Overview
Castle Kaneda needs numbers. The only fighting men left on Tsushima who are not dead or captured are the ones nobody was paying.
Straw Hat ronin have been spotted in the Kishi Grasslands, and Jin goes to bring them into the rescue. It is the first mission that makes the island's class structure a practical problem — these are trained warriors whose loyalty is available because nobody ever bought it.
The reward is the Ronin Attire, the early stealth set: it cuts enemy detection by 10–20%, raises melee damage by 15–30%, and makes enemies slower to spot you after you leave pampas grass while crouched. That last perk is specific to how this game's tall-grass stealth actually works.
In the game’s own framing: Seek out the mercenary Straw Hat ronin Ryuzo to recruit his help rescuing Lord Shimura, tracking him through the Kishi Grasslands.
Objectives
- Travel to the Kishi Grasslands coast
- Investigate the burning cart
- Reach the search area
- Follow the trail of dead Mongols
- Reach the second search area
- Examine the dropped straw hat
- Meet Ryuzo
- Fight off the Mongol ambush
- Speak with Ryuzo
- Mount your horse
- Ride to the Straw Hat camp
- Search the ruined cart
- Talk to the surviving peasant
- Continue to the camp
- Walk with Ryuzo
- Collect the Ronin Attire
Full walkthrough
- 01Travel to the Kishi Grasslands coast
Follow the waypoint to the coastal area.
- 02Investigate the burning cart
Examine the destroyed Mongol convoy — the wreck reads as an ambush, and it was not the Mongols who were ambushed.
- 03Reach the search area
Follow the road toward the marker; a trail of bodies runs ahead of you.
- 04Follow the trail of dead Mongols
Track the bodies until you come on a wounded Mongol fleeing the scene.
- 05Reach the second search area
Keep following the waypoint.
- 06Examine the dropped straw hat
The headwear on the ground is the first hard evidence of who did this.
- 07Meet Ryuzo
An old acquaintance appears and explains what the Straw Hats have become.
- 08Fight off the Mongol ambush
Defeat the Mongols who close in, with Ryuzo fighting alongside you.
- 09Speak with Ryuzo
Automatic cinematic dialogue.
- 10Mount your horse
Board your steed for the ride. Whistle the horse rather than walking back to it, and remember a charge is itself an opening move against a loose group.
- 11Ride to the Straw Hat camp
Travel with Ryuzo; you are ambushed again on the way.
- 12Search the ruined cart
Examine the wreckage at the second ambush site.
- 13Talk to the surviving peasant
Speak to the refugee who escaped the attack.
- 14Continue to the camp
Finish the ride with Ryuzo.
- 15Walk with Ryuzo
Accompany him through the camp as he talks.
- 16Collect the Ronin Attire
Pick up the gifted outfit to end the tale.
Enemies in this tale, and how to fight them
Strengths
- Straw Hats / ronin — Japanese swordsmen rather than Mongols, and they fight like it — faster and more technical than the invaders, with less armour. Stone Stance still applies. Standoffs work well against them, and against unarmoured ronin a won standoff often kills outright.
Rewards
- Major Legend IncreaseA large step toward the next Legend rank. Legend gates your Ghost Weapon unlocks and your health and Resolve upgrades, so main and Mythic Tales are the fastest way to raise it.
- Ronin AttireA full armour set. Sets are builds rather than defence numbers — each one changes how you are meant to fight.
What this unlocks
Characters in this tale
Sources
- Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough — PowerPyx
- Ghost of Tsushima: Act 1 — Rescue Lord Shimura — Knowll
- Ghost of Tsushima — All Armor Sets List — Samurai Gamers