Nijō Castle
Nijō Castle is a castle located in Kyoto, Japan.
History[edit | edit source]
In 1582, the Kakushiba ikki member and shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe aided Gennojo with his plan to secure the castle's rice storage and re-distribute it among the starving locals. As they infiltrated the castle, Gennojo saw a statue of the goddess Kannon and shouted in anger. When Naoe approached him, he told her that Kannon had failed to protect his parents, blaming her for their deaths. Just then, the samurai Tatsugoro, Gennojo's former overseer, arrived and revealed that Gennojo had stolen a katana from him, which was what had led to his parents' demise.[1]
Before Gennojo could attack, Naoe stopped him, told him to find the rice, and confronted Tatsugoro herself. Despite his reinforcements, Tatsugoro was defeated by Naoe, who then went to find Gennojo in front of the storage, which had been filled with explosives. Holding a bomb, Gennojo explained that he saw corruption as endless and had no reason to keep living. Despite Naoe's efforts to convince him otherwise, Gennojo ultimately dropped the bomb, blowing up the storage and himself. Saddened, Naoe left the castle.[1]
At some point, Naoe and her fellow Kakushiba ikki member Yasuke infiltrated the castle together, assassinated two of its samurai daisho, and looted the Protector's Armor from its treasure chest. They also climbed atop the tenshu to survey the land,[2] and collected one of Kanō Eitoku's paintings.[3]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
Historically, construction of Nijō Castle began on the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1601 and was completed in 1626, during the reign of his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu.[4]
In the memory "The Twisted Tree", the player is given the opportunity to assassinate Takahashi Shiro at the castle. If Shiro's father Takahashi Inoshichi is killed before him, then Shiro and his brothers will arrive at Inoshichi's residence, where the player can eliminate them instead.[5]
