‘An incredible sense of reality' in 'Assassin’s Creed Shadows'
We interviewed two prominent figures involved in the historical development of the game Assassin's Creed Shadows. Read on to find out what they had to say.
Image: Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the most recent instalment in the highly popular Assassin's Creed video game series. Shadows is set in Japan in the 16th century, during the Azuchi-Momoyama unification period.
Players take control of two different protagonists: Yasuke and Fujibayashi Naoe. While Naoe is a fictional female shinobi, Yasuke is based on an actual historical figure who was an African samurai of the same name.
The real-life history of the Sengoku period plays a big part in Shadows. This is why Assassin's Creed game developers Ubisoft enlisted the help of historians and experts to consult on the game.
Sky HISTORY sat down with Stéphanie-Anne Ruatta – world and historical director – and historical consultant Pierre-François Souyr to find out more about the history behind Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Why is the Azuchi-Momoyama period such an important time in history and the perfect setting for an Assassin’s Creed game?
Stéphanie: The Azuchi-Momoyama period was a pivotal moment in Japan’s history, marked by political upheaval and shifting power dynamics, which ultimately led towards the country’s unification after centuries of conflicts between local warlords.
In addition, this period was characterized by the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan, which sparked new exchanges, as well as by the introduction of significant changes in societal, urban, and architectural aspects.
Warlords built magnificent castles adorned with golden screens, symbolizing both feudal power and a new artistic aesthetic. Populations moved to fortified cities, known as castle towns, transforming Japan's landscape.
This period of war led to the development of martial arts, the creation of sumptuous armour, and highlighted the power of the iconic samurai figures. Arts such as the tea ceremony and Noh theater reached new heights of refinement.
Overall, it was a fascinating period filled with intrigue and larger-than-life characters, making it a natural setting for an Assassin's Creed story. Additionally, it was a defining era for the Samurai and Shinobi, the two archetypes at the heart of our game!
What can you tell us about the research process that went into developing a historically accurate basis for this game?
Stéphanie: To recreate a world where the gaming experience is deeply rooted in history, it was essential to consult experts, conduct historical research, and examine various documents.
The team benefited from the guidance of several experts, including historian Pierre-François Souyri. This informed creative decisions and ensured a thoughtful representation of this specific period in Japan.
These experts, specializing in different areas, accompanied the teams throughout the game’s development. This included addressing a wide range of questions, including some that arose during the process, and supporting the diverse historical reconstruction needs of the teams.
Their contributions, along with the documents collected and studied, provided crucial information not only about 16th-century Japanese society but also about its historical figures, types of productions, significant historical events, urban planning, and architecture, to name a few examples.
Scientific works, archaeological sources, museum databases, and certain medieval writings, such as the chronicle of Lord Oda Nobunaga and the writings of Luís Fróis, proved invaluable, offering precious insights into this period.
Numerous articles exploring various themes (economic, societal, urban – to name just a few) were also consulted, as well as illustrated reconstructions of several castles, based notably on archaeological data, and certain visual representations from the era.
Representations such as that of Kyoto and its surroundings (Rakuchū rakugai zu) were particularly useful for recreating not only the capital, but also the daily life habits of that time.
Who are some of the other historical people who feature throughout the game?
Stéphanie: As is often the case in Assassin’s Creed, you can expect to see some of the most fascinating figures of the era. This includes famous warlords such as Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide, and legendary warriors like Momochi Sandayu or Hattori Hanzo. There are also European figures, such as Luís Fróis, a Portuguese Jesuit. There are more, of course, that people will discover as they play the game.
Image: Fujibayashi Naoe, one of the main protagonists of 'Assassins' Creed Shadows'
Do you think that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will educate its players about this period of history and encourage them to learn more themselves?
Stéphanie: I hope that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will allow players to immerse themselves in this historical setting and spark their curiosity to explore this fascinating period even further!
This is one of the reasons why we created the Cultural Codex. To complement their in-game discoveries, players will also uncover some of the historical information that served as references for the game's developers.
This Codex, written by historians and integrated into the game, with images, is tied to player progression. As players visit sites that provide a historical and cultural exploration of 16th-century Japan, they will unlock articles on the economy, castles, military affairs, daily life, art and music, as well as on historical figures and events.
One of the main characters in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is Yasuke. Were there any other African samurai at that time, and what makes his story so legendary?
Pierre-François: Yasuke is a historical figure whose existence is confirmed by several contemporary documents. The Japanese texts that mention this character describe him as a man in Nobunaga's service, from whom he received a sword and an ‘income’ (hôroku).
At the time, this meant land, a fiefdom, which made our man ipso facto a samurai. Another document clearly indicates that he was not at all a simple jack-at-arms and that he took part in battles. He remained at Oda Nobunaga's side until the latter's death, after which he disappears from the sources.
Everything leads us to believe that Yasuke was indeed a bushi (warrior), but we don't know where his land was, if he had one. We also don't know his full name, and if he were a samurai, he would have had one. Historians are therefore not entirely in agreement about whether Yasuke was truly a samurai.
But whatever the case really is, Yasuke’s story remains quite unique. Records of foreign-born samurai are extremely rare, and Yasuke is both the first known case and the only one of African origin, making him an original figure in history. It's only recently that Yasuke has been re-discovered, and has since become the subject of re-appropriations, novels, and even fantasies.
Another famous example is the English pilot William Adams (who inspired the hero of the Shogun series), who became a samurai under the name of Miura Anjin a quarter of a century later, at the beginning of the 17th century.
Image: Yasuke (L) and Fujibayashi Naoe (R) in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe is a fictional character, but what kind of influence did female samurai (Onna-musha) have on the history of Japan?
Pierre-François: The Japanese warrior society was fundamentally patriarchal. While some women played a major political role (women such as Hideyoshi's official wife, O-Ne, known as Nene, and his younger concubine, Yodo, played a key role behind the scenes in the late 16th and early 17th centuries), there is very little documentary evidence of women taking part in the fighting.
That said, rare and exceptional cases of female warriors did exist. Tomoe Gozen is perhaps the most well-known, mentioned in the Heike monogatari, though her historical existence remains debated. The chronicle of the Azuma Kagami (Mirror of the East) also relates the case of Hangaku Gozen, a woman who fought with the people of her clan in revolt in 1201 and who ‘showed herself to be more courageous than the other warriors’
Naoe is a fictional character, and is an example of how modern fiction increasingly portrays female samurai and ninja, giving them a far greater presence in popular culture than they ever had in history.
From a historical perspective, what are you most proud of in the game?
Pierre-François: From a historical standpoint, the most impressive aspect of the game is the environments in which the action unfolds.
Everything has been meticulously recreated, from the mansions, palaces, and temples to the furniture. The clothes of the various characters have also been meticulously crafted, as have their weapons. The same goes for the gestures of the characters.
In the case of the buildings, for example, we have managed to show them in the state they were supposed to be in around 1580 (some were under construction, half-burnt down, etc.), which gives an incredible sense of reality. The complete reconstruction of certain sites that have now disappeared (such as castles, monasteries, etc.) is impressive. To achieve this, the artists drew on all the documentation available, including old plans if they existed, but also excavation reports, etc.
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