The sunlight of the seventh month shone on the snowy peak of Yotei Mountain, shimmering with a clear, bright glow. From below, this white volcano, standing in southern Ezo Land and nearly two thousand meters tall, looked just like the Fuji of the northern country, and so it was reverently called by the Wajin "Ezo Fuji."
"Ezo Fuji... What a wondrous sacred mountain, inhabited by the ancient Spirit of the Mountains of the northern country! And the Ezo People call it 'Male Peak,' while they call nearby Shiribetsu Peak 'Female Peak.' One male and one female, these two mountains are like the ancient Sky Gods of Ezo legend who guard them, splitting the vast Ezo Land in two and keeping us from crossing the boundary..."
A Wajin camp stood at the foot of Yotei Mountain. The camp was not actually large, but its location had been chosen with care, backed by the mountain and facing the water. To the south, it leaned on higher terrain, making it very easy to defend; to the north was the Shiribetsu River, flowing west at an angle, blocking any enemy attack southward; to the east lay a river valley favorable for cavalry to gallop through, connected to a gentler eastern slope, making it convenient for horsemen to wheel around and strike the right flank and rear...
From this simple camp alone, one could clearly see the rich military experience of the Wajin commander. He was obviously a man who had grown old fighting wars.
At this moment, Kakizaki Mitsuhiro, in his thirties, was wearing a suit of Iron Armor Do-maru Armor that symbolized his status as commander-in-chief, standing on the high ground behind the camp and looking up at the snowy summit of "Ezo Fuji." Around him were more than a dozen Kakizaki retainers