Fujibayashi Nagato
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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Tales of Iga. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
Fujibayashi Nagato-no-Kami (藤林 長門守; c. 1538 – 1581), also known as Fujibayashi Yasutoyo,[4] or Fujibayashi Masayasu (藤林正保) during his youth,[1] was an Iga ikki jōnin,[5] a Kakushiba ikki member, and the father of Fujibayashi Naoe. The pressures of war forced Nagato to train Naoe to be his peer in the martial arts.[6] Shortly after Oda Nobunaga initiated the Tenshō Iga War,[7] members of the Shinbakufu entered the province, killed Nagato, and took a prized box he had entrusted to Naoe.[3]
Biography[edit | edit source]
Becoming a shinobi[edit | edit source]
Fujibayashi Masayasu grew up a farmer in a village in Iga, where he was one of the few members of his community able to fight against outside threats. As violence in the region increased during the final decades of the Sengoku period, Masayasu found himself overwhelmed by the threats against his people and wished to be trained as a shinobi so he could better protect them.[1]
One day in 1560, after saving a young girl named Chiyo from being run over by a bull and subsequently befriending her, Masayasu was drawn into action once again when two samurai came to the village carrying the severed head of Bunkichi. The samurai tried extorting the villagers, but Masayasu confronted them and managed to defeat one of them. However, the second samurai proved a more challenging opponent and nearly killed Masayasu until he was assassinated from behind by Hattori Hanzō.[1]
Awed by Hanzō's reputation and skills, Masayasu expressed his desire to become a shinobi like him, but Hanzō harshly refused, dismissing him as an unfit farmer and suggesting he would be better off serving a local daimyō. At that moment, Hanzō's mentor Momochi Sandayu arrived and, after introducing himself to Masayasu, agreed to give him a chance to prove his skills in a fight against Hanzō. During their duel, Hanzō quickly gained the upper hand and threw Masayasu down a small cliff before beginning to insult him.[1]
As Masayasu sulked in defeat, he suddenly heard Chiyo come to his defense, telling Hanzō that Masayasu was a hero who had bravely protected their village. When an annoyed Hanzō grabbed and threatened Chiyo, Masayasu rushed to the girl's defense. Using underhanded tactics, he managed to gain the upper hand and knock Hanzō to the ground, at which point Sandayu intervened to break up the fight. Impressed, the shinobi invited Masayasu to train under him, and the latter gladly accepted.[1]
After bidding farewell to Chiyo and his parents, Masayasu donned a new set of robes and left his home village, ready to start his new life as a shinobi. As he approached the village's border, he saw a figure observing him in the distance.[1]
Joining the Kakushiba ikki[edit | edit source]
- "It was my oath to the creed to protect the Jewel... But I loved her. And when you came, you were our jewel. We loved you so much. For a few years, we prospered. The regalia were safely hidden in Settsu. Our league grew. Our enemies faded."
- ―Nagato telling Naoe about his and Tsuyu's past, 1581.[src]-[m]
During their training together, Masayasu and Hanzō were able to put their differences aside and develop a more amicable relationship. Sandayu also introduced both of them to the Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera and his apprentice, Tsuyu,[8] who informed them about their conflict with the Templar Order and enlisted their help to stop the spread of Templar influence in Japan.[9]
Training under Tsuyu[edit | edit source]
Thus, Masayasu and Hanzō began their training with Tsuyu, with their first day showing Tsuyu fighting better than the two. However, during their training, Masayasu used his "sight" to save Tsuyu from a roaming snake. While thankful, Tsuyu dismissed them from their lesson.[10] Within two weeks, Tsuyu took them to a cliff to demonstrate one of their techniques, the leap of faith. After demonstrating herself, she told Hanzō to go but he rejected, prompting Masayasu to go instead. Despite all of their misgivings, his first leap proved successful with his life intact.[11]
After the lesson, Masayasu and Hanzō began to talk about their growth, with the former thanking him for his help. However, during their discussion, they were ambushed, with Masayasu nearly killed by a katana from the rogue shinobi Toza. Hanzō tasked Masayasu to find Sandayu, thus he left for help. However, upon running, he came upon Konan, who was badly injured and informed Masayasu of being attacked around all sides. Soon, Masayasu came to face the rōnin Kuroiwa Gonjou-rou, who demanded the location of the Imperial Regalia. Due to the rōnin's size, Masayasu retreated into the bamboo grove and was able to deal a strike into his neck.[12]
However, Gonjou-rou faked his death and was able to overpower Masayasu. Defenseless, Masayasu was able to uncover Gonjou-rou's task and how he was contracted by the Templars. Before the rōnin could kill Masayasu, Sandayu came and sliced off Gonjou-rou's arm. Before he could kill the intruder, Sandayu noticed that he and Masayasu were surrounded by shinobi while Gonjou-rou escaped. Fortunately, Tsuyu came just in time and swiftly killed the attackers. Immediately afterwards, Tsuyu informed them that she must leave to meet Catarribera about an urgent mission.[13] Feeling inadequate, he found Hanzō again, who killed Toza, and informed him of his failure and Tsuyu's mission in Mikawa. With this, Hanzō left but not before commending Masayasu on his progress.[14]
The following year, Masayasu doubted his skill as he watched Konan train a new student Hachi-rou. Sandayu came and talked with Masayasu, thanking him with showing a new way to deal with enemies, contrasting his actions of maintaining peace with violence. He later showed that Hachi-rou was the remaining samurai who attacked his village, who saved him from going down a dark path. He later gave Masayasu a choice to stay or to leave. Later that night, Masayasu planned to leave,[15] Upon leaving, Tsuyu caught him and asked why he was leaving, but Masayasu was adamant to go. Tsuyu soon shared a glimpse of how she was free to choose her own path with the principles she maintained. Doubtful, he recalled a memory with his father and stayed anyway to pursue his own path. He later found and thanked Tsuyu, who continued his training.[16]
In 1562, tensions between Masayasu and Tsuyu grew due to his lingering feelings of the past attack, causing him to lash out against her and her leaving the dinner. Besides him, Konan informed him that his demeanor changed and the recent events before leaving Masayasu to think about his actions.[17] That night, he went to guard duty but overheard Tsuyu speaking with Chiyo about her childhood.[18] Hearing all of her story, he began to feel regret. Yet, he was disturbed by Hachi-rou, who came to inform him and Tsuyu about Hanzō's mission in Mikawa.[19]
Mission in Ise[edit | edit source]
Together with Tsuyu and Sandayu, Masayasu learned of Hanzō's intel and how he made contact with Matsudaira Motoyasu and learned about the Templars' hand in the slave trade. With this information, Sandayu remarked on how Ise had been experienced similar actions, moving Tsuyu to venture to Ise and investigate any Templar activity. Masayasu offered to join but Tsuyu rebuffed him, stating that he needed more training, before she left.[20] However, upon Sandayu's advice, he left against her wishes and followed her.[21]
Arriving at the Old Inn of the Fifty Emblems, Masayasu arrived just in time to save Tsuyu from a patron asking about her presence. He immediately concocted a story of how he and "Shoujo" are newly married and a pair of performers.[20] While spending time together and acting out this ruse, they caught the attention of a portly man, to which Tsuyu told him a code. Away from the patrons, the man revealed himself as Sandayu's contact and revealed of a human trafficking ring at a port nearby. They thanked the man while Tsuyu readied to go herself to investigate. However, Masayasu offered to go with her, but she admitted that his presence and stares pain her. Masayasu regressed and told her they should rest. However, she slipped away in the night and left Masayasu alone again.[21]
Following her, Masayasu came upon Tsuyu captured and being tortured by the Portuguese Templar Balthazar. Before one of Balthazar's men could cut her fingers off, Masayasu instantly came and killed the man, surprising everyone. He later asserted that since she protected him, it was his turn.[22] When Balthazar ordered his men to kill Masayasu, the shinobi single-handedly killed his attackers before facing off against Balthazar. After a lengthly fight, Balthazar had overpowered him and nearly killed him but Masayasu threw a shuriken into his neck. With the Templar bleeding, Masayasu stood and delivered the final blow. Afterwards, he freed Balthazar's slaves and carried Tsuyu to a boat to safety. Tsuyu, feeling safe, rested her head on his shoulders while they traveled back to safety.[23]
A new start[edit | edit source]
Within a year, Masayasu and Tsuyu traveled back to Iga, with a newfound relationship between them. Soon, Masayasu soon found Hanzō having returned from his mission in Mikawa and embraced him. Within a few weeks, he and Hanzō trained with Tsuyu, each realizing their growth in the matter of years. Meanwhile, Masayasu and Tsuyu's relationship grew to become more romantic.[24]
During their tenure in Iga, Masayasu, Hanzō, and Sandayu were all part of the Kakushiba ikki, the brotherhood founded by Catarribera and Tsuyu,[25] which the latter assumed control of following her mentor's departure.[26][27] Masayasu and the others swore an oath to the Creed to protect the Imperial Regalia of Japan, which Tsuyu had been entrusted with, and hid the artifacts within a kofun in Izumi Settsu.[25]
Talking with Sandayu, the trio were discussing expanding their reach into the nearby regions, to which they agreed, with Masayasu's assurance.[27] For a time, the Kakushiba ikki experienced peace and prosperity as Tsuyu and Sandayu recruited new members into the brotherhood while their enemies' strength faded.[25] During one night, Masayasu and Tsuyu spent time together where Tsuyu gifted Masayasu his own hidden blade. She later stated that she wished to be his wife and have a family with him. Unknown to them, Hanzō overheard and was heartbroken. The following morning, Masayasu met with his friend but was surprised upon Hanzō's challenge against him.[27]
Atop a cliff, Masayasu pleaded him not to fight but Hanzō insulted him of his upbringing and status before attacking him. However, Masayasu blocked his attacks and even disarmed him, pleading once more. However, Hanzō overpowered him and began to beat with his fists. Masayasu stated that he wanted to walk their path together, causing Hanzō to break. Before Hanzō could continue, Tsuyu walked in and begged him to stop, as she was pregnant with his child. Shocked, Hanzō relented but told them that he will be leaving Iga for good.[28] However, Hanzō never disclosed to his allies the true reason for his departure out of shame.[25]
Life as a father[edit | edit source]
- "The league died with her. And every night, for years, I played her favorite song. And then one night, across the valley, I heard someone playing the song back to me. I ran towards the source, but... she was gone. I know it was her. And so, I kept playing her song every night to let her know the Jewel was safe. And that you were all right."
- ―Nagato to Naoe, 1581.[src]-[m]
By 1564,[6] Masayasu-who became known as Fujibayashi Nagato-married Tsuyu and the couple had a daughter, naming her Naoe. During the first years of her life, Nagato and Tsuyu raised their daughter together and largely abandoned their Assassin duties to focus on their new responsibility as parents.[25]
In 1569,[28], unfortunately, Nagato and Tsuyu were caught off-guard when Hanzō returned with news that the Imperial Regalia's location had been compromised. Before leaving, Tsuyu planned Nagato to stay and wait for her while Matsu was charged to watch over Naoe. Meanwhile, Tsuyu summoned all Assassins in Japan to defend and to protect the regalia from a mysterious group of mercernaries, the Shinbakufu; however, they failed, and most Assassins were killed as a result.[25][29]
Tsuyu, who had managed to survive the onslaught and protect the regalia's jewel Yasakani no Magatama, discreetly returned to Nagato and entrusted him with the artifact. She also made him promise that he never reveal her survival and to tell everyone, including Sandayu and Naoe, that she did not survive. He promised to keep it safe while she searched for the other regalia. Nagato went on to hide the Jewel in the Mihata Kofun and waited for his wife to come back, but she never did.[25][29]
For years afterwards, Nagato played Tsuyu's favorite song on his tsuchibue and, one night, heard someone playing the same song back to him. Although the person was gone by the time he reached their location, Nagato took this as a sign that Tsuyu was still alive. From that point on, he continued playing the song every night, to let Tsuyu know that both the Jewel and Naoe were safe.[25]
During this time, Nagato continued to raise Naoe alone and trained his daughter in the shinobi arts, although he hoped that she would never have to see the horrors of war.[30][31] He also kept her in the dark about the truth of Tsuyu's fate and true affiliations, feeling that the burden of that knowledge was his alone to carry.[25]
On 6 October 1579, Iga came under threat of an invasion by the warlord Oda Nobunaga, who sought to unify Japan. Not wishing to endanger his daughter, Nagato sent Naoe to stay with Matsu, an old family friend, under the pretext of protecting her while he went to help Sandayu and the other shinobi defend their homeland.[30] However, Naoe, with encouragement from both Matsu and Sandayu, decided to take part in the battle, during which she managed to defeat an enemy samurai.[31]
After Nobunaga's forces led by his son Oda Nobukatsu retreated, Nagato angrily confronted Naoe for disobeying him, but upon seeing the slain samurai, he realized that he had underestimated his daughter.[31] He subsequently began training her so she could help protect Iga,[32] and also allowed her to be trained by Sandayu like he had been.[33]
Death[edit | edit source]
On 30 September 1581, after Naoe completed her training, Nagato accompanied his daughter as she went to be officially initiated into the Iga ikki. Before the ceremony, Nagato expressed the pride he felt for her accomplishments and told her how much she resembled her mother in both spirit and talent. Following the initiation, Hattori Hanzō unexpectedly arrived and informed his old allies that Oda Nobunaga's forces were marching towards Iga. He then offered them the protection of his lord Tokugawa Ieyasu if they swore loyalty to him, but the shinobi refused and resolved to defend their homeland by their own means.[34]
Nagato took Naoe to Hijiyama, a nearby fort occupied by Nobunaga's army, where they searched for the enemy's invasion plans. After Naoe uncovered the plans, she was approached by Hanzō, who saved her from an enemy soldier, before Nagato arrived and was handed a letter by Hanzō. The letter revealed that the Shinbakufu knew the Jewel's location in the Mihata Kofun, prompting Nagato to immediately leave to protect the artifact, followed closely by Naoe.[34]
After riding to the Aekuni Shrine, Nagato and Naoe helped Sandayu and the other shinobi present defeat the attacking Oda clan soldiers. Nagato then showed Hanzō's letter to Sandayu, informing him that Tsuyu had given him the Jewel for safekeeping. Despite their oath to protect the artifact, Sandayu insisted that defeating Nobunaga's army was more important, although he understood Nagato's choice to prioritize the Jewel and Naoe's safety. Not wishing to abandon Iga in its time of need, Nagato offered to accompany Sandayu to Mibuno Castle, and gave his Hidden Blade to Naoe, tasking her to recover the box holding the Jewel from the Mihata Kofun.[35]
However, Naoe failed in her task, as she was intercepted by the samurai Ido Yoshihiro, who knocked her out with his kanabō and stole the box. When Nagato arrived moments later, he found the injured Naoe and put her on his horse. As they rode towards the homestead of Tomiko, an old family friend, Naoe regained consciousness,[35] and Nagato finally confessed to her the truth about his and Tsuyu's past, including their affiliation with the Kakushiba ikki and the reason for the latter's disappearance.[25]
After reaching Tomiko's homestead, Nagato passed out from his own injuries, having been shot in the back with an arrow. While Tomiko tended to his wounds, Naoe recovered and set out to retrieve the stolen box, heading to Katano Castle. There, she successfully assassinated Ido Yoshihiro and reclaimed the box, only to be ambushed by the Shinbakufu members Yaita Wakasa and Wada Koretake, who shot her and broke her leg.[3]
Nagato, having recovered, came to his daughter's rescue, swiftly defeating Wakasa and cutting off Koretake's left ear with his katana. However, it was all for naught, as moments later the remaining Shinbakufu members arrived. Despite his injuries and being heavily outnumbered, Nagato, after taking one last look at Naoe, decided to face their assailants. He briefly held his own before being mortally stabbed through the abdomen by a man wearing a two-faced mask.[3]
With the box in their possession, the group's leader ordered his subordinate to finish off both Nagato and Naoe, but Koretake intervened and insisted that the pair be left to die in pain. The masked leader acquiesced to his request, and the Shinbakufu took their leave. After expressing regret at how much he had kept hidden from Naoe and urging his daughter to "follow the blade", Nagato succumbed to his wounds;[3] his body was later found by the monk Sorin and his apprentice Junjiro, who took Naoe in and nursed her back to health.[36]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
As a leader of the Iga community, Fujibayashi Nagato embodied their values of valour, benevolence, and wisdom and passed them onto his daughter, Naoe.[37]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
Fujibayashi Nagato is a historical figure who appears in the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows,[37][38] where he was portrayed by the Canadian actor Peter Shinkoda.[39] Historically, Nagato had a son named Yasumasa (藤林保正) who survived the Iga ikki's destruction and gained the Tokugawa clan's protection.[2] He does not appear nor is mentioned in Shadows, with Naoe implied to be an only child.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Portrait of Nagato in the Animus' objective menu -
A young Fujibayashi Masayasu in Tales of Iga -
Masayasu defeating Hattori Hanzō -
Masayasu in his shinobi attire -
Nagato with his hidden blade in Tales of Iga -
Nagato praying with his daughter
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)
- Claws of Awaji (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Tales of Iga
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only) (indirect mention only)
- Animus Hub (voice only)
References[edit | edit source]
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