Liner Notes

Volume 22: End Song

• Hirobumi Itoh- 1841-1909.
  A politician in the Meiji Era. Itoh was the first prime minister of modern day Japan (as well as holding various "first" seats in governmental groups). Assassinated as a result of the occupation of Korea by a man wanting independence of Korea from Japan.
  
  
• Kaoru Inoue- 1835-1915.
  Another politician in the Meiji Era, Inoue was one of the central members of the Meiji government. It is noteworthy that he attempted (but failed) in changing Japan's foreign affairs and that he was a good comrade of Itoh.
  
  
• Ueno Sensou- Part of the Boshin Wars, when the Imperial Army raided Kaneiji in May of 1868.
  
  
• Shinbutsu bunri rei- The order to separate the gods (=Shinto) from the buddhas (=Buddism) in 1868. This led to the "haibutsu-kishaku" mentioned by Anji during the Kyoto Arc.
  
  
• Jingoro Hidari- 1594-1651.
  A master sculptor from the early Edo Era, often a legendary figure.
  
  
• Toshogu- The temple in Nikko where Ieyasu Tokugawa's grave is located.
  
  
• Youmei no Mon- The ornate gate in Toshogu, also called Higurashi-no-Mon.
  
  
• Ushitora- Northeast. (see footnote on "kimon").
  
  
• Genroin- A word which refers to the old roman senatus, it was the legislative body used from 1875 to 1890.
  
  
• Dajoukan- The executive branch of the Japanese government started in 1868, but disbanded in 1885 with the government reorganization. The term can also refer to an older governmental branch, but for the older version, the term is usually pronounced "daijoukan."
  
  
• Kurofune- Though I said fleet, a "black ship" usually referred to foreign ships coming into Japan, mostly because those foreign ships were black.
  
  
• Kanto- The general area of the eastern side of Japan. Today it covers Tokyo, Saitama, Ibaragi, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures.
  
  
• Toh- As an adjective it can just mean "Chinese" but when pointing to Chinese history, it refers to the Tang dynasty.
  
  
• Cisa- The lion often seen in the Ryukyu area as a watchdog fending off evil.
  
  
• Kimon- The direction from which oni demons supposedly appeared, the direction of the ushi-tora (between 1 and 2 o'clock, so directly northeast).
  
  
• Ieyasu Tokugawa- 1542-1616.
  The first shogun of the Tokugawa regime, who had alliances with both of the previous shogun (Nobunaga/Toyotomi). The Tokugawa regime (started in 1603) is what we call the Edo Era today.
  
  
• Izanagi no Mikoto- In Japanese mythology, he is the male god that was co-responsible (with Izanami no Mikoto) for the creation of Japan and all of its ruling gods. He was also the god of the mountain, the sea, and all plants.
  
  
• Mirai Eigou- "Mirai" is future and "Eigou" is forever. Combined the term means "For eternity in the future."
  
  
• Jin- In this case the "jin" refers to those magical circles and not troops.
  
  
• Yamoto- An old way of referring to Japan.
  
  
• Shiki- Short for "Shikigami," spell creatures. Usually associated more with onmyouji (yin-yang magic) than with feng shui to the general anime populace. Usually summoned by a paper tailsman or magical circle.
  
  
• Musashino- An area of Japan that used to span between modern day Saitama and Tokyo prefectures. Note that there is a Musashino city in Tokyo to this day.
  
  
• Ame Futte Ji Katamar- Literally this proverb says "Rain falls and earth hardens." People usually take this to mean that a bond has solidified, or a situation has come to a good end, because of everything that has happened. In this case, I think Yahiko is trying to say that everything that has happened in the previous 94 episodes have created a strong bond between Kenshin and Kaoru....
  
  
• Shamisen- The traditional Japanese string instrument. Three- stringed and has a distinct sound which can vary with the material used as well as the width of the neck.