Shimazu clan

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 2 August 2023.

The Shimazu clan (Japanese: 島津氏) is a Japanese noble house which originated during the Kamakura period.

In the 2020s, the Abstergo Industries doctor and Templar member Shimazu Sei claimed that clan had worked alongside the Templars for generations, enabling the clan to accumulate a large amount of wealth and remain prosperous.

History

In 1725, the Templar Shimazu Saito led a number of ninja loyal to the Shimazu clan in the search for a lost city of the Khmer Empire belonging to the Isu. While investigating leads in Portuguese Macau, they concurrently attempted to eliminate everyone connected to the site in order to maintain its secrecy, including the Dutch East India Company navigator John Young, who had bragged about finding it; the Dutch explorer Hendrik, who had actually discovered it; the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who was also on the site's trail and had defended Young; and the merchant Madam Lee, who had purchased Hendrik's logbook.

By the 2020s, Shimazu Sei, a descendant of the clan, had become a respected doctor for the Templars' front organization, Abstego Industries, and was placed in charge of locating a Piece of Eden found by Kenway during his travels in East and Southeast Asia. To this end, she had one of Kenway's descendants, a Korean-American student named Noa Kim, abducted and placed in the Animus in order to relive Kenway's memories of his search for Angkor, including his many clashes with Shimazu clan ninja.

Gallery

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  Shimazu Saito and his ninja followers

Behind the scenes

While never mentioned in Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu, historically the Shimazu clan were rulers of the Satsuma domain who sided with Emperor Meiji in the Boshin War. In the novel the Templars also sided with Emperor.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple