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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 and Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Iga no Monogatari. 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), known as Fujibayashi Masayasu (藤林正保) during his youth,[1] was an Iga ikki jōnin,[4] 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.[5] Shortly after Oda Nobunaga initiated the Tenshō Iga War,[6] members of the Shinbakufu entered the province, killed Nagato, and took a prized box he had entrusted to Naoe.[3]
Biography[]
Becoming a shinobi[]
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]
Masayasu preparing to fight Hanzō
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[]
- "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 Assassin Alvaro Catarribera and his apprentice, Tsuyu,[7] who informed them about their conflict with the Templar Order and enlisted their help to stop the spread of Templar influence in Japan.[8]
Nagato, Sandayu and Hanzō swearing to Tsuyu's creed
In time, Masayasu – who became known as Fujibayashi Nagato – Hanzō, and Sandayu all joined the Kakushiba ikki, the brotherhood founded by Catarribera and Tsuyu,[9] which the latter assumed control of following her mentor's departure.[10] 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.[9]
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. Around this time, Nagato married Tsuyu and the couple had a daughter, naming her Naoe. This led a jealous Hanzō to abandon the brotherhood and become a mercenary, although he never disclosed to his allies the true reason for his departure out of shame.[9]
Life as a father[]
- "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]
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. As a result, they were caught off-guard when Hanzō one day returned with news that the Imperial Regalia's location had been compromised. While Nagato stayed in Iga with Naoe, Tsuyu summoned all Assassins in Japan to protect the regalia from a mysterious group called the Shinbakufu; however, they failed, and most Assassins were killed as a result.[9]
Tsuyu entrusting the Jewel to Nagato
Tsuyu, who had managed to survive the onslaught and protect one of the regalia – the jewel Yasakani no Magatama – discreetly returned to Nagato and entrusted him with the artifact so he could 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. When Sandayu later returned to Iga, he told Nagato that Tsuyu had perished alongside the other Assassins, leaving him heartbroken.[9]
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.[9]
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.[11][12] He also kept her in the dark about Tsuyu's fate and true affiliations, feeling that the burden of that knowledge was his alone to carry.[9]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[12] He subsequently began training her so she could help protect Iga,[13] and also allowed her to be trained by Sandayu like he had been.[14]
Death[]
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.[15]
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.[15]
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.[16]
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,[16] 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.[9]
Nagato fighting Yaita Wakasa
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.[17]
Personality and traits[]
As a leader of the Iga community, Fujibayashi Nagato embodied their values of valour, benevolence, and wisdom and passed them onto his daughter, Naoe.[18]
Behind the scenes[]
Fujibayashi Nagato is a historical figure who appears in the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows,[18][19] where he was portrayed by the Canadian actor Peter Shinkoda.[20] Historically, Nagato had a son named Yasumasa (藤林保正) who survived the destruction of the Iga ikki and gained the protection of the Tokugawa clan.[2] He does not appear nor is mentioned in Shadows, with Naoe implied to be an only child.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Iga no Monogatari
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only) (indirect mention only)
References[]
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