I just got started with this series and boy, am I impressed. The research that has gone into it is top-notch. Everything from the details in clothing, dress, allusions to tea ceremony, historical individuals; this show has real historical chops.
To try and raise the profile and accessibility of this series I've started blogging the series from episode 1 (since I'm a bit behind), and you can find my series of posts here:
http://fungafufu.wordpress.com/2011/...ion-and-notes/
Things I'm hoping to try to include in this blog series are historical notes and terminology - the anime actually does a lot to make things very accessible, but for those interested in historical nuances I've tried to point out a few things here and there.