Nioh 2: Sengoku Japan, from Okehazama to Byōdō-in

Early in the story, Oda Nobunaga sends Hide and Tokichiro to Okehazama to attack the warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto. The real battle took place on 12 June 1560 in Owari Province, where the heavily outnumbered Oda troops defeated Yoshimoto. The Imagawa camp lay in a narrow valley, and the Oda used a thunderstorm to mask their approach. How the fight really unfolded is unclear, as the story has been much embellished by legend.

Location precision: The course of the battle is historically unclear; the pin marks the traditional battlefield area in Aichi Prefecture.

Nobunaga next sends Hide and Tokichiro to Sunomata, where they help Maeda Toshiie, Shibata Katsuie and Hachisuka Koroku build a castle. In history the fort stood at the confluence of the Sai and Nagara rivers, and legend says it went up in one night; in fact Hideyoshi used pre-constructed sections and the work took several days. Today a faux castle tower, built in 1991, serves as a local history museum, and the site is known for cherry blossoms in spring.

Visitor guidance: A reconstructed tower, built in 1991, houses a small local history museum.

Hide and Tokichiro head to Inabayama Castle, where Hide confronts and slays Saito Yoshitatsu and discovers that Yoshitatsu is Hide's twin. Historically Nobunaga laid siege to the castle on 13 September 1567, then renamed it Gifu Castle. It stands on Mount Kinkazan, facing the Nagara River. The reconstructed keep now holds a museum, and its top floor has an observation deck with a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding area, including the Nagara River and Nagoya.

Visitor guidance: The reconstructed keep has a museum and an observation deck with panoramic views.

During Nobunaga's war against the Azai clan, Hide and their companions infiltrate Odani Castle to protect Nobunaga's sister, Lady Oichi. There they meet Kashin Koji again, who has possessed the lord Azai Nagamasa. Odani was the home castle of the Azai clan, and the mountain it stood on was considered impregnable. It fell to Nobunaga's siege in 1573. Only ruins remain today, protected as a National Historic Site.

Visitor guidance: Only ruins remain; the site is a National Historic Site.

Kashin Koji manipulates Tokichiro and Akechi Mitsuhide into betraying Nobunaga, and the Honnō-ji Incident follows, in which Nobunaga and his wife Nōhime perish. The real incident occurred on 21 June 1582: Nobunaga lodged at the temple with little protection, and Mitsuhide besieged it and set it on fire. The temple was later rebuilt on a different site. Honnō-ji now stands in Nakagyō Ward, Kyoto, near Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station.

Visitor guidance: The rebuilt temple stands in Nakagyō Ward, near Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station; it is not on the original site.

In the late game, Hide is sent to Byōdō-in to search for clues about the Sohayamaru, the sword that can seal the demon Otakemaru. After the final fight Hide uses it to seal Otakemaru in the temple forever. The real Byōdō-in is a Buddhist temple in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, built in the late Heian period. Its Phoenix Hall, completed in 1053, sits at the edge of a large artificial pond.

Visitor guidance: The Phoenix Hall, completed in 1053, stands beside a large artificial pond.