Fujibayashi Naoe

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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This template should be removed from the article 20 June 2025.

Fujibayashi Naoe (藤林奈緒江; born c. 1564)^[1] was a kunoichi from Iga.^[2]^[3] Born to the jōnin^[4] Fujibayashi Nagato in the midst of the Sengoku period,^[2]^[3] she was trained by him and became a member of the Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins.^[5]^[6] In 1581, Oda Nobunaga's forces invaded Iga.^[3] Although Oda's retainer Yasuke was a participant of the attack, he later became Naoe's ally, assisting her in both intelligence gathering and assassinations.^[7]

Personality and traits

As a young woman, Fujibayashi Naoe was passionate of temperament and determined in her goals. She brought into her relationships an intensity that was tempered by the more grounded and pensive Yasuke. While she wore her heart on her sleeve, unafraid to express herself honestly, she harboured her own wisdom as well that grew continuously throughout her life. The foundations for this wisdom was instilled in her by her father who alongside her Iga community also taught her the values of valour and benevolence.^[2] Morally conscientious, she challenged Yasuke to discover a path apart from the seeming universal reality of "greed, power, and vengeance".^[7]

After her run in with Ido Yoshihiro,^[8] Naoe sported a permanent reminder of his kanabō attack in the form of two prominent facial scars.^[9] Additionally as a result of a member of the Shinbakufu breaking her leg,^[10] she walked with a limp for some time.^[11]

Skills and equipment

Trained in ninjutsu by her father, Naoe was an incredibly agile warrior skilled in parkour and in stealth. Her ability to infiltrate locations as secure as tenshu was augmented by her wide arsenal of tools that included smoke bombs and grappling hooks. To maximize ease of movement, she always wore light armour at most—notably shin guards and a chainmail sleeve on her left arm—that offered only minimal protection. However, she was unerringly swift in combat and was highly lethal in an assortment of weapons, ranging from the katana and the kusarigama to throwing weapons like the shuriken and kunai.^[3]^[6]

A skilled freerunner, Naoe was able to scale the many tenshu present within many of the guarded castles around Japan with great ease, and with assistance from her grappling hook. She could could climb the natural elements and landscapes though with limited proficiency and only expertly when solid footholds were present, Naoe could navigate the Hidden Paths swiftly however. She also proved to be a strong swimmer when diving from heights, and could hold her breathe with the use of a bamboo reed for stealth.^[12]

Naoe started out wearing her simple robes, dark green in color with a blue sash around her waist. Tools and equipment hung at her waist. She also carried the katana gifted to her by Matsu.^[13] During her infiltration into a tea ceremony hosted by Imai Sōkyū, Naoe wore a black Portuguese silk kosode with gold trim.^[14] She later took to even wearing in around the Hideout on occasion.^[15] As an Assassin, her robes consisted of a deep blue outfit, consisting of a kosode tied underneath her armpits in a Tatsuki-style, and a red sash around her waist. She had an eagle motif on her bracelet and embroidered on the back. She also ended up carrying a tsuba tied with rope secured across her shoulders.^[6]

As an Assassin, Naoe wore a Hidden Blade on her left arm per tradition. Originally a gift from her father, the Hidden Blade was forged in the manner of a tantō blade and could pivot at a 90° angle to be used as such.^[6] She wielded this in conjunction with a conventional tantō to perform double assassinations.^[3]

Naoe possessed the rare ability of Eagle Vision, which heightened her senses and allowed her to detect and "tag" allies, enemies, and objects of interest, even through walls and other obstacles. However, she could only use her ability when stationary or moving no faster than a walking pace.^[12]

Behind the scenes

Fujibayashi Naoe is a fictional character who will appear in the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows, where she is voiced by the Japanese actress Masumi Tsunoda.