'Careful What You Wish For' walkthrough in Onimusha Way of the Sword

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Published Sep 3, 2026, 8:01 AM EDT

Where to find the stolen Stout Pillars

A Onimusha: Way of the Sword screenshot showing Musashi near a few trees

In the "Careful What You Wish For" quest in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Miyamoto Musashi begins hunting genma in Eastern Kyoto after a training session led by Takamura. Near the Rokudo-chinnoji Temple, Musashi will find a few people sharing stories of how praying at the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine helped them change their fates.

Here's how to complete the "Careful What You Wish For" quest in Onimusha: Way of the Sword and solve the mystery behind the eerie shrine.

[Ed. note: This guide contains spoilers for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, so continue at your own risk! Feel free to follow along or bookmark this page and come back if you get stuck.]

Part 1: Look for anything strange

The first steps in the "Careful What You Wish For" mission involve visiting the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and talking to some NPCs. First, head northeast in Eastern Kyoto and meet the Calm Woman.

A Onimusha: Way of the Sword screenshot showing the Calm Woman

Afterward, you will need to gather two clues in the shrine area. You get the first one by talking to the Cheerful Old-Timer and the second by interacting with two dolls on the east side of the shrine. The investigation will lead you to Yorimasa's monument, then to the Hachidai Rikison Shrine — which is inside the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine — where you will talk to the Stout Pillars and learn that someone stole three of them.

Part 2: Find the stolen Stout Pillars

Your next goal now is to locate the three stolen statues and bring them back to the shrine. Leave the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and head to the building between the other two, east of the shrine. The first statue is on the top of a bamboo platform on the east side of the area.

Fight the genma, then follow the corridor northeast, which will take you behind the large building, where you will find a ladder. Climb it to find the Seventh Stout Pillar.

Next, return to the entrance area where you fought the genma. More enemies will appear from the south building. Fight them and use the improvised entrance that the now-deceased genma made to access the building they came from. Inside, head north to a small room where you will find a ladder, but don't forget to collect the one millet from the body on the ground in front of the entrance.

A montage using two Onimusha: Way of the Sword screenshots showing where you must go to find the Sout Pillars

Climb the ladder and enter the attic. Kill the genma checking the vases and crawl under the structure beside it. Once outside, you will see the First Stout Pillar, but as soon as you drop from the platform to grab it, a group of genma will appear. Kill them all and collect the second statue.

With the first two statues in hand, it's time to break the locker, leave the building, and head southwest. As you get near the entrance of the building where you can find the last Stout Pillar, there's a chance for an event to start in which you must save a villager from two genma. This is not connected to the "Careful What You Wish For" mission, but it is always worth doing these random events as they reward you with materials to upgrade your armor, sword, and gauntlet.

Once inside, you can go north to a small building where a corpse holds one soul squeezer, but your goal is to head south. Collect the lesser defense talisman from the corpse on the ground and open the white door to enter the building.

A Onimusha: Way of the Sword screenshot showing where you must go to find the Sout Pillars

Face off against a few enemies in the next room, then leave using the door on the left, which will take you outside to an area with multiple vases. Break the one near the tree to find the Third Stout Pillar.

Part 3: Defeat Rasho-Gan

After retrieving the three statues, return to the Hachidai Rikison Shrine. The Stout Pillars will ask you to purify the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, but first, you must absorb the dark mass. A cutscene will play, which will lead you to a confrontation with Rasho-Gan, the boss of this mission.

Rasho-Gan has two life bars, and the fight is divided into three stages, but there are few differences between them. The first will give you a general idea of the fight, but your goal will be to use your bow early in the encounter to break the tether connecting Rasho-Gan and the pillar behind them.

A Onimusha: Way of the Sword screenshot showing Musashi fighting Rasho-Gan

The second phase starts once you have depleted the boss' first life bar, and the third begins when Rasho-Gan enters a buffed state, marked by their sword starting to grow red.

Throughout the entire fight, Rasho-Gan's rotation will cycle between regular sword attacks, a charge move where they make a large sword above their head, projectile attacks, and a grapple attack. There are two special moves that you must pay attention to. The first is when they raise two of their multiple arms and create a sphere over their head. Once it's released, the sphere will follow you. Luckily, it moves slowly so you can fire an arrow to destroy the sphere before it reaches you. Rasho-Gan may use this attack in any of the three phases.

The second move is when Rasho-Gan uses a tether to lift a whole building that they will throw at you. You have a short window to shoot the tether, making the building fall on them instead. However, if you miss the chance, well, you will be hit by the attack, which is not as deadly as it could be, but it can leave you in a tough spot.

Once Rasho-Gan enters their buffed state, they will add a jump attack to the rotation. Timing the parry is a bit complicated, but it's nothing you need to worry about.

By defeating the boss, you will complete the "Careful What You Wish For" main quest. You will earn two hempen cloth, one power stone, and one oni stone as rewards. Finishing this quest also unlocks Musashi's first Oni Power, the Oni Strength, which allows you to break malice barriers.