~Historical Liner Notes~
The Battle of Seikigahara
Fought in 1600 by the Western Army and Ieyasu Tokugawa's Eastern Army. It is well known for unprecedented casualties. the west had the advantage beacuse of the absence of Hidetada Tokugawa and his troops, a majority of Tokugawa's army. Despite this, the battle ended in triumph for Ieyasu. As a result, the Tokugawa's rise to power was assured, and he was able to establish a Shogunate that would remain until 1686.

Yukimura Sanada 1567-1615
Known as a wise samurai general, Yukimura of the Sanada Clan from Ueda fought with his father in the Western Army. After his father's death, Yukimura would have been the new warlord of the Sanada Clan, but he resigned and gave authority to one of his brothers to control the family line and instead disappeared into the mountains with his band of Koga ninjas(including the loyal Sasuke and Saizou). This was all part of the plan to make it look as if Sanada had been demolished. Yukimura and his ninja took refuge within the temple of Kunoichi-ryu, who were bitter enemies of the Shogun and agreed to help him. Their big chance came in 1614 when the Tokugawa regime was challenged by Hideyori Toyotomi. He was the son of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who once served under the warlord Nobunaga Oda. Sanada and his "Ten Brave Warriors", the Jyuyuushi. defended the Toyotomi Clan in what is called the "Winter Campaign" at Osaka in 1614. He helped fortify the castle with his army in what is known as "The Sanada barbican". however, the next year, in the "Summer Campaign" of 1615, Tokugawa's forces were able to burn down the castle and Sanada's fate ended in death, but not without revenge. Yukimura appeared in front of the Shogun Ieyasu and wounded him, only to be struck down and killed himself.

Ieyasu Tokugawa 1543-1616
The first Tokugawa Shogun. Born as the first son of Hirotada Matsudaira, Lord of Okazaki castle at Mikawa(now Aichi Prefecture) Ieyasu spent his youth as a hostage of both the Imagawa and Oda clans. He was allowed to return to his native Mikawa and assume command of the Matsudaira in 1156. In 1560, when Nobunaga defeated the Imagawa, Ieyasu went with the winner and fought as a Nobunaga supporter. When Nobunaga was killed in 1582, Ieyasu took the oppertunity to expand his own domain by seizing the Imagawa territories of Kai and Shinano. he won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 that would determine who would become Shogun and in 1603 was given the title of Shogun. He turned his attention towrds stabilizing Japan's governmental system. He was instrumnental in instituting a new system called the bakufu, a conglomerate of two essential entities; the shogunate and the domains of the individual lords.

Sasuke Sarutobi(Flying Monkey Sasuke)
According to some sources Sasuke is simply a mythical ninja, a product of Japanese literature. however, others will argue that he was one of Yulimura's most loyal servants and companions. Whether he really existed or not, there is no doubt that he is now the most famous ninja in Japanese children's stories. It is said that Sasuke grew up in the forest and was embraced by Yukimura when he was still young. he learned Ninjutsu from Thakuunsai Ozawa of the Koga school and fought alongside Yukimura in his Jyuyuushi battalion. He most likely died in the Summer Campaign of 1616.

Saizou Kirigakure(Hiding in the Fog Saizou)
The legendary leader of the Koga ninja who was also a member of the Sanada Jyuyuushi. He was a loyal servant to Yukimura and was instrumental in the Winter Battle of Osaka in 1614. He is famous for his attempt to assassinate the Shogun Ieyasu, under the order of Yukimura after their defeat in the Battle of Seikigahara. The assassination resulted in failure when Saizou and the Koga ninjas were tricked by the Hanzo Hattori, the leader of Tokugawa Ieyasu's ninjas. Saizou probably died in the Winter Battle of Osaka in 1614.

Hidetada Tokugawa 1579-1632
(Known in the series under the alias Benitora, Red Tiger)
Hidetada, the third son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, succeeded his father as the second Shogun. Hidetada took over the Shogunate in 1605, only two years after Ieyasu became Shogun, and became the lord of Edo Castle. However, his Shogunate was merely for outward appearances. Although Ieyasu had moved to Sumpu Castle(now in Shizuoka) upon retiring, he continued ruling the country from his son's shadow. Together with Ieyasu, Hidetada brought the Toyotomi Clan to collapse during the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1616. He played an active role in the Osaka Castle sieges, although he and his father argued more than once on the course the campaign should take, with Hidetada calling for a direct assault while Ieyasu favored caution. Following the death of Ieyasu in 1616, Hidetada unified the country and strengthened the power of the Tokugawa bakufu by arranging the marraige of his daughter to Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Hidetada's granddaughter was born from this union, assumed the throne in 1629 as the Empress Meisho. Hidetada retired in 1623, leaving his son Iemitsu to take the title of Shogun. He died in 1632.

Izumo no Okuni 1526-1613
The supposed founder of Kabuki Theater, in 1603, at the age of seventy-seven, she performed at the kitano Shrine and on the Shijo-Gawara(Fourth Street Dry River Bed) of the river Kamogawa in Kyoto, which marked the beginning of the Kabuki tradition.

Hanzou Hattori 1541-1596
Leader of the feared Iga ninja, Hanzou was born in 1541 as the son of Hattori Nazo Yasunaga, a vassal to the Tokugawa family. He was raised in the martial ways. He protected Ieyasu in the critical years before his rise to Shogun. Anyone who opposed the Shogun or posed a threat to Japan's peace could face death from the Iga ninja. Unfortunately, the Iga operations under his command were so stealthy that very few are known today. Although Hanzou died in 1596, during a battle against the rival Fuma ninjas, the ninjas trained under Hanzou were instrumental in Tokugawa's victory in the decisive battle of Sekigahara. Hanzou remains one of the most famous ninjas in Japanese history.

Anayama Kosuke
One of the ten ninjas of the famous Sanada Jyuyuushi. She was the only female member.

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