{"id":68122,"date":"2026-06-11T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=68122"},"modified":"2026-06-11T14:19:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:19:59","slug":"onimusha-way-of-the-sword-recreates-a-real-life-kyoto-site-closed-to-the-public-long-believed-to-be-japans-gateway-to-hell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-recreates-a-real-life-kyoto-site-closed-to-the-public-long-believed-to-be-japans-gateway-to-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"Onimusha: Way of the Sword recreates\u00a0a real-life Kyoto site closed to the public, long believed to be Japan\u2019s gateway to hell\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We already know that the Onimusha team at Capcom spent two years just securing permission to use the late Toshiro Mifune\u2019s likeness<\/a> for Onimusha: Way of the Sword\u2019s<\/strong> portrayal of Musashi Miyamoto, but it seems they were just as dedicated when it comes to creating the game\u2019s environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in a dark fantasy Kyoto during the Edo-period, the Onimusha series\u2019 latest entry depicts numerous historical locations, with the recently released demo taking place at the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple. According to director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki, who recently talked to 4Gamer<\/a>, the game also recreates locations that are normally inaccessible to the public. One such place is the well at Kyoto\u2019s Rokud\u014d Chinn\u014d-ji, a Buddhist temple believed to date back to 836 (showcased in-game during Summer Game Fest 2026). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Rokud\u014d\u00a0Chinn\u014d-ji Temple in Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This site is interesting in the context of Onimusha, as the well, located in the temple\u2019s backyard, has been known since at least the Middle Ages as an \u201centrance to the underworld\u201d in Japanese folklore. According to legend, the Heian-period court official and poet Ono no Takamura (802-853) used the well to travel to the realm of Enma (the King of Hell) every night, where he served in the ruler\u2019s court before returning to the world of the living by morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, since the area around the temple itself was located near the entrance of what used to be an ancient cremation ground, it came to be regarded the crossroads of the six Buddhist realms of existence, essentially a boundary between the living world and the afterlife. Given Onimusha\u2019s worldbuilding, it\u2019s not surprising that the developers went out of their way to include this location in Way of the Sword.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rokud\u014d\u00a0Chinn\u014d-ji Temple<\/em>‘s Well, via the official homepage<\/a> (the well itself is at the back of the image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fearing that reaching out to the temple directly would be too forward, Kadowaki says Capcom even received the support of Kyoto City\u2019s local government to make it happen. And despite the well being off-limits to ordinary visitors in real life, the developers didn\u2019t cut corners when recreating it for the game, so Nihei and Kadowaki hope players will take the time to appreciate the location in-game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is set to release on September 25 for OC (Steam<\/a>), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.\u00a0A free demo is available on all platforms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Onimusha: Way of the Sword producer addresses\u00a0concerns about\u00a0demo\u00a0being \u201ctoo easy.\u201d\u00a0The full game will\u00a0be much more challenging\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s developers asked Kyoto City’s local government for help in getting a legendary location into the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":68128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-68122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nOnimusha: Way of the Sword recreates\u00a0a real-life Kyoto site closed to the public, long believed to be Japan\u2019s gateway to hell\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Sword's developers asked Kyoto City's local government for help in getting a legendary location into the game.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-recreates-a-real-life-kyoto-site-closed-to-the-public-long-believed-to-be-japans-gateway-to-hell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Sword recreates\u00a0a real-life Kyoto site closed to the public, long believed to be Japan\u2019s gateway to hell\u00a0 - 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