"I am not your son... I am the Ghost."
― Jin Sakai to Lord Shimura in From the Darkness
Jin Sakai (境井 仁, Sakai Jin), also known as the Ghost (冥人, Kuroudo), is a former samurai and the protagonist of Ghost of Tsushima and its expansion Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island. Daisuke Tsuji provided motion-capture and Tsuji and Kazuya Nakai provided the English and Japanese voice respectively.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born into Clan Sakai, Jin Sakai grew up in Omi Village on Tsushima Island; the day he was born, his mother witnessed a fox chasing fireflies outside their home, thus she proclaimed the kami Inari to be Jin's guardian. Growing up in the ruling class of samurai, he was raised in a strict, disciplined environment, trained by his father, Kazumasa, and maternal uncle, Lord Shimura, to become a samurai. During his youth, he was friends with Ryuzo, and taken care of by his maid, Yuriko. He enjoyed climbing trees and high places in his hometown.
Hunting Trip Toyotama
Jin's mother died from an illness when he was a child. Jin initially refused to believe his mother was gone: going to the nearby forest to search for her, he became lost for three days until being rescued in the nick of time by his father. A few years later, Kazumasa was murdered by Tenzo during his campaign to liberate Iki Island. Jin hid out of fear rather than come to his father's aid, an action that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Following his father's death, he was taken in by Shimura, who became his only surviving family. Shimura would prove to be both a mentor and parental figure to Jin, with their bond becoming that of a father and son.
Around the year 1272, Jin also fought against Ryuzo in a tournament while becoming a samurai, defeating him in a friendly duel. This would prevent Ryuzo from becoming a samurai, instead becoming a ronin mercenary and eventually the leader of the Straw Hat Ronin.
Mongol Invasion[]
Jin Stumbles upon a village infested with Mongols
The Mongol Empire under Khotun Khan launched an invasion of Tsushima in 1274. Jin is one of eighty samurai who were sent in a desperate suicidal attack against the Mongols at Komoda Beach, aiming to slow the invasion force down before they reach the Japanese mainland. During the battle, Jin was grievously wounded and left for dead, while Shimura was captured and the rest of the samurai on the beach are annihilated. Jin was narrowly saved by the thief Yuna, who nursed him back to health and saved him from the Mongols. Following the battle, the Mongols take over most of the island, killing or enslaving anyone who resisted their rule.
Against Yuna's warnings that the attempt would be futile, Jin attacks Castle Kaneda, where Shimura was imprisoned, in order to save his uncle. Before he reaches the main keep of the castle, he is confronted in one-on-one combat with Khotun Khan; although Jin manages to wound Khotun's face, he is ultimately outmatched and thrown off a bridge. Jin narrowly survives the fall, and escapes with Yuna with the help of a pair of the Samurai horses they used to travel to the castle. Realizing that he cannot defeat the Mongols by himself or with the traditional samurai techniques and tactics, Jin opts to scour the island in search of friends and new fighting techniques in order to retake Castle Kaneda and rescue his uncle.
Ishikawa agrees to help Jin
Jin enlists the help of Sensei Ishikawa, in exchange for aid in hunting his former student Tomoe, and Masako Adachi, who agrees in exchange for help in hunting the killers of her family. Jin also locates Ryuzo, who seeks help in finding food for his starving men; Ryuzo is increasingly frustrated when their attempts fail, but he nevertheless agrees to help. Jin helps Yuna find her brother Taka, who is an expert blacksmith that could help Jin craft a device to help him scale the walls of Castle Kaneda. In the process, Jin begins to walk away from the Samurai ways, after Yuna convinces him to begin striking the shadows and killing the Mongols from stealth, which Shimura had told him was a coward's way of eliminating a foe.
Jin and Yuna Sneaking into Azamo Bay
After discovering that Taka is being held in Azamo Bay, Jin and Yuna mount a successful rescue mission with the help of sake merchant Kenji. In Komatsu Forge, Jin and Yuna fend off Mongols in order to buy Taka time to complete a special Grapple hook. After the battle, Taka remarks that he's never seen any samurai fight the way Jin has before. Yuna crafts a tale to explain Jin's superhuman abilities, boasting to onlookers that Jin is not human, but a vengeful ghost - a story that sticks and results in Jin becoming known as the legendary Ghost of Tsushima.
Jin calls for his friends to commence the assault on Castle Kaneda. After managing to get inside the inner keep, however, Ryuzo betrays Jin and sides with the Mongols, who have promised food for his men, and challenges Jin to a duel.
Clash between Jin and Ryuzo
Jin defeats and wounds Ryuzo, but he manages to escape and alarm the Mongols to his presence. Jin presses further into Castle Kaneda, eventually finding his uncle at the top of the inner keep and rescuing him. Shimura informs Jin that Khotun has already left towards Toyotama to conquer Castle Shimura. Having reunited with his uncle, Jin and his friends are successfully able to retake the castle, defeating the remaining Mongols still inside. Afterwards, Shimura, having heard from Khotun about Jin's dishonorable tactics, reprimands his nephew and warns him not to continue down this path, before assigning him to gather up more friends to retake Castle Shimura.
Jin Convinces Lord Shimura to use the Hwacha
In Toyotama, Jin recruits Norio and his warrior monks, and goes on to defend Yarikawa from a Mongol siege led by General Temuge, Jin fully embraces his "Ghost of Tsushima" persona after using the fearsome Ghost Stance to behead Temuge and terrify the Mongols into leaving Yarikawa for good. With the help of Lord Shimura, they hire the help of a pirate named Goro, who successfully gets a message to the shogun in the Japanese mainland for military assistance. With the Shogun's reinforcements on the way, Jin returns to Omi Village to reclaim his family armor and reunites with his old caretaker, Yuriko, who teaches him how to make poison. Learning that Ryuzo is in Fort Koyasan, Jin bids farewell to Yuna and Taka, who are leaving Tsushima to begin new lives, and heads off to confront his old friend.
Jin uses Ghost Stance for the first time.
At Fort Koyasan, Taka arrives unexpectedly to aid Jin, inspired by his actions in Yarikawa. Taka says that he wants to help the Ghost and will serve as a distraction to the Mongols at the entrance. Jin is hesitant, but agrees with the strategy. Once Taka distracts the guards, Jin makes his way through the fort, where he encounters Ryuzo. Jin prepares to duel Ryuzo, but is ambushed by a Straw Hat and is knocked out. He wakes up, tied to a pole, across from Taka, also captured. Jin asks Taka how he was captured, and Taka replies that once he realized that Jin had been gone for so long, he had to return to the camp to see what happened, resulting in his capture.
As Jin and Taka struggle to get free, Khotun personally approaches the two men and tells Jin that the war can simply be over if Jin tells his forces to surrender. Not only would the war be over, but Jin would be second-in-command to Khotun as he continues with his invasion. Jin refuses the offer. Khotun frees Taka and gives him a sword, ordering him to kill Jin. Taka instead tries to strike at Khotun, but is quickly struck down and beheaded by the Khan, much to the horror and anger of Jin.
Jin wakes up again, at 3:00 PM. Enraged at the death of Taka, Jin frees himself, obtains his armor and weaponry, furiously kills several Straw Hats and fights his way to the inner courtyard, where he meets a worried Yuna. Yuna asks where her brother is, and Jin hesitates, causing Yuna to run into the courtyard and discover her brother's decapitated body. Initially, she blames Jin for Taka's death as Taka wanted to be like the Ghost, but the two hear Mongols and Straw Hats closing in on their location and prepare for battle. They kill the arriving forces in fury and escape the courtyard, leaving Ryuzo as the Straw Hats' sole survivor.
Jin Kills Ryuzo
Jin, more determined than ever to kill the Khan, regroups with Shimura to plan an assault on Castle Shimura, and they are able to push the Mongols into the inner keep. However, the final offensive ends in disaster, with Shimura foolishly ordering a frontal charge on the bridge to the inner keep, which is demolished by Mongol incendiaries which kill many samurai. Realizing that Shimura's insistence on upholding honor will only bring more unnecessary bloodshed, Jin and Yuna execute a plan to sneak inside the castle and poison the Mongols. Yuna collects as many bushels of wolfsbane for Jin to use, and also gives him the Ghost Armor, an armor set that Taka was making for Jin before his death. After successfully poisoning the Mongols, Jin finds Ryuzo in the keep, where he learns that Khotun has again left to invade Kamiagata in the north. Rejecting a last-minute plea to lie to his people that Ryuzo was Jin's spy, Jin engages his former friend in one final duel, defeating him and bidding him farewell before killing him.
As Jin and Yuna are about to leave, Lord Shimura and his forces arrive and see what Jin has done. Furious, Lord Shimura criticizes Jin for resorting to "dishonorable" tactics such as poison, but Jin is content that Shimura's ways can no longer save their people. Knowing that the Shogun will want to execute Jin for his disloyalty and for threatening the social hierarchy of the samurai, Shimura pleads Jin to renounce his "Ghost" persona and scapegoat Yuna, but Jin refuses. Before he is arrested, Jin gives his equipment to Yuna and convinces her to continue the hunt for the Khan without him.
Jin buries his horse
Later, Kenji makes his way to Jin's cell in Castle Shimura and informs him that Yuna has tracked down the Khan's location in the north. Realizing that Tsushima still needs him, Jin escapes from the castle, but his horse is shot by archers and eventually succumbs to its wounds. Without his equipment, Jin walks further into the Kin Sanctuary, where he discovers to his horror that Khotun had learned to recreate his poison, experimenting on the people of Kin. Jin himself is poisoned and is barely saved by Yuna for a third time. Meanwhile, Khotun retreats to Port Izumi, where he plans to use the poison against the Japanese mainland.
Jin and Yuna manage to assume control over the Jogaku Temple, which they use as their new staging camp by luring the Mongols out of the temple onto a frozen lake, before activating a set of explosive barrels to finish them off. Jin and Yuna plan to reunite with their friends in Kamiagata, however they must find a way to sneak them through from Toyotama, which is blocked off by Castle Shimura. The only path available is through Fort Kaminodake, which is inhabited from Mongols. Jin enlists the help of Yuna's old acquaintance Takeshi and his hunters to attack the fort from the north, and with the help of Yuna and his friends from the south successfully clear the path.
To form a plan of attack to kill the Khan, who is surrounded by an army in Port Izumi, Jin and Yuna plan to get a bird's eye view over the port in a nearby lighthouse. At the bottom of the lighthouse, Jin notices that the Khan is stockpiling wolfsbane and deduces the Khan's plan to use the poison against the mainland to take over Japan.
Lord Shimura joins the battle
At the top of the lighthouse Jin and Yuna assesses the port's weaknesses and come up with a plan of attack, which they decide to execute on an imminent storm; forcing the Khan to shelter his ships in the bay, allowing Jin to destroy the ships filled with explosives and poison. Before the attack, Jin decides to sneak into Lord Shimura's castle to leave him a note asking for his help to take down the Khan. Although Yuna objects to the idea, she eventually concedes, gifting Jin with a new horse in order to travel to the castle. After successfully leaving the note for Lord Shimura, Jin gathers his friends and prepares for a final assault on Port Izumi. After launching a successful ambush on the Mongols using Kenji's siege weapons as a distraction, Jin's friends lead an attack on the main gate while Jin finds a way to sneak inside the port to find the Khan.
Jin finally ends the Khan's Life.
He infiltrates the settlement and confronts Khotun Khan on his flagship, killing his men before successfully defeating him. As the Khan tries to voice his hopes that the Mongols will return to Tsushima, Jin denounces him before beheading him and leaving his body and head to burn on his sinking flagship, avenging Taka, Lord Adachi, the people of Tsushima and all of his friends whose lives were claimed by the Khan and his forces, including the Samurai who died at Komoda Beach, before escaping the burning flagship and reuniting with Yuna. With Tsushima restored to shogun rule, Jin is summoned by Lord Shimura. Shimura informs Jin that the shogun has dissolved Clan Sakai and branded Jin a traitor; under the shogun's orders, Shimura is forced to kill Jin. Jin and Shimura reluctantly duel each other, and Jin defeats Shimura.
Final duel between Jin and Shimura.
Jin can either choose to honor Shimura's request and kill him to give him a proper samurai's death or completely abandon his samurai ways and spare Shimura. Either way, Jin is forever branded as a traitor to the shogunate, and lives out the rest of his life as the Ghost of Tsushima.
Investigating Iki Island[]
Jin arrives on Iki Island
Sometime after the defeat of Khotun Khan and his army, Jin comes across several islanders who have been driven insane by unknown means. Suddenly, a Mongol shaman warns Jin that someone known only as The Eagle is coming for him and rallies several Mongol soldiers to attack him. After fighting them off, Jin learns from a survivor that the Eagle and her Eagle Tribe came from the nearby Iki Island. Realizing that The Eagle may be planning something similar for Tsushima, Jin informs Yuna of what he has learned and makes plans to travel to the island. During his travel to Iki Island, Jin's boat gets caught in a storm and crashes into the beach. Jin and his horse survive and reunite shortly after their arrival.
The Eagle forces Jin to drink her poison
Jin soon encounters the Eagle and her tribe of Mongols who plan on brainwashing all of Iki into joining her tribe. After a narrow escape from The Eagle's encampment, Jin meets Tenzo, a raider who has lived on Iki Island since birth. They form an uneasy team, along with the local refuge leader Fune, and fight off the Eagle and her tribe's influence. Along the journey to defeat the Eagle, Jin is forced to consume her "special medicine" and must relive and overcome his tragic past during his time on both Tsushima and Iki. Along the way, Jin hears Tenzo utter a familiar phrase before killing a Shaman; realizing Tenzo killed his father, Jin threatens to kill him but changes his mind, as he still needs Tenzo's help to defeat the Eagle.
Jin holds Tenzo at knifepoint
Jin and Tenzo eventually realize the Eagle is waiting for them in the same place where Jin's father was killed and head after her. As Jin battles between the Mongols and hallucinations, Jin is forced to finally confront his past when facing the Eagle. In Jin's hallucination, his father apologizes to him for not having been a better father and asks him to slay Tenzo to avenge him. However, Jin refuses to do so, no longer willing to let his past haunt him anymore, and instead saves Tenzo from getting killed by the Eagle.
Jin chooses to protects Tenzo
Now mentally strong enough to resist the poison, Jin successfully defeats the Eagle, shutting down her claims that he'd one day face the judgement of his ancestors with the same phrase Tenzo said before killing Kazumasa. Wounded, Tenzo accepts his death at the hands of Jin, but instead Jin spares him and lets him go. Now alone, Jin composes a haiku about his father, accepting his death and finally putting the past behind him; after the haiku is finished, Kazumasa's spirit appears behind Jin and disappears into the wind, showing that Jin is now truly at peace with his father's death.
With the Eagle dead and the Eagle Tribe scattered across Iki, Jin reunites with Fune and Tenzo, promising to help them defeat the remaining Mongols on Iki and forgiving Tenzo for killing his father.
Jin's current whereabouts are a mystery to the people of Tsushima, but he continues to fight back the Mongols to liberate his home and remains in hiding from the Shogun's forces, forever branded an outlaw as the Ghost; a beloved, supernatural guardian spirit to his island but a monstrous samurai exile to the rest of his country.
Legacy[]
Jin died peacefully at an unknown location in Tsushima. After the two unsuccessful Mongol invasions and approximately three hundred years later, internal battles were waged in Hokkaido, Japan. The Ghost lives on to a samurai woman named Atsu, or otherwise known as the Ghost of Yōtei.
Personality[]
Yuna: You don't share much about how you feel, do you?
Jin: My uncle taught me that a samurai masters his emotions. Like you master a horse. Or a blade.
― Jin Sakai to Yuna in The Warrior's Code
Raised as a samurai, Jin is rather stoic, reserved and calm. Having been taught to master his emotions, Jin rarely gives into anger or raises his voice. Throughout the game, he's shown to be kind, polite, sympathetic to the inhabitants of Tsushima, and always shows appreciation to those who help him. He is humble, almost never showing signs of arrogance nor ever taking credit for deeds that are not his, though he does demand respect due to his status as a samurai. He could also be very humorous at times, often in the forms of snarky comments.
Jin initially adhered to the samurai code of honor like Shimura did, but became disillusioned by it after the samurai's crushing defeat at Komoda Beach and almost dying at the hands of Khotun Khan at Castle Kaneda. Realizing that the Mongols were using the samurai code of honor against Tsushima, Jin chose to start adopting pragmatic ways to fight the Mongols.
He was very hesitant at first to adopt 'dishonorable' methods of fighting the Mongols, but as the game progresses, he becomes firm in his resolve, especially after witnessing the terrible cruelty the Mongols inflicted on those who defied them. He becomes willing to do anything to defeat the Mongols and protect his people, though he states he will never kill nor endanger an innocent.
Jin starts becoming more open with his emotions as he starts adopting the Ghost persona created by Yuna, though he still remains calm and cordial with his allies.
Even after becoming more pragmatic and ruthless in fighting the Mongols, Jin retains a strong moral compass and frowns upon immoral acts. Several of these instances include calling the men of Sago Village 'swine' after realizing they had sold out their women to the Mongols to save themselves, threatening Kajiwara after discovering he murdered his wife and daughter, and warning Masako never to attempt to kill him again after locating Junshin.
Jin regretfully remembers Shimura's lesson on honor
One of his most defining characteristics is his relationship with his Uncle, Lord Shimura, who raised him after his father, Kazumasa Sakai, died. Flashbacks revealed their bond to be very close as father and son and Jin greatly aspired to live up to Shimura's expectations. Jin held great respect for his uncle, but that respect started to fade during the battle of Castle Shimura when he sent the common soldiers as fodder against Mongol explosives. After realizing how much of 'a slave' Shimura was to the samurai code of honor, blatantly refusing to change his strategies against an enemy who would outsmart them, Jin lost respect for his uncle, though he still loved him as his family.
Jin is very perceptive, showing acute deductive reasoning and a knack for investigation. This makes him hard to fool at times, though he was knocked out when he tried to confront Ryuzo after finding his location before the siege of Castle Shimura.
Jin displays a rare emotional outburst after witnessing Taka's death
Despite his calmness and stoicism, Jin has been shown to give into anger several times. One of the most memorable is when he let out a yell of anger and sadness after watching Khotun Khan brutally murder Taka, followed by him slaughtering the Straw Hat ronin. Another is when he yells at Ryuzo after he tries to side with Jin again after betraying Tsushima by defecting to the Mongols. Another instance is seen on Iki Island, where during The Legacy of Kazumasa Sakai, upon hearing Jiro belittle himself and insult his father during his retelling of Kazumasa's campaign to pacify Iki, Jin impulsively tells him to shut up and blows his cover as Kazumasa's son.
Gameplay[]
"Samurai pride themselves on their honor code. But it also makes them rigid. Predictable. Easy to break. The Ghost has no limits. This makes him... dangerous."
― Khotun Khan
As the Ghost of Tsushima, Jin has the option of either confronting enemies with his "Samurai" skills or his "Ghost" skills. As a Samurai, Jin is able to learn new tactics and techniques that assist him in combat, such as deflecting arrows or allowing him to kill more enemies during a standoff. On the other hand, as a Ghost, Jin can engage in "dishonorable" tactics that rely on stealth and deception, using all kind of tools such as kunai or sticky bombs to his advantage. Both styles can be used during combat – Jin is never locked into either playstyle.
Jin can also enter four Stances: Stone, Water, Wind, and Moon. Each one allows Jin to fight more effectively against one type of enemy, and Jin can change stances during combat to help him counter against certain enemies. Later on, Jin gains access to the Ghost Stance, which can be activated after seven kills (six with the Ghost Armor, five with the Ghost Armor fully upgraded) without taking damage or assassinating a Mongol general in stealth. The Ghost Stance allows him to kill 3 (4 with the Charm of Ghostly Fury) enemies in quick succession while they are terrified.
Jin gains access to a variety of tools, such as kunai, smoke bombs and black powder bombs. Later on, Jin can also use the blowgun to poison his enemies, and outside of combat, he can use the grappling hook to navigate across impassable terrain. Jin may also gain the ability to use certain special attacks through the completion of side quests and Mythic Tales.
Trivia[]
- By completing tasks you can increase the Legend of the Ghost meter. Once all of Jin's skills are unlocked, Jin can reach the highest title of "Ghost of Tsushima".
- Most if not all the citizens of Tsushima address him as Lord Sakai.
- Jin Sakai is the sole survivor of the defunct Clan Sakai. Tsushima was formerly ruled by six clans: Clan Shimura, Clan Sakai, Clan Adachi, Clan Nagao, Clan Yarikawa, Clan Kikuchi.
- Jin's name means "is strong" or "is benevolence", but there are around 11 variations of the name in the Kanji writing system.
- Manga artist Takashi Okazaki (creator of Afro Samurai) made four original posters that showcase a different part of Jin's story: the wind that guides him, the flames that destroy his home around him, the mask he wears as he becomes the Ghost, and his wrath as he fights back against the Mongols.[1]
- Unlike previous Sucker Punch protagonists, Jin can swim.
- Due to having to read Sun Tzu's Art of War when he was younger, Jin can read Chinese.
- Jin cameos as a 'bot in Astro Bot labelled "Vengeful Spirit." His description reads "A samurai no more."
Videos[]
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References and Notes[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Shimura's status is determined by the player.