Key takeaways
- Fort Sakai is on Iki Island, not on Tsushima proper, and is accessible only through the Iki Island expansion.
- It was originally a Sakai clan fortification used during Kazumasa Sakai’s campaign against the Iki raiders.
- At the start of the expansion’s main storyline it is occupied by The Eagle’s Mongol forces, led locally by Khunbish.
- Jin first enters the fort during The Lightning in the Storm, where he is defeated, captured and given the Eagle’s “sacred medicine”.
- The fort is later reclaimed during the Iki storyline and becomes a useful post-liberation service point.
- The location contains Sakai Banners, Records of Iki, merchants and a Trapper, but not every nearby Iki collectible belongs to the fort’s boundaries.
About this guide
Spoiler warning: This guide covers major story developments in the Iki Island expansion, including Jin’s first arrival at Fort Sakai, his capture by Khunbish, the fort’s liberation and the identity of Kazumasa Sakai’s killer.
Overview
Fort Sakai is a major story location on Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut. It is the former stronghold of the Sakai clan during Lord Kazumasa Sakai’s campaign on Iki, and later becomes the main base of the Eagle Tribe. For Jin, the fort is both a military objective and a deeply personal place: it is where his father once operated, where Jin’s childhood memories of Iki are rooted, and where the expansion’s conflict between the Sakai legacy and the island’s raiders comes to a head.
The fort is not part of the original Tsushima campaign. It appears only in the Iki Island expansion, included in the Director’s Cut and later versions of the game. It should also be distinguished from nearby locations such as Mount Takenotsuji, Tatsu’s Ladder, Zasho River, and the various unnamed cliffs and roads around the fort. Those places form the surrounding landscape, but they are not subareas of Fort Sakai itself.
Fort Sakai changes substantially during the expansion. It begins as an occupied Mongol stronghold, becomes the site of Jin’s capture and forced poisoning, and later functions as a liberated fast-travel location with civilian services. Its story role, enemy population, available interiors and access routes therefore depend on progression.
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Fort Sakai’s included areas
The game does not divide the fort into formally named neighbourhoods or districts. Its meaningful internal sections are functional rather than officially labelled.
Outer approach
The outer approach includes the roads and open ground leading towards the fort gates. During the first story visit, this area is part of a hostile Mongol-controlled zone and may be approached through combat or stealth.
Main fortified compound
This is the walled heart of Fort Sakai. It contains:
Southeast tall building
A tall building in the south-eastern part of the fort contains one of the location’s Sakai Banners. The route requires climbing through the structure, including ladders, rather than simply searching the ground level.
Northwestern outer cliff
One Fort Sakai Sakai Banner is associated with the north-western side of the fort, outside or immediately beyond the main defensive enclosure. Reaching it requires using the grappling hook to pull down a wooden bridge. This is best treated as an attached exterior collectible location, not a separate named settlement.
Eagle’s tent
During the expansion’s story progression, Jin wakes in the Eagle’s tent after being forced to consume the Eagle’s medicine. The tent is a mission-state interior and should not be confused with a permanent public service building. It is also the location of a Record of Iki.
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The Sakai occupation of Iki
Before the events of the expansion, Lord Kazumasa Sakai led a campaign on Iki. The campaign was intended to suppress the island’s raiders, but it ended in failure. Kazumasa was ambushed and killed, and the Sakai forces withdrew.
Fort Sakai was associated with this campaign and therefore represents the Sakai clan’s military presence on Iki. Jin visited the island as a child and witnessed the aftermath of his father’s death. His memories of the campaign are unreliable and emotionally charged, which becomes important once the Eagle’s medicine begins producing visions and hallucinations.
The fort’s name is therefore literal rather than merely descriptive. It was not just a fort that happened to belong to the Sakai family. It was a central base of the clan’s failed intervention on Iki.
The Eagle Tribe occupation
By the time Jin arrives on Iki, the fort has been taken by the Mongol forces of Ankhsar Khatun, known as the Eagle. The Eagle uses it as a base for her campaign against the island’s raiders and as a symbol of power over the old Sakai military presence.
The fort’s occupation is also strategically useful. Its walls and buildings provide a defensible headquarters, while its position gives the Eagle access to routes across the island. The occupation transforms an old Sakai stronghold into a weapon against both the islanders and Jin’s own sense of identity.
Jin’s capture
Jin first attacks Fort Sakai after learning that the Eagle’s forces are operating from his father’s former stronghold. He reaches the fort during The Lightning in the Storm, but the assault does not end in a conventional liberation.
Jin confronts Khunbish, the Eagle’s second-in-command. Khunbish defeats and captures him, after which the Eagle forces Jin to consume the sacred medicine. The drug causes severe hallucinations, recurring visions of the Eagle and Kazumasa, and a crisis that affects the rest of the expansion’s early story.
This makes Fort Sakai one of the few locations in the game where a successful-looking assault is deliberately converted into a story defeat. Players should not expect to clear the fort permanently during the first visit.
The fort’s liberation
Later in the Iki storyline, Jin works with Fune, Tenzo and the island’s raiders to weaken the Eagle’s position. Fort Sakai is eventually reclaimed, and Khunbish is killed.
After liberation, the fort becomes a stable exploration location rather than a continuously hostile stronghold. Civilian services appear, fast travel becomes available and the fort can be revisited for its collectibles and facilities.
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The first story visit is not a normal permanent enemy outpost clear. The fort’s occupation and liberation are controlled by the expansion’s main narrative, so players should not treat the first assault as optional free-roaming content.
The expansion also contains story-specific interiors and temporary NPC placements. A building that can be entered during a mission may not remain open or populated in exactly the same way afterward.
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The fort’s liberation
| State | What players can do |
|---|---|
| Before the Iki storyline reaches the fort | Approach may be restricted by story progression or fog of war |
| Initial Mongol occupation | Fight or infiltrate the fort during the story |
| The Lightning in the Storm | Complete the scripted assault, confrontation and capture sequence |
| Post-capture story state | Fort is tied to Jin’s hallucination and recovery storyline |
| Liberated state | Return freely, use services, fast travel and collect remaining items |
| Post-story exploration | Revisit the fort without the main siege sequence |
Reaching Fort Sakai
Fort Sakai is reached through the Iki Island storyline. The player does not sail there freely from Tsushima at the beginning of the main game. Access to Iki is introduced through the expansion’s opening sequence, after which Jin explores the island while pursuing the Eagle’s forces.
Once the surrounding map is open, the fort can be approached by road, horseback or on foot. The most practical route is usually to follow the main roads through the island’s interior, using the fort’s walls and towers as visual landmarks.
Approaching during the story
During The Lightning in the Storm, the intended route leads Jin into the fort as part of a direct assault. The game uses this sequence to establish the fort’s layout, the Eagle’s control and Khunbish’s importance.
A cautious player can still use stealth and elevated positions where the mission permits, but the encounter ultimately progresses through a scripted confrontation. There is no permanent alternate outcome in which Jin defeats Khunbish during this first visit and immediately liberates the fort.
Returning after liberation
After the fort is reclaimed, it becomes a normal exploration destination. Fast travel is the simplest method of return. Players can also ride in from nearby roads and use the fort as a central stopping point while exploring the surrounding northern Iki region.
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Factions
Sakai clan
The Sakai clan is the fort’s original ruling faction in the expansion’s historical backstory. Jin’s connection to the location comes through his father, Kazumasa, rather than through a living Sakai garrison.
Eagle Tribe
The Eagle Tribe’s Mongol forces occupy Fort Sakai at the beginning of the Iki story. Their presence includes guards, archers and senior figures attached to the Eagle’s command.
Iki raiders
The raiders are not the fort’s original owners, but they are central to its eventual liberation. Their resistance to the Eagle forms the military and political basis for Jin’s counteroffensive.
Named characters associated with Fort Sakai
Not all of these characters are permanent residents of the fort. Kazumasa is associated with its earlier history, while Tenzo and Fune are linked to the liberation campaign and the wider Iki storyline. The Eagle and Khunbish are the principal named figures directly tied to the fort’s occupation.
Named characters associated with Fort Sakai
Ordinary NPCs
After liberation, the fort contains civilian and service NPCs rather than functioning solely as a military camp. Their presence is progression-dependent.
The expansion’s guides identify Fort Sakai as a post-liberation service location with both a Merchant and a Trapper.
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Merchant
The Merchant appears at Fort Sakai after the fort has been liberated. As with other Merchants in Ghost of Tsushima, the service is used to purchase and exchange cosmetic or utility-related goods according to the player’s available supplies.
The fort’s Merchant should not be confused with the Crimson Dye Merchant, who is associated with a separate unlock condition and a different location. The Crimson Dye Merchant becomes available after completing the Hidden Cove Tournament and is positioned south-east of Fort Sakai, rather than inside the fort.
Trapper
The Trapper also appears after liberation. This gives Fort Sakai practical value as a resupply and capacity-upgrade stop during Iki exploration.
The Trapper is not available during the initial Mongol occupation. Players who visit the fort early and cannot find the service should continue the Iki story until the fort has been reclaimed.
Eagle’s tent
The Eagle’s tent is primarily a story location. It is the place where Jin awakens after the Eagle’s medicine is forced on him. It also contains the Record of Iki titled To Lord Sakai Upon Your Return.
Defensive towers and tall structures
The fort contains tall wooden structures used for defence, observation and traversal. One of these is particularly important for exploration because a Sakai Banner is positioned high inside the south-eastern building.
These buildings are not separate named landmarks in the game’s map interface, so they should be treated as architectural features rather than independently named locations.
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Fort Sakai contains two important Iki collectible types:
The exact number of nearby items depends on whether the guide treats outer cliffs and mission-only spaces as part of the fort. The directories below separate internal fort locations from attached exterior locations where the evidence allows.
Defensive towers and tall structures: steps
- 01Sakai Banners
- 02Records of Iki
Sakai Banners
Sakai Banners are an Iki-specific collectible connected to Jin’s family history. There are 30 across Iki Island. Guides identify multiple Fort Sakai placements, including one in the tall south-eastern building and another on the north-western exterior cliff.
Inside the fort
Acquisition: Enter the tall building in the south-eastern part of Fort Sakai and climb through its interior using the ladders. The banner is located on an upper level.
Outer fort boundary
Acquisition: Reach the north-western side of the fort and use the grappling hook to pull down the wooden bridge. Cross to the cliffside ledge and collect the banner.
Because guide maps and video walkthroughs sometimes count both as “Fort Sakai” banners, players checking their collection should inspect both the inner building and the north-western exterior approach.
Records of Iki
Records of Iki are written documents that expand the history of Iki, the Sakai campaign and the people caught between the island’s raiders and invading forces. There are 25 Records of Iki in the expansion, although one is found on Tsushima and the remainder are distributed across Iki.
Fort Sakai records
To My Wife is found in the Fort Sakai area beside the Trapper according to the collectible directory consulted. To Lord Sakai Upon Your Return is found in the Eagle’s tent, the mission-associated interior where Jin awakens after drinking the Eagle’s brew.
The records are easy to miss if the player rushes through the story and leaves immediately after the fort changes state. After liberation, return to the fort and search the service and residential areas carefully.
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The Lightning in the Storm
This is the principal Fort Sakai mission. It introduces the fort as the Eagle’s base and reveals its connection to Kazumasa Sakai.
The important point is that the mission is not designed as a conventional liberation tale. The fort remains in the Eagle’s hands after Jin’s initial attack.
The mission’s broad sequence is
- 01Travel to Fort Sakai during the Iki story.
- 02Enter the fort and confront the Mongol occupation.
- 03Fight through the stronghold.
- 04Reach the area where Khunbish is encountered.
- 05Engage Khunbish.
- 06Lose the confrontation as part of the scripted story.
- 07Be captured and subjected to the Eagle’s medicine.
- 08Continue the hallucination and recovery sequence.
Later liberation
Fort Sakai is reclaimed during the later Iki campaign, after Jin has built a working relationship with the island’s raiders and weakened the Eagle’s network. The liberation leads to a decisive confrontation with Khunbish and changes the fort into a permanent allied location.
Post-liberation exploration
The fort itself does not host a major permanent minigame such as a Bamboo Strike, Hot Spring, Haiku or Animal Sanctuary. Those activities exist elsewhere on Iki and should not be folded into the Fort Sakai directory merely because they are nearby.
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This route is intended for players returning after the fort has been liberated.
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Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Fast travel to Fort Sakai. If fast travel is unavailable, approach from the surrounding roads and enter through the main gate or an accessible outer route.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Check the service area. Visit the Merchant and Trapper first if you need supplies, capacity improvements or other services.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Search the Eagle’s tent. Look for the Record of Iki titled To Lord Sakai Upon Your Return. If the tent is not accessible, continue the story until the relevant mission state has passed, then return after liberation.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Enter the south-eastern tall building. Climb through the interior using the ladders. Search the upper level for the Sakai Banner.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Circle the north-western exterior. Leave the central compound and inspect the cliffside outside the north-western wall.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Use the grappling hook. Pull down the wooden bridge and cross to the ledge containing the exterior Sakai Banner.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Search around the Trapper. Collect To My Wife if it has not already been obtained.
Post-liberation exploration: steps
- 01Leave through the surrounding roads. Continue towards Mount Takenotsuji, Tatsu’s Ladder or Zasho River rather than assuming every nearby activity belongs to Fort Sakai.
Boundary check
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Story-controlled defeat
The first confrontation with Khunbish cannot be treated as an ordinary optional duel. The player is meant to lose and be captured. Repeated attempts to clear every enemy before progressing do not change the narrative result.
Grappling-hook access
The north-western banner requires the grappling hook. Players who have not yet acquired or unlocked the relevant traversal capability may be unable to reach it.
Mission-only interiors
The Eagle’s tent and certain internal spaces are most clearly available during or after their associated story sequences. If an interior appears inaccessible during free exploration, this is likely a progression-state issue rather than evidence that the collectible is absent.
Enemy density
The fort is heavily defended during its occupied state, with elevated guards and interior patrols. After liberation, it no longer functions as a normal hostile Mongol camp, so the combat experience and available enemy population differ sharply between visits.
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Fort Sakai is one of the expansion’s strongest examples of location-based storytelling. The place is simultaneously:
Its importance is therefore larger than its collectible count. The fort gives physical form to Jin’s inherited identity. He is not merely reclaiming an enemy base. He is returning to the site of his father’s failure and confronting the consequences of the Sakai campaign.
The fort’s story also helps explain why the Iki expansion is more personal and psychologically focused than much of the main Tsushima campaign. Jin’s enemies use the Sakai name and Kazumasa’s history against him, while the fort’s architecture repeatedly places him inside the world his father left behind.
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Is Fort Sakai on Tsushima?
No. Fort Sakai is on Iki Island, which is available through the Director’s Cut expansion.
Can Fort Sakai be liberated during the first assault?
No. The first visit is part of the story and ends with Jin’s capture by Khunbish. Permanent liberation occurs later in the Iki storyline.
Does Fort Sakai have a Merchant?
Yes, after liberation. The Merchant is a post-liberation service and is not normally available while the fort is under Mongol control.
Does Fort Sakai have a Trapper?
Yes. The Trapper appears after the fort is reclaimed.
How many Sakai Banners are at Fort Sakai?
At least two placements are specifically identified in the available location evidence: one in the south-eastern tall building and one on the north-western outer cliff. Some guides and video routes count these as separate Fort Sakai entries, while broader map directories may classify the exterior banner by its nearby landmark.
Which Records of Iki are at Fort Sakai?
The second is located in the Eagle’s tent.
Is the Crimson Dye Merchant inside Fort Sakai?
No. The Crimson Dye Merchant is a separate Iki service unlocked through the Hidden Cove Tournament and positioned south-east of Fort Sakai.
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Sources
- Ghost of Tsushima — en.wikipedia.org
- Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island - How To Unlock Horse Customization & Dyes | Vendor Location Guide - Gameranx — gameranx.com
- Iki Island Sakai Banners | Ghost of Tsushima — nightlygamingbinge.com
- Bamboo Strikes - Collectibles - Iki Island Expansion | Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut | Gamer Guides® — gamerguides.com
- Iki Island, Ghost of Tsushima Map — guides4gamers.com
- Ghost of Tsushima - All 30 Sakai Banner Location Guide - YouTube — youtube.com