The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa | Ghost of Tsushima Wiki

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa
Prev.	The Warrior's Code
Next	Blood on the Grass
Quest Type	Main Quest
Reward/s	Archery Half Bow Major Legend Increase
Location	Hiyoshi Springs
Quest Giver	Sensei Ishikawa

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa is a Main Quest in Ghost of Tsushima (GoT). Main Quests in Ghost of Tsushima (GoT) are categorized as "Jin's Journey", these are highlighted in Gold and focuses on the main campaign of the game. Completing main quests reward Jin with various items such as reputation points, tools, resources, charms, and story progression. Please see Quests for other walkthroughs on other tasks.

An Ishikawa Tale (1 of 9).

Sensei Ishikawa never joined our battle against the Mongols at Komoda Beach. If he's still alive, I could use his skill with a bow to help rescue Lord Shimura. But first, I have to find the sensei.

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Information

• Location: Hiyoshi Springs
• Quest Giver: Sensei Ishikawa
• Act 1: Rescue Lord Shimura
• This quest unlocks techniques related to Archery. Gaining access to long-range weapons and combat.

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa NPCs

• Sensei Ishikawa

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Rewards

• Archery
• Half Bow
• Major Legend Increase

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Objectives

• Ask about Sensei Ishikawa at the inn
• Go with the innkeeper
• Look for Ishikawa’s dojo
• Travel to Ishikawa’s dojo
• Investigate the dojo
• Find Sensei Ishikawa
• Go with Sensei Ishikawa
• Investigate the camp
• Speak with Sensei Ishikawa
• Survey Fort Nakayama
• Ambush the Mongol patrol
• Rid Fort Nakayama of Mongols
• Speak with Sensei Ishikawa
• Investigate Fort Nakayama
• Go with Sensei Ishikawa

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Walkthrough

Ask about Sensei Ishikawa at the inn

• To start this quest, open the map and mark Hiyoshi Springs. You'll see the gold icon with Sensei Ishikawa's face on it.
• Upon arriving at Hiyoshi Springs, make sure to speak to the townspeople there to obtain rumors regarding the location of your first Bamboo Strike.
• It will be automatically marked on the map upon gaining the information. Bamboo Strikes is like a mini-game where you'll need to cut a stack of bamboo in one strike which upgrades the number of Resolve nodes Jin can accumulate.
• Head to the inn of Hiyoshi Springs and speak to the innkeeper to progress the quest. An exchange of dialogue will trigger upon speaking to him. To identify the innkeeper, you'll see the gold diamond icon on his head.

Go with the innkeeper

• Before you leave the inn, make sure to check inside the building for Resources. When you're through, follow the innkeeper to Ishikawa's dojo.
• Eventually, you'll stop at the bottom of the cliff and the innkeeper will mention that the dojo is up on the cliff.
• Go straight and you'll see the ledge you can climb on and the climbing holds to reach the dojo.
• Head left and then before heading up to the dojo, you'll see a case of arrows and a spear next to the edge of the cliff. Interact with the spear to obtain the Aozora Headband.

Investigate the dojo

• Head inside the dojo and you'll see blood on the floor. Examine the two bloodstains and the footprints, then head to Ishikawa's house that's nearby.
• Go inside and a cutscene will trigger where you'll find Ishikawa.
• Jin asks for Ishikawa's help to rescue Lord Shimura but tells him that he can't since he is looking for his skilled student.
• Jin offers to help Ishikawa look for his student but in return asks Ishikawa's aid to help him.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

• After the cutscene, travel with Ishikawa to track Tomoe and to investigate a Mongol camp.
• Along the way, you will encounter a group of Mongol soldiers. 2x archers and four swordsmen.
• Defeat the Mongols and continue tracking Tomoe's trail where it will lead you to an ambushed campsite.
• Investigate the camp for clues such as the rice and millet, blood on the rock, and the quiver.
• Speak to Ishikawa to trigger another cutscene.

Survey Fort Nakayama

• You'll learn that Tomoe must have been brought to Fort Nakayama which will be your next location.
• Head to Fort Nakayawa to survey the area along with Ishikawa.
• Along the way, Ishikawa stops and talks to Jin. He will lend Jin the Half Bow but asks you to shoot the lamps. This is basically a tutorial on how to use the bow and arrow.
• After shooting down the lamps, continue traveling with Ishikawa to Fort Nakayama.
• Upon arriving at the fort, Ishikawa points out a survey spot to scout the area. Follow him and another cutscene will trigger.
• As you survey the area, you'll need to find points of interest that may help in ambushing the Mongols.
• There's a Hornet's nest, the barrels of black powder, a hanging lamp outside the walls of the fort, and the archers that are training.

Ambush the Mongol patrol

• Once night falls, you'll begin the ambush.
• Wait for Ishikawa's signal before shooting down the objects.
• Wait for the Mongols that are on horseback to get near the barrels. Once they're near, shoot it for the barrels to explode, then shoot the hornet's nest on the right, followed by the lights on the left to burn the archers standing next to it.
• After killing them, reinforcements will appear on the right side of the fort. Kill them with the bow then head inside the fort and kill the remaining enemies.
• There are a couple of archers inside, so make sure to scout the watchtower and rooftops first and shoot them if you see them. 
• Inside the fort, there's a brute Mongol here. Ishikawa will help you but you need to be careful facing this guy. You'll also encounter a Mongol leader here which you'll need to kill to obtain a point that will unlock the Water Stance.
• The Mongol Leader is the one wearing full armor and wields two swords.

Speak with Sensei Ishikawa

• After clearing the area, speak to Sensei Ishikawa who is examining the pile of dead bodies. He'll find Tomoe's pendant and tells you to search the fort.
• Follow the markers and investigate the area.
• First, you'll see Tomoe's kimono inside a personal quarter. Next, you'll find a scroll where archery terms translated in Mongolian are written on it. And finally, you'll find Japanese arrows that were used for training.
• After investigating all three clues, you'll hear a man crying for help. Follow Ishikawa and approach the survivor - a cutscene will trigger and you'll learn more about Tomoe.
• After the cutscene, approach Ishikawa and speak to him. You'll learn about the secret Ishikawa is hiding about Tomoe.
• This completes the main quest.

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Notes, Tips, and Trivia

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• Notes, Tips, and trivia.