Japanese expert believes Ghost of Yotei has one glaring inaccuracy that hints toward game’s story

A Japanese scholar has pointed out a major historical inaccuracy in Ghost of Yotei’s title, but given what we know about the setting, it’s likely both a clever choice and indicative of the game’s plot.

Announced during the September 2024 State of Play, Sucker Punch’s next title will be a follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima. Set over 300 years after the original, Ghost of Yotei follows a new protagonist named Atsu on her journey through a part of Japan that is now part of Hokkaido.

However, in a thread shared and translated by Automaton, Japanese scholar Itsuji Tangiku points out that the mountain now known as Mount Yotei went by a completely different name back in 1603.

Tangiku, who studies the language and culture of the Ainu, an Indigenous ethnic group from northern Japan, goes on to explain that the anachronism “has to be intentional.” Given the history of the region and the year the game takes place, it could also have major plot implications.

In 1603, the Ainu would have called the mountain Machineshiri. The Japanese began calling it Mount Shiribeshi during the Meiji period (1868-1912), which later became Yotei.

Tangiku goes on to explain the historical significance of 1603 for the Japanese and Ainu. The following year, the Japanese government gave the Matsumae clan the right to trade with the Ainu, which slowly led to the end of the Ainu’s dominance over the region.

The Matsumae clan barred any other northern clans from trading with the Ainu, and within 200 years, Hokkaido had been transformed into a fishing plantation. This marks what Tangiku calls “the beginning of the colonialization of Hokkaido,” which includes Meiji Restoration era assimilation policies that forced the Ainu to give up their language, traditions, and way of life.

Sucker Punch

Given that the name Yotei comes from the modern era after the land was colonized and incorporated into Japan, Tangiku suspects the developers chose the name as a “satire of colonialism.”

While Sucker Punch has yet to reveal any story details, Ghost of Tsushima was a revenge tale where Jin Sakai needed to betray the samurai code of honor to protect his homeland from Mongol invaders.

Combined with Tangiku’s insights, it’s likely Ghost of Yotei will see Atsu fighting the threat of Japanese colonization and donning a Ghost mask of her own to protect her home.

Ghost of Yotei will be released for PlayStation 5 in 2025. A film adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima is also in the works.