The Tale of Lord Shimura

Key takeawaysSpoilers

• This is a duel, not a battle. Parry-focused play beats it. Shimura trained Jin, so he reads the same habits Jin was taught.
• The choice does not gate content. Both endings complete the game. Neither locks you out of remaining side content, and the world stays available afterwards.
• Do the side content first if you care about it. Mythic Tales, Tales of Tsushima and Iki Island are all better experienced before the story closes, for tone rather than for mechanics.

OverviewEnding spoilers

The Mongols are dealt with before this mission begins. The last thing standing between Jin and the end of the story is his uncle.

The Tale of Lord Shimura closes Jin's Journey. The Shogun has ruled on what the Ghost is, and Shimura's duty to his lord and his obligation to his nephew have been made mutually exclusive — a contradiction the game has been building since Komoda Beach.

It ends in a duel and then in a choice. The game does not weight the options, and neither ending is presented as the correct reading of the story.

In the game’s own framing: Jin meets Lord Shimura at Omi Lake. They have much to talk about, and whatever the future brings, Jin will see it through.

What to bring

What this tale expects you to have on you.

• RequiredComplete "Eternal Blue Sky"This tale does not appear until then.

ObjectivesSpoilers

1. Speak with Yuna at Jogaku Temple
2. Travel to the old sparring circle
3. Wait on the dock
4. Ride with Lord Shimura
5. Push the wagon
6. Ride on
7. Follow him to the cemetery
8. Compose a haiku
9. Duel Lord Shimura
10. Choose the ending

Full walkthroughSpoilers

1. 01
   Speak with Yuna at Jogaku Temple

   Before any of it.

2. 02
   Travel to the old sparring circle

   Fast travel to Omi Village and go to the childhood training ground by Omi Lake.

3. 03
   Wait on the dock

   Shimura has not arrived yet.

4. 04
   Ride with Lord Shimura

   After the cutscene, mount up and go with him.

5. 05
   Push the wagon

   Dismount for the farmer struggling with his cart and help push it clear.

6. 06
   Ride on

   Continue together.

7. 07
   Follow him to the cemetery

   To Jin’s father’s grave.

8. 08
   Compose a haiku

   This one counts toward "Body, Mind, and Spirit".

9. 09
   Duel Lord Shimura

   Heavenly Strike when you have the Resolve, Ghost Stance if it is up. Roll the red indicators and parry the blue and standard attacks. Keep at least one Resolve segment in reserve — it is your healing as well as your techniques, and spending the last one on damage is how a won fight turns. Blue-marked attacks can be parried; red-marked ones cannot and have to be dodged. Reading the colour matters more than reacting fast. Duels disable your tools, so this is stances, parries and dodges only. Let them commit first and take the recovery window rather than opening yourself.

10. 10
    Choose the ending

    With his health gone, spare him or kill him. Neither choice affects trophies, and both allow full completion afterwards.

    Checkpoint

Rewards

• Major Legend Increase
  A 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.

Characters in this tale

• Lord Shimura
• Jin Sakai

Sources

• Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough — PowerPyx
• Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough — All Tales — PowerPyx
• All Ghost of Tsushima main story missions — Sportskeeda

The endingEnding spoilers

• Honour Shimura's request

  Jin grants his uncle the death a samurai is owed, closing the story on the terms Shimura defended throughout.

  Spoiler
• Spare him

  Jin refuses, rejecting the last claim the samurai code has on him. Shimura's response makes the cost of that mercy explicit.

  Spoiler

Relationships