Fujibayashi Naoe
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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. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
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 and the Master Assassin Tsuyu in the midst of the Sengoku period,[2][3] she was trained in the shinobi ways by her father following her mother's disappearance and became a skilled warrior.[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]
Together they tracked down and eliminated members of the Shinbakufu, a secretive organization founded by the ousted shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki as a means to an end of getting back into power. The organization's and Yoshiaki's plans were foiled as Naoe and Yasuke toppled the group and directly led to their downfall.[8]
While enacting her vengeance on the Shinbakufu for the death of her father, Naoe uncovered the existence of the Kakushiba ikki, an Assassin guild that her mother had helped establish.[9] With the ikki decimated by the Shinbakufu and the Templars years prior, Naoe resolved to rebuild it alongside her allies and continue her parents' mission to safeguard the Imperial Regalia of Japan.[10]
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,[11] Naoe sported a permanent reminder of his kanabō attack in the form of two prominent facial scars.[12] Additionally, as a result of Wada Koretake breaking her leg,[13] she walked with a limp for some time, though this later healed and gave no signs of having been injured in later years.[14]
Skills and equipment
Trained in the Iga-ryū (伊賀流, "the Iga school") ways of ninjutsu by her father, Naoe was an incredibly agile warrior. Her weapons training included kenjutsu,[12] tantōjutsu (短刀術), shurikenjutsu (手裏剣術), and kusarigamajutsu (鎖鎌術).[15] She later showed proficiency in kayakujutsu (火薬術, lit. "the art of gunpowder") as it related to explosives[15] like smoke bombs, and bōjutsu.[16]
Her ability to infiltrate locations as secure as tenshu, whether using outfits as part of hensōjutsu (変装術, lit. "disguise technique")[17] or relying on tanuki-gakure no jutsu (狸隠れの術, "The art of hiding like a raccoon") and climbing above patrols' eyesight,[18] was augmented by her wide arsenal of tools that included smoke bombs and grappling hooks. To maximize ease of movement, she always wore light armor at most—notably shin guards and a kusari kote (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]
As an Igan shinobi, she occasionally fought practitioners of the rival Kōga-ryū (甲賀流, "School of Kōga") ways who were hired to kill her.[19][20] While some Kōgans saw their feud as a serious matter,[20] especially with Nobunaga having hired Kōgans as scouts before initiating the Tenshō Iga War,[19] Naoe's comrade Rokkaku Katsuhime took a more jesting outlook on it by playfully prodding Naoe about their schooling differences, something that she reciprocated by jokingly stating that Igans still were better because they "make a better udon noodle soup".[21]
A skilled freerunner, Naoe could 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 breath with the use of a bamboo reed for stealth.[15]
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.[22] During her infiltration of Imai Sōkyū's tea ceremony, Naoe wore a gold-trimmed black Portuguese silk kosode[17] that she later occasionally wore around Tomiko's Homestead.[23] 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 carried 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.[15]
Gallery
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Concept art -
Concept art -
Promotional art -
Promotional art -
Naoe praying with her father -
Naoe in her shinobi attire -
Naoe pulling her hood up -
A hooded Naoe
Behind the scenes
Fujibayashi Naoe is the fictional daughter of the historical Fujibayashi Nagato. She was first introduced as one of the two protagonists in the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows, where she is voiced by the Japanese-American actress Masumi Tsunoda,[24] with Miyuri Shimabukuro voicing the Japanese localization.[25] Masumi revealed in an interview with esports.gg that she used her own relationships with her father and grandfather as inspiration in portraying Naoe's relationship with Nagato.[26]
Historically, Nagato's recorded descendants make no mention of a daughter, while his real life son Yasumasa (藤林保正)[27] does not appear nor is he even mentioned in Shadows.
In a series first, Naoe's database entry in the 2018 mobile game Assassin's Creed: Rebellion is taken word-for-word from her character summary in the official reference guide released as part of the promotions for Shadows.[6]
Etymology
Fujibayashi (藤林) is a Japanese surname composed of two kanji: 藤 (fuji), meaning "wisteria," and 林 (hayashi/bayashi), meaning "forest" or "grove."[28] It was also the name of the historically real Fujibayashi clan. Naoe (奈緒江) is a feminine Japanese given name comprising three kanji: 奈 (na), which can refer to "Nara" or function phonetically; 緒 (o), meaning "cord," "beginning," or "connection"; and 江 (e), meaning "river" or "bay."[29][30]
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)
References
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de:Fujibayashi_Naoe fr:Fujibayashi Naoe pt-br:Fujibayashi Naoe ru:Фудзибаяси Наоэ zh:藤林奈绪江