Ghost of Tsushima The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa Walkthrough

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa (Ishikawa Tale 1 of 9) is a main tale in Ghost of Tsushima. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa main quest.

The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa is unlocked when you’ve completed the introduction to the game, and enter the open world.

Main Tale: The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa
Act: 1 – Rescue Lord Shimura
Region: Izuhara
Quest Giver: N/A
Requirement: Complete the Prologue and enter the Open World.
Rewards: Major Legend Increase, Archery ability, Half Bow weapon
Mission Info: (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.

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
• Speak with the injured man
• Go with Sensei Ishikawa

Starting Location: The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa

Ask about Sensei Ishikawa at the inn

Right in front of the inn in Hiyoshi Springs, speak to the inkeeper about Sense Ishikawa.

Go with the innkeeper

After speaking with you, the innkeeper offers to lead you to Ishikawa’s dojo. Follow him until a cinematic is triggered.

Look for Ishikawa’s dojo

The inkeeper will say that the dojo is “there on the cliff”, and you will have to look up at it to proceed. It will be like a survey action, with a white arc that contracts into a circle and eventually will cause an prompt to trigger Jin’s comment.

Travel to Ishikawa’s dojo

Head straight ahead to find a series of handholds leading up the rock wall. Climb up the cliff to reach the dojo.

Investigate the dojo

It appears as though the dojo has been ransacked. There will be several objects inside that you can examine for more information.

Find Sensei Ishikawa

Follow the footprints and blood stains to Ishikawa’s home at the top of a slight hill. Enter the house to continue.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

Sensei Ishikawa will tell you that his student Tomoe is missing, and Jin will offer to find help him her. Follow him as he tracks her.

Defeat the Mongols

As you follow Sensei Ishikawa, you encounter a Mongol patrol of two archers and four swordsmen. With the help of Ishikawa’s bow, make short work of them.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

After they are all defeated, Sensei Ishikawa returns to the task of tracking Tomoe. Eventually you will reach the site of an ambush. He will tell you to look around.

Investigate the camp

Examine the rice and millet,  the blood, and the quiver.

Speak with Sensei Ishikawa

Sensei Ishikawa will say that he fears the worst, then trail off. Approach him to trigger a cinematic.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

Sensei Ishikawa will tell you that the Mongols would have taken Tomoe to Fort Nakayama for interrogation or torture. Follow him down the road until he stops and talks with you. He will “lend” you the Half Bow, a great weapon that will make stealth missions much easier on you.

Shoot the candle

Before you go into battle, Sensei Ishikawa wants you to practice with the bow. A waypoint marker will appear above the first lamp on the right side of the road. Shoot it, then move on to the next lamp on the left side of the road. Finally the lamp that is furthest away on the right side of the road.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

New bow in hand, your journey continues. Keep following Ishikawa to fort Nakayama. Once there, follow him to a rocky outcropping where you will be able to survey the fort for weaknesses.

Survey Fort Nakayama

Looking down on the fort, you will again be in survey mode. Follow the direction of the white arcs on screen to locate important areas. As you get closer, the arc will contract into a circle until it eventually prompts you to press to make Jin comment on the point of interest. Look at the hornet nest, the barrels of black powder, the hanging lamp outside the walls, and the archers in the camp. After your survey is complete, you will wait for night to fall so that you can attack under cover of darkness.

Ambush the Mongol patrol

Wait for Sensei Ishikawa to give the signal, then open fire. Shoot the hornets nest and the fire lantern to weaken the Mongols, if not kill them outright. Pick off any survivors with the bow, starting with their archers to eliminate any return fire.  If you start to run low on ammo, there are bundles of arrows on the ground right next to you.

After the Mongols outside the walls have been killed, the fort will open up its gates and reinforcements will come out on your right. Make use of any hornets nests or powder barrels to thin their numbers before mopping them up with the bow.

Rid Fort Nakayama of Mongols

Once the patrol is destroyed, climb down the cliff with Sensei Ishikawa and travel to the fort. You can try using stealth to thin their numbers, depending on how much of the pampas grass you caused to burn in the ambush, but most likely you’ll be forced into the direct approach with Ishikawa firing at any Mongols he sees. Its better to eliminate them at range with the half bow before they close the distance to you, so make every shot count. Very quickly a large number of Mongols will swarm out of the fort and attack you. Most will die from a quick headshot, but their leader will be wearing a helmet, and force you into a swordfight.

Speak with Sensei Ishikawa

Once you’ve slaughtered all of the Mongols, find Sensei Ishikawa near a large pile of bodies who have been killed with arrows. Finding Tomoe’s pendant, he commands you to search the fort.

Investigate Fort Nakayama

There will be several items marked with waypoints that you must examine to proceed, including the arrows in the target, a scroll with archery instructions written in Mongolian, and Tomoe’s kimono.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

After that, you’ll hear a peasant outside crying out for help. Go with Sensei Ishikawa to the front gate to find an injured man.

Speak with the injured man

Talk with him to find out the shocking truth about Sensei Ishikawa’s prized apprentice.

Go with Sensei Ishikawa

Follow your sensei until you trigger another cinematic where Ishikawa confesses what he has been hiding about Tomoe. He also commits to help you rescue your uncle, moving you one step closer to your act goals.

This finishes The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa main quest in Ghost of Tsushima.

For all other Quest Walkthroughs, check out our complete Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough (All Tales).