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TalecoreJin's JourneyEasyAct I — Rescue Lord Shimura

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa

Jin recruits the island's master archer — the ally who missed Komoda Beach — and comes away with the half bow and the archery skills that open up every camp afterwards.

RoleMain story
Importancecore
RewardHalf bow and archery abilities
  • TypeMain Tale (Ishikawa Tale 1 of 9)
  • Act1 – Rescue Lord Shimura
  • RegionIzuhara
  • Quest giverAutomatic
  • PrerequisiteComplete the Prologue and enter the open world
  • RewardsMajor Legend Increase, Archery ability, Half Bow
  • Steps21

Key tips

  • The Half Bow is what makes stealth approaches viable for the rest of the game.
  • Pick arrows off the ground during the ranged ambush rather than switching to melee early.
  • The hornet nest and powder barrels do most of the work in the ambush; shooting them first materially reduces the fight.
  • Bow headshots kill unarmoured Mongols outright, but helmeted commanders need the sword.

Overview

Ishikawa was not at Komoda Beach. He is therefore alive, and he is therefore the first ally worth recruiting.

Rescuing Lord Shimura from Castle Kaneda needs more than one man, and Act 1 is structured as a recruitment drive. Ishikawa is the archery half of that effort: finding him grants Jin the half bow and the ranged abilities that make stealth approaches viable at all.

The mission also introduces the thread that runs through his questline — his former student is now training Mongol archers, which means the arrows killing islanders were taught by him.

In the game’s own framing: Jin seeks out Sensei Ishikawa to recruit his archery for the rescue of Lord Shimura. The sensei’s apprentice Tomoe is missing, which leads Jin to Fort Nakayama.

This is tale 1 of 9 in Ishikawa’s arc. The ally questlines run in order and assume the ones before them, so they reward being followed as a sequence rather than picked at.

What to bring

The stances are a counter-table, not a preference: each one is the answer to a specific enemy, and this tale fields the ones below.

  • RecommendedStone StanceStone breaks swordsmen, who make up most of every Mongol group.
  • RecommendedBlack Powder BombThe crowd answer this tale expects.
  • RecommendedHalf BowFast enough to use inside the fight.

Objectives

  1. Ask about Sensei Ishikawa at the inn
  2. Follow the innkeeper
  3. Survey the dojo
  4. Climb to the dojo
  5. Investigate the dojo interior
  6. Locate Sensei Ishikawa
  7. Accompany the sensei
  8. Fight the Mongol patrol
  9. Investigate the ambush site
  10. Speak with Ishikawa
  11. Receive the Half Bow
  12. Archery practice
  13. Approach Fort Nakayama
  14. Survey Fort Nakayama
  15. Ambush the patrol
  16. Clear Fort Nakayama
  17. Find Ishikawa after the battle
  18. Investigate the fort interior
  19. Answer the cry for help
  20. Question the injured man
  21. Final dialogue

Full walkthrough

  1. 01
    Ask about Sensei Ishikawa at the inn

    Travel to Hiyoshi Springs and speak to the innkeeper outside the inn.

  2. 02
    Follow the innkeeper

    He agrees to guide you to the dojo; follow until the cinematic triggers.

  3. 03
    Survey the dojo

    Look up at the cliff face where the dojo sits and hold the survey until the white arc contracts into a circle. Survey points are not decoration — each one you mark puts an objective or a hazard on your map, and skipping them means finding the same things the hard way.

  4. 04
    Climb to the dojo

    Find the handholds on the rock wall ahead and scale the cliff.

  5. 05
    Investigate the dojo interior

    Examine the objects inside — the place has been ransacked.

  6. 06
    Locate Sensei Ishikawa

    Follow the footprints and blood uphill into his dwelling.

  7. 07
    Accompany the sensei

    Ishikawa reveals Tomoe is missing; follow as he tracks her.

  8. 08
    Fight the Mongol patrol

    Six Mongols — two archers, four swordsmen. Ishikawa supports you with his bow. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Stone Stance handles the swordsmen; its heavy attacks do extra stagger damage and break their guard.

    TipStone breaks swordsmen, who make up most of every Mongol group.

  9. 09
    Investigate the ambush site

    Three things to examine: the rice and millet stores, the blood, and a quiver.

  10. 10
    Speak with Ishikawa

    A cutscene covers his reaction to what the quiver means.

  11. 11
    Receive the Half Bow

    Follow him down the road toward Fort Nakayama; he gifts the bow and explains its use in stealth.

  12. 12
    Archery practice

    Shoot three roadside lamps — first on the right, second on the left, third and farthest on the right. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  13. 13
    Approach Fort Nakayama

    Continue with Ishikawa to a rocky vantage point above the fort.

  14. 14
    Survey Fort Nakayama

    Mark four targets: a hornet nest, black powder barrels, a hanging lamp outside the walls, and the archer positions. Then wait for nightfall. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Survey points are not decoration — each one you mark puts an objective or a hazard on your map, and skipping them means finding the same things the hard way. Shoot the powder before the group spreads out. Once they scatter, the barrel is worth one kill instead of four.

  15. 15
    Ambush the patrol

    On Ishikawa’s signal, open fire. Shoot the hornet nest and the fire lantern first, then kill the Mongol archers before they can answer. Pick arrows off the ground if you run dry. When the gates open and reinforcements come from the right, use the remaining powder barrels. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Shoot the powder before the group spreads out. Once they scatter, the barrel is worth one kill instead of four.

  16. 16
    Clear Fort Nakayama

    Climb down with Ishikawa and fight at the entrance. Thin the crowd with the Half Bow before they close. The helmeted commander has to be taken in sword combat.

  17. 17
    Find Ishikawa after the battle

    He is standing over a pile of arrow-killed Mongols, holding Tomoe’s pendant. He sends you into the fort.

  18. 18
    Investigate the fort interior

    Three marked objects: arrows in a target, a scroll of Mongolian archery instruction, and Tomoe’s kimono. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  19. 19
    Answer the cry for help

    A villager is calling outside; leave the fort with Ishikawa.

  20. 20
    Question the injured man

    He tells you what Tomoe actually is, which is not what Ishikawa has been saying.

  21. 21
    Final dialogue

    Follow the sensei; he admits what he already knew and commits to the rescue.

    Checkpoint

Enemies in this tale, and how to fight them

Strengths

  • Archers — Deal with them before you commit to the melee, because everything else in the fight becomes harder while arrows are landing. Take them with your own bow, drop them from stealth before the fight opens, or close the distance immediately — archers are poor at close range and fold quickly once you are on them. Where the tale gives you high ground, use it: an elevated position means only one side of the field can answer you.
  • Swordsmen — Stone Stance, whose heavy attacks do extra stagger damage to sword-wielders and break their guard. Swordsmen are the backbone of nearly every Mongol group, so Stone is the stance you will spend the most time in. Parry timing matters more here than anywhere else: blue attacks can be parried, red ones cannot and have to be dodged.

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.
  • Archery ability
  • Half Bow

What this unlocks

Ishikawa’s tales

Characters in this tale

Sources