All data is gathered from http://www.samurai-archives.com and similar sights found on google. As you read through this, a lot of names an places will look familiar. That's because these people are all intertwined with one another in shaping Japan's history. They're famous for a reason :)

Also, remember, these are names are matched by romanji and by what the All-Knowing Theria has to say. These names are NOT MATCHED UP according to KANJI. Therefore, some of the names we're attaching as anscestors MIGHT BE WRONG.

Ryo Sanada:

As most people around the YST community know, Ryo is decended from the Sanada clan. This branches off into a collection famous Sanada's centering around the late Sengoku Jidai.

It begins with Sanada Yukitaka when he fathered three sons, the oldest being Nobutsuna, the middle Masateru, and the youngest Masayuki in 1544. At the age of 17 Masayuki participated in his first battle. In 1574, Yukitaka died and the oldest son, Nobutsuna, took over the family; however he and his his brother Masateru followed their father to the afterlife a year later in the battle of Nagashino. Masayuki, the last remaining son, took his place as head of the Sanada family.

Over the next ten years Sanada Masayuki expanded his territory, most notibly by taking Numata from the Hôjô clan. This created trouble in 1585, when Tokugawa Iyeasu demanded Numata be returned to the Hôjô. Masayuki refused and rather smartly defeated Tokugawa's army.

Not one to tick off someone as powerful as Tokugawa, Masayuki made peace with the warlord by sending his son Nobuyuki as hostage. He similarly sent his other son Yukimura as hostage to the Uesugi clan in 1586. (This was a common practice back in the day.) Masayuki and his two sons joined Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Touma's ancestor) in his Odawara campaign in 1590. This beefed up his lands again and started a stong line of loyalty between the Sanada and the Toyotomi.

Then things started to get interesting. In 1600, Masayuki and his son Yukimura fought against Tokugawa - after ordering his other son Nobuyuki to join Tokugawa. Masayuki and Yukimura were beseiged at Ueda castle, which Masayuki had built, by Tokugawa's son, Hidetada. The pair fought back the seige magnificently, the seige becoming a "classic" seige in Japanese history.

In the Battle of Sekigahara, Yukimura participated under Ishida Mitsunari against Tokugawa's son, Hidetada.

Tokugawa won the war, however, and Masayuki and Yukimura were banished to Kûdoyama - Mt Kûdo, where Masayuki died under "mysterious" circumstances in 1608. The Sanadas had been plotting against Tokugawa, but after Masayuki's death, they were forced to come out into the open sooner than they wanted. Yukimura took over as head of the family.

As an interesting side-note, Masayuki was renouned to use a "himo," a decorative tie used in tea ceremonies, wrapped around the hilt of his katana. This precedence caused the useage of himos for sword binding, armor lacing, and sword grips. Nowadays, that tie is called a sanada-himo. Cool, ne?

But where does all the ninja stuff come from? The man to talk to is Yukimura. You see, he learned that Tokugawa was going to attack Osaka castle, which would crush the Totoyomi that Yukimura and his father had been so loyal to. By now Totoyomi's samurai were ronin, working for nothing more than profit. Yukimura responded to this by renouncing his Samurai title and instead recruited renegade ninja to help in the defense of Osaka castle. This was the "Winter Campaign" of 1615.

Yukimura fortified the Osaka castle and sent out his ninja into the Tokugawa camp where they slipped hallucinogens into their food and water. Their drugged state in combination with Yukimura's new defenses sent Tokugawa quickly away.

Yukimura's victory was short lived, however. In the "Summer Campaign" of that year. Tokugawa sent Date Masamune's army (Seiji's ansector) to attack Osaka castle. Yukimura's ninjas and Totoyomi's samurai fought side by side. They succeeded in halting Date's army and the next day brought the fight to Tokugawa in the Battle of Tennôji. But it was not to be. Totoyomi Hideyori and his mother commited suicide and all opposition against Tokugawa fell. It is said that, realizing the lost cause, Yukimura slumped into his camp stool, where soon after a Tokugawa warrior burst forth and leveled a spear at him. Yukimura said, "I am Sanada Yukimura, an adversary no doubt worthy of you. But I am too exhausted to fight any more." He then removed his helmet and exposed his neck, allowing the Tokugawa warrior to kill him.

A legend says Yukimura had ten heroic braves called Sanada Ju-Yushi. Its members were Sarutobi Sasuke, Kirigakure Saizo, Miyoshi Sekai, Miyoshi Isa, Anayama Kosuke, Unno Rokuro, Kakei Juzo, Nezu Jinpachi, Mochizuki Rokuro, and Yuri Kamanosuke. Sasuke and Saizo are also known as legendary ninja.

Sanada Nobuyuki, Yukimura's brother who had sided with Tokugawa, survived until he was 92 and was named by Tokugawa as the first lord of the family. It is this branch that survived to present day, unless you fanfic writers have other ideas. :)

Overall, Masayuki was one of the most skilled samurai commanders. His son Yukimura was perhaps the most famous ninja in exsistance and renounded for his ability to win battles in which he was outnumbered. Nobuyuki survived his family and kept the Sanada name alive.

Seiji Date:

Seiji's ancestors are, frankly, just plain interesting.

The Date clan was established in the Kamakura era by one Isa Tomomune (the kanji "mune" seems to run rampant in this family...). Isa earned the land by assisting Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun of the Kamakura era. He took the name of the Date district, one of his new holdings, and thus the dynasty started. By the 1500s, they were a powerful daimyo family.

Date Terumune is the start of all in interesting stuff. He was born in 1543, and his father Date Harumune was a successful kokujin lord. Terumune was the 16th head of the family (kinda says how old this family is, ne?) as named by Shogun Ashikaga, who gave the "Teru" kanji to Terumune's name. Taking his position as head at 17, Terumune expanded his territory by over thirty districts over the course of his career. 1574 started a long correspondance between Terumune and Oda Nobunaga, who valued Terumune as an ally of the far north.

In 1566, Terumune birthed his first son and named him Botenmaru. As a child, Botenmaru was sick with small pox which infected his right eye. It is said that he plucked out his own eye in order to take the pain away. What this did to his psyche is pure supposition, but in combination with his aggressive stature and unstable mannerisms, it did earn him a nickname - the Dokuganryu, the One-Eyed Dragon.

In 1584, at the age of of 41, Terumune retired and handed his work over to his oldest son Botenmaru, who took the name Masamune at his coming of age ceremony. Masamune almost immediately suffered the defection of a retainer named Ouchi. Masamune besieged Ouchi's castle and showed everyone very quickly and savagely what he did to traitors.

Unfortunately, the new head was also handed over his father's bitter fight against a rival family, the Hatakeyama. Hatakeyama tried many times to make peace with Masamune, but the latter was still young and very hot-blooded, refusing all attempts. The continued fighting prompted the head of that family, Yoshitsugu to ask the former Date head, Terumune to interceed. When Terumune and Yoshitsugu met, they feasted in a cordial, polite manner. The next morning, Yoshitsugu thanked Terumune for the dinner by kidnapping him at swordpoint - an unspeakable act of treachery. Terumune's son Masamune pursued, and intercepted Hatakeyama before he reached the safety of his castle, cutting them off at a river. The resulting fight was the last battle of Terumune. The former lord demanded that his son open fire and kill Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu, regardless of himself. His son Masamune hesitated. Terumune was killed and, enraged, his son swept in and killed the entire entourage.

This escalated the rivalry to all out war. The Hatakeyama assembled some 30,000 troops, while Masamune could only muster 7,000. Understanding this, the young Date lord focused on a defense by a series of forts that were between the enemy and him. The war started in November, and things started off very badly for Masamune. He quickly lost three forts and one of his chief retainers. With only a river left as an obstacle, Masamune tried to drive the Hatakeyama back, but could not do it. He pulled his forces back into what would surely be a gallant last stand. But luck was with Masamune, because the next morning the army picked up and marched away. Apparently, with his servants off to fight the Date, the Hatakeyama had decided to horn in on his ally's lands. Not the wisest move.

This near brush with defeat taught Masamune a great many lessons, helping to shape him into such a great general, but we haven't gotten that far yet.

In 1589, the One-Eyed Dragon fought the Soma in one of the bloodiest northern battles of the Sengoku Jidai in the Battle of Suriagehara. It was the last time Masamune would expand his land, because the next year Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Touma's ancestor) ordered his service in the Odawara campaign (have your read the Sanada section yet?) Masamune did comply, but not before he delayed just long enough for his spies to see who the winner would be. This was double edged. While Masamune won the fight for Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi (because Masamune was late?) took the lands that Masamune had just won from the Soma. One can only guess the One-Eyed Dragon's reaction to this.

It did not change his loyalty, however, and four years later Masamune again served Hideyoshi in the Korean Invasion, with great distinction. It is there that his sword, Ke Tokenki (Saddle Cutter), earned a second nickname, the Kuronbu-giri (Black Chap Cutter). During a meeting of officers, it is said, a dark-skinned Korean prisoner was presented as a test subject for the samurai's swords. The officers were hesitant, afraid the big prisoner's thick bones would chip their precious katana. Masamune offered his sword Ke Tokenki and not only decapitated the dark prisoner, but buried the blad so deep into the block that it could not be removed easily without damage. I would like to note that the Kuronbu-giri was a no-datchi. :)

The Toyotomi insulted him again in 1595. Toyotomi Hidetsugu accused Masamune of treason and demanded that he pack up and move out - an unthinkable fate for the young Masamune. This was only halted by the smooth talking of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

It comes as no surprise that Masamune sided with Tokugawa in 1600 when yet another war broke out (this *is* called the Warring States Period) between Tokugawa and the Toyotomi. Masamune and Mogami Yoshiakira joined forces and started their campaign in the north with the siege of Hataya, culminating their work with the attak of Fukushima Castle. This gave the confidence for Tokugawa to move west and, of course, win the Battle of Sekigahara. Masamune became deputy shogun and his lands were greatly enlarged as a result, and he built a castle in Sendai, single handedly turning the small fishing town into the major city it is today. It was there that he built the Iwadeyama's Yubikan, which is the oldest samurai school in Japan still in it's original condition, as well as numerous temples and shrines, such as the Osaki Hachiman Shrine.

The One-Eyed Dragon was just as eccentric off the battlefield as he was on. He was leniant on the pursecuted Christians, for example, and in 1613 he saved one Father Soteho, who was condemned to death. Masamune asked him or form a trade mission to Europe under Hasekura Tsuenaga, and after the reluctant approval by Tokugawa Iyeasu, went on a seven year journey with a few Date retainers. In the meantime, however, Masamune was pressured into taking a more politically correct view of Christians, and when the entourage came home, Father Soteho was again condemned to death and the mission was for naught.

In 1614 and 15, Masamune again came to the aide of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Osaka campaign (another encounter with the Sanada). The campaign was another example of his eccentricity. Frustrated that an ally's troopers were not aggressive enough, Masamune ordered his men to fire a few vollies into the troopers to get them going. Obviously, it was not something that was smiled upon.

A year later, Tokugawa was on his deathbed, and the One-Eyed Dragon was one of the last lords to see him, delivering a zen poem.

1636 brought Masamune's death at the age of 70, and of his four sons Tadamune succeeded him. However, in 1660 he was placed under house arrest by his lord Tokugawa Ietsuna for immoral conduct. Tadamune's 1 year old son, Tsunamune, took over as daimyo. Of course, too young to rule, a regent was named, Tsunamune's uncle, Date Munekatsu. Six years later there was an attempt on the boy Tsunamune's life through poisoning. Though the attempt failed (that's what taste-testers are for), Munekatsu was assumed to be the culprit because he had the most to gain as regent. In 1670 Munekatsu was reported to the Shogunate of the regents bad business, perhaps even hinting at the failed attempt on young Tsunamune's life. The informant was slayed by an assassin and Munekatsu, assumed to be responsible, was banished to the Tosa province.

Date Masamune was both unreadable and unpredictable and outspoken in his thoughts. He had a deep appreciation for the arts - particularly the Noh stage, calligraphy, and the art of incense (?). He promoted culture and industry, improving rivers and forests, transforming them into Osaki plains of fertile rice.

Shin Mouri:

Like Seiji, the Môri name was established *way* back in the early Kamakura Era. Shin's clan is said to be the descendants of Oie Hiromoto, who was an advisor to the Era's first Shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo (I wonder if he and Isa Tomomune, who created the Date clan, met?). Hiromoto's son took the name Môri Tokichika, and the line was started. Be forwarned, there are a *lot* of names flying around.

As seemed to be common practice, Môri Motonori, easily Shin's most famous ancestor, was born in 1497 under a different name: Shojumaru and was the second son of Môri Hiromoto (obviously named after his famous ancestor). Losing his mother at five and father at eleven, Motonori spent his younger years being treated just like everyone else. In 1506, Hiromoto died and Motonori's older brother, Okimoto, took over the family. Okimoto died ten years later, however, and Motonori was named guardian of his new nephew, Komatsumaru, but *he* died in 1523, and Motonori ascended as head of the family. It is noted that all these deaths were under questionable circumstances, and there are legends/rumors that Motonori got rid of them (can anyone picture *Shin's* anscestor doing something like that?).

During all this intrigue, outside neighbors were looking at the Môri lands. The Takeda, Môri's bitter rivals, tried to take advantage of Okimoto's death and take Koriyama castle (the Môri chief bastion since the 1300s, over two hundred years). Motonori took his outnumbered troops and soundly held the Takeda back. This was the first of a great many battles that Motonori would win. In 1521 two other clans, the Amako and the Oûchi had signed a peace treaty, and a year later it was broken by the Amako. The family head, Amako Tsunehisa, marched over to the Môri, whose lands were directly between Tsunehisa and the Oûchi, and ordered him to submit. Not about to do that, Motonori went and attacked the Kagamiyama Castle while Tsunehisa went for Kanayama. Motonori won his fight, Tsunehisa did not and was forced to retreat. Later in that year, Motonori married one Kikkawa Kunitsune, the matrimonial alliance securing the Kikkawa and Môri clans. This also produced three fine sons. Môri again allied with the Oûchi against yet another Amaka assault, and as a result Motonori consolidated his lands. Amako tried to bring Mototnori to his side again, and in 1540 they sent a sizable army to help persuade him.

Again outnumbered, Motonori bottled himself up in Koriyama. The Amako decided instead to burn the town beneath Koriyama, and when that still didn't work, they settled in for a seige. It was a fatal mistake, because Motonori's allies the Oûchi came to their rescue and the Amako were again forced to retreat.

A year later the head of the Amako family died, and the Oûchi and Môri saw an opportunity and tried to attack him. The conflict dragged out until 1543, and, after a sound defeat Motonori retreated to lick his wounds and the head of the Oûchi clan - his confidence shattered - retreated into complete inactivity. This was an advantage to Motonori, allowing him the opportunity to build up his power and his lands. Motonori's three sons were soon in key positions of Motonori's land.

Motonori's oldest son, Takamoto, was goodwill hostage to the Oûchi; Motoharu was sent to the Kikkawa; and the youngest, Takakage, went to the Kobayakawa. In 1550, it turned out that they were well placed. Sue Takafusa, a close retainer who constantly tried to make the Oûchi head come back into military affairs, finally became fed up; revolted and succeeded. With the Oûchi head commiting suicide, Takafusa put a puppet into the head of the family and became the one who pulled the strings of the Oûchi clan.

What Motonori thought of this is unknown, but for the next few years he at least paid appropriate lip service. Neither trusted each other, and while conflict seemed to be inevitable Motonori waited. He instead focused on expanding his lands and strengthening his friendship with Murakami Torayasu, who's family was in effect inland pirates. Four years later, in 1554, Motonori threw away pretenses and broke with Sue Takafusa. Takafusa gathered his army, 30,000 men. Motonori, even though he was stronger than ever, was still woefully outnumbered. He relied on his old standby - bribery - and the war was brought to a stalemate. This did not win the war, however, and Motonori was fast running out of options. Breaking all protocol, Motonori placed his troops at Miyajima, a religious shrine, as a well-baited trap. Takafuse fell for it and happily stormed and took the entire island as his. His one mistake was that he allowed himself to become confident, and then complacent.

Motonori launched the second half of his plan: Murakami Torayasu the pirate. Motonori put his three sons to sea and surrounded the entire army. With the victory, Motonori became the most powerful warlord in Western Japan.

In 1562, the head of Motonori's enemy, the Amako, died, leaving his unprepared son in charge. Motonori of course took advantage of this. His oldest son Takamoto was the head of the family by then, but a year later he died and Motonori, over sixty, was forced to again take over as head until his grandson was old enogh to take over. After a series of battles, Motonori starved out the Amako at the Gassen castle in 1566.

Motonori died in 1571, his successor being being the son of Takamoto, Môri Terumoto - just in time to take part in the end of the Sengoku Jidai. Terumoto had had an early coming of age ceremony. He had inherited a huge collection of land, the most powerful navy, and the support of his two uncles, Takakage and Motoharu. Motonori had left word that they should be happy with what they have and forgo any more expansion. Terumoto's rule was quiet at first, but there were stirrings in Kyoto. Terumoto had no great love for Oda Nobunaga, following in his grandfather's footsteps. Terumoto was drawn into a war over a religious stronghold that Nobunaga had been seiging since 1570. Terumoto turned to his skilled navy and they soundly defeated Nobunaga's. Nobunaga responded as he always did - he improvised - and ordered the construction of six massive warships that were said to be plated in metal. The leviathans avenged Nobunaga and turned Terumoto back and went back to the siege.

But by then Terumoto had other concerns. The old rivals the Takeda and another clan, the Uesugi had both lost their family heads, giving Nobunaga the opportunity to concentrate of Terumoto. Sending two armies, one headed by a young Hashiba Hideyoshi (ie Touma's ancestor before he became famous :) ), they marched into Chugoku. The progress was slow, the Môri clan holding thier strongholds heroically. Hashiba Hideyoshi captured Kozuki castle, and in a rare moment of initiative Terumoto sent his two uncles to retake the castle, which they did.

Terumoto was not his grandfather, and he understood that. He did not have the leadership or charisma. By 1582 defeat looked iminant to Terumoto. Hideyoshi was fast approaching the Môri homelands, capturing the key Takamatsu castle by flooding it. The chips were down, but then fate intervened. Hideyoshi intercepted a letter saying that Oda Nobunaga was dead. Keeping that important little fact under wraps, he negociated a treaty with Terumoto, only taking three prefectures, leaving the rest to Terumoto. Happy at the apparent generosity, Terumoto agreed, and Hideyoshi was quickly off to Kyoto to make things suit him better.

While no doubt miffed when he learned the truth, Terumoto kept his word and remained allied with Hideyoshi. He sent his two uncles, the "Two Rivers" (Motoharu and Takakage married into the Kikkawa and Kobayakawa. The "Kawa" kanji can also be read as "River", hence, the "two rivers") to help Hideyoshi invade the Shikoku and and Kyushu regions. In 1590 Terumoto sent his navy in the Hojo campaign, and even lead troops himself in the Korean Invasion.

Terumoto was not left unrewarded for his loyalty, and was named one of the five regents an of the five was second only to Tokugawa in power. As 1600 approached and the government began to splinter, Terumoto started to side with Tokugawa. Unfortunately, he listened to the words of an old advisor to side against his fellow regent. Terumoto was named commander-in-chief by Ishida Mitsunari, but he showed no taste for the command and could not make a decision. Ishida finally told him to make headquarters in Osaka castle, thereby making his title empty, and missing the great battle of Sekigahara, the Môri army essentially sitting on its hands. Realizing that Ishida was a lost cause, he let the word get out to Tokugawa. Tokugawa allowed it long enough to take Terumoto's Osaka castle and then said that a warrior is supposed to fight, especially a "commander in cheif." Terumoto's lands, that Motonori had fought so hard to get, were greatly reduced. To add insult to injury, Terumoto was also forced to give up the Môri traditional homelands.

Shaken by so many poor decisions, Terumoto shaved his head and spent the rest of his days as a monk.

A master of trickery and strategy, Motonori was one of the greatest warriors of the Sengoku Jidai, having expanded his lands from a few districts to almost the entire Chugoku region. He is known for the Sanbon Ya, the lesson of the three arrows. He brought his three sons together and told them to break an arrow. They could; but then Motonori instructed them to break three arrows together and they could not. "Alone, you are breakable. Together, you are not." Whether this actually happened or not is unknown. While his grandson Terumoto was not the great leader his grandfather, he did promote the arts, having even hired the Ri brothers, Ri Shakko and Ri Kei, who introduced/invented Hagi-yaki pottery.

Touma Hashiba:

*Note*: Historically, the Hashiba clan was wiped ou by Tokugawa

Okay, there are *books* written on Touma's ancestor, there's no way we can cover all of it, so we'll just give an overview (yes, this is just an overview). Try to keep track of all the names and see how many you recognize from other bios. :)

It all started with one Hashiba Hideyoshi, born 1539. Would you believe that the most famous man in Japanese history was born a peasant? See, the Rockafeller happens even outside of America. Little is known about the childhood of Hideyoshi; and he did not speak of it much. He was born of a foot-soldier named Yaemon, and was named at his birth Hiyoshimaru, "Bounty of the Sun." Popular myth says that he was shipped off to a temple, only to run away in search of adventure. He does finally serve under one young Oda Nobunaga, whom he quickly gains the attention of. Somewhere along the way he becomes the forman in charge of rebuilding Kiyosu castle, all the while earning emnity as one of Oda's senior retainers. He becomes a sandal-bearer and takes part in the battle of Okehazama. This was in 1560, and four years later he bribes a number of lords to abandon Saito.

At this point, Oda is becoming aware of Hideyoshi's natural talent, and three years later, in 1567, he magnificently takes Inabayama. Somewhere around this time, he takes the sir name Hashiba, a mixture of the kanji of some fellow retainers. He's married a woman named Nene, and his mother has remarried and given birth to a son, Hideyoshi's half-brother Hidenaga. Short and thin, the tactless Oda often called Hideyoshi "Saru," "Monkey." It is said that he enjoyed his women and drink earlier than most, made friends easily, and could read and manipulate men.

Getting back to his career, he took bart in the battle of Anegawa and participated in the campaigns of Asai and Asakura, where he officially enters historical light, and continues fighting in Oda's perpetual war, fighting in Nagashima, Nagashino, and Tedorigawa. In 1576, Oda went to war with the Môri, and Hideyoshi was ordered to co-command the campaign with Akechi Mitsuhide. It was rare for Oda to give independant commands, and for both men it was a first.

The campaign went briefly like this: He took Himeji, Kozuki, and Sayo castles with ease. Resistance then became much thicker. He got rid of the satellites of Miki castle where he began to lay seige. The seige was briefly interupted when Môri Terumune sent forces to the recently acquired Kozuki castle. Hideyoshi went over to take it back but was ordered to stand down by Oda Nobunaga, so he went back to beseiging Miki castle. It was a vital point and niether side were willing to let the castle go. The castle finally surrendered in 1580, but Hideyoshi's army was tiring and slowing. A Môri advisor defected and Hideyoshi suddenly had a strong foothold, which he used to take Tottori and then set his eyes to Takamatsu castle. The man in charge turned out to be very stubborn, and Hideyoshi performed a very unconventional strategy. Takamatsu was a flat plain just below sea level, so Hideyoshi took the waters of Ashimôrigawa to be damned and diverted, which subsequently flooded the castle. He continued to harrass the castle.

However, it was at this time that Akechi's troops killed Oda Nobunaga at the Honno Temple in Kyoto. This was the opprotunity of a lifetime for Akechi, Hideyoshi, and the Môri (depending on who got the news first of the latter). Hideyoshi got the news first, and after a few quick negociations with the Môri he was off to Kyoto. He broke a speed record and had his army march into Settsu in merely four days, completely catching Akechi off-guard. Hideyoshi's army swelled to 20,000 men as nearby lords gathered to him; Akechi's army was barely 10,000. The two met at Yamazaki and Hideyoshi, already having picked the tactically advantageous ground and commanders, overwhelmed Akechi in two short hours. Hideyoshi brought Akechi's head in time for Oda Nobunaga's funeral (nice present...).

A celebrity for the next few months, Hideyoshi got ready to vie for Oda's top spot. His chief obstacle was one Shibata Katsuie, the other man suited for Oda's position. The pair battled over the successor, Hideyoshi opting for Oda Samboshi, son of the late Nobutada, the original heir; Shibata looking at Oda Nobutaka, Oda Nobunaga's third son. In the end, Hideyoshi won out, and during the conferences, Oda's lands were divied up between the temporary govenors, among which Hideyoshi was one of them. Hideyoshi and Shibata collected their supporters; Hideyoshi again used his talents to secure the key people, such as one Tokugawa Iyeasu. Shibata kept nipping at Hideyoshi's heals, but he kept out manuvuering the frustrated lord. In the battle of Shizugatake, Hideyoshi overwhelmingly defeated the Shibata army, many of Hideyoshi's underlings, who later became his pillars, made great names for themselves in this battle. Shibata and his wife commited suicide and all opposition fell.

In 1584, the last claimable heir, Oda's second son Oda Nobuo, was cozying up to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the two looked to Hideyoshi. They rallied their allies and they began to clash with Hideyoshi. Their armies formally met in Owari and they glared at each other across the field, Hideyoshi knowing his best strategy was to wait Tokugawa out. With two obstacles in his way, Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa, Hideyoshi focused on the weaker, Nobuo, whom he quickly crushed and then secured an alliance. With the added strength, Tokugawa could do little more, and for the moment accepted Hideyoshi's new status.

Hideyoshi returned to Kyoto and formally took the title of gondainagon (meaning...?), the first of many promotions, including naidaijin, kanpaku (Imperial Regent... a *BIG* eyebrow raiser because a Hashiba peseant took the title). Hideyoshi went about continuing Oda's work: getting all of Japan under his thumb. He again expanded his lands, befriending those that Oda destroyed and moving in on lands that were not yet taken. Hideyoshi was more lenient than his predecessor, showing mercy to the defeated, and he was known for his quick and broad movements, both in wars and on the domestic front. He sent out a small army of surveyors to scale the length of Japan. In 1597, Hashiba Hideyoshi adopted the name Toyotomi, the kanji meaning "bountiful minister," which was a blantant announcement as possible of his intentions to rule Japan. He took the last of Kyushu and in the process started his unrelenting assault upon Christians.

He left northern Japan alone at first, biding his time and instead further deepening himself into the role of his new name, the bountiful minister. He performed the tea ceremony and poetry, and became very interested in Noh theatre, even contracting several plays about himself, some of which he even starred in for select audiences (ego? Nah...). He was determined to "out-awe" all of his successors, partially to secure his legitimacy and partially to endear himself to history (not that he wasn't doing that already... :) ). Hideyoshi displayed craft as well as pompt, issuing a decree that farmers - the best source of manpower any daimyo had - could not carry arms of any kind; he also went about making any advances in social status extremely difficult, limiting all forms of insurrection.

In 1590, he moved into what was left of lands that didn't belong to him. After wiping away the Hôjô, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had unified Japan. Go Touma's ancestor! :)

With that out of the way, Hideyoshi's next step was securing his new dynasty. Weary of Tokugawa Ieyasu's potential as a threat, he gave Tokugawa a huge swath of land - away from Kyoto. He also set about getting Osaka and Fushimi castles built, impressive symbols of his reign. But his hopes were dashed when his three year old son, Toyotomi Tsurumatsu and his only child, died in 1591. This left only two other candidates, his dear half brother Hashiba Hidenaga, and his nephew Hidetsugu. This was narrowed even further when Hidenaga died; leaving Hideyoshi to adopt his nephew and name him the new Kanpaku while he took perhaps his most famous title: Taikô (Retired Regent).

Not satisfied with all of Japan under his belt, Hideyoshi started to look ouside his islands. In 1592, Hideyoshi began his first Korean Invasion, insulted that the Koreans would not let him use their lend to invade China. Success was not to be, however, Korean guerillas and Chinese troops causing too much damage and later that year there was a peace treaty. A year later, Hideyoshi fathered a second son, Hideyori. Forced to choose between his son and the named successor Hidetsugu, Hideyoshi chose his son. Hidetsugu was exiled to Mt. Koya and ordered to commit suicide.

In 1597, Hideyoshi felt successfully distanced from the previous Korean disaster, he tried again, the second Korean Invasion. It was a bad as the first, a Korean navy of 19 vessals destorying the Japanese fleet of 133 ships.

However, Hideyoshi's time was fast approaching; he fell ill in 1598 and, seeing his end near, he summoned his most important vassals to him. He set up a council of regents until his son Hideyori was of age, making them vow over and over their loyalty to his son. With his death later that year, the Korean war was called off. A year later, one of the regents was killed and everything began to break down. The forces split into two, the East and West, and two years later, in 1600, they met in the battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa won, and he claimed the title of Shôgun in 1603.

Hideyori still lived with his mother in Osaka castle until the Summer and Winter campains of 1615, where both he and his mother commited suicide, ending the Toyotomi name. Tokugawa had ordered the destruction of the Hashiba clan, and supposedly none were left in existance - until Touma appeared, that is.

And yes, all that was brief. Don't believe me? Look him up yourself. :)

Shuu Rei Fuan:

Shuu's ancestor comes from a legend, actually. There is an old Japanese myth that one of their samurai left Japan, went into China, and became Genghis Khan. But for the life of me, I can't find the samurai's name and do research on him...

Well, thanks to CT's Page, we were finally able to attach a name to this samurai, and it's none other than the infamous Minamoto Yoshitsune! Thanks, CT. :)

Son of Minamoto Yoshitomo, a man who supported the Taira clan in a dispute in 1156, Yoshitomo's father was put to death for the uprising along with other members of the family. Upset by this, three years later Yoshitomo tried to defy the Taira. He didn't do well, he was ultimately assasinated, and his family large family, including young Yoshitsune, was scattered about the country. He was sent off to a temple in Kuramayama. Somewhere along the way Yoshitsune wound up in Mutsu, but otherwise his youth is a question mark. Storytellers are happy to fill in the gaps, one of the most popular stories saying he was whisked away from the temple to be taught swordsmanship by a tengu (a proud, bird-like spirit of mountains).

Twenty years later, in 1180, Prince Mochihito sent word to the scattered Minamotos to again rise against the Taira. While he died a month after the cree, the fire had been set, and Yoshitsune raised an army. Somewhere along the way, he and his brother Yoritomo reunited, most likely for the first time in twenty years. Over the course of the fight, another brother, Yoshinaka won a great victory and, perhaps swelled with confidence, started manking plans to be the head of the Minamoto clan.

Brother Yoritomo would not stand for this, and so he sent Yoshitsune, now a general, off to Kyoto to do something about it with (yet another) brother, Noriyori. The campaign was wonderfully successful, and Yoshinaka fled Kyoto to only later commit suicide.

With that little distraction out of the way, the Minamotos went back to their pasttime of crushing the Taira. Step one was pushing west into Settsu, to take an outpost called Ichi no Tani, a Taira staging area. The campaign was victorious beyond all imagining; a three pronged attack where Yoshitsune and Benkei lead his prong down a harrowing clifface to attack from the rear. The moral of the Tair broke when they realized the feat (assumed to be impossible) had been accomplished, and they fled to their ships, which were quickly filled to capacity, leaving more than a few to die in the surf.

This left the path to Yashima, the Taira stronghold, wide open. Yoritomo took a breath, however, to sort out the gains he had, the families that he or hadn't switched sides, and to reign in his two younger brothers. During the hiatus, Noriyori was sent off to Kyuushuu to take care of Tairo factions there, while Yoshitsune was, in affect, acting deputy in Kyoto. It was here that the first signs of the rift between Yoshitsune and his brother Yoritomo first started to show. Yoritomo tried (and failed) to deny titles being granted to Yoshitsune, and was reportedly very angry when his efforts didn't bear fruit.

In 1185, the war was turned back on, and Yoshitsune was sent off to Yashima. He had a heated argument with one of Yoritomo's close retainers, perhaps another nail in their rift. Regardless, he picked a particularly stormy night to set sail, threatening to kill anyone to disobeyed him and go with him. Even with the threat not everyone set sail, and when he arrived at Yashima he was not at full strength. Unperturbed, he pressed on, particularly when he learened that the Taira numbers there were greatly reduced because of another campaign they were managing. The Taira got word of the attack and, thinking Yoshitsune's numbers were larger than they actually were, started retreating to their ships. By the time the realized the true numbers, the fort was already on fire. At dusk, a natural lull came in the fighting, and the Taira, thinking to waste enemy arrows, sent up a fan and challenged the Minamotos to try and shoot it down. Yoshitsune called up a tiny warrior called Nasa Munetaka known for his archery, and to everyone's delight, he shattered the fan. Still overestimating the numbers, the Taira ultimately fled the island completely, and to Yoshitsune it looked as if a final battle was on its way. Garnered by his victories, he received several last minutes supporters, bolstering his numbers and more importantly his ships.

The battle took place at Dan no Ura. Yoshitsune's ships outnumbered the Taira two to one, but the Taira were backed to a corner and had the inspirational competency of Taira Tomomori. It was a tight battle, and ultimately it was the side-switching of a general that gave Yoshitsune victory, defeating the Taira and any other challengers to Minamoto power.

Victory for Yoshitsune was shortlived, however, when he discovered that his brother had put a contract out on him. Ever suspicious and ambitious to a fault, had already dealt with Yoshinaka, and now his other brother didn't have long to live. With Yoshitsune's rival, Kajiwara Kagetoko slandering the man every chance he got, Yoritomo never quite got around to giving his brother titles, much like in Ichi no Tani. Yoshitsune denied all the slanders, pledging unwaivering loyalty to his brother. Things got very political by that point, and ultimately Yoritomo ordered Noriyori to kill him. Noriyori protested, and ultimately outright refused to do the deed; an act that sent him in exile.

Knowing his life was in jeapordy, Yoshitsune and an uncle fled Kyoto to muster an army against his brother. It was not to be, however, as he kept running into family memebers loyal to his brother. Yoritomo stripped Yoshitsune of his titles and even changed his brother's name.

Running who knew where, Yoshitsune ended up in his old home of Mutsu, but even there was not safe, as authorities learned of his location. Trapped with nowhere to go, his loyal friend Benkei heroically held off the enemy, giving his beloved friend a chance to honorably commit suicide. Legend states that he had a hundred arrows in his body, and that he died standing. Benkei was a warrior monk who most notably guarded the Genji bridge, defeating swordsman and taking their swords. It was when he'd collectd 999 swords that he met and was defeated by Yoshitsune. The two were inseperable ever since, and there are many Noh and Kabuki plays about their adventures.

Legend has it that Yoshitsune did not, in fact, die and instead fled to China, where he became the infamous Genghis Khan.

Nasutei Yagyu:

Wait, you're saying, Nasutei has a famous ancestor? Yes, Nasutei's ancestor is debatably the most famous samurai of Japan, fabled both in history and in legend. Still can't guess? I'll give you another hint, there must be a dozen manga/anime/movies done about him. Still not a clue? He was a first rate martial artist, has his own fighting style, and he wore an eye patch...

Yagyu Jubei!

We first start a few generations before Jubei, with his grandfather Yagyu Muneyoshi. Muneyoshi came across a fighter named Kamiizumi Ise no Kami, the master of the Shinkage-ryu style. The pair had a few friendly bouts, and Muneyoshi lost horribly to the martial arts master. Impressed by the style, Muneyoshi asked to become a student, and later became a trained master.

This is still the Sengoku Jidai when all of this is happening, and Muneyoshi took part in many battles. He offered to demonstrate his Shinkage-ryu to a 24 year old Tokugawa Ieyasu and, although 68 and unarmed, Muneyoshi disarmed Tokugawa and threw the much younger man to the ground by using mutodori (a martial art where you barehandedly take a sword by force using mind control! Sweet!). When asked to serve the impressed Tokugawa, he declined, citing his age, and instead offered the services of his fifth son, Munenori.

Munenori is well known for the battle of Sekigahara, in 1600. With Tokugawa at his camp, it is said that a raiding party burst upon the scene. Munenori lept into the fray to defend his lord, and legend says he single handedly dispatched several tens of warriors. He was of course rewarded for this, given land and the position of fencing master of the Tokugawa family. Munenori founded the Edo-branch of the family. Munenori was a great asset to the Tokugawa family, teaching Tokugawa Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu both swordsmanship and the art of politics, as well as the extended information network of Munenori's homelands of Yamato. He died in 1646.

His brother, Yagyu Shinjiro Toshikatsu (?? three names?) also served Tokugawa. Toshikatsu's son, Toshiyoshi founded the Owari branch of the Yagyu family, and *his* son, Renyasai became a famous swordsmaster.

Be you don't want to know about that, you want to know about Munenori's first son, Jubei. :)

Adding to the mysticism of Jubei is the utter lack of factual knowledge about him, even his birth and death. In 1616, at the age of nine, he becomes a court attendant. He drops completely from sight for twelve years, between the ages of 24 to 36.

I would like to point out that THIS IS NOT EASY. During this time *everything* was written down. You needed a passport for traveling, everything was subject to official record and if that wasn't enough, just walking down the street could potentially make you the subject of haiku or poetry, especailly if you were famous. There was a Kansei Choshushokafu, which was a list of all samurai under the shogunate and who commited any crimes, paired with what the punishment was.

He appeared again at a swordsmanship demonstration in front of the shogun along with his father Munenori, his brother Munefuyu, and one Kimura Sukekuro. Three years later he writes a document called Tsukimi no Sho, Text of Looking at the Moon, where in its forward he dropped some hints on what he'd been doing. Infuriatingly, nothing was conclusive, but the text was used to validate his succession of the Edo branch Yagyu Sinkage-ryu. The text itself is a discussion of Jubei's school's methods, his ideas of some techniques, and some Buddhist teachings of his father's friend, the famous Takuan Soho.

Upon his father Munenori's death in 1646, Jubei became a gosho inban, a government inspector, but after only a few years of this, he retired from Edo and moved back to his ancestral lands. He died in 1650 under unknown circumstances; some say heard attack, some say while he was falconing, some say while he was fishing, some say he was assassinated. The position of sword instructor was taken over by his younger brother Munefuyu.

I hasten to point out that that those three paragraphs are all there is in official records. So what about that guy who dressed in black, travelled around incognito, had a shock of hair pulled back and a sword guard as an eye patch, trapsed around wearing that sedge hat and defending the innocent from evildoers?

Well, that's the stuff of legends, my dear pupil. Mostly it comes from that little twelve year gap. Jubei was a skilled swordsman from a famous family of swordsmen who were knee deep in the intrigues of the early Tokugawa Shogunate. He was a skilled swordsman, whose father and grandfather had seen the battlefield many times, but he was born with such a great heritage in peacetime, no need for his great skills. How could people *not* speculate about that little twelve year gap? I can't think of a better feeding ground for fiction, folkore, and legends.

Let's start with *how* he disappeared. Some say that he was the warrior's warrior, and did not have the delicate words of a diplomat and was too blunt mouthed to handle court and entered a heated disagreement with the shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Some say that he was caught being drunk and disorderly, and that Tokugawa sent him home for atonement of his supreme breech of conduct. Others say that, like a true bugeisha (martail artist), he travelled Japan to hone his skills (and double as a government spy). The most tangible version is that he secluded himself in his homelands, studying and training to be worthy of succeeding his father. I say this is the most tangible because there are some hints to this in his Tsukimi no Sho, where he talks of walking about his forests and glens, trying to find the perfect family tradition of swordsmanship.

But that kind of stuff isn't fancy enough for writers. So they take some artistic liscense. For example, lamenting that he could not truly test his swordskills in peacetime, he pleads with the shogun to be given the opportunity to see how good he was in ombat. Okay, said the shogun, it won't matter much if you kill a few lowly samurai that hang out with prostitutes too much. Off Jubei went to the redlight district, came across seven samurai and goaded them into battle. He cut off two arms and a leg before chasing the other four away. Ignoring that the supposed district wasn't made until three years after his death, this goes against the basis of the government. It was not kosher to just randomly kill samurai, no matter what their class. If a samurai was gong to be killed, it was going to be because he commited a serious infraction, and his entire family would be killed with him.

Another legend accounts that he was in a daimyo's home when a ronin snuck in and challenged him. The pair fought, and both the ronin and the daimyo thought that it was a tie. Jubei scoffed and told them they were both amatuers. Incensed, the ronin demanded a rematch with real swords. Jubei finally allowed it, and the match replayed itself exactly. The ronin was killed, Jubei had only a cut on his kimono (how many anime can make that kind of reference? Pause and think bout it). He bluntly told the gaping daimyo that swordsmanship is about one hundreth of an inch, and that the ronin's death was pointless.

Then there's the one where he was surrounded by theives and ordered to hand over his overcoat and swords. He pulled off his haori and let if fall to the ground. While the theives watched if fall, Jubei killed upwards of 12 of them before they ran away.

Jubei's one eye is also a fictional legend: while practicing a leaping technique with his father, Jubei wanted to make it more challenging, and so his father swung a real sword; a tragic accident.

Yagyu Jubei by now is more of a fictional character than a historical figure, but at least this can be said: ". . .from its origins, the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu was known for its philosophy of winning by taking the initiative (sen o toru). However, Yagyu Jubei mastered this technique and developed it further. Jubei would wait for the opponent to move, and according to the movement, he would win by attacking the weak point in the opponent's defenses. . ."

Rajura:

As stated in the other Masho sections, these people aren't so much ancestors as possible relatives. In Rajura's case, Kuroda Yoshitaka may very well be an older brother. Rajura was born in 1549, and Yoshitaka was born in 1546. Yoshitaka was born in a place of mobility, his father Mototaka was a samurai under the service of the Odera family - who were the puppet masters behind the once powerful, but by 1570 weak Akamatsu family. Yoshitaka quickly became one of the Odera's chief retainers.

Life was quiet at first, and Yoshitaka had a son in 1568 named Nagamasa.

Seeing Oda Nobunaga rising to power, Yoshitaka urged the Odera to pick up and join Oda in 1576; since Oda was currently warring against the Môri. Unfortunately, the head of the Odera's, one Masamoto, was a strong ally of the Môri, as were a bunch of the local clans. So instead, Yoshitaka secretly contacted one young Hashiba Hideyoshi (he pops up everywhere, doesn't he?) and arranged a personal meeting with Oda Nobunaga himself. Oda of course accepted Yoshitaka's support, it was one less castle Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide to destroy - a key castle no less.

Two years later, an Oda retainer defected and Odera again sided with the Môri. Yoshitaka urged Odera to reconsider, and his boss replied by sending him on a "diplomatic" to the rebelling castle, where Yoshitaka was promptly thrown in a cell at Odera's insistance. Yoshitaka eventually escaped, but the ordeal left him with a pronounced limp.

After this, Yoshitaka became very close friends with Hideyoshi, as close, it is said, as Hideyoshi's half brother Hidenaga. It is even rumored that it was Yoshitaka's idea to rush back to Kyoto and that he convinced the stunned Hideyoshi of this. Yoshitaka performed many successful ventures for Hideyoshi, and for them he was rewarded with a lot of land - 120,000 koku to be exact. He even took part in the second Korean campaign, where he was a chief advisor to the leader of the force, not to shabby.

In 1589, Yoshitaka stepped aside and his son Nagamasa took over as head of the family. Nagamasa was known for his ferocity in battle, having said that "Even if I die, as long as my father is alive the Kuroda family will have nothing to fear." (find quote)

After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Yoshitaka chose to side with Tokugawa Ieyasu - the lesser of two evils since he profoundly disliked Ishida Mitsunari. Why did he dislike Ishida? Because the man indirectly insulted Yoshitaka's honor during the Korean campaign, accusing a retainer of Yoshitaka's of incompetance, as well as dropping a few indescrete comments about Yoshitaka and his son Nagamasa. So when the war broke out, Nagamasa was sent to be directly in Tokugawa's army while Yoshitaka drummed up his own force and paired up with large land holder Kato Kiyamasa. Between the two of them, they swept through all of Bungo and Chikuzen. Nagamasa, meanwhile, served Tokugawa to great distinction, collapsing Mitsunari's flank. In response to this, Tokugawa expanded the Kuroda lands from 120,000 to 520,000 koku.

Sekigahara marked the retirement of Yoshitaka, he was 51 years old. I find it interesting to note that he was also a Christian. Baptised by Takayama Ukon, he rescued a handful of Christians in his time, including Otomo Yoshimune and a Jesuit mission in the Bungo province.

Yoshitaka was an endearing and charismatic strategist, well known for his decency of character and unswerving loyalty to Hideyoshi. He died in 1604. His son followed suit in 1623.

Anubisu:

Anubisu was born in 1551. Sadly, I didn't find a lot on the Sasaki family. In fact, I can't find anything on the Sasaki family. :( The only famous Sasaki I could find was one Sasaki Kojiro. Can you guess who he was? No? Well, I'll tell you.

Do any of you know a guy named Miyamoto Musashi? There was a movie trilogy staring Mifune Toshiro; Miyamoto was one of the most famous samurai of not the Sengoku Jidai, but the Tokugawa era. A travelling samurai seeking to hone his sword and his skill, his duel with Kojiro is one of the most famous duels in history.

Near as I can tell, Kojiro had mastered a sword technique called Tsubame-gaeshi, the "swallow counter," said to have been inspired by a swallows tail in flight (don't ask me). Kojiro was a retainer of daimyo Hosokawa Tadaoki. Miyamoto petitioned the daimyo for permission to duel Kojiro, and it was granted; the fight was to be held at eight o'clock the next morning on an island not far from Ogura. Kojiro fought with a fine nodatchi sword made by Nagamitsu of Bizen, and Musashi fought with a wooden oar that he had fashioned into a bokken.

Miyamoto Musashi killed Sasaki Kojiro in that 1612 duel. It was - as far as I can tell - the beginning of Miyamoto using wooden swords for duels. Miyamoto later wrote one of the two most famous samurai books in history: A Book of Five Rings.

And that is *all* I know about Sasaki Kojiro. Pathetically small, isn't it? Especially in the comparison to everyone else.

Naaza:

Naaza was born in 1551. The Yamanouchi family has two really important ancestors for Naaza; one was in the Sengoku Jidai/Tokugawa Shogunate and the other was around the Meiji restoration.

We start with what could be a big brother or cousin, Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, born in 1546. We couldn't find all that much on him, except that he took the Kochi-jo Castle in 1600, a reward from Tokugawa and rebuilt it. Then SIXTEEN generations of Yamanouchi lived in that castle. Nice. He died in 1605.

Interestingly enough, there is a story about Kazutoyo's *wife*. Why? She is widely considered the model of an exemplary wife. Why? There's a little story about her that says this: when her husband was still an unknown samurai, she caught wind of the fact that he was feeling anxious and unsure of himself. What does wifey do? She produces a secret store of cash and uses it to buy this magnificent horse for hubby dear. With the confidence that the latest purchase brought him, Kazutoyo was able to catch the eye of Oda Nobunaga. A lot of wives nowadays cite Kazutoyo's wife as the reason why they keep a cache of cash.

Sixteen generations later, the Tokugawa were weak and corrupt; change was finally in the air again, and one Yamanouchi Yodo had a role to play in history. By this point in time, Tosa was well known for the upper class samurai repressing the lower class samurai - the lower class being the original original people who ruled Tosa. So, to be clear: Yamanouchi = upper class, Chosokabe = lower class.

Enter Takechi Hanpeita, a samurai in that very narrow space between upper and lower class samurai. Takechi was one of the many leaders of the upcoming revolution and people to want to overthrow the Tokugawa and put power back with the emporer (he was still lurking around), and formed the Tosa Loyalist Party. Another name to keep track of is one Sakamoto Ryoma, one of Takechi's partner's in crime. The difference between these two names is that Takechi was still fiercely loyal to the Yamanouchi - Yodo being the current head, and Sakamoto was just as fiercely opposed to their oppressors.

So while there was a bunch of political undercurrents going on, Yamanouchi Yodo was under house arrest for his differences against a Tokugawa regent. While he was locked up in his Edo house, his trusted subordinate was in charge of Tosa. Hanpeita and Sakamoto couldn't turn the subordinate over to their point of view, and so he was assassinated in 1862, putting Hanpeita in control. He went to Kyoto, now an "official" of the Tosa government, and went about assassinating Imperialist enemies. His little reign of terror lasted for two years, and fellow imperialists quickly rose the ranks and took power. Hanpeita even met the emporer, and was promoted to upper class samurai and director of the Tosa headquarters in Kyoto, essentially validating his bloody role.

But the Tokugawa supporters had plans of their own, and staged a coup that put them back in control. Hanpeita's power plummeted and Yodo finally returned to his province - none too happy at what had been going on at his absense. Yodo ordered Hanpeita to return to Tosa's capital, Kochi. Feeling a little cocky, the runaway samurai challenged his lord to abandon the Tokugawa he was so loyal to and become and Imperialist. It was an outrage Yodo wouldn't stand for. Hanpeita was arrested and jailed, never to see the light of day again.

But this is not to say that Yodo was merely a background character of history. Sakamoto was still around, and he managed to convince Goto Shojiro to convince Yodo to act as a go-between, a mediator between the loyalist revolutionaries and the Tokugawa shogunate. Yodo even beseeched the last of the Tokugawa, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, to rescind and restore power to the emporer.

Shuten:

Frankly, I couldn't find anything on his family. He really was a low-class samurai, as he explained in an episode.