Synopsis & Interpretation
The Ghost of Tsushima starts with an all-out battle between the Japanese Samurai and the Mongols. The battle begins with a dual where a Mongol throws alcohol on a samurai and then lights a match on him. This is the first demonstration of how dishonourable the opponent is. We follow a samurai named Jin Sakai who rushes into battle alongside his comrades. After a while, it’s clear that the Samurai are outnumbered, and failure is inevitable. Several arrows hit Jin and he falls unconscious as a result. We wake up later and discover that we were healed by a thief named Yuna. We learned that she saved us to use us to help free her brother who was captured by the Mongols. Jin offers to help Yuna and repay his debt, but they will need his uncle’s help. His Uncle, Lord Shimura, was also captured by the Mongols. Jin’s main desire is to free his uncle so that they can fight back the invaders of their island. Jin and Yuna infiltrate the compound that Lord Shimura is held in and Jin duals the grandson of Genghis Khan. Jin proves no match for his opponent. He luckily survives the encounter and realizes that he will need more help if he wishes to free his uncle.
Jin is able to quickly get the help of Sensei Ishikawa and Lady Masako. They both of course have their own problems that require Jin’s help in exchange. Jin begins to help Yuna save her brother but has to resort to actions contrary to what he was taught as a Samurai. He had been always taught to kill with honour. However, the only way that he can have a fighting chance against the Mongols is to resort to dishonourable methods. With Yuna’s influence, Jin assassinates his enemies. Jin justifies this to himself by saying that he does what needs to be done to save the people of Tsushima. With flashbacks of Jin learning the way of the Samurai, we can see glimpses in Jin’s character of him reacting out of emotion.
The subplot stories of Sensei Ishikawa and Lady Masako are variations of Jin’s journey. In order to defeat the Mongols Jin has to participate in actions that are contrary to what he was taught. He goes against his tradition, the code that the Samurai live by. In Sensei Ishikawa’s story, a student of Ishikawa has betrayed him and is using what he taught her to teach the Mongols. Lady Masako is out for revenge against the people who slaughtered her entire family. Whoever did it seem to be close to the family in some way? Both stories centre around betrayal, much like Jin’s own betrayal of tradition.
Jin eventually meets up with an old friend, Ryuzo. Ryuzo now leads a group of Straw Hats and Jin offers to help them find food in exchange for their help in freeing Lord Shimura. The Straw Hats are a group of Ronins who are classless Samurai. After a dual that took place when the two were younger, Ryuzo was forced to live a life of a Ronin instead of being a Samurai like he always wanted. Ryuzo has held some contempt towards Jin for how vicious he was during their dual. When the time came to free Lord Shimura from the Mongols Ryuzo was nowhere to be found. Not only did he not show up to help but he appeared later with the intent of killing Jin to reap the rewards of the bounty placed on his head. This is another act of betrayal, one between once close friends.
With Lord Shimura now being saved the legend of The Ghost was now spreading around the Island of Tsushima. Jin is now known as a ruthless and unique fighter who is Tsushima’s saviour. His methods of dealing with the enemy are heavily contested by Lord Shimura who believes that what he’s doing is unforgivable and blasphemous to the way of the samurai. Jin has no choice but to walk separate himself from his uncle and look to deal with the invading threat on his own. A threat that he can now handle since he is The Ghost of Tsushima.
