Religious Tensions: The Itatehyōzu Shrine in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Tsuji, Hirohito (2026) Religious Tensions: The Itatehyōzu Shrine in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In: Middle Ages in Modern Games Conference Proceedings. Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research, University of Winchester, Winchester, pp. 156-159.

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Abstract

Assassin's Creed is a popular action game series starring assassins, and the latest title, Assassin's Creed Shadows, due for release in November 2024, is the first in the series to be set in medieval Japan and features a real-life black man Yasuke and a fictional kunoichi Naoe as the protagonists. The series touts the high quality of its recreations of the regions and periods in which they take place. However, this work contains many unresentful elements to Japanese culture, so it can be frowned upon by Japanophiles. Worst of all, it is possible in the game to destroy Itatehyōzu Shrine, which is still an object of worship today. This shrine complained about it, and there has been widespread protest in Japan, including a signature campaign calling for the game's release to be stopped. The creator distributed a correction programme, however, in practice destruction remains possible. The series has included depictions of the destruction of pharaohs' tombs and Christian churches in the past, but rarely has it attracted such criticism. This paper critically discusses the factors behind this uproar from a historical and political science perspective, focusing on the differences in racial, historical and religious views between Japan and the West.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	japanese studies,arts and humanities(all),social sciences(all),general,computer science(all),sdg 4 - quality education,sdg 10 - reduced inequalities ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1200
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Related URLs:	https://middleagesinmoderngames.net/prev...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2026 17:30
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2026 00:59
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102050
DOI:	10.13140/RG.2.2.32864.55

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