Assassin's Creed Shadows All Kuji-kiri Locations

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has 22 Kuji-kiri locations. Collecting all Kuji-kiri unlocks the Zen Master trophy/achievement. These are exclusive to Naoe (the female character). Yasuke (male character) can’t find them.

On the map they are indicated by white question marks which turn into orange Kuji-kiri icons when going near them. They are little QTE button-press minigames. You must press all buttons correctly for Naoe to meditate, then she says a mantra and the location is completed. They reward you with knowledge points and XP. One of them involves a strong level 40 miniboss that will ambush you. If you go there as Yasuke you can switch characters in the inventory by holding (PS5) / (Xbox).

Whichever 4 Kuji-kiri you do first will always trigger a short quest from Naoe’s past. Doing at least 4 of them is needed to advance Naoe’s story, and to finish Act 3 & the Epilogue of the main story. The remaining Kuji-kiri won’t trigger quests so they’ll be quicker to complete.

All of them are still obtainable after the story in free-roam, nothing is missable.

Tip: You can autocomplete the button presses. From the world map open the System menu > Options > Gameplay > Quick Time Events = Auto. It will then autocomplete all button presses (also works for Yasuke’s Katas). This is fine for the trophy and doesn’t void anything.

Izumi Settsu

Kuji-kiri #1: Eboshigata Hachiman Shrine

Sub-Region: Kawachi Heights

Kuji-kiri #2: Sacred Bridge

Sub-Region: Kawachi Heights

Kuji-kiri #3: Katano Foothills

Sub-Region: Katano Foothills

Kuji-kiri #4: League Hideout

Sub-Region: Lost Hills

Kuji-kiri #5: Windy Shores

Sub-Region: Nakayama Peak

Yamashiro

Sub-Region: Shoryuji

Kuji-kiri #6: The Cliffs of Thought

Sub-Region: Eagle’s Nest

Kuji-kiri #7: Kuramadera Temple

Sub-Region: Genbu Highlands

Kuji-kiri #8: Ginkakuji Garden

Sub-Region: Hills of Meeting

Omi

Kuji-kiri #9: Himega Falls

Sub-Region: Takashima Shores

Kuji-kiri #10: Omi Trail

Sub-Region: Mount Hiei – note: a level 40 boss “The Pond Yamabushi” might attack you during this, must defeat him. If you’re too underleveled must come back later or fight perfectly as he can kill you in one hit if he has a skull icon.

Iga

Kuji-kiri #11: Fujibayashi Homestead

Sub-Region: Mibuno Vale
This automatically completes during whatever Kuji-Kiri you do as your second one. Regardless of the region or exact location, your 2nd Kuji-Kiri will always trigger a flashback quest that takes place in Naoe’s home village during winter. At the start of the flashback she will meditate which autocompletes this Kuji-kiri.