 細木太与衛門) Hosoki Ataemon is an ashigaru captain that has served in many campaigns; he tells Hyakkimaru that Daigo Kagetmitsu headed north seventeen years before the start of the Ōnin War (1467-77).

 

Hua Tuo (Chinese: 華佗,  140–208), Hua Tuo was a Chinese physician. Historical texts record Hua Tuo as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery. Besides being respected for his expertise in surgery and anesthesia, Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture and herbal medicine.

 

Hyakkimaru (Japanese:百鬼丸) Discovered as an infant by Jukai near Iwakura Shrine on the banks of the Takano River. His eyes, limbs, and sensory perceptive organs are all missing when he is discovered.

 

Hyōtankuzure (Japanese: 瓢箪崩れ) A mountain set opposite Konpira near the Takano River. Hyoutankuzure represents the element of light (yang), while Konpira represents the element of darkness (yin). 

 

Iio Koretane (Japanese: 飯尾之種  1423 - 1473) Iio Koretane served as a magistrate of the government office; he also served as a magistrate for more than 20 temples and shrines. His loyalty was to shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. He played an active role supporting the shōgun during the Ōnin War.

 

Iki (Japanese: 壱岐島) Iki is an archipelago in the Tsushima Strait. The islands were under the rule of the Matsūra clan, who developed trade and commercial relations between Korea, Tsushima, Iki and Kyūshū. The islands were devastated by the Kamakura period Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 during which time many of its inhabitants were slaughtered. The islands were a main base for the Japanese pirates, who plundered coastal settlements in Korea and China.

 

Imazu (Japanese: 今津) Imazu was a town located in what is now the Takashima District in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It was the center of the district.  Hyakkimaru passes by Imazu on his travels.

 

In Senju (Japanese: 殷千樹) In Senju was a general who was captured by the Oirat commander Esen in China. His wife and daughter were killed when he tried to escape; he swore revenge and was given a famous sword made by Muramasa to enact it. This sword eventually makes its way into Hyakkimaru’s hands via the pirate Namitarō.

 

Inari Shrine (Japanese: 稲荷社) There are many thousands of Inari Shrines in Japan, but the one in this novel is the head shrine of all of these, located on Mount Inari near the city of Kyōto. It is used as the base of Honekawa Dōken (a general of the Eastern Army who backed Hosokawa Katsumoto) during the Ōnin War (1467-77).

 

Ise Province (Japanese: 伊勢) Ise was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. It is near the city of Kyōto.

 

Ise Sadachika (Japanese: 伊勢貞親, 1417 - February 27, 1473) Ise Sadachika was the head of the chief governing body within the shogunate during the Muromachi period. Sadachika raised young shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. In 1464, when Yoshimasa's legal wife, Tomiko Hino, gave birth to a boy (Ashikaga Yoshihisa), Sadachika became his foster father. Before Yoshihisa was born, it had been decided that Yoshimasa's younger brother Ashikaga Yoshimi would be the next shōgun; however, with the birth of Yoshimasa's son, a dispute over who would become the next shogun broke out between Yoshimasa and Yoshimi. In the same year, Sadachika, Yoshihisa's foster father, schemed to discredit Yoshimi by starting a rumor that Yoshimi was planning a rebellion. Yoshimi sought the help of Hosokawa Katsumoto, which resulted in Sadachika being accused of bringing false charges and driven out of his province. In the following year, 1467, a fight broke out between Hosokawa Katsumoto and  Yamana Sōzen, which developed into the Ōnin War. In 1471, he resigned from his position and joined priesthood. He died in 1473, at the age of 57.

 

Ise Sadayuki (Japanese: 伊貞行) Ise Sadayuki was the shōgun’s steward in 1412. He presided over Tanbano Hisamaro’s summons to the imperial court.

 

Isshiki Norichika (Japanese: 一色教親) Isshiki Norichika was an illegitimate member of the Isshiki clan and served as military governor of Ise Province in the Muromachi period. He shared duties with Hosokawa Katsumoto (who was the shōgun’s deputy) during the Hōtoku era, 1449-1452.

 

Ishō (Chinese: 医生)  The Chinese word for “doctor.” Sakuzō asks what the Chinese call doctors while Jukai is treating his battle wounds.

 

Isshiki Clan (Japanese: 一色氏) Isshiki clan is a Japanese kin group of the warring states period of Japan. The Isshiki held prominent offices in the bureaucracy of the Ashikaga shogunate. The Isshiki were one of four clans with the right to be head of the war department. The family lost its domains during the wars of the Sengoku period.

 

Iwakura Shrine (Japanese: 磐座大明神) A sacred site at the foot of the mountain of Hyōtankuzure, believed to be blessed by a compassionate god. The markers for the shrine are large, irregular boulders.

 

Iwami Province (Japanese: 石見国) Iwami was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Shimane Prefecture. During the Muromachi and Warring States periods, the battles were very furious in this area. Daigo Kagemitsu was a military governor of the province when Hyakkimaru was born in 1449.

 

Izumi: See Senshū.

 

Izumo Province (Japanese: 出雲) Izumo Province was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. In Japanese mythology, the entrance to Yomi (Hell, land of the dead) was located within the province, and was sealed by the god Izanagi by placing a large boulder over the entrance.

 

Japan (Japanese: 日本) Japan is an island country in East Asia, located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. Part of the Ring of Fire, Japan spans an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population on narrow coastal plains.

 Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the kingdoms of Japan became unified under an emperor and the imperial court based in Kyōto. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (samurai).

Japan, specifically Mount Kurama and the area around Kyōto, is the primary setting for this novel.

 

Java (Japanese: 爪哇島 ジャバ) Java is an island that lies between Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. The Chinese Emperor Zhu Di sends messengers to Java (among other nations) after his ascension to the throne.

 

Jibu Sadamasa (Japanese: 治部貞政) Jibu Sadamasa was a magistrate for the shōgun during the Hōtoku era (1449-1452).

 

 Jingisukan (Japanese: 成吉思汗) This is a Hokkaido specialty consisting of grilled mutton or lamb. The dish is always prepared table-side on the convex grills. The guests are served with sliced meat, which can be plain or marinated, and are then encouraged to grill the meat themselves, along with various vegetables such as onions, cabbage, leeks, or peppers.

 

Jingnan Campaign (Chinese:靖難之役) The Jingnan campaign, or Jingnan rebellion, was a three-year civil war from 1399–1402 in the early years of the Ming dynasty of China. It occurred between two descendants of the Ming dynasty's founder Zhu Yuanzhang: his grandson Zhu Yunwen by his first son, and Zhu Yuanzhang's fifth son Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan. Though Zhu Yunwen had been the chosen crown prince of Zhu Yuanzhang and been made Emperor upon the death of his grandfather in 1398, friction began immediately after Yuanzhang's death. Zhu Yunwen began arresting Zhu Yuanzhang's other sons immediately, seeking to decrease their threat. But within a year open military conflict began, and the war continued until the forces of the Prince of Yan captured the imperial capital of Nanking. The fall of Nanking was followed by the demise of Zhu Yunwen, known as the Jianwen Emperor, and Zhu Di was crowned the Ming Dynasty's third Emperor.

 

Jizo (Japanese: 地蔵) Jizo is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism. He is often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, as well as the guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses. He is usually depicted as a monk with a halo around his shaved head. He carries a staff to force open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel to light up the darkness.

 

Jō (Japanese:丈) A jou is a Japanese unit of measurement that corresponds to about 10 feet (3 meters).

 

Jukai (Japanese: 寿海) A former doctor for the Japanese imperial court who now treats the common people. His surname is Tanbano. He discovered Hyakkimaru abandoned in the Takano River and adopted him.

 

Junk (Chinese: 戎克; Japanese: ジャンク)  From the 13^th to 15^th centuries, junks were the largest and most advanced ships in the world. These wooden sailing ships were used by merchants to carry goods along rivers and canals or by sea. They were also used by pirates, who stole from the merchant ships. Junks were the first ships to have rudders, which allowed them to be steered easily. In this novel (and in history), Zhang He commands a fleet of junk ships on a long sea voyage to gather information about the world for the Chinese Emperor Zhu Di.

 

Kaede (Japanese: 鶏冠井) Kaede is the name of Sakuzō’s home village.

 

Kaga Province (Japanese: 加賀国) Kaga was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku (northwestern) region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit, which refers to a series of roads that connected the capitals of each of the provinces that made up the region.

 

Kamakura shogunate (Japanese: 鎌倉幕府) The Kamakura shogunate was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. The Kamakura shōguns were members of the Minamoto clan until 1226, the Fujiwara clan until 1252, and the last six were minor princes of the Imperial family. The Kamakura shogunate was overthrown in the Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo in 1333, re-establishing imperial rule until Ashikaga Takauji overthrew the Imperial government and founded the Ashikaga shogunate in 1336.

 

Kamigoryō Shrine (Japanese: 上御霊神社) Kami-goryō Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kyōto. On January 1, 1467,  a battle broke out at, or just outside, the shrine, between Hatakeyama Masanaga and Hatakeyama Yoshinari, over the position of shōgun’s deputy. This is said to mark the beginning of the Ōnin War, which raged for ten years, devastating Kyōto and leading into the 130-year period of nationwide civil war known as the Warring States Period.

 

Kamo River (Japanese: 鴨川) The Kamo River is located in Kyōto Prefecture, Japan. The water level of the river is usually relatively low, but during the rainy season, the pathways sometimes flood in their lower stretches. The encounter between Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Benkei at Gojō Bridge (not the present one, but presumably Matsubara Bridge) over the river is a famous legend set in the late Heian period.

 

Kamo River Dispensary (Japanese: 鴨川悲田院) The Kamo River Dispensary was a workhouse and charity run out of a Buddhist temple in Kyōto. It was established in the 700s by the Japanese Empress Kōmyō. Jukai’s mother, Seiko, went there once or twice a month to procure additional medical supplies for herself and her husband.

 

Kamogawara Heisuke (Japanese:  加茂河原平助) Kamogawa Heisuke was a would-be rapist whose life Hyakkimaru spared while investigating screams coming from a noble estate in Kyōto. Hyakkimaru later uses him to track down information about his birth father.

 

Kanmu (Japanese: 桓武) See Emperor Kanmu.

 

Kannon (Japanese: 観音) The proper Japanese name of this Buddhist god is Kanzeon Bosatsu, in English often called a goddess of compassion and mercy. Kannon is not a Buddha, but a Bodhisattva, a being who is able to achieve Nirvana but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings. Kannon is extremely popular in Japan, mostly because of her efficacy at answering prayers and the many miracles attributed to her, and many temples are named after her.

 

Karatsu (Japanese: 唐津) Karatsu is a coastal city in Saga Prefecture on Kyūshū. In the past, Karatsu was a major stop for ships making the journey towards Korea and China because it is one of the closest Japanese cities to the Korean Peninsula. Tanbano Hisamaro and his son Tajumaru (Jukai) stop in Karatsu before making the voyage to China.

 

Katsura River (Japanese: 桂川) The Katsura River is a continuation of two other rivers, the Hozu River, a small, speedy river which begins in the mountains near Kameoka and then slithers through the mountains separating Kameoka and Kyōto; and the Ōi River, which emerges from those mountains and expands into a shallow, slow-flowing river.

 

Kazunen (Japanese: 万念 ) Kazunen was one of the potential names of the disciple who survived the fire at the Hall of Hell that was  given to Jukai by a friendly monk.

 

Kibune (Japanese: 貴布禰) Kibune is an estate near Kurama that the Daigo Clan lived in in 1449. Lord Taga Takatada mentioned it in the report he gave Hyakkimaru.

 

Kii (Japanese: 紀伊国,) Kii was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture.

 

Kintarō (Japanese: 金太郎) Kintarō is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a mountain witch on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, he became a loyal follower of Minamoto no Yorimitsu under the new name Sakata no Kintoki (坂田 金時).  Kintarō is supposedly based on a real person, Sakata Kintoki, who lived during the Heian period and probably came from what is now the city of Minamiashigara, Kanagawa.

 

Kishin (Japanese:鬼神) Literally “demon god;” this is usually translated as “fierce god” or “fierce deity.” One of these beings may have been responsible for saving the baby and Jukai from the evil spirit in the prologue.

 

Kiyo Sadatsuna (Japanese: 清貞綱) Kiyo Sadatsuna was a magistrate for the shōgun during the Hōtoku era (1449-1452).

 

Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা) Kolkata, previously Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India. The physician Dasgupta’s disciples practice there.

 

Konpira (Japanese: 金毘羅) Konpira is mountain set opposite Hyōtankuzure near the Takano River. It has a shrine dedicated to sailors and seafaring.  Hyōtankuzure represents the element of light (yang), while Konpira represents the element of darkness (yin).

 

Kosode (Japanese:小袖) A kosode was a type of short-sleeved Japanese garment and the direct predecessor of the kimono. Though its component parts directly parallel those of the kimono, its proportions differed, typically having a wider body, a longer collar and narrower sleeves. The sleeves of the kosode were typically sewn to the body entirely, and often featured heavily rounded outer edges.

The kosode was worn in Japan as common, everyday dress by both men and women.

 

Kōchin (Japanese: 柯枝) The Chinese Emperor Zhu Di sends messengers to Kōchin, and to other foreign cities, after his ascension to the throne.

 

Kuga (Japanese: 久我畷) is a mountain between Kyōto and Tōkyō (Tōkyō would have been called Edo during the time this was set).

 

Kurama (Japanese: 鞍馬)  Kurama is the name of the mountain where Jukai and Sakuzō live; this is where Hyakkimaru grows up. It is also the site of a famous Buddhist temple founded in the eighth century. The town of Kurama is located near Kyōto, the ancient capital of Japan.

 

Kurama Datengo (Japanese: 座間田典五) Kurama Datengo is the false name that Hyakkimaru gives himself when he sneaks into the ashigaru camp seeking information about Daigo Kagemitsu. It is a nonsense name comprised of the same sounds as Kurama (the mountain where he was raised) and tengu (the Buddhist spirits or deities who taught the legendary warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune how to use a sword).

 

Kurama Temple (Japanese: 鞍馬寺) Kurama Temple is a temple in the far north of Kyōto, Japan which houses some National Treasures of Japan. It was a member of the Tendai sect of Buddhism until 1949 when it founded its own religious body. The object of worship is esoteric and unique to the temple. It is situated in secluded wilderness at the base of Mount Kurama. It is still believed today that tengu and other mountain spirits live in this area.

 

Karasumadono Palace (烏丸殿) Karasumadono Palace was one of residential palaces in Medieval Kyōto. It was where Nobutada Oda died in battle during the Honnōji Incident. It is thought that the residence was located around the area of Nakagyo Ward in Kyōto. The palace survived several disasters such as fires, but it was burned down in an arson attack on December 25, 1477 (by cruel coincidence, it was the day the Ōnin War practically ended as the result of the retreat of the Ōuchi clan).

 

Kusunoki Masashige (Japanese: 楠木 正成, 1294 – 4 July 1336) Kusuonoki Masashige was a Japanese samurai of the Kamakura period remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the imperial court. Kusunoki remained loyal to the unpopular Emperor Go-Daigo after Ashikaga Takauji began to reverse the restoration. In the novel, spiritual descendants of the bandit army he led attack and kill Tanbano Seiko, Jukai’s mother.

 

Kyōgoku Mochikyo (Japanese: 京極持清) Kyōgoku Mochikyo was a warlord in the Muromachi period of Japan. He was the cousin of Taga Takatada and helped lead his army to support Hosokawa Katsumoto at the start of the Ōnin War.

 

Kyōto (Japanese:京都) Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan and was chosen as the seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese architecture following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyōto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi Period, Sengoku Period, and the Boshin War, such as the Ōnin War, the Honnō-ji Incident, the Kinmon incident and the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. Upon the Imperial Court victory over the Tokugawa shogunate, the capital was relocated to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration.  In the novel, Dororo lives in a burned-out temple in Kyōto.

 

Kyōtoku incident (Japanese: 享徳の乱) was a long series of skirmishes and conflicts fought for control of the Kantō region of Japan in the 15th century. The conflict began in 1454 with the assassination of Uesugi Noritada by Ashikaga Shigeuji. The Ashikaga, Uesugi, and other clans then leapt to battle, either defending or assaulting Shigeuji. The chaos ended in 1482, when a peace was negotiated.

 

Kyūshū (Japanese: 九州) Kyūshū is the third largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (excluding Okinawa). Being the nearest island to the Asian continent, historically it is the gateway to Japan. The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

 

Lake Biwa (Japanese: 琵琶湖) Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshū), northeast of the former capital city of Kyōto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles.

 

Longmen Grottoes (Chinese: 龍門石窟) The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan (香山) and Longmenshan, running east and west. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. 30% date from the Northern Wei and 60% from the Tang dynasty, caves from other periods accounting for less than 10% of the total Starting with the Northern Wei Dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, Wu Zetian, members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.

 

Mad Dog (Japanese: 狂犬) This is the nickname given to mercenaries who were hired on to put down peasant uprisings and defend the shōgun from conflict between clans. A group of them rapes and kills Tanbano Seiko (nee Fujiwara).

 

Malacca (Japanese: 満刺加, マラッカ) Malacca is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. The Chinese Emperor Zhu Di sends messengers to Malacca (among other nations) after his ascension to the throne.

 

Manjushri (Chinese: 文殊) Manjushri is a bodhisattva associated with prajñā (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit.

 

Mara (Japanese: マーラ)  In Buddhism, is the demonic celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha) by trying to seduce him with the vision of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara's daughters. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth and desire.

 

Marco Polo Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.

 

Matsuda Buzennokami (Japanese: 松田豊前守) was a general during the Ōnin War (1467-1477). In the novel, he is one of the samurai lords in attendance when Tanbano Hisamaro disgraces himself before his colleagues and government officials by speaking against magic, blessings, and curses.

 

Matsura (Japanese: 末盧国) Matsura was an ancient nation that bordered what is modern-day Karatsu Bay. Little is known about it, but it is believed that many Chinese explorers first landed in Matsura and spread Buddhism to the Japanese in the early 6^th century. Tanbano Hisamaro and his son, Tajumaru (Jukai) sail past Karatsu Bay as part of their sea voyage with Genkai Namitarō.

 

Matsūra (Japanese:松浦) Matsūra is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Several islands are part of Matsūra.  Takashima, which is within the borders of the modern town, is the location where the Mongol invasions of Japan floundered due to the winds of typhoons in 1274 and 1281, giving rise to the legend of the kamikaze.  

 

Matsūra Faction (Japanese: 松浦党)The Matsūra Faction was a federation of samurai lords and pirates organized by the Matsūra clan head.  The faction was divided into 48 groups and was also known as the Matsūra 48 Faction. Their navy was internationally well-known and respected; they played a major role in many Japanese sea battles throughout history, mostly notably in the two attempted Mongol invasions of Japan.

 

Mazu (Japanese: 天妃) Mazu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Revered after her death as a tutelary deity of seafarers, including fishermen and sailors, her worship spread throughout China's coastal regions and overseas Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia. Zheng He was an ardent follower of Mazu.

 

Militant monks (Japanese: 僧兵) Militant monks were Buddhist warrior monks of both medieval and feudal Japan. At certain points in history, they held considerable power, obliging the imperial and military governments to collaborate. The prominence of the militant monks arose in parallel with the ascendancy of the Tendai school's influence between the 10^th and 17^th centuries. The warriors protected land and intimidated rival schools of Buddhism, becoming a significant factor in the spread of Buddhism and the development of different schools during the Kamakura period.

The militant monks of Japan shared many similarities with the European lay brothers, members of a monastic order who might not have been ordained. Much like the Teutonic Order, the warrior monks of Germany, and the crusading orders,  the home temple of a monastic order might have had several, if not dozens or a hundred, smaller monasteries, training halls, and subordinate temples connected to it.

 

Mimasaka Province (Japanese: 美作国) Mimasaka Province was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today northeastern Okayama Prefecture. Mimasaka was landlocked, and was often ruled by the samurai lord in Bizen. Mimasaka is the home of the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, the author of The Book of Five Rings. Daigo Kagemitsu was a military governor of the province when Hyakkimaru was born in 1449.

 

Minamoto no Yoritomo (Japanese: 源 頼朝, May 9, 1147 – February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199. He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent after his death.

Yoritomo was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and belonged to Seiwa Genji's prestigious Kawachi Genji family. After setting himself the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, he led his clan against the Taira clan from his capital in Kamakura, beginning the Genpei War in 1180. After five years of war, he finally defeated the Taira clan in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo thus established the supremacy of the warrior samurai caste and the first shogunate at Kamakura, beginning the feudal age in Japan which lasted until the mid-19th century.

 

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (Japanese: 源 義朝, (1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became shōgun and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of Japan.

 

Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Japanese: 源 義経, c. 1159 – June 15, 1189) was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally.

 

Minowa (Japanese: 箕輪) Minowa is a town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Jukai takes a boat there to find Kazunen, who witnessed the burning of the Hall of Hell.

 

Mizunohame (Japanese: 罔像女) Mizunohame is a deity (Shinto religion) that appears in Japanese mythology. She is a representative deity of water in Japan. There is a shrine to her at Kibune.

 

Momotarō (Japanese:桃太郎) Momotarō is a Japanese folk hero who earned the trust of a pheasant, monkey and dog by feeding them dumplings. Together, they headed for Onigashima, the island of demons, and defeated all the demons and monsters. Momotarō’s name means “peach boy,” since he was born from a peach.

 

Mongol invasions of Japan (Japanese: 元寇) The Mongol invasions of Japan, which took place in 1274 and 1281, were major military efforts taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty to conquer the Japanese archipelago. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of macro-historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in the history of Japan. The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction and are the earliest events for which the word kamikaze ("divine wind") is widely used, originating in reference to the two typhoons that decimated the Mongol fleets.

 

Mount Emei (Chinese: 峨眉山) Mount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.

 

Mount Hyōtan (Japanese: 瓢箪来るれ山) Another name for the mountain of Hyōtankuzure.

 

Mount Jiuhua (Chinese: 九華山) Mount Jiuhua (s located in Chizhou, Anhui Province in China is an important Buddhist site and natural scenic spot. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China.

 

Mount Kurama (Japanese: 鞍馬山) See Kurama.

 

Mount Potalaka (Chinese: 補陀洛伽山) Mount Potalaka, which means "brilliance," is the mythical dwelling of the Buddhist bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, said to exist in the seas south of India.

 

Mount Wutai (Chinese:五台山)  Mount Wutai is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks roughly corresponding to the cardinal directions. The north peak is the highest point in northern China.

 

Muramasa (Japanese: 村正, born before 1501) Muramasa, commonly known as Sengo Muramasa, was a famous swordsmith who founded the Muramasa school and lived during the Muromachi period (14th to 16th centuries) in Kuwana, Ise Province, Japan (current Kuwana, Mie) .In spite of their original reputation as fine blades favored by the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu and his vassals, the katana swords made by Muramasa gradually became a symbol of the anti-Tokugawa movement. In lore and popular culture from the 18th century onward, the swords have been regarded as yōtō (妖刀, "wicked katana").

 

Muromachi (Japanese: 室町第) A town to the west of the Flower Palace in Kyōto, where the Ashikaga shōguns lived.

 

Musashi Province (武蔵国) Musashi was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. Musashi was the largest province in the Kantō region.

 

Mutou Yasuchika (Japanese: 武藤康比) Mutō Yasuchika was one of the men that Namitarō employed as a spy when he was assembling support near Kyōto to help avenge the wrongful death of Ōuchi Yoshihiro. Hyakkimaru goes to seek him out in Kyōto.

 

Myōshō Temple (Japanese :妙照寺) This temple is part of the Unryū temple complex in Fushimi. While there are many temples with the same name throughout Japan, the one in the novel appears to be entirely fictional.

 

Nagato (Japanese: 長門国) Nagato was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces.

 

Naginata (Japanese: 薙刀) A naginata is a weapon that consists of a wooden or metal pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end; it is similar to the Chinese guan dao or the European glaive. The 30 cm to 60 cm (11.8 inches to 23.6 inches) naginata blade is forged in the same manner as traditional Japanese swords.

 

Nandina (Japanese: 南天 ) Nandina, commonly known as heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo, is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. Sakuzō gives Hyakkimaru a medicine made with nandina to help him learn how to see. The berries contain alkaloids such as nantenine, which is used in scientific research as an antidote to MDMA (ecstasy).

 

Nanking (Chinese: 南京) Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu province of China. Situated in the Yangtze River Delta, Nanking has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century on. It is one of the world's largest inland ports.

 

Nishigaoka (Japanese:西岡) This is the name of the village that rose up against their feudal lords under Sakuzō and a number of other local samurai.

 

Northern Court (Japanese: 北朝) The Northern Court, also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Court emperors. They were opposed to the Southern Court, whose claim to imperial rule was more legitimate.

 

Noto Province (Japanese: 能登国) Noto was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture, including the Noto Peninsula, which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces to the south, and was surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the east, north and west.

Oirat (Mongolian: Ойрад) Oirat are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and Western Mongolia.

 

Onimaru (Japanese: 鬼丸) Onimaru is one of the proposed names for the infant Hyakkimaru. Onimaru uses the demon kanji along with medieval Japan’s common name kanji for boys’ names. It means “demon boy.”

 

Onitarō (Japanese:鬼太郎) Onitarō is one of the proposed names for the infant Hyakkimaru. It literally means “demon boy,” from the kanji for “demon”  and the kanji for “boy.”

 

Oniwakamaru (Japanese: 鬼若丸)  See Hyakkimaru.

 

Onmyōdō (Japanese: 陰陽道) Literally “The Way of Yin and Yang.” This is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is a very eclectic blend, including Wu Xing and Godai (Five Elements), yin and yang, shikigami, and divination to ofuda and alchemy. Over the centuries, the various arts and practices of onmyōdō gradually became absorbed into Shinto and Buddhist tradition.

 

Oryō (Japanese: お涼) Oryō is Sakuzō’s oldest daughter. She and her family come to live with Sakuzō at the mountain estate on Mount Kurama at Jukai’s invitation.

 

Osamu Tezuka (Japanese: 手塚 治虫, b. 手塚 治; 3 November 1928 – 9 February 1989) Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga," "the Godfather of Manga,” and "the God of Manga." He is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Osamu Tezuka authored the original Dororo manga in 1967-68.

 

Otokuni (Japanese:乙訓郡)  Otokuni is a region in Yamashiro province. Hosokawa Katsumoto sent troops through it to chase down Sakuzō after a failed peasant uprising.in 1447.

 

Ōhara (Japanese: 大原) Ohara is a small rural town in the mountains located northeast of Kyōto, directly east of Kurama. It is home to several Buddhist temples—all Tendai branch—including Sanzen-in, considered the main complex. Ohara is considered the founding place of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, which features prominently in this novel.

 

Ōnin War (Japanese: 応仁の乱) The Ōnin War was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477. Ōnin refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei era. A dispute between a high official, Hosokawa Katsumoto, and a regional lord, Yamana Sōzen, escalated into a nationwide civil war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyō in many regions of Japan. The war initiated the Sengoku period, "the Warring States period." This period was a long, drawn-out struggle for domination by individual samurai lords, resulting in a mass power struggle between the various houses to dominate the whole of Japan.

 

Ōtomo Clan (Japanese: 大友氏) The Ōtomo Clan was a Japanese family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. As the Ōtomo were one of the major clans of Kyūshū, along with the Shōni and the Shimazu, they had a central role in organizing efforts against the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. They also played an important role in the establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate, in the 1330s.

 

Ōuchi Clan (Japanese: 大内氏) The Ōuchi Clan was one of the most powerful and important families in western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 12^th to 14^th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi, comprised six provinces at their height, and the Ōuchi played a major role in supporting the Ashikaga in the  long civil wars against the Imperial Court.

 

Ōuchi Hiroshige (Japanese: 大内弘茂) Ōuchi Hiroshige  was a general who lived during the early Muromachi period. He was  a younger brother of the tenth family head, Yoshihiro Ōuchi.

During the Oei War in 1399, he joined his older brother in holding a castle in against the army of the led by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu; however, his older brother was killed in the attack of the besieging army by setting fire to the castle. Hiroshige surrendered to Yoshimitsu. Hiroshige was defeated and killed by Ōuchi Moriharu shortly after he succeeded as clan head.

 

Ōuchi Masahiro (Japanese: 大内 政弘, September 18, 1446 – October 6, 1495) Ōuchi Masahiro was a member of the Ōuchi clan and general in the Ōnin War, serving Yamana Sōzen. He battled numerous times with Yamana's rival, Hosokawa Katsumoto, at one point commanding twenty thousand men and two thousand boats, moving his troops by land as well as by sea.

 

Ōuchi Moriharu (Japanese: 盛見) Ōuchi Moruharu killed Ōuchi  Hiroshige, his close relative, to gain control of the Ōuchi clan. Genkai Nadaemon (himself a part of the Ōuchi clan) was so disgusted by this act that he discarded his samurai status and became a pirate.

 

Ōuchi Yoshihiro (Japanese: 大内義弘, 1356–1400), Ōuchi Yoshihiro was a member of the Ōuchi clan. In 1391, Yoshihiro led an army against the southern court adherents near Kyōto the name of the shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. He convinced the Emperor of the southern court to surrender, bringing the northern and southern courts of Japan back together after their long separation.

Afterwards, Yoshihiro revolted against the shōgun. In December 1399, troops supporting the shogunate set fire to the city where Yoshihiro’s army was encamped.  Yoshihiro committed suicide to avoid being killed by the invading forces serving under the shōgun.

 

Owari Province (Japanese:尾張国) Owari was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces.

 

Quanzhō (Chinese: 泉州) Quanzhō, is a port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. Quanzhō was China's major port for foreign traders, who knew it as Zaiton, during the 11th through 14th centuries. It was visited by both Marco Polo, who praised it as one of the most prosperous and glorious cities in the world. It was also the naval base from which the Mongol attacks on Japan and Java were primarily launched.

 

Rakshasa (Sanskrit: राक्षस) Rakshasha is a supernatural being in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Rakshasas are also called "man-eaters." The terms asura and rakshasa are sometimes used interchangeably.

 

Rashōmon Gate (Japanese: 羅生門) Rashōmon was the gate built at the southern end of the monumental Suzaku Avenue in the ancient Japanese cities of Nara and Kyōto, in accordance with the Chinese grid-patterned city layout. The gate's name in modern Japanese is Rajōmon. Rajō (羅城) refers to city walls and mon (門) means "gate," so Rajōmon signifies the main city gate.

The Rashōmon  Gate in Kyōto was the grander of the two city gates built during the Heian period (794–1185). Built in 789, it was 106 feet (32 m) wide by 26 feet (7.9 m) high, with a 75-foot (23 m) stone wall and topped by a ridge-pole. By the 12^th century it had fallen into disrepair and had become an unsavory place, with a reputation as a hideout for thieves and other disreputable characters. People would abandon corpses and unwanted babies at the gate.

The ruined gate is the central setting — and provides the title — for Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story "Rashōmon" and for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film of the same name. Akutagawa's use of the gate was deliberately symbolic, with the gate's ruined state representing the moral and physical decay of Japanese civilization and culture.

 

Rennyo (Japanese:蓮如, 1415-1499 ) Rennyo was the 8th head priest of the Hongan Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of the founder Shinran. During the conflict of the Ōnin War and the subsequent warfare that spread throughout Japan, Rennyo was able to unite most of the disparate factions of Buddhism under the Hongan Temple, reform existing liturgy and practices, and broaden support among different classes of society. The monks of a rival faction noticed Rennyo's successes in the provinces around Kyōto. In 1465, Mt. Hiei sent a band of warrior monks to Hongan Temple and destroyed most of the temple complex. The temple was almost entirely destroyed before armed men from the Takada congregation were able to chase away the attackers. According to one account, Rennyo was able to fleet at the last minute due to timely assistance from a cooper who saw the attackers coming, and led Rennyo out through the back.

 

Ri (Japanese: 里) A ri is a Japanese unit of measurement that corresponds to about two and a half miles (four kilometers).

 

Ri (Taiwanese: 李) Ri was a Taiwanese physician who Gōshō studied with briefly when he was twenty years old. Ri relied strongly on the branch of medicine that uses curses and magic.

 

Rindōjin (Japanese: 藺道人) A physician active in the Tang dynasty of China. He wrote Secrets of Tissue Repair, a prized scroll in Jukai’s library.

 

Ritsuryō (Japanese:律令制) Criminal, administrative and civil codes (forming the basis of ancient East Asian law; these codes originally came from China).

 

Saichō (Japanese: 最澄, September 15, 767 – June 26, 822) Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism based on the Chinese Tiantai school he was exposed to during his trip to China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai on Mount Hiei near Kyōto. He is also said to have been the first to bring tea to Japan. After his death, he was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師).

 

Saitō Motochika (Japanese: 斉藤基周)　Saitō Motochika was a magistrate for the shōgun during the Hōtoku era (1449-1452).

 

Saitō Musashibō Benkei (Japanese: 西塔武蔵坊弁慶, 1155–1189), popularly known as simply Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk (sōhei) who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period (794–1185). Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue warrior. He later came to respect and serve the famous warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore, showcased in many ancient and modern literature and productions.

Yoshitsune defeated Benkei in a duel at Gojo bridge in Kyōto. From then on, Benkei became Yoshitsune's retainer, eventually dying with him at the Siege of Koromogawa.

 

Sakuzō (Japanese: 作蔵) Jukai’s live-in helper in the estate built on the mountain of Kurama. He is missing one leg, which has been replaced by a prosthesis made by Jukai. His vocal chords were also severely damaged when he took an arrow to the throat during a peasant uprising that he led, so he has difficulty speaking.

 

Sarugaku (Japanese: 猿楽) Sarugaku, literally “monkey fun,” was a form of theater popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries. It originated from "sangaku," a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day circus, consisting mostly of acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime, sometimes combined with drum dancing. Over time, the term sarugaku gave way to the current nomenclature, Noh.

 

Sashi family (Japanese: 佐志一族) The Sashi family introduced the pirate Genkai Nadaemon to the pirate king Sōdasa Emontarō. The Sashi family and Nadaemon’s family were on friendly terms from then on.

 

Sashi Yobuko (Japanese: 佐志呼子) Sashi Yobuko was Genkai Namitarō’s betrothed. She died when he was six years old.

 

Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日本海) The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the Russian mainland. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean.

 

Seiza (Japanese:正座 or 正坐, literally "proper sitting") is the Japanese term for the standard formal traditional way of sitting in Japan. To sit seiza-style, one must first be kneeling on the floor, folding one's legs underneath one's thighs, while resting the buttocks on the heels. The ankles are turned outward as the tops of the feet are lowered. Depending on the circumstances, the hands are folded modestly in the lap, or are placed palm down on the upper thighs with the fingers close together, or are placed on the floor next to the hips, with the knuckles rounded and touching the floor. There are codified traditional methods of entering and exiting the sitting position depending on occasion and type of clothing worn.

 

Senitsu (Chinese: 銭乙) A Chinese physician during the Northern Song dynasty who wrote several scrolls on child- and infant-rearing. Historians place his birth date at around 1032 A.D.

 

Senshū (Japanese: 泉州) Senshū, or Izumi, was a province of Japan. It lay in Kinai, and its area today composes the south-western part of Osaka Prefecture (south of the Yamato River; not including the city of Osaka itself). It included the southern portion of the large seaport of Sakai, and was usually held by whomever ruled Osaka Castle and Settsu Province. In this novel, Zheng He’s fleet makes port there.

 

Sentō Imperial Palace (Japanese: 京都仙洞御所)The Kyoto Sentō Imperial Palace is a large garden in Kyoto, Japan, formerly the grounds of a palace for retired emperors.

Sento Imperial Palace was completed in 1630 for Emperor Go-Mizunō's retirement. The palace was repeatedly destroyed by fire and reconstructed until a blaze in 1854, after which the Sentō palace was never rebuilt.

The palace grounds are located within the southeast corner of the Kyōto Imperial Palace, and entered via a stately wooden gate within its surrounding earthen wall. A carriage house with graceful triple gables sits just within, but still outside the garden's unadorned inner wall, whose gate leads directly to a fine view opening westward across the garden pond.

 

Settsu (Japanese: 摂津国) Settsu was a province of Japan, which today comprises the southeastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province. Most of Settsu's area comprises the modern day cities of Osaka and Kōbe. During the Sengoku period, the Miyoshi clan ruled Settsu and its neighbors, Izumi (Senshū) and Kawachi, until they were conquered by Oda Nobunaga.

 

Settsu Hanoi (Japanese: 摂津河内) Settsu Hanoi is a place in present day Onna, Okinawa in the far south of Japan. Sakuzō was the leader of an uprising in Settsu Hanoi.

 

Shaku (Japanese: 尺) A shaku is a unit of measurement, roughly equivalent to one imperial foot or about 30 centimeters.

 

Shandao (Chinese: 善導大師, 613-681) Shandao  was an influential writer for the Pure Land Buddhism, prominent in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. His writings had a strong influence on later Pure Land masters including Hōnen and Shinran in Japan.

 

Shaoxing wine (Chinese: (绍兴酒)  Shaoxing wine is one of the oldest forms of rice wine in China. The production process involves fermenting rice, water, and a small amount of wheat. Clear rather than cloudy, it has a dark amber color, with a mildly sweet, fragrant aroma. Aged Shaoxing wine can be consumed as a beverage, usually warmed beforehand.

 

Shiba Clan (Japanese: 斯波氏) The Shiba Clan was a Japanese clan descended from Ashikaga Yasuuji and the Seiwa-Genji. In the Kamakura period, the family was treated as a branch family of Ashikaga, which called themselves the Ashikaga family name, and it was not until the Muromachi period that Shiba was renamed as a family name. The clan held influence and territory in the provinces of Echizen Province and Owari Province, which they governed in the Muromachi period. They supported the Western Army during the Ōnin War.

 

Shiba Yoshiatsu (Japanese: 斯波義淳) Shiba Yoshiatsu was the regional governor of the area surrounding Kyōto when Tanbano Hiasamaro was a young man. He refused to act when Tanbano Hisamaro petitioned him to investigate his wife’s death and hold her murderers accountable.

 

Shiba Yoshikado (Japanese: Shiba Yoshikado 斯波義廉) Shiba Yoshikado (date of birth and death unknown) was a Japanese provincial military governor in the mid to late Muromachi period. He was the shōgun's deputy. In 1459, Shiba Yoshitoshi, the head of the Shiba clan, was removed from his position as head of the clan by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8^th shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate, though he did eventually become the head of the Shiba Clan many years later. He was the military governor of Owari Province, Echizen Province and Totomi Province.

 

Shibukawa (Japanese: 渋川) Shibukawa is in the northern extremity of the Kantō plains of central Gunma Prefecture. It is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Tokyo. To the west is Mount Haruna, and to the east is Mount Akagi.  Shibukawa is at a central point of the Japanese archipelago and is thus known as the Bellybutton of Japan.

 

Shibukawa Matsuyori (Japanese: 渋川満頼) In 1399, Nadaemon joined the side of Shōni Sadayori in a conflict over which clans should have prominence in the Matsūra Faction. Shibukawa Matsuyori’s side defeated the Shōni side, and the Matsūra Faction mended fences.

 

Shijō Clan (Japanese: 四条氏) The Shijō Clan was an offshoot of the Fujiwara Clan. They defended Shōkoku Temple on the side of the Eastern Army during the Ōnin War (1467-77). They lost many estates in Kyōto to fire during the war.

 

Shinosuke (Japanese: 鹿乃介) This is the name that Oniwakamaru (Hyakkimaru) gives a friendly deer on the mountain of Kurama.

 

Shizuhara (Japanese: 静原) A place in the region of Fukui, some 187 miles (301 kilometers) from Tōkyō, which would have been called Edo at the time period when this story is set. Sakuzō takes refuge with some woodcutters in Shizuhara after he flees from a  failed peasant uprising.

 

Shōgun (Japanese: 将軍) Shōgun was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shōguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country. Shōgun is the short form of Sei-i Taishōgun (征夷大将軍, "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians"), a high military title from the early Heian period in the 8th and 9th centuries. The shōgun's officials were collectively referred to as the bakufu (幕府, "tent government"); they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the imperial court retained only nominal authority. The tent symbolized the shōgun's role as the military's field commander, but also denoted that such an office was meant to be temporary. Nevertheless, the institution, known in English as the shogunate, persisted for nearly 700 years, ending when Tokugawa Yoshinobu relinquished the office to Emperor Meiji in 1867 as part of the Meiji Restoration.

 

Shōkoku Temple (Japanese: 相国寺) Shōkoku temple is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyōto, founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The entire temple complex was destroyed by fire in 1394, but reconstruction financed by Yoshimitsu followed soon after. The temple complex has been rebuilt many times over the centuries, notably during the Ōnin War. Shōkoku temple is considered to be one of the so-called Kyōto Gozan or "five great Zen temples of Kyōto." In the novel, Jukai’s mother Seiko is raped and murdered near a pond behind this temple.

 

Shōni Clan (Japanese: 少弐氏) The Shōni Clan was a family of Japanese nobles descended from the Fujiwara family, many of whom held high government offices in Kyūshū. Members of the family would play an important role in commanding the defense against the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281.

 

Shōni Sadayori (Japanese: 少弐貞頼) In 1399, Nadaemon joined the side of Sadayori in a conflict over which clans should have prominence in the Matsūra Faction. He was defeated, and the Matsūra Faction mended fences.

 

Shōrin Ryū (Japanese: 少林流) Shōrin Ryū is the Okinawan school of karate.

 

Shushinkō (Chinese: 朱震亨) Shushinkō (1281-1358) was a Chinese physician. He is the writer of the scroll Guide to Medicinal Plants, which is part of Jukai’s library.

 

Silk Road (Japanese: シルクロード)  The Silk Road was, and still is, a network of trade routes connecting the east and west;  historically, it was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions. The Silk Road was a route for cultural as well as economic trade among the civilizations that used it.

 

Sō Clan (Japanese: 宗氏)  The Sō Clan were a Japanese clan that governed and held Tsushima Island from the 13^th century through the late 19^th century. Members of the clan fought off the Mongols in their repeated attacks on Tsushima. From roughly the 1430s to the 1550s, the clan worked towards independence, wanting to establish friendly relations with Joseon Dynasty Korea.

 

Sōdasa Emontarō (Japanese: 早田左衛門太郎, active from 1397-1416) Sōdasa Emontarō was a prosperous pirate who traveled trade routes from Japan to Korea. He was considered the King of Pirates by his contemporaries. Genkai Nadaemon had extensive dealings with him as a merchant.

 

Southern Court (Japanese: 南朝) The Southern Court were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively losing the war, and they were forced to completely submit sovereignty to the Northern Court. While later Japanese sovereigns were descended from the Northern Court, posterity assigns sole legitimacy during this period to the Southern Court.

 

Sōza Emon (Japanese: 惣左衛門) Sōza Emon was a member of the fishermen’s guild who accompanied Hisamaro and Tajumaru on their voyage on the ship Hibikimaru. He told Hisamaro about the Hall of Hell.

 

Sugeura (Japanese: 菅浦) Sugeura is a village on the shore of Lake Biwa. Hyakkimaru passes by it on his journey north to find Daigo Kagemitsu.

 

Sumatra (Japanese: 蘇門答刺 、スマトラ) Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. The Chinese Emperor Zhu Di sent messengers to Sumatra (among other nations) after his ascension to the throne.

 

Sun (Japanese: 寸) A sun is a unit of measurement, equal to about one imperial inch or three centimeters.

 

Suō (Japanese: 周防国) Suō was a province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture.  Suō was ruled for much of the Muromachi period by the Ōuchi clan.

 

Sushruta Samhita (Sanskrit: सुश्रुतसंहिता) The Sushruta Samhita is an ancient  text on medicine and surgery, and one of the most important such treatises on this subject to survive from the ancient world. It is one of the two foundational Hindu texts on medical profession that have survived from ancient India. Its composition date is unknown, but it is believed to have been written sometime in the 6th century BCE.

 

Taejo of Joseon (Korean: 니셩계, Japanese: 李成桂, October 27, 1335 – May 24, 1408 ) Taejo of Joseon was the founder and first King of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He reigned from 1392 to 1398.

 

Taga Takatada (多賀高忠, 1425–September 23, 1486) Taga Takatada  was a military commander during the Muromachi Period. He was a senior vassal of the Kyōgoku Clan.   Takatada twice served as a member of Samurai Dokoro (the Board of Retainers in Kyōto). He had an active career as the right-hand man of his lord and biological cousin, Kyōgoku Mochikiyo. In 1467, when the Ōnin War began, Takatada, along with Mochikiyo, led 10,000 soldiers to join the Eastern Camp including Hosokawa Katsumoto, overpowering the Western Army. In the novel, he is good friends with Honekawa Dōken; he researches Hyakkimaru’s past on his friend’s behalf.

 

taifu (Chinese: 大夫) Taifu is what Sakuzō calls Jukai. This means “honored doctor” in Chinese in this context.

 

Taira Clan (Japanese:平氏) The Taira Clan was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history—the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto.  In 1180, Yoritomo organized a large-scale rebellion against the rule of the Taira Clan (the Genpei War), which culminated with the destruction of the Taira Clan by the Minamoto Clan.

 

Taiwan (Old Chinese: 台州) Taiwan is a country in East Asia. It shares maritime borders with China to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.

 

Tajumaru (Japanese: 多寿丸) See Tanbano Tajumaru.

 

Takakura estate (Japanese: 高倉) The Takakura estate is a noble estate in Kyōto. The Eastern Army uses the Takakura estate in Kyōto during the heavy fighting at the start of the Ōnin War (1467-77).

 

Takano River (Japanese: 高野川) The Takano River is located in Kyōto prefecture. The Kamo River and Takano River join on the Tadasu River bank.  The river flows through Yase toward Kurama.

 

Takeda Nobutada (Japanese:  武田信賢, 1420 - June 29, 1471) Takeda Nobutada was a warlord and provincial military governor in the Muromachi period and the second head of the Wakasa-Takeda clan that was a branch family of the Takeda clan. In the Ōnin War, he belonged to the Eastern Army led by Hosokawa Katsumoto and fought against the Isshiki clan of the Western Army. He also went to Kyōto and fought there against the army of the Yamana clan of the Western Army.

 

Tamon-ten (Japanese: 多聞天) Tamon-ten is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese folklore. He protects holy places and places where Buddha expounds teachings; in depictions, he usually carries a pagoda-shaped treasure house in his left hand; his right hand holds a spear. He is sometimes shown holding an umbrella, which wards off distractions and contamination. He is sometimes called the God of War, and often referred to as the Black Warrior, protector of the righteous, and the Buddhist patron of warriors.

 

Tanbano Hisamaro (Japanese: 丹波寿麻呂) Father of Jukai and a famous court physician obsessed with advancing medical research. Married Fujiwara Seiko and was persecuted for his beliefs and research by the Japanese imperial court.

 

Tanbano Jukai (Japanese: 丹波寿海) See Jukai.

 

Tanbano Kōshō (Japanese: 丹波康勝) The highest-ranked Tanbano court physician in Hisamaro’s day. He attended the funeral of Tanbano Seiko (nee Fujiwara) .

 

Tanbano Seiko (Japanese: 丹波政子) Tanbano Seiko is the married name of Fujiwara Seiko, Jukai’s mother.

 

Tanbano Tajumaru (Japanese:丹波多寿丸) Tanbano Tajumaru is Jukai’s given name at birth.

 

Tanbano Yasunori (Japanese:丹波康頼, 912-995) Tanbano Yasunori was Jukai’s famous ancestor. He wrote the oldest book on Japanese acupuncture that is currently extant.

 

Taoism (Chinese: 道教)Taoism is a philosophical and spiritual tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (which means 'Way’). In Taoism, the Tao is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists. Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize action without intention, naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity, compassion, frugality, and humility.

 

Teihō (Chinese: 鄭芳) Teihō is a servant that works at the estate of Gōshō, a Chinese doctor.

 

Tendai sect (Japanese: 天台宗) Tendai is a Buddhist school established in Japan in the year 806 by the monk named Saichō, posthumously known as Dengyō Daishi. The Tendai school rose to prominence during the Heian period (794-1185), gradually eclipsing the powerful Yogacara school and competing with other forms of Buddhism to become the most influential at the imperial court.

 

tengu (Japanese: 天狗, lit. "Heavenly Dog" or "Heavenly Sentinel") are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion. They are considered a type of yōkai (supernatural beings) or Shinto kami (gods). The tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and monkey deities; they are traditionally depicted with human, monkey and avian characteristics. Sarutahiko Ōkami is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a long-nosed supernatural creature with a red face), which today is widely considered the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination.

Buddhism long held that the tengu were disruptive demons and harbingers of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective and even manifestations of Buddhist deities, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.

 

Tenmu (Japanese天武) See Emperor Tenmu.

 

Toba (Japanese:鳥羽) Toba is located on the northern half of Shima Peninsula in far eastern Mie Prefecture, facing Ise Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The area is famous for oysters and for cultured pearls. During the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of pirates.

 

Togashi Clan (Japanese: 富樫氏) The Togashi Clan was an offshoot of the Fujiwara Clan whose territory encompassed most of Kaga (modern-day Ishikawa Prefecture). The clan was split over which side to support during the Ōnin War.

 

Togashi Norie (Japanese: 富樫教家) Togashi Norie was the regional governor of Kaga Province before the Ōnin War. He was engaged in a power struggle with his younger brother Yasutaka over who would rule the province.

 

Togashi Yasutaka (Japanese: 富樫泰高 ) Togashi Yasutaka was Togashi Norie’s brother. He fought with him over who had the right to rule over Kaga Province.

 

Tōfuku Temple (Japanese:東福寺) Tōfuku Temple is a Buddhist temple in  Kyōto, Japan. Tōfuku temple is one of the so-called Kyōto Gozan or "five great Zen temples of Kyōto." The temple’s main gate is the oldest of its type in Japan; it is a  national treasure that is two stories high and five bays wide. The central three bays are doors.

As of the beginning of the 21^st century, the Tōfuku temple complex includes 24 sub-temples, though in the past the number has been as high as 53.

 

Toki Shigeyori (Japanese: 土岐 成頼, 1442 – May 5, 1497) Toki Shigeyori was a leading military commander during the Muromachi period in Mino Province (modern-day Gifu Prefecture), Japan. In 1467, Shigeyori fought for the western armies in the Ōnin War. He commanded a group of 8,000 men and fought with the forces stationed in Kyōto.

 

Tokiwa Gozen (Japanese: 常盤御前, 1138 – c. 1180) was a Japanese noblewoman of the late Heian period and mother of the great samurai general Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Sources disagree as to whether she was a concubine or wife to Minamoto no Yoshitomo, of which she bore Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Lady Tokiwa is primarily associated, in literature and art, with an incident in which she fled through the snow, protecting her young son with her robes, during the Heiji Rebellion in 1160. She is also known as Hotoke Gozen, or Lady Buddha.

 

Toriumi Jinzō (Japanese: 鳥海 尽三, February 1, 1929 – January 17, 2008) Toriumi Jinzō was a Japanese screenwriter who first began his career during the "revolutionary era" of Japanese animation on Mach GoGoGo (Speed Racer), Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets/G-Force), and Yatterman. Toriumi was born in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaidō. After trying his hand at live-action, he began writing animation scripts at Mushi Productions for Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) in 1964. He went on to devote himself full-time to television at Tatsunoko Production in 1965. He contributed to Casshern, Tekkaman and Time Bokan. He later began writing for such works as Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors), and Mister Ajikko. He wrote the novel versions of Gatchaman, Shin Heiyōden and Dororo, as well as the Anime Scenario Nyūmon (The Introduction to Anime Scriptwriting). He died of liver cancer in 2008.

 

Tsubo (Japanese: 坪) A tsubo is a Japanese unit of measurement equal to about 3.95 square yards or 3.31 sqaure meters.

 

Tsushima (Japanese: 対馬) Tsushima) is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. Tsushima was one of the islands attacked during the Mongol invasions of Japan between 1274 and 1281. Afterward, Tsushima became one of the major bases of Japanese pirates, also called wakō, along with Iki and Matsūra.

 

Uesugi Noritada (Japanese: 上杉憲忠) was killed by Ashikaga Shigeuchi in 1454, kicking off the Kyōtoku incident in the Kantō region of Japan.

 

Unga (Japanese: 運慶) Unga was a Buddhist image carver and a disciple of the Unkei, a sculptor. He made forty-eight statues of demons and sealed them inside a temple in Fushimi. Over time, this temple became known as the Hall of Hell.

 

Unkei (Japanese: 運雅) Unkei was Unga’s master and teacher; he was a sculptor of Buddhist religious figures and symbols.

 

Unryū (Japanese: 雲龍) Unryū is a fictional temple complex in Fushimi (a place known for its temples). Unkei, a Buddhist image maker and the disciple of Unga, carved forty-eight demon statues and sealed them inside one of the temples there. This temple is called the Hall of Hell.

 

Uyama Clan (Japanese: 烏山氏) The defended Shōkoku Temple on the side of the Eastern Army during the Ōnin War (1467-77). They lost many estates in Kyōto to fire during the war.

 

Vairocana (Sanskrit: वैरोचन) Viarocana is a celestial buddha. In East Asian Buddhism (Chinese, Korean and Japanese Buddhism), Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of Śūnyatā, or Void.

 

Wakasa Province (Japanese: 若狭国) Wakasa was a province of Japan in the area that is today the southwestern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku (northwestern) region of Japan. Wakasa bordered on Echizen, Ōmi, Tanba, Tango, and Yamashiro Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit,  which refers to a series of roads that connected the capitals of each of the provinces that made up the region.

 

Wakō (Japanese and Chinese:  倭寇) Wakō were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century. The wakō came from Japanese, Korean, and Chinese ethnicities which varied over time and raided the mainland from islands in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea.

 

Wang Jinghong (Chinese: 王景弘, died c. 1434) Wang Jinghong was a Ming dynasty Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who was deputy to Zheng He on his treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Africa, from 1405 to 1433. He led an eighth voyage to Sumatra but is said to have died in a shipwreck on the way. He was buried at Semarang in Java aged 78.

 

Western Army (西軍) The Western Army supported the son of shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Yoshihisa, to inherit his position instead of his brother. The Western Army was led by Yamana Sōzen.

 

Wu Zetian (Chinese: 則天武后, 17 February 624 – 16 December 705) Wu Zetian was the de facto ruler of the Chinese Tang dynasty, first through her husband the Emperor Gaozong and then through her sons the Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, from 665 to 690. She subsequently became empress regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China, ruling from 690 to 705. She was the only legitimate female sovereign in the history of China. Under her 40-year reign, China grew larger, corruption in the court was reduced, its culture and economy were revitalized, and it was recognized as one of the great powers of the world.

 

Yamada Castle (Japanese: 山城) This castle was built in the 13^th century in what is now Onna, Okinawa. Sakuzō’s peasant uprising took place near this castle.

 

Yamana Clan (Japanese: 山名氏)The Yamana clan was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period (1336-1467); at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable (shugo) over eleven provinces. They were valued retainers under Minamoto no Yoritomo.

The Yamana were among the chief clans in fighting for the establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate, and thus remained valued and powerful under the new government. The clan retained a great degree of reputation and power within the shogunate government; along with the Hosokawa and Hatakeyama clans, they served as agents of the shogunate in resolving various disputes.

Yamana Sōzen would become embroiled in a conflict with Hosokawa Katsumoto over naming the shōgun's successor; this conflict grew into the Ōnin War, which destroyed much of Kyōto, and led to the fall of the shogunate and beginning of the Sengoku (“Warring States”) period. In the end, this cost the Yamana much of their former influence and land.

 

Yamana Masakiyo (Japanese: 山名政清) Yamana Masakiyo was a member of the Yamana Clan and a military commander during the Muromachi period. He was responsible for defending Iwami Province. The Daigo Clan were his retainers in the Hōtoku era (1449-52) before he discarded them.

 

Yamana Sōzen (Japanese: (山名 宗全, July 6, 1404 – April 15, 1473 ) Yamana Sōzen  was originally Yamana Mochitoyo (山名 持豊) before becoming a monk. Due to his red complexion, he was sometimes known as Aka-nyūdō, "the Red Monk." He was one of the samurai lords who fought against Hosokawa Katsumoto during the Ōnin War.

 

Yamashiro Province (Japanese: 山城国) Yamashiro was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyōto Prefecture on Honshū. Yamashiro Province included Kyōto itself, as in 794 AD Yamashiro became the seat of the imperial court, and, during the Muromachi period, was the seat of the Ashikaga shogunate as well. The capital remained in Yamashiro until its de facto move to Tōkyō in the 1870s.

 

Yangtze River (Japanese: 長江) The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. The Yangtze has played a major role in the history, culture and economy of China. Tajumaru (Jukai) transfers from Nadaemon’s Japanese ships to Chinese junk ships during his sea voyage to China.

 

Yase (Japanese:八瀬) Yase is in Kyōto Prefecture. It is located in a valley between the Hiei Mountains to the east and the Wakatan Mountains to the west. The Takano River flows from north to south through Yase.

 

Yi Jong Mu (Japanese: 李従茂, Korean: 이종무) Yi Jong Mu was a Korean general who led the Ōei Invasion to conquer Tsushima Island in 1419. He was noted for leading a fleet of 227 ships and 17,285 soldiers which landed at the Tsushima Island in Aso Bay on June 19, 1419. His conquest not only rescued victims taken by Japanese pirates, including 146 Chinese and 8 Koreans, but also put an end to Japanese pirate raids in Korea and China, as well as paving the way for special trade relationships between Joseon Korea and the Sōu clan of Tsushima Island.

 

Yoda Hidetomo (Japanese: 依田秀朝) Yoda Hidetomo was a magistrate for the shōgun during the Hōtoku era (1449-1452).

 

Yodo River (Japanese: (淀川) The Yodo River is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshū, Japan. The source of the river is Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture to the north. Further downstream, the Yodo flows into Kyoto Prefecture. It then merges with two other rivers, the Katsura River and the Kizu River in Kyoto Prefecture.

 

Yoshinaga Clan (Japanese: 吉長氏) In the novel, the Yoshinaga Clan lost many estates to fire in Kyōto when Ōuchi Masahiro attacked the city in 1467.

 

Yoshitsune (Japanese:源義経) See Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

 

Yōda (Japanese:瑤陀)  Jukai’s old master and teacher. He gave Jukai the knowledge to create advanced prosthetics.

 

yōkai (Japanese: 妖怪) Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore.  Yōkai are also referred to as ayakashi (あやかし), mononoke (物の怪) or mamono (魔物). Yōkai are not literally demons in the Western sense of the word, but are instead spirits and entities, whose behaviour can range from malevolent or mischievous to friendly, fortuitous, or helpful to humans. The nearest or equivalent definition for yōkai in Western world should be "specter".

Yōkai often have animal features (such as the kappa, depicted as appearing similar to a turtle, and the tengu, commonly depicted with wings), but may also appear humanoid in appearance. Some yōkai resemble inanimate objects (such as the tsukumogami), while others have no discernible shape. Yōkai are typically described as having spiritual or supernatural abilities, with shapeshifting being the most common trait associated with them.

 

Zheng He (Chinese: 郑和) Zheng He (1371 – 1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred by the Yongle Emperor. Zheng commanded expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. According to legend, his larger ships carried hundreds of sailors on four decks and were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded. In the novel, he meets with Jukai’s father, Tanbano Hisamaro, in Japan and discusses medicine.

 

Zhu Di (Chinese: 朱棣) See Emperor Zhu Di.

 

Zhu Gaochi (Chinese: 朱高熾) See Emperor Zhu Gaochi.

 

Zhu Qizhen (Chinese: 朱祁鎮) See Emperor Zhu Qizhen.

 

Zhu Zhanji (Chinese: 朱瞻基) See Emperor Zhu Zhanji.