Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ attitude towards decapitations paints Japanese history in the wrong light 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is gaining some criticism regarding the apparent attitude towards decapitation that appears in a recent interview- as well as Yasuke’s beheading move seen in previews of the upcoming game’s combat.  

Specifically, a quote attributed to Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois in an interview with Sports Illustrated has garnered negative attention in Japan. When discussing the game’s gore and decapitations, he was quoted as saying “So looking at death was a day-to-day occurrence in that period, and the way most people died in Japan during that time is clean decapitations.” Reactions to this statement have blown up on Japanese social media, with many citing the opinion that it shows a lack of understanding of the Sengoku period.  

When a clan leader was defeated, it was typical for them to commit Seppuku (slice their stomach). A trusted aide would then cut off their master’s head to end their suffering- as mentioned in the comment below. Although executions by decapitation did occur in medieval Japan, commenters object to the idea that “most people” died in that manner. Cutting off the head of an important person who was killed in battle as proof of their death was also a practice during the Sengoku period, with some commenters on Japanese forums wondering if Ubisoft got that confused with decapitating live people. “The trailers indicate an assumption that people often pulled out their swords and just slashed around as they pleased,” one user added. 

Among the many ways Yasuke and Naoe can gorily dispatch enemies in Assassin’s Creed Shadows- Yasuke can perform a finishing move in which he slices his opponent’s head off. This can be used as a way to kill not only assassination targets but also regular enemies in the game- with commenters expressing concerns that this makes Yasuke appear like a common bandit, not a warrior.

So, while Lemay-Comtois’s later quote that “Death was a common thing and decapitation was not a strange sight in Japan,” could be perceived as accurate, many commenters are angry at decapitation’s casual use as a way of killing people in the game. It is worth noting that depictions of beheadings in general are often removed from game releases in Japan- even in titles made by Japanese developers such as the Resident Evil series.

As a side note, Lemay-Comtois revealed in the same interview that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will have a dragon mount, so it seems that the game is leaning into historical fantasy just like previous entries in the series have done (particularly since Assassin’s Creed Origins).