Major Items, Prosthetic Tools, Prayer Bead Locations, and Boss Tactics
Welcome back to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice! Hirata Estate is an essential early-game memory detour packed with massive upgrades, essential prosthetic tools, and 3 key Prayer Beads to increase your maximum Vitality and Posture.
Area Summary: Acquire the Young Lord's Bell Charm from the elderly woman in Ashina Outskirts, offer it to the Buddha statue at Dilapidated Temple, and collect 3 Prosthetic Tools (Flame Vent, Loaded Axe, Mist Raven) and 3 Prayer Beads.
Hirata Estate contains three of the most useful Prosthetic Tools in the entire game:
| Prosthetic Tool | Exact Location & Walkthrough |
|---|---|
| Flame Vent (Fire Arm) | Progress through the estate path until you reach a large raging bonfire surrounded by drinking bandits. Clear the enemies and grab the Flame Barrel sitting directly inside the fire pit. |
| Loaded Axe | On the Estate Path shortly after the bonfire, eavesdrop on two bandits talking about looting a garden shrine. Defeat them, open the small wooden shrine doors, and claim the Shinobi Axe of the Monkey. |
| Mist Raven | From the Bamboo Thicket Slope idol, grapple left onto the bridge, jump into the river, and swim upstream. Grapple up to a hidden bamboo barrier, slash it open, wall-jump up the vertical shaft, and open the secret pagoda guarded by a powerful purple Lone Shadow ninja. |
Ensure you collect all 3 Prayer Beads during your first visit to Hirata Estate:
Stealth is your best friend here. Crouch in the tall grass to eliminate the archers and torch-bearers surrounding him first. Reset stealth, then deliver a stealth Deathblow. Enshin relies heavily on perilous thrust attacks—the Mikiri Counter skill is mandatory to step on his spear blade for massive posture damage.
Do not run in swinging. Sneak through the covered walkways on the left side of his courtyard to assassinate his bandit guards one by one. Once the mob is cleared, speak to the blue-robed samurai NPC (Nogami Gensai) standing near the pond to recruit him as a distraction while you strike Juzou's back.
Defeating Lady Butterfly yields a Memory that permanently increases your base Attack Power (+1). Fight her with relentless sword rhythm (`Attack-Attack-Deflect`). When she leaps onto invisible wires in mid-air, throw a Loaded Shuriken to knock her down for heavy posture damage. In Phase 2, use Snap Seeds or run around the arena perimeter to dispel her phantom illusions.
Lady Butterfly Shuriken Trick: Time your Shuriken throw right as she jumps between invisible wire perches. Striking her mid-flight triggers an instant knockdown stun.
Hirata Estate was raided three years ago by bandits led by Owl. Wolf discovers Lord Kuro in the secret cellar, but is struck in the back by an unknown assassin as the temple collapses.